SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (5-1, 5-0 NJAC) vs. Rowan University (5-1, 4-0 NJAC)
Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012; 12 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 Radio Broadcast (Smartphone apps to listen to broadcast)
Live Stats


THE MATCHUP: First place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) is on the line as Cortland hosts nationally 17th-ranked Rowan University. Cortland is 5-1 overall and leads the NJAC with a 5-0 record. Rowan is also 5-1, with its only loss coming to a Division II school, and the Profs are tied for second in the NJAC with a 4-0 mark.


THE SERIES: Rowan leads the overall series between the schools 11-7-1, but Cortland has won four of the last five meetings. After Cortland won a pair of lopsided games versus then-Glassboro State in 1964 and 1965, the teams did not meet again until a 14-14 tie game in Cortland in 1995. The Red Dragons and Profs have played every year since, and the matchups became league contests when Cortland joined the NJAC in 2000.

Rowan was 5-0-1 versus Cortland from 1995-2000, a stretch in which the Profs advanced to the national championship game four times (1995, 96, 98, 99). Cortland broke the streak with a 32-31 home win over the Profs in 2001 in the final game played on Davis Field, scoring twice in the last two minutes to overcome a 31-19 deficit. Rowan won the next five games, including overtime decisions at Cortland in 2003 (34-31) and at home in 2006 (14-7), as well as a 34-33 home verdict in 2004. Cortland entered the 2006 game 8-0 and ranked fifth nationally.

The Red Dragons won three straight games from 2007-09 before losing at Rowan in 2010. Last year, Cortland overcame an early 14-3 deficit to win in Glassboro, 31-28. Every Cortland-Rowan game since 2003 has been decided by 11 points or less.

Last year, Dan Pitcher completed 20-of-29 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. John Babin caught eight passes for 183 yards and Marc Corrado made three field goals. Mike Humphrey and Brian Haber each caught TD passes and Dorian Myles ran for a score. Cody Allen led the Red Dragons with 12 tackles. For Rowan, Louie Bianchini completed 25-of-37 passes for 213 yards and two scores and Ed Eisenhart caught nine passes for 87 yards. Dean Hammel recorded 11 tackles.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland's defense forced six turnovers, all in the first half, in a 45-27 home victory over Brockport last Saturday. The Red Dragons scored 21 straight points in the second quarter and led 28-7 at halftime. The lead grew to 45-14 before a pair of Brockport touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.

Senior cornerback Pete Furey intercepted two passes and made a career-high nine tackles to earn NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Freshman linebacker Matt Ambrose, in his first collegiate game, returned an interception 21 yards for a score, and senior safety Phil Bossman finished with an interception and a pass breakup.

Sophomore cornerback Andrew Tolosi and senior linebacker Chris Bright led the team with 10 tackles each. Tolosi also broke up two passes and Bright forced a fumble on a sack.

Sophomore tailback Bronson Greene earned NJAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition after rushing 16 times for a career-high 139 yards. He scored two touchdowns on 1-yard and 58-yard runs. Senior quarterback Chris Rose completed 18-of-32 passes for 197 yards. He threw TD passes to Mike Humphrey and Rob Von Bargen.

Rose has passed for 1,416 yards and 15 touchdowns in six games. He has completed 116-of-190 passes (61.1 percent), but has been intercepted 10 times. Humphrey leads the team with 37 catches for 511 yards and is tied with Kordel McInnis for the team lead with five TD receptions. Senior tailback Dorian Myles averages 106.3 yards per game rushing. Greene paces the team with seven TD runs.

Tolosi leads the Red Dragons with 39 tackles and seven pass breakups in six games. Freshman safety Andre Green has 38 tackles in five contests and Furey leads the squad with three interceptions. Freshman linebacker Troy Beddoe has 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, both team highs.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 16th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 104-55 (.654) 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, and his teams have also played in six ECAC bowl games. 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...ROWAN UNIVERSITY: Rowan has been idle since winning at Montclair State, 33-7, on October 6. The Profs are ranked 17th nationally by D3football.com and 22nd by the American Football Coaches Association. They opened the season with a win over then fifth-ranked Delaware Valley before losing at Division II Merrimack. Since then, the Profs have won four NJAC games by a combined score of 131-34.

