The Hobart College Statesmen will make the short trip down I-90 to take on the University of Rochester in the annual Centennial Cup game. One big difference this season is that this game is not the regular season finale for the first time in a couple of decades.
This will be the 117th installment of the longest rivalry series between Hobart (2-5, 1-3) and Rochester (5-2, 2-2) that dates back to 1892. The Statesmen have recently enjoyed a 13-game winning streak over the Yellow Jackets. Rochester's last win in this season was back in 2010. Last season Hobart dispatched Rochester with relative ease, 37-7, in the 2024 regular season finale.
This season is a totally different story as you can argue the Yellow Jackets are coming into this game as the favorites, in spite of the recent history between these two teams. This is a must win for Hobart who is looking to avoid their first losing season in 30 years.
Beating Rochester will take a full team effort, not unlike what we saw against Saint Lawrence.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
Rochester is led by Hobart graduate and former Statesmen QB Chad Martinovich '94. He's built the Yellow Jackets into a run-first offensive and tough defensive team since taking over the program after taking MIT to the NCAA playoffs.
Rochester averages about 24 PPG on offense and has called 245 rushing compared to 177 passing plays (58 to 42%). The Yellow Jackets average five yards per carry and about the same per completion (5.3). Defensively the have held teams to under 14 PPG on average, and most notably have only allowed 12 total TDs over seven games this season.
The offense is led by FY QB Shawn Bellenger. He's gone 67-118 (56.78%) passing with three passing TDs compared to only two INTs. He took over from JR QB Victor Moran, but if needed, Moran has been effective at times - passing for 263 yards and five passing TDs with two INTs.
SO RB Cole Raux leads the rushing attack with 506 yards on 105 carries this season (4.8 YPR). He's tied with FY QB Jett Genovese and SR RB Jake Adelmann with three rushing TDs. Raux is a safety valve in the passing game, catching 15 passes for 66 yards and one TD.
SR WR Aidan Papantonis is the leading receiver, catching 39 passes for 430 yards and six receiving TDs. While Papatonis is a proven go-to receiver, Rochester has three other WRs with at least 10 catches this season.
Defensively the Yellow Jackets are led by JR LB Jack Diggins and JR DB Braydon Felsinger with 62 and 60 tackles, respectively.
Diggins has picked off opposing QB three times and forced one fumble. Felsinger has two INTs, four PBUs and one FF to go with four TFL. SR DL Victor Little (who's not that small at 6' 3" and 280 lbs.) leads Rochester with six TFL and four sacks up front.
JR PK Kyle Brainard is the Yellow Jacket's primary special team's player. He handles KOs (53.7 YPKO), punting (38.4 YPP) and FGs (going 3-6 with a long of 35 yards). In the return game, Genovese has handled the majority of KOs and JR WR T.J. Shifflet (who went to the high school where I live in FL), has handled the majority of PRs for Rochester this season.
Keys to the Game:
1. Turnovers: Rochester has feasted on their opponent's mistakes this season, thanks to a +8 TOM. They've collected 10 INTs and forced 15 fumbles, recovering six. Hobart absolutely needs to protect the football and not let the Yellow Jackets offense, which averages over 300 YPG and has scored 22 TDs get any "freebies".
2. Bend Don't Break: Rochester has struggled in the red zone, converting only 14 trips into TDs on 28 tries. While I expect the Yellow Jackets offense to gain yards between the 20's, we need the Statesmen defense to keep their point total below their season average to win on Saturday.
3. Start Fast and Keep Pushing: Hobart will do better if they start off with a lead. The offense finally clicked last weekend and should be confident going into this game. The defense needs to pressure this FY QB and the UofR OL has allowed 12 sacks this season (almost two per game). If the Statesmen can force the Yellow Jackets to play from behind and force a couple of turnovers, that will go a long way towards retaining the Cup for another year.
Final Thoughts:
This is the game that will define the 2025 season. Hobart will win its final two games against Hilbert (0-7, 0-5) and Buffalo State (1-6, 1-3), so the only thing keeping the Statesmen from their worst season in 30 years is this game.
It won't be easy, and Rochester will view this as a big opportunity, but Hobart has the players and plan to come away with a needed win Saturday.
Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!
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