The Hobart College Statesmen will look to extend their current winning streak to five games with a win Saturday up at Saint Lawrence University. The Saints (2-3, 1-1) are coming off a tough, 34-10, road loss at RPI from Week 6.
Hobart (5-1, 2-0) has dominated this series of late, winning the last 12 in a row and 30 out of the last 31 matchups, dating back to the 1992 season. Due to this long run, the Statesmen lead the all-time series, over Saint Lawrence, 56-26-2, making Saturday the 85th game in this series that dates all the way back to 1901.
Scouting the Saints
Saint Lawrence is passing team, having thrown the ball 56.7% of their offensive play calls. They average over 200 YPG passing, compared to only 42.8 YPG rushing. Defensively the Saints struggle to stop the run, allowing opponents to 173.2 YPG rushing and 11 of the 17 TDs they've surrendered this year have been on the ground.
Leading the Saint Lawrence offense is SR QB Daniel Lawther. Hobart fans may remember him when he had to come into the 2021 game at the Boz after Tyler Grochot was basically knocked out by OLB Emmett Forde '22. This season Lawther has gone 75-116 passing for 719 yards and four TDs with three INTs.
His main target has been SR TE Oskar Baldwin (pictured above). Baldwin has hauled in 26 catches for 338 yards and four TDs. SR RB Will Lederman is often deployed like Rayshawn Boswell '23 was, in the wildcat, for goal-to-go situations. While he's only rushed 66 times for 233 yards (under 47 YPG), he's managed to score all five of the Saints rushing TDs this season.
Defensively Saint Lawrence is led by a pair of strong linebackers in SO LB Savino Moreli and JR LB Ryan Suroff. They have tallied a total of 38 and 36 tackles, respectively. Suroff leads the team with 7 TFL and Moreli is second with 4.5 TFL.
JR PK Clayton Fogler has been a perfect 5-5 on FGs this season with a long of 38, which was the OT game winner over Union in Week 5. He is also a nearly perfect, 9-10 on PATs. Fogler also handles KOs, where he averages 54.3 YPKO. Punting duties were mostly handled by JR WR Jack O'Brien, but it appears like FY PK Sam Arbaugh took over during the RPI game and has averaged 35 YPP net average with two dropped inside the opponents 20-yard line.
The Saints return game has been relatively modest, averaging only four yards on punts and approximately 16 yards on KORs.
Keys to the Game:
1. RTB (Run the Ball): There's no denying this matchup plays to Hobart's strengths. The Statesmen average 145 YPG rushing and should be able to surpass that amount against the Saint Lawrence defense.
2. Turnovers: The Saints have struggled to protect the football, currently having a -7 TOM. I would expect the Hobart defense to force at least one or two more turnovers Saturday, helping the Statesmen offense build a (hopefully) insurmountable lead.
3. Bring it On Home: This will be the last long road trip of the 2024, at least in the regular season. The Statesmen would like to return to the Boz on a five-game win streak when they host long-time conference rivals (and struggling) Union College (1-4, 0-1) in Week 8.
Prediction:
I think a heavy run game, some defensive plays and a solid performance all-around will help Hobart to a 35-7-win Saturday.
Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!
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