Week 10 - RPI Game Preview

The Hobart College Football team has a huge game this weekend on Senior Day at the "Boz." According to the roster, there are 18 Statesmen who will suit up for their final home regular season game. A win Saturday would go a long way in helping Hobart have a shot to host an ECAC Bowl game on November 18th, but we'll have to wait and see on that.

The RPI Engineers are looking to keep their NCAA at-large playoff berth hopes alive and get their first win in Geneva since 2015. Hobart (6-2, 2-2) has won three in a row vs. RPI (7-1, 3-1) at home, including 2021's memorable 10-9 game. The Engineers used a couple of turnovers, forcing Hobart to punt into the wind in the 4th quarter, to rally and beat the Statesmen last year, 16-13. 

Needless to say, the margin between victory and defeat is always very close when these two teams meet. Even the all-time series is dead even - 32-32-1 - so this 66th meeting will give one team a razor thin edge, once again. 

Scouting the Engineers

It's hard to argue that in spite of the administrative nightmare RPI had to endure with former President Jackson during COVID, there are few teams in the Northeast / Region 1 & 2 that have taken better advantage of the NCAA extra year of eligibility than RPI. They once again have a large roster (about 120 players) that is deep and very experienced. Interestingly enough, there are a fair number of SO and JR starters on this squad.

The Engineers have outscored their opponents by an average of 39.75-13.25 PPG this season. Based on the LL stat sheet, RPI has the number one scoring offense, fourth ranked scoring defense (Hobart is third allowing 13 PPG), second ranked total offense (426 YPG), third ranked total defense (281.5 YPG, just behind Hobart's 277.8 YPG allowed), fourth ranked rushing offense (189.8, once again just behind the Statesmen, but with three more TDs scored), and second ranked rushing defense (96.9 YPG and only three rush TDs allowed all season).

The biggest gap between the two squads is in the passing game. RPI is top rated LL passing offense, averaging 236.3 YPG passing with 15 pass TDs. Hobart is dead last at 163.3 YPG and 9 scores. Conversely, the Statesmen pass defense is ranked third with 159.3 YPG and only 5 pass TDs allowed. RPI is ranked sixth, allowing 184.6 YPG and 10 pass TDs. 

The Engineers are led on offense by JR QB Jake Kazanowsky. He's gone 131-197 for 1,757 passing yards with 15 TDs compared to 6 INTs. RPI features a dual back rushing attack, much like Hobart. FY RB Kayden White leads the team with 463 rush yards to go with 5 TDs. JR RB Christian Buckley leads RPI with 8 rushing scores and is second on the team with 416 rush yards. Kazanowski's top target is SO WR Hayden Faraday (ranked 2nd in the LL in YPG receiving) who has 42 catches for 555 yards and 5 receiving TDs.

Defensively the Engineers are led by JR LB Anthony D'Agostino with 60 total tackles (sixth most in the LL). He's added 6 TFL, 2 INT and 1 FR. JR DL Nate Sicard anchors the DL with 31 tackles to go with a team high 2 sacks and 12 QB hits. He's tied with D'Agostino with 6 TFL. 

I will note that RPI runs a 4-3. Just going to leave it at that.

The Engineers specialists are SO PK Anderson Burke and GR PK Jared Elstein. Burke handles punting duties while Elstein does KOs and FGs, going 6-9 with a long of 39 yards. RPI is also the top ranked KOR and PR team in the LL, averaging 26.9 and 15.6 YPG, respectively.

Keys to the Game:

1. Play to Your Strengths, Mitigate the Weaknesses: If you look at the Ithaca game BX, you can see that the Bombers leaned on their running game (45 carries for 219 yards) and defense (2 INTs, 1 blocked FG) to beat the Engineers. Hobart needs to follow the same script. If the Statesmen can gain 4-5 YPR and just be efficient enough with a limited number of passes they'll have a chance. Ithaca only had 120 passing yards, but completed 15-21 (71.4%) with 2 passing TDs and only one INT. I'm not sure that JR QB Jimmy Columbi can be that efficient given his recent struggles, but he can absolutely stretch the field with his legs if given strong blocking. The RPI DL is relentless but the Statesmen OL has only allowed 7 sacks all season. On the flip side, Hobart's defense will need to pressure Kazanowsky (Ithaca sacked him four times) and force him into mistakes. The Statesmen pass defense is a strength, but Hobart's DL (which will once again have a significant size disadvantage) will need to play better than they did at Union. 

