Utica / Homecoming Game Preview

The eighth ranked* Hobart College Statesmen will host the Utica College Pioneers this Saturday night under the lights at Boswell Field for Homecoming and Parent’s Weekend. Utica (2-0) is coming off a strong 25-16 win over Union College (0-1). The Pioneers SID has already posted a preview of this weekend's game. You can find it here.

Utica brings a balanced attack into this game – of their 46 first downs, 23 came by the run and 22 by the pass (one was via penalty).  Still, Utica leans more towards the pass and stats reflect the same. The Pioneers have averaged 144.5 YPG rushing and 240 YPG passing in their first two games.

There were some questions around how Utica would reload after four year starter Andrew Benkwitt graduated, but so far JR QB Connor Butkiewicz has looked good. The Southington, CT native has thrown for 479 yards and four TDs this season, completing 63% of his passes (46 of 76).

Butkiewicz’s primary targets are a trio of experienced receivers led by JR WR Anthony Acevedo (15 receptions for 187 yards and two TDs), SR WR Joseph Gerbino (8 receptions for 124 yards and one TD) and SR WR Jamie Murphy (12 receptions for 106 yards).  Butkiewicz, while showing himself to a capable field general in his first two games as a starter, has been susceptible to a handful of “rookie mistakes,” including three interceptions.

Leading the Pioneers run game is SR RB Jake Larson. Larson has carried the ball 41 times for 188 yards scoring two TDs. While Utica struggled to run the ball on the Union defense (only gaining 62 yards), they racked up 227 yards and three scores vs. Lewis and Clark (0-2) in Week 1.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Pioneers are lead by SR LB Joe Giametta (20 total tackles, two tackles for a loss and two sacks), SR LB Ryan Hansen (18 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss and one sack) and JR FS James Lenahan (10 tackles, two interceptions, two and a half tackles for loss and two sacks). The Utica defense is holding opponents to a respectable 19 PPG and 334 YPG of total offense. 

The Pioneers defense sacked Union JR QB Connor Eck nine times Saturday night, have picked off opposing QBs four times and have caused three fumbles. Hobart will do well to protect the football against this ball hawk defense.

On special teams the Pioneers have a solid player in SO PK Thomas Woodburn who’s kicked three of four FGs, with a long of 34 yards, on the season.

Keys to the Game: 

1. Apply Pressure to the Pios – while Utica has a solid club, they are still an upcoming program and prone to mistakes. They have turned the ball over five times on the season and have averaged a surprisingly high 102 YPG in penalties. If the Hobart defense can keep the heat on Butkiewicz and the Pioneer offense, they can cause turnovers and take advantage of this inexperience. On the flip side, if the Hobart offense can control the line of scrimmage and run the ball, it will force Utica to play from behind. The Pioneers, aside about 11 minutes in the first quarter against L&C, have been in the lead in the two games they've played this season.
2. Home Sweet Home – Boswell Field has been a “house of horrors” for visiting teams since it was upgraded in 2010. The Statesmen have gone 13-3 over that time period, including a perfect 8-0 in 2012 (including the NCAA playoffs) and haven’t lost a home game since November of 2011. I expect a big home crowd given its Homecoming and Parent’s Weekend that will be loud, proud and fully behind the Statesmen. It will be the Pioneers first road game of 2013 and the Pioneer faithful do travel well, so this may be the biggest game the Statesmen (attendance wise) have this season.
3.  Turnovers - Last season Utica had success in getting Hobart to make mistakes, namely fumble the football.  The Statesmen did so on four occasions and this was the real reason the game was close late in the third quarter, early fourth until Hobart pulled away en route to a 45-26 victory.  The Statesmen put up 500 yards on the Pioneer defense last season and I'd expect Hobart to try to do the same Saturday night.

