SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (5-2, 5-2 NJAC) vs. The College of New Jersey Lions (5-2, 4-2 NJAC)
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011; 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:
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THE MATCHUP: Cortland plays its final regular-season home game as it hosts The College of New Jersey. Both teams are looking to stay alive in the New Jersey Athletic Conference title hunt – Cortland is currently 5-2 in league play and TCNJ is 4-2. Rowan, Montclair State and Kean are tied for first in the league with 5-1 records and three weeks remaining, but have not played each other yet.


THE SERIES: Cortland and TCNJ are playing for the 21st time. The Red Dragons have lost only seven times in the series, with the last setback a 30-0 decision at TCNJ in 2007 when the Lions won the NJAC title. The following year, Cortland clinched the NJAC crown with a 24-18 victory at TCNJ.

Cortland and TCNJ have faced each other every year since 1997, including two meetings that season – a 43-22 Cortland win during the regular season and a 34-30 TCNJ win in the NCAA tournament first round, both in Cortland. Prior to 1997, the teams had not met since 1967. Cortland won games in 1933 and 1934 versus then-New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School and four straight games from 1964-67 against then-Trenton State College.

Last year, Cortland won 37-0 in New Jersey as Dan Pitcher threw a career-high four TD passes (a mark he tied last week versus William Paterson). Anthony Giuliano caught three of those TD passes covering 18, 10 and 56 yards, and Justin Autera caught a 14-yard TD pass and rushed for a 27-yard score. Marc Corrado kicked a 26-yard field goal.

Giuliano finished with four receptions for 139 yards, Autera rushed for 93 yards and Pitcher was 13-of-21 passing for 224 yards. Lou Crispo made a team-high eight tackles and Connor Tompkins recorded seven tackles, six solo, and a blocked punt.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: John Babin caught 10 passes, a career high, for 135 yards and three touchdowns in Cortland's 35-7 home victory over William Paterson last Saturday. Babin has set a school single-season record with 12 TD catches this fall, eclipsing the previous mark of 10 by Eric Hajnos in 2009. Babin also tied the school single-game record with his three TD receptions – a record he already shared. Babin and Hajnos are now the only two Cortland players to catch three TD passes in a game on two separate occasions.

Dan Pitcher completed 20-of-32 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns – three to Babin and one to tight end Brian Haber. Tailback Dorian Myles rushed 21 times for 120 yards and Bronson Greene ran for a score. Linebacker Chris Bright finished with eight tackles and a forced fumble and linebacker Cody Allen intercepted a pass that set up a Red Dragon scoring drive. Cortland outgained the Pioneers 408-93 in total offense.

Pitcher has completed 119-of-195 passes (61 percent) for 1,787 yards and 20 touchdowns in seven games this season. He is only the third quarterback in school history to throw at least 20 TD passes in a season – Ray Miles threw 23 TD passes in 2008 and J.J. Tutwiler had 21 TD passes in 2001. Babin has 48 receptions for 838 yards. He leads the NJAC with 6.9 receptions, 119.7 receiving yards and 10.3 points scored per game. Myles is averaging 89.2 rushing yards per game and Greene leads the Red Dragons with eight rushing scores.

Linebacker Bill Smith is the team leader with 41 tackles. Defensive end Joe Kirchner is tied for the NJAC lead with 5.5 sacks, while freshman linebacker Jesse Scanna is tied for third in the league with 4.5 sacks. Cortland leads the NJAC in scoring (36.3 points per game), total offense (437.1 yards per game) and total defense (241.9 yards allowed per game).

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 15th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 95-54 (.638) 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 and the NCAA quarterfinals.

MacNeill has guided Cortland to the NCAA playoffs in 1997, 2005, 2008 and 2010. 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...THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY: TCNJ is coming off a 27-21 victory at home last Saturday versus previously undefeated and nationally ranked Montclair State. The Lions led 20-7 at halftime on the strength of James Donoghue and Joe Falco TD runs and two Tyler Olsson field goals.

Montclair scored twice in the third quarter to take a 21-20 lead, but the Lions scored the winning points early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard TD pass from Donoghue to Falco. TCNJ secured the victory by mounting a 14-play drive that ran the final 7:42 off the clock.