2. Win on Third Down: RPI leads the LL in 3rd down conversions with an impressive 52.5%-win rate (52-99), which ranks them 10th in the nation. Hobart has allowed 38.3% of third down conversions, ranking them fourth in the LL. The Statesmen will need to find ways to force the high-powered Engineers offense into three and outs and set up the Hobart offense with decent field position. 

3. Home Sweet Home: The Statesmen are undefeated (5-0) this season and are 23-2 under HC Kevin DeWall '00 at home (both losses were to Ithaca, in 2018 and 2022). RPI will no doubt go into this matchup as a clear favorite, but Hobart's home field advantage (and 92%-win rate) is a real thing. 

Prediction:

Back in 2021 RPI came into this game undefeated and ranked in the Top 25. The stakes are similar in this game and so I'm hoping the result is also. The Statesmen don't get to play the role of "spoiler" often, but they have the opportunity to do so Saturday. Like Union, the Engineers are the better team "on paper", but the X factors of Senior Day and Boswell Field even the odds in my opinion. 

The weather looks clear so RPI will be able to test the Statesmen passing defense. Hobart will need to play aggressively on defense, run it 40+ times and hang onto the ball on offense. I'll take the Statesmen to narrowly edge RPI, probably on a FG, by a 17-14 final.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Statesmen Shut Out Saints, 35-0

The Hobart College Statesmen football team sent the Homecoming crowd home happy with a dominant, 35-0 win over visiting Saint Lawrence today at the "Boz". The Saints (2-5, 0-4) have lost 12 straight and 30 of the last 31 games to the Statesmen (6-2, 2-2). 

It what could have been a classic trap game, Hobart SR RB Tim Denham, Jr. had a big return to action scoring three rushing TDs. He and FY RB E.J. Taylor had 73 rushing yards each as the Statesmen outgained the Saints 421-148 total yards.

FY DL DonJuan McGee scored his first collegiate TD on a 24-yard pick six, tip drill play. He added three tackles, 1 TFL and a sack on the day. SR RB Rayshawn Boswell added the fifth and final TD of the game. SO DB Mekhi Rodgers got his second INT of the season, the third of his Hobart career, as well.

It was a very dominant win for Hobart who will face long-time league rival, RPI (7-1, 3-1) next Saturday in Geneva. The Statesmen and Engineers are dead even in the series, 32-32-1. The 66th installment won't be for the LL Championship, given Ithaca's (7-1, 5-0) lopsided 62-0 win today, but will definitely impact postseason bids and/or seeding, bragging rights aside. With only four at-large NCAA bids available, in theory RPI is playing to stay on that "bubble," so it would be sweet for the Statesmen to burst it.

More on that one early this next week. In the meantime, it feels good to get another win. On to the next one. 

Go 'Bart!

Week 9 - Saint Lawrence Game Preview

After a tough Week 8, the Hobart College Statesmen return home for the next two weeks looking to finish the season a perfect 6-0 on the "Boz" for the 2023 season. While the goal of a NCAA playoff bid will have to wait until next year, another strong finish, besting last season's 7-4 mark, an ECAC Bowl bid and win still remain achievable goals.

The Statesmen (5-2, 1-2) will welcome long-time conference foe, the Saint Lawrence University Saints to Geneva Saturday for a 1 PM kickoff. While SLU has surpassed HWS in many other respects (e.g., USNWR report rankings, fundraising, endowment growth, etc.) over the past three decades, the Statesmen have completely dominated their series over the Saints unlike any other in the Liberty League. Hobart is going for their 12th consecutive win and their 30th win in 31 games against SLU. The last time the Saints managed to beat Hobart was back in the troubled 2010 season, 24-21.

The Statesmen are 55-36-2 all-time vs. SLU, dating back to the 1901 season, making this the 94th time Hobart and the Saints have played one another.

This season, SLU (2-5, 0-3) is on a three-game losing streak and coming off a 37-7 loss to RPI (6-1, 2-1), who Hobart will face in Week 10. It appears as though, either via injury or otherwise, the Saints have made (or had to make) a change at the QB position and is generally struggling to put up points this season.