Prediction:

Utica has done very well in out of conference games, especially against the LL of late.  Their team is confident and will be playing to win in spite of all of accolades the Statesmen have received.  Seeing them on film a couple of seasons now, I'd say Utica's offense is still working out the kinks.  Their defense looks better than in prior years, so the line of scrimmage will be where this game is won.  I do worry about the Pioneer receiving corp, which put up over 300 passing yards vs. Hobart last season.  Still, I like our chances on our home field, in a big game, under the lights.  I also hope that JR DE Tyre Coleman will get the two sacks he needs to break / set the Statesmen all time sack mark.

Given the above, I'll take Hobart's OL and DL to wear down Utica and help the Statesmen earn a tough 35-17 victory.

Go 'Bart!

PS - some fans noticed Hobart dropped from seventh to eighth in this week's D3football.com Top 25 poll. This drop was really because of four points (426 in Week 1 to 422 in Week 2) in the overall standings. Given how relatively close the seventh - ninth places are, we may see more movement up or down as the season progresses.  I am pretty sure the coaches aren't focusing on this at all, and the players' goal is to get a win Saturday night.  The polls will say what they say, and getting to 2-0 is really more important anyway.

Scott Yoder '01 Appears On "In The HuddLLe" D3FB Talk Show

Former Hobart Defensive Coordinator and current Head Coach of Shenandoah University Scott Yoder appeared last night on my Division III and Liberty League internet radio / podcast "In The HuddLLe" (@ITHuddLLe) to talk about his first career win as a HC.

Yoder's Hornets beat Ferrum, 43-29, last Saturday in VA.  Last season SU only won one game so clearly Coach Yoder and his staff, which includes former Hobart defensive star Drake Woodard '12, are already making an impact for the Hornets.

Although my co-host tripped up on the introduction, to be fair we did end our highlight segment with UofR's dramatic go for two victory over Thiel College and had the Yellow Jackets' Head Coach Scott Greene lined up as well.

It was a fun show that included a special guest appearance from New Orleans Saints HOFer Danny Abramowicz.

You can download the podcast here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ith/2013/09/15/in-the-huddlle--liberty-league-football-talk-show

Coach Yoder comes on directly after our weekly highlight reel, "Around the League" (about 15 mins in).

I'll be back with a preview of the Utica / Homecoming Game later this week (Weds/Thurs).

Go 'Bart!

Remembering Andy

Each year on this date it's good to reflect and remember the events of 9/11/01. Sure they were tragic, terrible and are probably my and other generation's "day that will go down in infamy".

That day Hobart College lost three alumni, Scott Rohner '01, Michael Simon '83 and my former teammate Andrew Glokin '93, who's wearing #37 in the Hobart Football team photo below.

In memory of Andy I hope everyone will consider a donation of any size to the Andrew Golkin Memorial Scholarship Fund:

 http://www.seo-usa.org/andrewgolkinfund/index.html

#NeverForget

Hobart Bedevils Dickinson, Wins 30-7

The seventh ranked Hobart Statesmen stuck to the formula of great OL play (470 total yards) and a relentless defense (204 total yards allowed) in a resounding 30-7 defeat of Dickinson College Saturday in Carlisle, PA. SR RB and Co-Captain Steven Webb had a career high 203 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a dominant effort by the Statesmen.

Webb got Hobart on the board early, breaking a 51 yard run early in the first quarter.  FY PK Sean's Kirsche's first collegiate point was scored shortly thereafter and the Statesmen were up 7-0 with 11:48 to play in the first quarter.  The Hobart defense shut out the Dickinson run game in the first half and the offense was good enough to cash in on a 35 yard Kirsche FG and another Webb TD.  The latter came off what appeared to be a 30 yard JR WR Troy Robinson catch and run into the end zone, but the officials (who honestly were pretty bad today), called Robinson down at the one yard line.  Webb punched in the second Statesmen TD on the ensuing play and Hobart took a 17-0 advantage into the half.

The second half was more Statesmen.  JR FB Dominque Ellis capped a 10 play, 65 yard drive from one yard out and Kirsche's extra point pushed the Hobart lead to 24-0 with 10:12 to go in the third.

From there the Statesmen started to take their foot off the pedal somewhat, but Webb completed the football equivalent of the hat trick, capping a 90 yard drive on a 14 yard TD run with 8:59 to go in the fourth quarter.

