SUNY CORTLAND FOOTBALL NOTES
Cortland Red Dragons (0-0) vs. Buffalo St. Bengals (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012; 12 p.m.; Coyer Field; Buffalo, N.Y.
Game broadcast live on WXHC, Homer (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com)

Follow the game online:
WXHC Radio Broadcast (Smartphone apps to listen to broadcast)
Live Stats


THE MATCHUP: Cortland opens its 2012 season as it travels to Buffalo State for a non-league matchup. The Red Dragons are coming off a 9-2 campaign in 2011 that included a victory in the ECAC Div. III Southeast Bowl. The Bengals are new members of the Empire 8 after having played with Cortland in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) the past six seasons. They finished 5-5 overall and 5-4 in the NJAC last fall.


THE SERIES: Cortland and Buffalo State have played every year since 1984. Cortland has won 19 of the 28 meetings, including a 28-12 home win in last year's season opener. Buffalo State's last win over the Red Dragons was a 27-20 win in Cortland in 2005.

In last year's game, Buffalo State took an early 9-0 lead on a Nick Debbins field goal and a Kimani George 25-yard fumble return. Cortland closed to within 9-7 on a John Babin 26-yard TD catch, but the Bengals used another Debbins field goal to go up 12-7 midway through the third quarter. The Red Dragons scored the final 21 points on Dan Pitcher TD passes to Brian Haber and Babin and a late 10-yard TD run by Justin Autera.

Pitcher finished 13-of-27 passing for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Babin caught five passes for 86 yards and two scores and Mike Humphrey made four catches for 42 yards. Autera ran for 82 yards on 20 carries. Chris Bright led the defense with nine tackles. For Buffalo State, Ryan Lehotsky finished 21-of-33 passing for 237 yards and Mike Doherty caught six passes for 93 yards. Kevin Healy made eight tackles and Pasquale Vacchio recorded seven stops and forced the fumble that led to the TD return.


CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland returns 11 starters from last year's squad, but one of them, All-America wide receiver John Babin, suffered a fractured clavicle in a scrimmage last Saturday and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2012 season. Babin set school single-season records last season with 72 receptions for 1,183 yards and 16 touchdowns. The team's top rushers from last season, senior Dorian Myles (792 yards, 4 TD) and sophomore Bronson Greene (452 yards, 11 TD) are back, as is junior Justin Autera, the 2010 NJAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Autera suffered an injury in the second game last fall and received a medical hardship to re-gain that year of eligibility. In 2010 as a sophomore, Autera ran for 1,380 yards and 18 touchdowns, caught 32 passes for 220 yards and two scores and returned a kickoff for a TD. He ran for 155 yards in two games before his injury last year.

Despite the Babin injury, Cortland still returns a solid receiving corps. Senior Mike Humphrey caught 41 passes for 572 yards and six touchdowns last year and sophomore Kordel McInnis made 35 catches for 369 yards and two scores. Two starting offensive linemen return in senior tackle Mike Wutzer and senior guard Randy Bloom. Wutzer moves to tackle this year after starting at guard last fall. The Red Dragons look to replace All-America quarterback Dan Pitcher, who threw for 2,712 yards and a school-record 31 touchdowns last season. Senior Chris Rose has been Pitcher's backup the past two seasons. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 113 yards last year and 4-of-11 passes for 33 yards in 2010.

Cortland's four returning defensive starters are all seniors – defensive end Vaughn Labor, linebacker Chris Bright, cornerback Pete Furey and free safety Phil Bossman. Labor finished with 48 tackles and 2.5 sacks along with two forced fumbles last year. Bright is the leading returning tackler with 62 stops, 8.5 for losses, a year ago. Furey recorded 34 tackles and seven pass breakups. Bossman, who has started 31 straight games dating back to early in his freshman year, had 27 tackles and six pass breakups last fall.

Furey has been Cortland's starting punter the past two seasons. He averaged 34.7 yards per attempt on 38 kicks with 10 inside-the-20 and only one touchback last season. Junior Mike DeBole will compete for punting duties and is currently slated as Cortland's starting placekicker after serving as a backup in both roles last year.

Head coach Dan MacNeill is in his 16th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 99-54 (.647) 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...BUFFALO STATE: Buffalo State finished 5-5 in its last season as an NJAC member in 2011, including a 5-4 league mark. The Bengals won four of their final six games, with the two losses both by seven points – one at Rowan and the other at league champion Kean.

Junior quarterback Casey Kacz passed for 1,532 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 359 yards and six scores a year ago. Sophomore running back Rich Pete ran for 753 yards and nine touchdowns and junior wide receiver Caesarae Lewis caught 31 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior linebacker Pasquale Vacchio was the team's leader in 2011 with 81 tackles. He intercepted three passes and recorded three pass breakups. Senior strong safety Jordan Boser finished with 41 tackles, two interceptions and three breakups. Junior linebacker Eddie Weiser returns to the team after spending the last two years pursuing a mixed martial arts career. Weiser was the 2009 NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Year with 79 tackles, six for loss, and four interceptions. Sophomore punter Joe Going averaged 35.3 yards per punt last season.