Scouting the Saints

SLU is ranked at or near the bottom of most LL statistical categories including scoring offense (13.9 PPG), scoring defense (26.9 PPG), total offense (272.9 YPG), rushing offense (94.7 YPG), and rushing defense (183.4 YPG).

They have fared well in the passing game, however, averaging 178.1 YPG (which is better than Hobart's 162.1 YPG). The Saints' passing defense is rated second best in the LL, allowing only 146 YPG, but they've have allowed a league worst 12 passing TDs over 7 games. 

SLU is currently led on offense by JR QB Will Lederman (pictured above). After only attempting six passes in the first three weeks of the season, he has thrown for 614 yards and 5 TDs while adding 235 yards and 4 TDs on the ground. While he led the Saints in offense for the RPI game, he was pulled in the fourth quarter for FY QB Mark Rodeo. With the game out of reach at 37-7 this was probably more of a coaching decision to give Rodeo some reps vs. an admonishment of Lederman, in my opinion.

The Saints main two receivers seem to be JR WR Cole Salyards (29 catches for 414 yards and 4 TDs) and SO WR Shea Goodwin (29 catches for 321 yards and 1 TD). SLU runs their offense out of the shotgun and likes to spread the field, but the OL has allowed 15 sacks (basically two per game) which hasn't helped.

Defensively, SLU is led by JR S Jordan O'Neil with 42 total tackles. JR DL Thomas Our appears to be their best man up front, with 29 tackles and a team high 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. JR CB Nicholas Giardina leads the Saints with 3 INTs.

Special teams wise, the Saints aren't very special. While they are tied for the lead in LL with a perfect 13-13 mark on PATs, they are 0-1 on FGs and last in punting average with a 24.8-yard net. Their KO average of 36.3 yards is next to last in the LL also.

Keys to the Game:

1. Back to the Basics: Hobart can lean on the run game against a Saints defense allows almost 200 YPG while working on getting JR QB Johnny Columbi back on the plus side of a 50% completion percentage. There were a few moments in the Union game where he found receivers like SO TE Lukas Rudy and JR TE Kevin Christ for nice gains in the open field. SO WR Ahmad Crowell continues to be a solid deep threat, but I'd like to see more targets to JR WR Rane Daramola who has only two catches over the past two weeks. He played a big role last season but is also likely drawing the opposition's best coverage player (and/or getting double teamed on most pass plays) this year.

2. Turnovers / Field Position: The Saints are -4 in TOM this season. While Lederman wasn't picked off in the RPI game, he has thrown 3 INTs in three prior games. SLU has also given up the ball five times on the ground over seven games. The Hobart defense can score and/or set up the offense with great field position by aggressively going after the ball. Forcing the Saints to three and outs will help also. SLU's punt unit isn't very strong, and the Statesmen should look to exploit that weakness. 

3. Don't Look Behind or Ahead: The Statesmen need to put last weekend in the proverbial rear-view mirror. It was a disappointing loss, but the Saints are marching in, and Hobart has a conference winning and home field winning streak to protect. While RPI looms large in Week 10, the Statesmen need to take care of business this Saturday before turning their focus on the Engineers. 

Prediction:

I like Hobart to bounce back with a 35-14 win on Saturday.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Union Holds Serve, Winning 4th Straight Against Hobart at Home, 27-10

The Hobart College Statesmen dropped to 5-2, 1-2 on the season after a disappointing, 24-10 loss on the road vs. LL rival, Union College. The loss means the Statesmen are effectively eliminated from the NCAA playoffs for the sixth season in a row but are still alive for an ECAC postseason bowl berth. 

Having watched the entire game, all I can say is the Dutchmen / Garnet Chargers (7-1, 3-1) were simply the better team. The Statesmen offense just couldn't put together anything in the second half and the defense got worn down by the big DGC OL that controlled the line of scrimmage for the majority of the game.

There were some good moments, such as JR PK Tobias Wefering's career best 42-yard FG (and several booming punts), SO WR Ahmad Crowell had 4 catches for 92 yards (plus picked up two Hobart 1st downs on clear DPI calls) and a few good defensive plays, but that was about it. New Union HC Jon Poppe used a high tempo, no huddle offense to mitigate the Hobart defensive substitutions. 

In the end Union outgained the Statesmen 480-263 total yards. Based on an unbiased observation; the DGC just had more talent on both sides of the ball. They were the older, deeper and more experienced team and it showed. Hobart had its moments but was too inconsistent to really compete today. 

