The 130th season of Hobart College Football will kick off Friday, September 6th against long-time area and Empire 8 rival, Alfred University. Based on prior seasons, it's a pretty safe bet this will be a "Friday Night Lights" game.
The Statesmen will look to improve upon last season's 7-4 overall mark and can lean on some "home cooking" with key conference matchups against Libert League rivals Ithaca and Union at the "Boz" this fall.
Hobart will turn some national heads with a long Week 2 road trip to national semifinalists Randolph Macon of the ODAC (VA). This is a playoff type of matchup and it's great to see it on the schedule. After the long trip to and from VA, the Statesmen will return home and welcome new OOC opponent, Moravian University, to the Boz in Week 3.
Week 4 has the Statesmen back on the road to PA to resume what's been a good series against another steadily improving Landmark team in Keystone College.
Week 5 should and will be circled on every Hobart fan's calendar as the defending LL champions, Ithaca College, will make the short ride up to Geneva for a critical conference game to kick off October. Hobart will then go on the road to take on Buffalo State and Saint Lawrence, with a likely Homecoming / Family Weekend game against rivals, Union College. That game will have added significance with former OC and QB Coach Jon Drach just taking over the Garnet Chargers (Dutchmen, ahem). This game could have national and post-season implications going into it also.
Week 9 will be an important road trip to RPI before the Statesmen get a long-awaited bye week. I can't recall the last time Hobart had a bye this late in the season (will have to research that some).
Week 11 and Senior Day will take place at the "Boz" to wrap up the regular season against Rochester. With this type of schedule, the Statesmen will be challenged but have good opportunities to compete for post-season play, especially with several key matchups at home.
It's a challenging gauntlet for sure, but if Hobart can survive it, they will be in prime position for some big things come November. I can't wait to see how it will play out.
Only 186 days until kickoff. Go 'Bart!
No comments:
Post a Comment