Dickinson's JR QB Cole Ahnell helped the Devils avoid another Hobart shutout by scoring on a two yard TD run with 2:18 to go in the game.  The two yarder capped a 66 yard drive by Dickinson against the Statesmen reserves.

Hobart was led on offense by Webb and JR QB Patrick Conlan was a solid eight for 16 passing with 127 yards in his first collegiate start.  To be fair, Conlan luckily avoided a pick six in the first half when an overzealous Devil LB dropped a sure interception.

Defensively SO LB Trayvon Toney led the Statesmen defense with eight stops.  Dickinson's Mike Miller and Shane Mitchell split a game high 12 tackles a piece.  All American JR DE Tyre Coleman picked up one sack, putting him 1.5 away from David Russell '98's all time Hobart record.  Coleman also led the Statesmen with two tackles for loss (TFL).

Hobart improves to 1-0 with the win and will have two weeks to work out some kinks in the passing game. The Statesmen host Utica (1-0) on Saturday night at Boswell Field during Parents/Homecoming Weekend on September 21st.

More thoughts on this game early next week.  Go 'Bart!

Dickinson Game Preview

If the seventh ranked Hobart Statesmen want to achieve another run to the playoffs, their first step (and obstacle) is beating the Dickinson College Red Devils.   Dickinson returns a decent amount of players, particularly on offense, from a 4-6 (4-5 in conference) season in 2012.  Their offense is looking to take the hard knocks learned in 2012 (ranking near the bottom of D3 in total offense at #222) towards a better year in 2013.

There is a good deal of optimism in Carlisle, even if the Centennial Conference Coach's Poll assumes otherwise (predicting them to finish eighth out of 10 CC teams this fall).  Preseason previews for Dickinson can be found here and here.  What jumps out to me in these previews are:

1. QB Cole Ahnell is the key cog in the Dickinson offense and stopping him is paramount for a Hobart win Saturday
2. OL/DL depth and size - the Devils are inexperienced and a bit undersized on the line which should play into the Statesmen's favor.  Still, Coach Breaux is very pleased with his FY recruiting class, so there may be some surprise players for the Hobart OL/DL to contend with (especially with no film on these FY players to review prior to game time)
3. Their defense has strong LB corp but the team really needs to improve on last season's 32.1 PPG allowed stat to have a better season in 2013

Hobart's preseason preview from HWSAthletics.com was published today.  You can check that out here if you haven't seen it yet.  It gives some great color on the potential two deep roster, but also had some bad news.  SR LB and Co-Captain Tom Elder is out for the season with a leg injury.  This is a big loss for sure, but I expect SR LB Cory Davis to fill in well.  This injury may also give some younger players an opportunity to get valuable playing time early in their careers.

Keys to the Game:

1. Stick to the run - the Statesmen will debut a QB(s) and 2 new, but SR, starting OL in Saturday's game.  I expect Hobart to test the young (and smaller) Dickinson DL with a lot of running plays.  Coach DeWall will call a pass on occasion just to keep the Devils from stacking the box all game
2. Strive for Deja vu on D - while it will be very difficult to repeat last season's stifling defensive performance (31-0 shutout and only 54 total yards allowed), the Statesmen have played the Devils enough times to know their offense and plan accordingly.  The key will be to cover gap assignments and not get beat to the outside, forcing the undersized (5'7") Ahnell to have to pass (he only completed 3 of 14 vs. Hobart last year)
3. Forget 2012 - if you base this game on last season and thus the preseason rankings, this is a match up featuring #7 vs. #129.  Is this Hobart team 122 places better than Dickinson?  I don't know that, but I do know both teams are 0-0 coming into this game and the all time series between the two schools is an almost dead even 11-10-1.  While I do think the Statesmen will win, don't expect to see a 40+ point blowout

Prediction:

Hobart may start slow, but will wear down the Devils in the end.  I'll predict a 35-10 victory for the Statesmen this Saturday.  Tune into www.weos.org at noon and follow me @ITHuddLLe for tweets during the game and for a run down of our guests on the 9/8 edition of "In The HuddLLe".  Thanks for reading and go 'Bart!