JR QB Johnny Columbi had a rough day, going 11-28 passing (39.3%) for 162 yards and an INT. He added 33 rushing yards, second only to SR RB Rayshawn Boswell who averaged only 2.4 YPR off of 17 carries for only 41 yards and 1 TD. That TD tied Mark Logan '99 for sixth all time (34) as he continues to move up the record book. JR LB Vincent Giordano led the defense with eight solo and 10 total tackles.

The Statesmen will return to the "Boz" for the next two weeks against Saint Lawrence and RPI who played today with RPI leading 30-7 near the end of the third quarter at the time of this posting. 

That's it from today. Will have a preview of the SLU game early next week.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart. 

Week 8 - Union Game Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen will travel down I-90 to take on the newly minted Union College "Garnet Chargers" (still think of them as the Dutchmen, but I digress) this Saturday at noon (or 1 PM, both sites have different kickoff times at the moment). This will be the 106th meeting between these two rivals, and it's been a pretty competitive one of late, as five of the last six games have been decided by a TD or less.

The Dutchmen / GCs lead the all-time series by a narrow 50-53-2 margin. The series dates back to 1896, and while not as old as the DGC's rivalry with RPI, the Hobart-Union one is right up there in long-time D3FB rivalries. The main reason the Statesmen trail in the series was a rough 16 game losing streak between the 1982-1997 season (the last one I was at and remember being really disappointed in that loss after Hobart led at the half).

Last season Hobart (5-1, 1-1) got a hard fought 23-21 win after a 58-yard (then SO WR) Rane Daramola TD gave the Statesmen the lead with 2:10 left in the game. The defense would hold, and Hobart would average a hard 27-20 loss in OT to Union from 2021 (another game I was at in person).

Union (6-1, 2-1) comes into this contest with a close (17-9) loss to Ithaca, just like Hobart. Statistically both teams are very similar as you will see below. All rankings are based on the LL stat sheet:

• UC is second in scoring, averaging 38.4 PPG; HOB is third with 34.8 PPG
• UC is first in PPG allowed with 6.9; HOB is second with 12.8 PPG 
• UC is ranked first in total O & D with 465.9 YPG gained and 166.4 YPG allowed; HOB is third with 366.8 YPG gained and 266.5 YPG allowed (on a tougher schedule I would add)
• UC has the #1 rushing O with 26 TDs and averaging 267.6 YPG on the ground; HOB is the second ranked rushing O with 16 TDs and averaging 204.7 YPG
• UC has the #1 rushing D allowing only 1 TD and 51.6 YPG on the ground; HOB is ranked third, allowing 5 TD and 110.6 YPG on the ground
• UC has the third best passing O & best passing D; averaging 198.3 YPG with 8 TDs and allowing only 114.9 YPG passing and 4 scores; HOB is ranked sixth in passing O & third in passing D, gaining 162.2 YPG and scoring 5 TDs while allowing 156 YPG but only 3 passing TDs
• HOB has the edge in total INTs and sacks, but UC has allowed one less sack than HOB
• On special teams, HOB has a slight edge in KOs, punting, PATs and FGs over UC
• Yardage differential on KO and PRs is fairly similar, and basically negligible  

Scouting the Garnet Chargers (f/k/a Dutchmen):

Defensive front 7 are very good and have been playing excellent all year. SR LB Cole DaSilva is an excellent downhill player and leads Union in tackles (34, with 5 TFL). SR LB Spencer Goldstein is also very good backer and very athletic for his size. He has 23 tackles on the season and leads the team in INTs with 3. SR LB Tom Cavallo is a strong leader and has also played well even without all the tackling stats Silva and Goldstein have. 

The DGC have three DL who have been wreaking havoc all year with SR DL Jimaar Edwards being the best of that unit. He blows up lots of plays and will likely draw double-teams from the Hobart OL. The other two, SR DL Ethan Vanderbrink and DL Jack Flanagan, are experienced and skilled. The group overall has amassed 12.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks so far this season. Union does a good job "running to the ball", so the overall tackles for the team have been spread out across the defense pretty evenly. One potential weak spot is that deep coverage has been a bit of an issue the last two games but overall has been pretty good all year. SR DB Nathan Sullivan, younger brother of former Hobart FS, Cal Sullivan '22, has had a great year. He's notched 22 tackles, 2.5 TFL and 2 INTs on the season. 

