The Hobart College Statesmen will open the 2026 season under the lights of Boswell Field this Friday night, September 4th at 7 PM. Hobart (0-0) is looking to make amends for a loss to Alfred (0-0) in last season's opener.
In that game, the Statesmen struggled with turnovers, including a pick six to fall behind, 28-10, late in the third quarter. Hobart did fight back, scoring 13 unanswered points, before running out of time. It was Hobart's first loss to Alfred, snapping a 14-game winning streak dating back to the 1996 season. The Statesmen are 43-36-4 all time against the Saxons, with the series beginning in 1902. This will be the 84th game between these two Upstate NY rivals.
This year the Saxons went to the transfer portal to get former Ithaca QB and team captain, Matt Parker, to take over at QB. Alfred had a disappointing 2025, going 4-6 overall and only 2-5 in the Empire 8 conference. HC Bob Rankl (68-51) is hoping 2026 is a better year for his Saxons squad.
Scouting the Saxons
Week 1 scouting is a fool's errand of sorts, with no games played or statistics to review. We can glean some tendencies from 2025, however, which should carry over into this season.
What those tendencies told me is that Alfred runs a fairly balanced offensive attack (56/44% run to pass ratio). They averaged just over 300 YPG of offense and had very similar rush (143.5 YPG) and passing (162.2 YPG) statistical totals. They just didn't score enough, though, only averaging 3 TDs per game which led to a 23.1 PPG result.
The Saxons defense struggled defensively last season, allowing nearly 400 YPG and 46 total TDs. The Alfred special team's unit did well, usually winning the field position battle, but the defense was just too porous at times to get them more wins. The Saxons were -7 in turnover margin (TOM), which didn't help their cause as the season wore on.
This season the Saxons are led by five co-captains: SR DB Jack Bestpitch, SR PK Dominic Bronco, JR RB Tommy Nyquist, SR LB Michael Davis and SR RB Steven Bidwell.
Bestpitch finished third on the team with 51 total tackles last season, including two INTs. Bronco went 7-9 on FGs with a long of 43 yards. Nyquist and Bidwell combined for over 1,300 rushing yards and 11 TDs. Nyquist was the featured back, carrying the ball 222 times, while Bidwell had only 60 carries in seven games last season. Davis (who stands at an imposing 6' 2" and 235 lbs.) tallied 42 tackles to go with 6.5 TFL and four sacks.
Keys to the Game:
1. Protect the Football - Hobart committed three turnovers (two fumbles and one INT which was returned for effectively the game winning TD) in last year's contest. With many new starters on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, the Statesmen need to focus on fundamentals. While not confirmed, it sounds like SO QB Aidan Conrath (who threw the INT and went 13-28 in his first collegiate start against Alfred last year) could be the man under center for this game. He'll need to play better than he did last season to get Hobart to an important 1-0 start.
2. Panic Parker - Last time the Statesmen saw Matt Parker, he had a good, but not great game, passing for 140 yards and a TD in a 13-7 win for Ithaca over Hobart last season. With a new DC and players at LB, Hobart's defense may not be what Alfred is expecting. The Statesmen need to apply pressure and get to Parker who can be prone to mistakes when rushed.
3. Home Sweet Home - Hobart has had a remarkable run under HC Kevin DeWall '00 as the home team. The Statesmen are 32-4 at the "Boz" dating back to 2018. Only Ithaca, RPI and Utica have claimed victories on Hobart's home turf, and Alfred hasn't accomplished that feat since my junior year (1994).
Final Thoughts:
I've heard mixed reviews coming out of preseason camp. One key defensive player is apparently lost for the season due to an ACL injury, and rumor has it the OL didn't look great in the last scrimmage. I am holding out hope that Hobart can shake off some preseason cobwebs and/or jitters and get back to playing the Statesmen football we remember from 2024. Time will tell, as every year is different. We still have a lot of questions about this group, and with still no preseason preview from the HWS SID, we will have to keep wondering, close to or right up until kickoff.
I'm hopeful the Statesmen can ride their strong rushing offense and defense to a hard-fought win on Friday night.
Thanks as always for reading and go 'Bart!
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