With their move to the Empire 8 this season, the Bengals are now playing both Cortland and Brockport as non-league games to open the season. They will also travel to three-time defending NCAA Div. III champion Wisconsin-Whitewater Sept. 15 before playing their final seven games versus league foes.

Jerry Boyes returned to the sidelines as Buffalo State's head coach in 2009 while maintaining his role as athletic director, a position he has held since 1999. Boyes has compiled a 100-81 overall record (.552) in 18 seasons as the Bengals' head coach (1986-2000, 2009-11). He led the program to seven NCAA playoff appearances and three ECAC titles, and was a three-time ECAC Upstate New York Coach of the Year selection. Boyes was a two-time All-America quarterback at Ithaca College and earned a free agent tryout with the Cleveland Browns. He also played basketball and baseball for the Bombers before graduating in 1976. Before coming to Buffalo State, he was the offensive coordinator for Ithaca squads that were a combined 72-18 with three appearances in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Div. III title game. The team won the 1979 national title.


NOTEBOOK:

* WXHC (101.5 FM and www.wxhc.com) in Homer will be broadcasting all Cortland games, home and away, for the seventh straight season. Bobby Comstock returns as play-by-play announcer and is joined again this season by former Cortland running back Will Loeb as color commentator. Loeb played three seasons for the Red Dragons from 2007-09 and has worked with Comstock previously in other sports covered by the Cortland Internet Radio network (www.cortlandreddragons.com/radio).

* Among the rule changes for NCAA football this season are new rules regarding kickoffs. The kickoff spot is being moved from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line, and the members of the kicking team can not be lined up more than five yards behind the kickoff spot to avoid players getting too much of a running start. In addition, a touchback on a kickoff will now result in the ball being placed on the 25-yard line to start the ensuing drive (touchbacks on punts and interceptions will still be brought out to the 20-yard line). These rules have been put into effect on all NCAA levels this fall to help improve player safety on kickoffs.

* Cortland has won its last seven season openers – last year at home vs. Buffalo State, at Kean in 2010, the previous four years (2006-09) versus Morrisville and in 2005 against Brockport. The Red Dragons' last opening-day loss was a 42-26 setback at home to Brockport in 2004.

* 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.

* The Red Dragons have 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).


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND (0-0)

Sept. 1      at Buffalo St.                            12:00
Sept. 15    * WESTERN CONN. ST.               1:00
Sept. 22    * at Morrisville St.                     7:00
Sept. 29    * MONTCLAIR ST. (NJ)                1:00
Oct. 6        * at The College of New Jersey   12:00
Oct. 13      * BROCKPORT                            1:00
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

BUFFALO ST. (0-0)

Sept. 1     CORTLAND                                 12:00
Sept. 8     at Brockport                               1:00
Sept. 15   at Wisconsin-Whitewater              1:00
Sept. 22   * ALFRED                                   12:30
Sept. 29   * SALISBURY (MD)                     12:00
Oct. 6       * UTICA                                     12:00
Oct. 13     * at Ithaca                                  1:00
Oct. 20     * at Frostburg St. (MD)                1:00
Oct. 27     * HARTWICK                              12:00
Nov. 3      * at St. John Fisher                     12:00

* Empire 8 game      HOME GAMES IN CAPS


CORTLAND vs. BUFFALO ST. – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 19-9)

Year                   Winner                   Score                  Site
1984                  Cortland                  30-17                  Buffalo St.
1985                  Cortland                  22-20                  Cortland
1986                  Buffalo St.               18-14                  Buffalo St.
1987                  Cortland                  37-17                  Cortland
1988                  Cortland                  30-7                    Buffalo St.
1989                  Cortland                  25-0                    Cortland
1990                  Cortland                  21-12                  Buffalo St.
1991                  Cortland                  35-0                    Cortland
1992                  Buffalo St.               30-21                  Buffalo St.
1993                  Buffalo St.               45-0                    Cortland
1994                  Buffalo St.               17-10                  Buffalo St.
1995                  Buffalo St.               36-33                  Cortland
1996                  Buffalo St.               15-12                  Buffalo (UB)
1997                  Cortland                  38-9                    Cortland
1998                  Cortland                  58-31                  Buffalo St.
1999                  Buffalo St.               20-17                  Cortland
2000                  Buffalo St.               26-10                  Buffalo St.
2001                  Cortland                  36-7                    Cortland
2002                  Cortland                  28-0                    Buffalo St.
2003                  Cortland                  36-14                  Cortland
2004                  Cortland                  28-14                  Buffalo St.
2005                  Buffalo St.               27-20                  Cortland
2006                  Cortland                  38-20                  Buffalo St.
2007                  Cortland                  30-27                  Cortland
2008                  Cortland                  35-14                  Cortland
2009                  Cortland                  42-13 *                Buffalo St.
2010                  Cortland                  35-7                    Cortland
2011                  Cortland                  28-12                  Cortland

* victory later vacated - NCAA secondary violation