Offensively, the Union OL has been great even though they’ve had some injuries and needed to plug some backups in. The backs have been impressive all year (until the Ithaca game). SR RB Michael Fiore is a finesse guy with great vision and JR RB Anderson is a downhill, tough runner. Fiore and Anderson are currently ranked fourth and fifth in the conference, averaging 90.9 and 85.1 YPG, respectively. Fiore leads the LL with 12 rushing TDs, while Anderson has five. 

The receiving corps is very deep and capable (although they did struggle in the bad weather at Ithaca). SO WR Landers Green is a good vertical threat (16.9 YPC average), and JR WR Robbie Tolbert is a solid possession guy. JR QB Donovan Pacatte has a ton of arm talent, his size (6' 4" and 225 lbs.) and arm strength put him in the upper echelon of D3 QBs. Hobart may want to hope for rain this weekend (the forecast says there's an 80% chance so bring your orange and purple ponchos), as Pacatte did struggle against Rochester (5-2, 2-1) when he was under pressure, and had difficulty in the rain against Ithaca.

Union's ST unit has been good overall. JR PK Max Gluck has had a good season to date, and twice has been the LL's STPOTW. Gluck has gone 6-10 on FGs with a long of 40 yards. SR PK Andrew Lau handles the punting duties, averaging 37.8 YPP. SO PK Ryan Mulderig handles KOs and has averaged 53.4 YPKO. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Turnovers and conversions: With wet and rainy conditions, ball control will be at a premium. Two turnovers in the Ithaca game cost Union (same deal for the Statesmen when they played the Bombers). Whichever team wins the turnover battle in this one should have a significant upper hand. As good as the Hobart defense has been creating turnovers, the Statesmen lost the TO battle against Ithaca also and that was the difference in the game. 

Union leads the LL with 26+ first downs per game and has the best 3rd down conversion defense in the league, only allowing 18.4% of opponent third down conversions, compared to Hobart's 40.2% rate. The Statesmen defense will need to force the DGC to more three and outs to have a better chance at winning this game. On the flip side, the Hobart offense will need to look for ways to move the chains and keep Pacatte, Fiore and the rest of the Union offense on the sideline. Last weekend Union was held to under 300 yards of offense for the first time this season. The Statesmen will need to try and recreate that same result (with some help from the rain) Saturday.

2. Pressure Pacatte: In spite of his size, Pacatte is like every QB in that he struggles under pressure. Hobart's DL and LB corps will need to be creative in how they attack Union's strong OL to rattle the JR QB. Ithaca rushed him into an INT last weekend, and I'm hoping the Statesmen can follow that same game plan. 

3. Maximize the Little, Minimize the Big Plays: Emotions run high in these high-profile LL rivalry games. Ithaca actually had a TD called back due to taunting and Hobart will likely be provoked by their opponents from time to time. The "crowd on the hill" back in 2021 heckled me (and I was wearing a Tampa Bucs jacket) relentlessly, along with the entire Statesmen sideline. Hobart just needs to focus on the fundamentals and not get too high or low with what happens over the course of the game. Usually in these types of games, the cooler heads prevail. 

Prediction:

These games are always the toughest for me to predict. The past six games are even at 3-3 for each squad, so your guess is as good as mine. I think either team can win Saturday, it'll just come down to which one executes the best.

Union has an edge in experience and at the OL/DL and skill positions, but with Hobart coming off what's effectively a bit of a bye week; the Statesmen should be more rested and less banged up than the Dutchmen/GCs. 

Union has won the last three in a row (due to a COVID/LL scheduling glitch) at home vs. Hobart. The Statesmen need this win to keep their NCAA postseason hopes alive, and whichever team wins this game will bolster their Pool C (and ECAC Bowl bid and hosting) chances. 

I get the sense this will be a run-heavy, field position battle. JR PK Tobias Wefering will have a big impact based on his punting and FG kicking skills. It wouldn't surprise me if this one comes down to who has the ball in the final minutes. 

On paper Union should be the favorite, but I have a feeling they will be a bit "hungover" from the Ithaca game. Hobart should win if they play mistake free football, by a close 13-10 margin.

Hope I'm right. 

