SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland (7-1, 7-1 NJAC) vs. William Paterson University (4-4, 3-4 NJAC)
Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010; 1 p.m.; SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex; Cortland, N.Y.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)
TICKETS: $6 adults, $5 students with ID (SUNY Cortland students free with ID), Children 12 and under Free

Follow the Game Online:

WXHC Broadcast Page
Live Stats
Video (Cortland campus station CSTV)  (for a larger screen, paste the following into the "URL" section of your player: rtsp://137.123.223.45/culture.sdp)

THE MATCHUP: Cortland looks to clinch at least a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title as it completes its conference schedule versus William Paterson University. The nationally 22nd-ranked Red Dragons enter with a 7-1 league record, a half game ahead of Montclair State and Rowan (each 6-1 in the conference). While a win would guarantee Cortland no worse than a tie for first, the league's NCAA automatic berth could come down to league tiebreaker rules since Montclair and Rowan each play a final league game next week.

THE SERIES: Cortland holds a 13-1 lead in the series. The teams have played every year since the series started in 1996. The Red Dragons have won the last eight meetings, with the Pioneers' lone victory a 49-42 shootout in New Jersey in 2001 on a touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining.

Last season in New Jersey, Cortland rallied past the Pioneers, 12-10. William Paterson led 10-3 after the first quarter on a 76-yard TD pass from Matt Marshall to Joel Rivera and a Ryan Brzycki 30-yard field goal. Marc Corrado provided Cortland's first six points on 35-yard and 22-yard field goals, and Anthony Giuliano threw a 54-yard TD pass to Eric Hajnos late in the first half to give Cortland the lead. Neither team scored in the second half.

Dom Sair rushed for 104 yards on 21 carries and Alex Smith completed 15-of-27 passes for 174 yards. Hajnos made seven catches for 160 yards. Evan Wyler recorded 13 tackles, 10 solo, and Chris Hanlon intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the first half. The Red Dragons limited the Pioneers to 166 yards of total offense for the game and kept them out of Cortland territory the entire second half. Rivera led the hosts with seven catches for 110 yards and Jim Hamill made a game-high 17 tackles.

Cortland shut out William Paterson each of the last previous two seasons, winning 38-0 at home in 2008 and 42-0 in New Jersey in 2007. The Red Dragons won 30-14 at home in 2006 as Alex Smith passed for two touchdowns and ran for another. In 2005, Cortland recorded nine sacks in a 31-0 win in New Jersey. Cortland also totaled 10 sacks in an 18-13 win at home in 2004 and squeaked out a 20-14 win in New Jersey in 2003, scoring a late touchdown to break a 14-14 tie. Cortland won 32-0 at home in 2002 and won the first five meetings from 1996-2000 by a combined score of 196-19.

CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland is coming off a thrilling 10-9 home win against previously unbeaten Montclair State last Saturday. Dan Pitcher threw a 19-yard TD pass to Mike Humphrey with 1:03 remaining, with Marc Corrado adding the go-ahead point-after kick. Corrado, the NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week, also made a 36-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to draw the Red Dragons within 9-3. Montclair had a final chance to win, but a 30-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as time expired.

Justin Autera rushed for 122 yards on 34 carries and Pitcher was 11-of-26 passing for 119 yards. Anthony Giuliano caught five passes for 57 yards. Cortland's defense limited the Red Hawks to 227 yards of total offense. Cody Allen and Bill Smith each made eight tackles and Lou Crispo blocked an extra point after Montclair's first-quarter touchdown. Cornerback Joe Lopez intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the first half – his sixth interception of the season – and recorded seven tackles.

Autera has rushed for 878 yards (109.8 per game) with 14 touchdowns, in addition to two receiving touchdowns and one by kickoff return. Pitcher is 103-of-183 passing (56.3 percent) for 1,234 yards and 12 touchdowns. Giuliano leads the team with 35 receptions for 561 yards and five touchdowns. Allen has a team-best 73 tackles. Chris Corvino and Matt Kaufmann lead the team with 5.5 sacks each, while Connor Tompkins paces the squad with 9.5 tackles for losses.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 14th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 94-51 (.648) ranks him second at Cortland in career victories and first in winning percentage. He was the NJAC Coach of the Year and a finalist for Liberty Mutual National Div. III Coach of the Year honors in 2008 after leading the Red Dragons to the league title (9-0 league mark) and the NCAA quarterfinals.

