The SUNY Cortland football team has been ranked 13th nationally in Division III in the 2008 USA Today Sports Weekly preseason poll. The Red Dragons return 43 letterwinners, including 14 starters, from last year's squad that finished with an 8-3 record. Cortland tied for first in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) standings (6-1) for the third straight season and defeated Union College in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast Bowl.

Led by 12th-year head coach Dan MacNeill, Cortland will open preseason camp on Wednesday, August 13. The Red Dragons begin play on Sept. 6 at Morrisville and will also travel to Rowan (Sept. 20) and Kean (Sept. 27) before their home opener versus Buffalo State on Oct. 4. Cortland will play nine NJAC games this fall, with the addition of Morrisville and Brockport to the league. The Red Dragons' lone non-league tilt will be at home versus rival Ithaca College in the 50th annual Cortaca Jug game on Nov. 15.

Four seniors - tailback Andrew Giuliano (Thornwood/Westlake), quarterback Ray Miles (Port Byron), defensive end Ben Nagle (Rochester/Aquinas Institute) and linebacker Jim Smith (Nanuet) - have been voted as team captains for this season by their teammates. Giuliano, despite starting in just three of his 10 games last fall, led the Red Dragons with 740 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Miles passed for 2,157 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 53 percent of his attempts. Nagle made 73 tackles, including a team-best nine sacks, and was named the MVP of the ECAC Northeast Bowl. Smith finished second on the team with 79 tackles, including three sacks, in 10 games.

2008 USA Today Sports Weekly - Division III Football Preseason Poll
 
1. Mount Union (Ohio)
2. Wesley (Del.)
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater
4. Wabash (Ind.)
5. St. John's (Minn.)
6. St. John Fisher
7. Capital (Ohio)
8. North Central (Ill.)
9. Muhlenberg (Pa.)
10. Bethel (Minn.)
11. Salisbury (Md.)
12. Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas)
13. CORTLAND
14. Central (Iowa)
15. Wisconsin-Eau Claire
16. Case Western Reserve (Ohio)
17. Wartburg (Iowa)
18. Wheaton (Ill.)
19. Ohio Northern
20. Washington & Jefferson (Pa.)
21. Ithaca
22. Redlands (Calif.)
23. Millsaps (Miss.)
24. Albright (Pa.)
25. Franklin (Ind.)