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

Statesmen Ground Hawks, 49-3

The Hobart College Statesmen improved to 5-1 overall with a lopsided, 49-3, win over visiting Hilbert College (0-6) yesterday at the "Boz". A lot of Hobart players got to make contributions in the win, starting off with FY LB David Charles II recovering a fumble in the end zone off a blocked Hawks punt.

SR RB Rayshawn Boswell would score on back-to-back rushing TDs in the first quarter and the Statesmen never looked back. JR QB Johnny Columbi would connect on 3 passing TDs and finish the game with 137 passing yards. 

FY RB E.J. Taylor would score via the run and the pass, catching an 8-yd Columbi throw in the second quarter. FY WR Luke Stephens scored his first career TD and SO WR Ahmad Crowell collected his third TD of the season in Saturday's game.

Although the defense didn't pitch a shutout, Hobart held the Hawks to 178 total yards, 3-16 on third and 0-2 on fourth downs on the day.

You can read more about it from the official HWSAthletics.com recap here. 

Up next is the biggest game of the season, as the Statesmen take on Union (6-1. 2-1) in a key LL matchup with postseason implications. The Dutchmen / Garnet Chargers came up short, 17-9, yesterday against Ithaca. The Bombers (5-1, 3-0) lost their starting GR QB A.J. Wingfield for the season due to a broken leg, but they only need to beat Buff State (1-5, 0-3) and Saint Lawrence (2-4, 0-2) to clinch the LL title and Pool A NCAA bid.

The winner of the Hobart-Union game will have an outside shot at one of the four available at-large NCAA bids, assuming the winner of this game finishes 9-1. 

More on that soon. 

Finally, a very special thanks to Ted Baker for taking the time to meet with the McGlynn '00 kids (pictured above). They've been watching and listening to him call Hobart Football games their entire lives and were thrilled to have the moment captured above last Saturday during their visit from Atlanta. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 7 - Hilbert Game Preview

It's Hilbert vs. Hobart week, which just by the sound, has an interesting / funny ring to it.

Realistically, this game is a glorified scrimmage to help the Statesmen (4-1, 1-1) tune up for a huge Week 8 showdown on the road vs. Union (6-0, 2-0). 

The Hilbert Hawks are an independent / provisional D3FB program that's just getting started, and not surprisingly, are experiencing the usual growing pains that come along with it. Speaking of the Dutchmen/Chargers, Union is at Ithaca (4-1, 2-0) this weekend, so I am sure there will be some scoreboard watching going on during the game Saturday. 

Hilbert is 0-12 so far in their short history (0-5 this season) and are losing games by an average of 45.5 points. I don't expect the Hawks to provide Hobart much of a challenge, so I won't be doing a full preview this week. Hopefully this game will give a lot of the younger Statesmen on the roster some valuable playing time.

Given results to team's I believe are in Hobart's same "area code", I like the Statesmen to win comfortably, 63-0. The fact both Union and Endicott shutout this team, albeit earlier in the season, should be the measuring stick here, in my opinion.

Hoping we get to see some new faces on the "Boz" Saturday such as FY QB Tru Styles, among others. Wishing the team, a good and safe week of practice. 

Week 8 looms ahead.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart! 

Statesmen Use 2nd Quarter Surge to Beat Bengals, 45-21

The Hobart College Statesmen (4-1, 1-1) continued their winning ways at Boswell Field, defeating the Buffalo State Bengals, 45-21, yesterday in Geneva. The Statesmen scored 38 unanswered points after the Bengals (1-4, 0-2) tied up the game, 7-7, quieting the home crowd with a 15-play, 77-yard drive that featured no passing plays and took up over 9 minutes. 

After that, it was all Hobart. 

JR QB Johnny Columbi scored on a rushing TD to open the game and passed for two more TDs - a 51-yarder to SO WR Ahmad Crowell and a 43-yarder to JR WR Rane Daramola. 

SO OLB Mike McGhee joined in on the fun, scooping up a BSC fumble and taking it to the house for a 31-yard TD. 

SR RB Rayshawn Boswell and FY RB E.J. Taylor each added a rushing TD and JR PK Tobias Wefering notched a 26-yard FG in the game. He went 5-5 on PATs also. 

You can read the HWSAthletics.com recap of the game here. 