Donoghue is 123-of-195 passing (63.1 percent) for 1,122 yards and three touchdowns. Falco averages 63 yards per game rushing and Brian Mills is the team's top receiver with 31 catches for 243 yards and a score. Donoghue is second on the team in rushing at 56 yards per game and leads the Lions with six rushing touchdowns.

Linebacker Nick Bricker is the NJAC leader with 70 tackles, 11.5 tackles for losses and five forced fumbles, while strong safety Shawn Brown is tied for the league lead with four interceptions. Olsson has made 19-of-22 point-after kicks and 5-of-10 field goals. He also averages 36.3 yards per punt. The Lions lead the NJAC in scoring defense at 17.1 points per game and in pass efficiency defense with a 98.5 opponent rating.

Eric Hamilton is in his 35th season as the Lions' head coach. When he started in 1977 he was the youngest collegiate head coach in the country at 23 years old. Hamilton has been NJAC Coach of the Year six times and his teams have made seven postseason appearances, including NCAA showings in 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2007. His overall win-loss record is 206-137-6 (.599).


NOTEBOOK:

* Dan Pitcher has thrown at least one TD pass in nine straight games (all seven this season and two NCAA games last year) and has TD passes in 20 of his 21 games as a Red Dragon starter (two games in 2009, 11 of 12 in 2010, six in 2011). Pitcher's school-record streak of 11 games with a TD pass ended versus Ithaca last November. His current nine-game streak is now tied for second-best in school history.

* Dan Pitcher is on pace to record the best passing efficiency rating in one season at Cortland. His current rating is 167.7, and the school record (minimum 100 pass attempts) is 157.5 by current assistant coach Alex Smith in 2006. Next on the list is Ray Miles at 155.9 in 2008 and J.J. Tutwiler with ratings of 153.7 in 2001 and 137.7 in 2002. The rating, which has been calculated by the NCAA since 1979, weighs four statistics – completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns per attempt and interceptions per attempt.

* Cortland's starting offensive line of center Corey Hymes, guards Randy Bloom and Mike Wutzer, and tackles Billy Castro and Matt Pitcher, have helped the Red Dragons gain more than 400 yards in a school-record six straight games (455 vs. Kean, 406 at Rowan, 506 vs. Morrisville, 430 at Montclair St., 605 at Western Connecticut and 408 vs. William Paterson). In addition, Cortland has allowed only six sacks over a combined 219 pass plays (213 pass attempts plus six sacks). That 2.7 percent “sack rate” is currently the lowest since the stat was first officially tracked at Cortland in 1982. The school record for a season is 3.6 percent in 2002 (12 sacks allowed on 335 pass plays).

* John Babin has 48 receptions for 838 yards and 12 touchdowns through seven games. The 12 TD catches are already a school single-season record. Babin is 162 yards shy of becoming the third player in school history to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Steve Ellis holds the record with 1,089 yards in 1994 (the figure doesn't include 38 yards in the ECAC playoffs since postseason stats have only counted in records since 2002, per NCAA rule). Zacc Guaragno finished with 1,053 receiving yards in 2008. In addition, Babin has four 100-yard receiving games this fall. Ellis set the school record with six 100-yard games in 1994.

* Cortland and TCNJ rank in the top 30 nationally in Division III in the following categories:

CORTLAND:

9th, Rushing Defense, 71.9 yds./game
10th, Passing Efficiency, 162.2 rating
12th, Total Defense, 241.9 yds./game
18th, Tackles for Loss, 8.4/game
28th, Passing Offense, 271.4 yds./game
29th, Sacks, 3.0/game
Tied 29th, Sacks Allowed, 0.9/game

Dan Pitcher, 6th, Passing Efficiency, 167.7 rating
John Babin, 12th, Receiving Yards, 119.7/game
John Babin, Tied 24th, Scoring, 10.3 pts./game
John Babin, 27th, Receptions, 6.9/game

TCNJ:

15th, Turnover Margin, +1.4/game

Shawn Brown, tied 27th, Interceptions, 0.6/game


* Cortland's defense has recorded 21 sacks through seven games, including three last week vs. William Paterson. Cortland has at least 30 sacks each of the last 10 seasons (2000-10), including 31 last year and 50 or more in both 2005 and 2006. Cortland's 50 sacks in 2006 were the best nationally in Division III. The Red Dragons set a school record with 52 sacks in 2005 (sacks have been officially tracked at Cortland since 1982).