MacNeill has guided Cortland to eight postseason berths – NCAA showings in 1997, 2005 and 2008 and ECAC appearances in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009. His 2008 squad was honored with the Lambert Meadowlands Trophy and the ECAC Div. III Team of the Year awards. MacNeill is a 1979 Cortland alumnus and played linebacker and defensive tackle from 1975-78. An assistant coach at Division I-AA Villanova University from 1984-1996, MacNeill is Cortland's 11th head coach since the school's modern era of football began in 1924. MacNeill served as linebackers coach at Villanova and was the team's defensive coordinator from 1988-96.

A LOOK AT...WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY: After starting the season with a 4-1 record, William Paterson has lost its last three contests. Last week, the Pioneers were defeated at home by Buffalo State, 34-20. Ryan Gresik completed 21-of-40 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown. Chris Manfredo caught nine passes for 102 yards and Joe Muraglia made six catches for 83 yards and a score.

Doug Dudek paced the defense with nine tackles, an interception, a blocked kick and a fumble recovery. Jimmie Ray Ragland finished with eight tackles and two pass breakups and Dan Nunez had eight tackles and a pass breakup.

Gresik has been successful on 60 percent of his passes this fall (132-of-220) with six touchdowns, but has been intercepted nine times. Muraglia and Manfredo have 37 and 31 receptions, respectively, and Dawys German has rushed for 320 yards on 94 carries.

Dudek is the team leader with 61 tackles and is tied with German Decena with three interceptions. Leer Biddle has blocked four kicks. Cory Mundt averages 34.2 yards per punt, is 12-of-14 on point-after kicks and is 3-of-7 on field goal attempts. Dudek, Chris Thomas, Dan Nunez and Chris Osborn are the Pioneers' team captains.

Jerry Flora is in his third season as William Paterson's head coach after serving as an assistant coach in the program for six years. His overall record is 13-15 (.464), including a 5-5 mark last year and a 4-4 record to date this fall. Prior to his arrival at William Paterson, Flora coached at Division I-AA Iona College from 1992-96 and 1998-2001, working with the team's wide receivers as well as coordinating the special teams. He also coached the offensive line at FDU-Florham in 1997-98. A 1992 Iona graduate, Flora was a three-year starter at offensive tackle for the Gaels before emerging as the starting tight end as a senior.

NOTEBOOK:

* Dan Pitcher has set a school record by throwing at least one TD pass in 10 consecutive games, including all eight contests this season. He broke the previous record of nine straight games by J.J.Tutwiler in 2001.

* Joe Lopez has tied a school record with an interception in four straight games. The record was originally set by Steve Daly in 1975. Lopez's six interceptions this fall are tied for second-best on Cortland's single-season charts. Daly holds the school record with eight interceptions in 1975.

* Cortland's seven blocked kicks this season are tied for the second highest single-season total in school history. The school record is nine blocks in 2005, while the 2008 squad blocked seven kicks. Individually, Lou Crispo leads the team with three blocks. Josh Jablonski holds the school records with six blocks in 2005 and nine for his career (2002-06, 08).

* Cortland is ranked first nationally in Div. III in scoring defense. The Red Dragons have allowed only 6.8 points per game. In all, Cortland ranks in the top 25 nationally in the following team and individual categories, through games of Oct. 30:

TEAM:
1st, Scoring Defense, 6.8 points/game
6th, Total Defense, 212.9 yards/game
12th, Pass Efficiency Defense, 88.5 opponent rating
14th, Sacks, 3.3/game
15th, Kickoff Returns, 23.7 yards/return
15th, Turnover Margin, +1.5/game
16th, Pass Defense, 132.5 yards/game
17th, Rushing Defense, 80.4 yards/game

INDIVIDUAL:
Justin Autera, tied 5th, Scoring, 12.8 points/game
Joe Lopez, tied 10th, Interceptions, 0.8/game
Justin Autera, 21st, Punt Returns, 13.1 yards/return
Justin Autera, 24th, All-Purpose Running, 162.3 yards/game

* William Paterson is ranked in the top 25 nationally in two categories – pass defense (4th, 111.6 yards/game) and pass efficiency defense (8th, 87.2 opponent rating).