Unfortunately, the Ithaca Bombers (4-1, 2-0) knocked off RPI (4-1, 0-1) in OT, making a chance for a three-way tie for the LL championship less likely. Add in the fact Union (6-0, 2-0) needed to hang on against a resurgent but still rebuilding Rochester (4-2, 1-1), and it looks like the Bombers will repeat at LL champs. 

In that case, Hobart can still hope for a potential ECAC bowl bid (as a host, especially if they can finish the season at 9-1). Unfortunately with only 4 Pool C (at-large) NCAA playoff bids this year, and a not so strong SOS, the chances for Hobart being picked for the NCAAs are almost impossible at this point, but you never know. 

There's still a lot that could happen between now and the end of Week 11, so we will have to wait and see what transpires. At the end of the day, all that matters is Hilbert is up next. The Statesmen just have to keep on winning. 

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Week 6 - Buffalo State Game Preview

The Hobart College Statesmen will return home to host their first of four LL games in the next five weeks at the "Boz". Up next are the Buffalo State Bengals (1-3, 0-1) who are a team that is continuing their rebuild effort with a new HC (Lazarus Morgan, Utica '08) and making strides. Buff State broke a 26-game losing streak back in Week 3 with a 41-7 win over Dean.

Last weekend the Bengals nearly upset the Rochester Yellow Jackets (4-1, 1-0), 29-22, and should be a tougher challenge for Hobart (3-1, 0-1) this season. Last year the Statesmen had little trouble with the Bengals, winning 63-7. It was the third straight win for Statesmen since Buff State joined the LL as an affiliate member back in 2019. Hobart is 6-3 all time vs. the Bengals, dating back to the 1984 season.

Scouting the Bengals:

Buffalo State may have a losing record, but they have been more competitive this season. They are averaging 23 PPG on offense and allowing 28.75 PPG on defense. While the latter ranks last in the LL, the Bengals only average about 6 PPG less than Hobart offensively. 

Buffalo State has also seen a few of their players get both national and conference recognition for their individual efforts over the past couple of weeks. SR RB Ale Wilson was named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week for his 22 rush, 199 yards and 3 TDs performance against Dean in Week 3. In Week 5, FY DB Basiaka Butcher earned LL ROTW honors for seven tackles and a pick-six (his second of the season) in the Bengals' Homecoming game against the University of Rochester on last Saturday. Butcher is tied for second in the LL with 2 INTs.

SO QB Noah Kimble leads the Bengals offense and has passed for 521 yards and 3 TDs this season. He has a trio of targets - each has over double digit catches for 100+ receiving yards - in SR WR Tariq Nelson, SR WR Nicholas Bruce and JR WR Darion Jones.

Defensively, Buff State is led by JR LB Kenneth Mosley with 38 total tackles, which ranks him third overall in the LL and second as far as his tackles per game average (9.5) goes. Right behind him is Hobart JR LB Anthony Romano (37 total, 9.3 TPG) which deserves a quick side bar:

[As I previously stated, I was not able to follow the Ithaca game from last weekend, so my account was based purely on the box score. I was not aware Romano, our best defensive, if not overall, player had either volunteered to fill in at LS or was asked to do so by the coaches. I commend the former, but either way I would strongly question risking him playing on ST and am surprised the Statesmen don't have a backup OL or other player that could fill this role because Romano is far too valuable in my opinion to be LS. That said my comments were not a personal attack. The fact they were perceived as such was disappointing, but I stand by the statement that mistake was a costly one. Those happen in games sometimes, and I expect the players understand that and will work with the coaches to fix them in the future. Not one single player or coach was responsible for the loss at Ithaca. It's a collective effort and at this level, I would hope people would interpret and understand this type of commentary in kind. My intention was not to offend, but to be honest. When you factor in how few HS players can and do play at this level, I consider all of these Statesmen to be elite athletes and hold them to a high standard, just like the coaches do. Everyone knows you have to play error free football to beat a Top 25 ranked team, especially on the road. If you have any other comments or would like to discuss in more detail, please let me know and I'd be happy to have a conversation with you about it. I'm easy to reach. Ok, now back to the preview].

JR PK Nick Sciandra handles all the kicking duties for Bengals. He averages 56.66 YPKO, 33.59 YPP and has gone 4-6 on FGs with a long of 40 yards. His two misses were actually blocks, which I don't blame Sciandra for - he has to rely on the LS, holder and blockers to give him time to make the kicks. 