My Hobart 2013 Season Preview

This year I am going to take a slightly different tact on my annual preseason preview.  Without further ado (and a nod to "PTI"), here’s “What I Think I Know” about the #7 Statesmen going into 2013:

They have achieved an overall depth that’s comparable to the top programs in the country, especially on the OL.  While the five starters for Saturday's game haven't been officially announced, I will guess they are all upperclassmen (JR and SR) players.  That said I can see another 3 or 4+ underclassmen getting time in the trenches given how much Offensive Coordinator Kevin DeWall likes to rotate in fresh legs

Hobart will be labeled as a “conservative" offense.  Last season the Statesmen chose to run the ball 640 out of their 913 total plays from scrimmage (that’s 70% in case you were wondering – don’t get me wrong, I had to use a calculator to figure it out too).  That 70-30 split could remain intact for 2013 under the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” strategy.  SR RB Steven Webb and JR FB Dominque Ellis will be Hobart’s primary workhorses, regardless of who takes over at QB.  Still, this isn't last year's squad so there are likely some surprises to be had and even new players to make a name for themselves on offense this season

JR TE Mike Berkowitz and SO FB/TE Christopher Holoman will finish the season with more receiving TDs than most, if not all, of the Hobart WR’s

We’ll get more and longer FG attempts this season.  Whether it’s FY PK Ethan Miller or classmate Sean Kirsche; the Statesmen may try for some 30-40+ yard FG attempts in certain situations this fall.  Last year the longest successful attempt (out of six) was from only 27 yards out

JR DE Tyre Coleman and SR OLB Devin Worthington will break David Russell ’98 (33) and Rob Gould ‘01’s (57) career sack and tackle for loss (TFL) records, respectively, in the month of September

JR DT Troy Johnson and SO Tucker Gumkowski will lead a stronger and deeper DL than some suspect, even with the loss of Nick Auriemma '13 to graduation

SR LB Cory Davis and SO LB Trayvon Toney will be bigger factors for the Hobart defense this season, but other ILBs could emerge pending depth and/or injuries at this position

The Hobart secondary may continue to struggle against teams that can pass protect.  The Statesmen DBs have been exposed in the past as the one potential weak link in the Statesmen's overall defensive armor in prior seasons.  It will remain to be seen if this trend can change in 2013, and Hobart does return a good deal of experience in the secondary, in particular SR FS Jolyon Davis, a 1st team All-LL DB in 2012

The Liberty League will be stronger overall and fare better in OOC games.  Springfield in particular should be very strong and has a legitimate shot to win at least nine games and should crack the Top 25 in late September or early October.  Union could also have a shot at the playoffs but I am not sold on their defense (which only returns four starters from last season’s 6-4 team) just yet.  If the Dutchmen beat Ithaca on 9/21 and Springfield on 10/5, they’ll have my full and undivided attention.  All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if six LL teams finish the year with winning seasons, meaning Hobart's critics saying they have an "easy schedule", are far off the mark

If they stay healthy, the Statesmen can make another run at the Elite 8

While some critics will get on Hobart's 9 game schedule (which by the way is the same number of games #4 Linfield and #9 UWW are playing), having to go on the road against their three biggest rivals to clinch a playoff spot in the latter half of the season is nothing to look down on, especially in a year when the rest of the LL should be improved.  This home stretch will a great test for them in defending their LL championship (belt) and enable them to earn another potential #2 seed in the NCAA playoffs

More on the season opener vs. Dickinson on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm when ITH hits the air on www.inthehuddlle.com and my game preview slated for later this week.  Go 'Bart!

Talking D3 CFB on CBS Radio Tonight at 6:15pm

I'll be making an appearance with my ITH co-host Frank Rossi on CBS Sports Talk Radio's 1450 "The Hall" at 6:15 PM.  You can listen in online at:

http://tunein.com/radio/The-Hall-1450-s30892