Senior quarterback Louie Bianchini has completed 93-of-141 passes (66 percent) for 1,033 yards and 13 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Sophomore receiver Ed Eisenhart leads the team with 21 catches for 302 yards and six touchdowns. Running backs Matt Dortch and Keith Corcoran have rushed for 486 and 303 yards, respectively.

Freshman middle linebacker Darren Dungee has recorded a team-high 57 tackles and senior outside linebacker Patrick Ruley has made 56 stops in addition to blocking two kicks. Senior safety Casey Dillon has three of the team's 10 interceptions. Freshman Mike Burke is 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 17-of-22 on point-after kicks. Junior Joe Janovic averages 36.5 yards per punt with eight inside-the-20 versus no touchbacks.

Head coach Jay Accorsi, in his 11th season at the helm, has an overall record of 85-30 (.739) and is a three-time NJAC Coach of the Year. He took over the head coaching reins in 2002 after serving as an assistant with the Profs for nine seasons. He led Rowan to an 11-2 record, including three NCAA victories, before a national semifinal loss at eventual champion Mount Union in 2005, and a 9-3 record and two NCAA victories in 2006. His teams also won an NCAA game in 2002 and two NCAA contests in 2004. Accorsi was a four-year running back at Nichols College (Mass.), graduating in 1985.


NOTEBOOK:

* Cortland is averaging 44.3 points per game through six games. The school record for scoring average in the regular season is 38.0 points per game in 1990. Last year's squad averaged 36.8 points per game in 10 regular-season games (34.7 points per game counting the ECAC Southeast Bowl).

* Senior tailback Dorian Myles is averaging 7.4 yards per carry on 86 rushes this season. While that average has dropped from 9.9 yards per carry after four games, it's still on pace to set a school record. The current school record for best yard-per-rush average (minimum 100 carries) in a season is 5.7 yards per carry by Scott Berent in 1990 (1,181 yards on 208 carries in 10 regular-season games).

* Cortland has gained more than 400 yards of total offense in each of its first six games this fall. This streak ties the school record set last year for most consecutive 400-yard games.

* The Red Dragons have 14 sacks in six games, on pace for 23 sacks in 10 games. Cortland has recorded at least 30 sacks each of the last 11 seasons, including 39 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 has allowed only six sacks on 196 total pass plays (190 passes plus six sacks) for a 3.06 percent sack rate. The Red Dragons set a school record last year with a 2.61 percent sack rate (nine sacks in 344 pass plays), and the second-best rate was 3.58 percent in 2002.

* Cortland is outscoring opponents 153-63 in the first half (80-28 in the first quarter), compared to a 113-69 advantage in the second half.

* The Red Dragons have scored on 80 percent of its trips into the “red zone” (inside the 20) this season. Cortland has scored on 24-of-30 red-zone trips with 19 touchdowns and five field goals. Cortland opponents are 12-of-19 (63 percent) in the red zone, with all 12 of those scores touchdowns.

* The seven 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 2012 honorees are: Jack LaBombard '63, Tony Seaman '65, Ann Dunwoody '75, Rick Armstrong '79, Paul Alexander '82, Tracey Armstead '86 and honorary inductee Fran  Elia. The C-Club Hall of Fame was established in 1969, and this year's induction class brings the Hall of Fame roster to 225 alumni and 26 honorary members.

* Cortland is in its 13th 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 was joined by Western Connecticut State, Buffalo State, Brockport and Morrisville.

However, Buffalo State has since left the league for the Empire 8, Western Connecticut will leave after this fall to join the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) for football only (the MASCAC is sponsoring the sport for the first time in 2013), and Brockport will leave the NJAC after the 2013 season to join the Empire 8. Cortland has finished at least tied for first in the NJAC five of the last seven years (2005-08, 2010). The Red Dragons tied for second last year with a 7-2 record.