Jones (see above) handles the majority of the KO duties, averaging 20 YPKOR. Both Jones and SR DB Ethan Biscaro have handled punt returns. 

Keys to the Game:

1. Back to Basics: As I said in the Ithaca write up, the next two weeks are a great opportunity for Hobart to improve and fine tune themselves for the big matchups they have in Weeks 8 and 10. Obviously, they can't overlook Buff State, but the Statesmen simply have more talent than the Bengals. This is a great opportunity to continue working towards a balanced offensive attack and D/ST fundamentals.

2. Turnovers: The Statesmen could use more work in this department. While they are +3 in TOM after four games, Hobart can afford to be crisper in their execution. The Bengals are -4 in TOM, and this is an aspect of the game the Statesmen can take advantage of Saturday. I honestly think a defensive TD is a good possibility this weekend. 

3. Go 1-0: Hobart fans should be rooting for RPI this weekend as that's the first step in getting the LL championship back into its annual free for all status. The Statesmen still control their destiny, even more so with a RPI win. While I don't view Buff State as a serious threat, Hobart needs to take this game seriously and execute as we know they can to put this one away early. Winning week in and out for the rest of the season is the key to getting to the postseason. Every week from here on out is a single NCAA elimination game for the Statesmen. 

Prediction:

I like Hobart to improve to 3-0 at home this season via a 42-14 win.

Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!

Turnovers, Run Defense Leads to Hobart's Latest Loss at Ithaca, 24-14

The Hobart College Statesmen dropped their first game of the season, 24-14, in the Liberty League opener at #16 Ithaca. The Bombers used Hobart's (3-1, 0-1) mistakes to their advantage, along with a powerful running attack to wear the Statesmen down. You can read the official HWSAthletics.com recap here. 

Hobart had its chances, and even looked good early as SR RB Tim Denham, Jr. scored his first to two TDs and the Statesmen enjoyed an early 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Statesmen defense did what I hoped (see the prior Week 5 preview) and kept Bombers SR QB A.J. Wingfield in relative check. While Wingfield did tie the game, 7-7, with an 8-yard TD pass, he had a relatively quiet day overall, going 13-21 for 137 yards. Hobart picked him off once, namely SO DB Mekhi Rodgers who had his first of the season, it was Wingfield's first INT of the season also. 

Unfortunately, the Statesmen gave up 7 more points in the final 90 seconds of the first half, a bad punt snap that was covered up for a Bombers TD. I understand Hobart has a new LS this season, but not sure how you overshoot a 6' 6" kicker. There's no excuse for mistakes like that on the road in a big game.

The second half continued the defensive struggle and Ithaca had to settle for a FG late in the third to make it 17-7. Hobart would respond and make things interesting, after JR QB Johnny Columbi connected with Denham, Jr. for a 4-yard TD pass with 9:31 remaining in the game. This capped a 12-play, 85-yard drive that took nearly six minutes to complete.

Unfortunately, the ensuing drive the Bombers SR RB Jalen Leonard-Osborne broke a 79-yard run for TD to make it 24-14. Neither team could find the end zone after that, and Ithaca improved to 18-0 all-time against Hobart at Butterfield Stadium.

As most people know, I was covering another game on Saturday, so I was not able to follow this game as closely as usual. If you look at the box score the stat that stands out to me is this:

39 rushes for 218 yds (5.6 YPR average) for Ithaca

If you take out the 79-yarder, that's 38 rushes for 139 yards (3.65 YPR average). The latter is more acceptable, but still shows the Bombers had faith in their OL to control the LOS and take advantage of Hobart's smaller DL. 

The Statesmen played a relatively clean game otherwise, only being flagged three times for -20 yards, which is one of the best performances in that category for a long, long time. Unfortunately you can't spot a nationally ranked and conference foe "free" points like that. Without that error it's 7-7 at the half and there's more pressure on the Bombers coming out for the second half.

Regardless of this game, I believe Ithaca will lose this Saturday on the road to RPI (4-0, 0-0). That will keep the Statesmen's LL title hopes alive. More good news is with two games against teams with a combined 1-7 mark, Hobart has time to improve and tune up before having to face Union (5-0, 1-0) in Week 8. 

I'll have more on the upcoming game this weekend in another day or so.

Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!