* Cortland is in its 12th 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 of their other sports. Cortland was the first non-New Jersey school to join the NJAC for football, starting in the 2000 season, and has since been joined by Western Connecticut State, Buffalo State, Brockport and Morrisville. Cortland has finished at least tied for first in the NJAC five of the last six years (2005-08, 2010).

* The eight newest members of the SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's game and will be officially inducted Saturday evening. The 2011 honorees are: Thomas Major '59, James Sellars '59, Paul Rose '67 (posthumous), Barbara Moenich LoPiccolo '69, Mic Potter '77, Janine Henrickson '84, Janine Engelhard Bennett '91 and honorary inductee Phyllis McGinley. The C-Club Hall of Fame was established in 1969, and this year's induction class brings the Hall of Fame roster to 220 alumni and 25 honorary members.


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

Cody Allen, Sr., Linebacker
D3football.com Team of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)
D3football.com Team of the Week (Special Teams) (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville St.)

John Babin, So., Wide Receiver
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Buffalo St.)

Pete Furey, Jr., Punter
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 3 vs. Buffalo St.)

Bronson Greene, Fr., Running Back
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 1 vs. Morrisville St.)
NJAC Offensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 8 at Montclair St.)

Dan Pitcher, Gr., Quarterback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)

Jesse Scanna, Fr., Linebacker
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 15 at Western Conn. St.)

Andrew Tolosi, Fr., Cornerback
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Sept. 24 at Rowan)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (5-2, 5-2 NJAC)

Sept. 3      * BUFFALO ST.                         W 28-12
Sept. 17    * KEAN (NJ)                             L 16-21
Sept. 24    * at Rowan (NJ)                        W 31-28
Oct. 1        * MORRISVILLE ST.                   W 55-14
Oct. 8        * at Montclair St. (NJ)               L 33-34
Oct. 15      * at Western Connecticut St.      W 56-10
Oct. 22      * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)         W 35-7
Oct. 29      * THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY  1:00
Nov. 5        * at Brockport                           1:00
Nov. 12         at Ithaca                               12:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS

THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY (5-2, 4-2 NJAC)

Sept. 10     * at William Paterson (NJ)        W 24-6
Sept. 16       FDU-FLORHAM                      W 49-21
Sept. 24     * MORRISVILLE ST.                  W 28-14
Sept. 30     * at Kean (NJ)                         L 6-7
Oct. 8         * BROCKPORT                         W 26-17
Oct. 15       * at Buffalo St.                        L 12-34
Oct. 22       * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)             W 27-21
Oct. 29       * at Cortland                            1:00
Nov. 5        * WESTERN CONNECTICUT ST.  12:00
Nov. 12      * at Rowan (NJ)                        1:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. THE COLLEGE of NEW JERSEY – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 12-7)

Year       Winner            Score            Site
1933       Cortland          54-0               ???
1934       Cortland          29-0               ???
1964       Cortland          27-6               Cortland
1965       Cortland          7-6                 TCNJ
1966       Cortland          27-10             TCNJ
1967       Cortland          40-0               Cortland
1997       Cortland          43-22             Cortland
1997       TCNJ               34-30             Cortland (NCAA 1st round)
1998       TCNJ               23-32             TCNJ
2000       Cortland          25-14             Cortland
2001       TCNJ               14-28             TCNJ
2002       TCNJ               41-38 (OT)     Cortland
2003       TCNJ               21-14             TCNJ
2004       TCNJ               17-14             Cortland
2005       Cortland          30-14             TCNJ
2006       Cortland          26-14             Cortland
2007       TCNJ               30-0               TCNJ
2008       Cortland          24-18              TCNJ
2009       Cortland          30-7 **            Cortland
2010       Cortland          37-0               TCNJ

(NOTE: TCNJ was knows as “New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School” when the teams played in 1933 and 1934. The school was Trenton State College from 1958 until changing its name to The College of New Jersey in 1996.)

** victory later vacated - NCAA secondary violation