* Cortland and Rowan rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:

CORTLAND:

6th, Scoring Offense, 44.3 pts./game
22nd, Total Offense, 471.0 yds./game
27th, Turnover Margin, +1.2/game
30th, Rushing Offense, 230.5 yds./game
32nd, Sacks Allowed, 1.0/game
35th, Kickoff Returns, 23.1 yds./return

Dorian Myles, tied 36th, Rushing, 106.3 yds./game
Mike DeBole, tied 39th, Field Goals, 0.8/game

ROWAN:

17th, Scoring Defense, 12.8 pts./game
23rd, Sacks Allowed, 0.8/game

Louie Bianchini, 36th, Passing Efficiency, 150.8 rating


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

Troy Beddoe, Fr., Linebacker
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Sept. 29 vs. Montclair St.)
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Oct. 6 at The College of New Jersey)

Chris Bright, Sr., Linebacker
NJAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 22 at Morrisville St.)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Oct. 13 vs. Brockport)

Mike DeBole, Jr., Kicker/Punter
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 29 vs. Montclair St.)
ECAC Southeast Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 29 vs. Montclair St.)
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 6 at The College of New Jersey)
ECAC Southeast Special Teams Player of the Week  (Oct. 6 at The College of New Jersey)

Matt Deiana, Fr., Kickoff Returner/Tailback
NJAC Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 15 vs. Western Conn. St.)
ECAC Southeast Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 15 vs. Western Conn. St.)

Pete Furey, Sr., Cornerback
NJAC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13 vs. Brockport)
ECAC Southeast Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13 vs. Brockport)

Andre Green, Fr., Safety
NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Week (Sept. 22 at Morrisville St.)

Bronson Greene, So., Tailback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13 vs. Brockport)
ECAC Southeast Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13 vs. Brockport)

Dorian Myles, Sr., Tailback
NJAC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 15 vs. Western Conn. St.)
ECAC Southeast Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 15 vs. Western Conn. St.)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:


CORTLAND (5-1, 5-0 NJAC)

Sept. 1      at Buffalo St.                             L 31-49
Sept. 15    * WESTERN CONN. ST.               W 72-14
Sept. 22    * at Morrisville St.                      W 56-14
Sept. 29    * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                W 20-0
Oct. 6        * at The College of New Jersey   W 42-28
Oct. 13      * BROCKPORT                            W 45-27
Oct. 20      * ROWAN (NJ)                           12:00
Oct. 27      * at Kean (NJ)                            1:00
Nov. 3       * at William Paterson                   1:00
Nov. 10     ITHACA                                      12:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


ROWAN (5-1, 4-0 NJAC)

Sept. 1     DELAWARE VALLEY (PA)            W 27-13
Sept. 8     at Merrimack (MA)                     L 7-30
Sept. 14   * WILLIAM PATERSON (NJ)         W 51-0
Sept. 22   * at Western Connecticut St.       W 30-24
Sept. 29   * BROCKPORT                            W 17-3
Oct. 6       * at Montclair St. (NJ)                W 33-7
Oct. 20     * at Cortland                              12:00
Oct. 27     * MORRISVILLE ST.                     1:30
Nov. 3       * KEAN (NJ)                              1:00
Nov. 9       * at The College of New Jersey     7:00

* NJAC game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. ROWAN – SERIES RECORD
(Rowan leads 11-7-1)

Year                  Winner                 Score            Site
1964                  Cortland               41-0               Rowan
1965                  Cortland               60-0               Cortland
1995                  Tie                       14-14             Cortland
1996                  Rowan                  47-17             Rowan
1997                  Rowan                  41-6               Cortland
1998                  Rowan                  41-34             Rowan
1999                  Rowan                  30-9               Cortland
2000                  Rowan                  45-10             Rowan
2001                  Cortland               32-31             Cortland
2002                  Rowan                  42-21             Rowan
2003                  Rowan                  34-31 (OT)     Cortland
2004                  Rowan                  34-33             Rowan
2005                  Rowan                  24-16             Cortland
2006                  Rowan                  14-7 (OT)       Rowan
2007                  Cortland               17-6               Cortland
2008                  Cortland               27-20              Rowan
2009                  Cortland               24-14              Cortland
2010                  Rowan                  20-17             Rowan
2011                  Cortland                31-28             Rowan

NOTE: Rowan was formerly Glassboro State until 1992.