* Justin Autera is 122 yards short of becoming the eighth player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Andrew Giuliano is the last Red Dragon to reach that mark – he ran for a school-best 1,480 yards in 2008. Gareth Grayson is second on the list with 1,378 yards in 1988, although his total doesn't include two NCAA playoff games in which he rushed for more than 200 yards each. Postseason games were included in school records starting in 2002, per NCAA rules.

Autera has scored 17 touchdowns through Cortland's first eight games. Only five players in school history have scored 17 or more touchdowns in a season.

Most TDs scored in a season by a Cortland player:
22, Andrew Giuliano, 2008
18, Omar Darling, 1998
17, Justin Autera, 2010
# 17, Omar Darling, 1997
# 17, Scott Berent, 1991

# Darling (1997) and Berent (1991) totals do not include one TD scored each in postseason play. Postseason games were included in school records starting in 2002, per NCAA rule change. Giuliano's 22 TDs in 2008 include one postseason TD.

* Cortland's 10 points in its 10-9 win last week versus Montclair State are the fewest points scored by the Red Dragons in a victory since a 3-0 home win over Mansfield University in the 1993 season opener.

* Cortland is in its 11th season as a football-only member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC). The Red Dragons compete in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) in most other sports. Cortland was the first non-New Jersey school to join the NJAC, starting in 2000, and has been joined by Western Connecticut St., Buffalo St., Brockport and Morrisville. Cortland is 40-6 (.870) in NJAC play since 2005 and 57-18 (.760) overall.

Cortland's Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)

Justin Autera, So., Running Back/Kick Returner
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 11 at Kean) (KR)
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 11 at Kean)
ECAC South Honorable Mention (Sept. 11 at Kean)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 18 vs. Buffalo St.) (RB)
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 18 vs. Buffalo St.)

Marc Corrado, Jr., Kicker
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 30 vs. Montclair St.)

Anthony Giuliano, Sr., Wide Receiver
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 25 at Western Conn. St.)

Joe Lopez, Sr., Cornerback
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 11 at Kean)
NJAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 11 at Kean)
ECAC South Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 11 at Kean)

Connor Tompkins, Jr., Defensive End
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 18 vs. Buffalo St.)

Evan Wyler, Sr., Defensive End
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 16 at Rowan)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (7-1, 7-1 NJAC)

Sept. 11   * at Kean (NJ)                           W 24-12
Sept. 18   * BUFFALO ST.                           W 35-7
Sept. 25   * at Western Connecticut St.       W 45-0
Oct. 2       * at The College of New Jersey   W 37-0
Oct. 9       * BROCKPORT                           W 35-0
Oct. 16     * at Rowan (NJ)                         L 17-20
Oct. 23     * at Morrisville St.                      W 42-6
Oct. 30     * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                W 10-9
Nov. 6      * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)          1:00
Nov. 13        ITHACA                                 12:00

* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)

WILLIAM PATERSON (4-4, 3-4 NJAC)

Sept. 3     * at The College of New Jersey   W 15-7
Sept. 18     KING'S (PA)                            W 14-7
Sept. 25   * at Rowan (NJ)                         L 7-12
Oct. 2      * WESTERN CONNECTICUT ST.    W 35-0
Oct. 9      * MORRISVILLE ST.                    W 31-28
Oct. 16    * at Brockport                            L 16-30
Oct. 23    * at Kean (NJ)                            L 2-29
Oct. 30    * BUFFALO ST.                            L 20-34
Nov. 6      * at Cortland                             1:00
Nov. 13    * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                1:00

* NJAC game (HOME GAMES IN CAPS)


CORTLAND vs. WILLIAM PATERSON – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 13-1)

Year    Winner               Score    Site
1996    Cortland             31-3       Cortland
1997    Cortland             31-0       Cortland
1998    Cortland             47-6       Cortland
1999    Cortland             45-7       Wm. Paterson
2000    Cortland             42-3       Cortland
2001    Wm. Paterson     49-42     Wm. Paterson
2002    Cortland             32-0       Cortland
2003    Cortland             20-14     Wm. Paterson
2004    Cortland             18-13     Cortland
2005    Cortland             31-0       Wm. Paterson
2006    Cortland             30-14     Cortland
2007    Cortland             42-0       Wm. Paterson
2008    Cortland             38-0       Cortland
2009    Cortland             12-10     Wm. Paterson