THE MATCHUP: Cortland hosts Hobart in the 2019 New York Bowl, which features high-ranking teams from the Empire 8 and Liberty League conferences. Cortland won the inaugural New York Bowl in 2017 with a win at Union and also qualified for the 2018 game, which was canceled. The Red Dragons were the Empire 8 co-champions this fall. Hobart tied for second in the Liberty League this fall. Both teams enter the contest with 8-2 overall records.
 
THE SERIES: Cortland and Hobart have met 13 times, with Hobart holding a 7-6 advantage in the series. The teams last met in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Division III playoffs with Hobart winning, 23-22, at home. Prior to that, the schools hadn't met on the gridiron since the 1989 season. The Red Dragons won 17-0 in Cortland in 1989 (one of Cortland's then-NCAA record six shutouts that season) and 29-6 at Hobart in 1988 as part of a 10-0 regular season.
 
Hobart won four straight decisions versus Cortland over a six-year stretch from 1982-87 and also won in 1979, while Cortland earned back-to-back wins in 1980 and 1981 as well as consecutive victories in 1966 and 1967. The 1966 game in Cortland featured a 61-yard field goal by Red Dragon Bill Shear – the first 60-plus yard field goal in organized football at any level.
 
The teams first played way back in 1903, with Hobart winning in Cortland (Cortland's records show the score as 22-6; Hobart has it as 23-6). Cortland's schedule that season featured an interesting mix of teams, including Syracuse University, Hamilton College, Cazenovia Seminary (twice) and Stiles Prep, along with East Syracuse, Cortland Central and Syracuse High Schools.
 
CORTLAND CAPSULE:  Cortland posted an 8-2 overall record and tied for first with Brockport in the Empire 8 standings, each with 5-1 records. Brockport earned the league's NCAA automatic berth by virtue of its overtime win at Cortland in early November.
 
Cortland is coming off a 32-20 loss to Ithaca in the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry game in a game that set an NCAA Division III attendance record of 45,161 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Red Dragons trailed 26-6 in the third quarter but closed to within 26-20 with 6:53 remaining on Zach Tripodi's third rushing touchdown of the afternoon. Ithaca threw a TD pass with 3:06 left for the final margin.
 
Tripodi averages 115.9 rushing yards per game and leads the Red Dragons with 11 touchdowns. Brett Segala is 177-of-302 passing (58.6 percent) for 2,553 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Cole Burgess is the team's top receiver with 52 catches for 904 yards and eight touchdowns, followed by Jason Carlock with 39 receptions for 684 yards and seven scores. Gregory Alfieri leads the defense with 92 tackles, nine for losses, and Dylan Dubuque has made 81 tackles. Devin Smith has recorded a team best of seven sacks, and he shares the lead with Dubuque with 11 total tackles for loss.
 
Nick Mongelli has connected on 34-of-35 PATs and 9-of-12 field goals. Liam Casey averages 38.2 yards per punt with 15 "inside the 20" compared to just one touchback. Cortland has blocked a school-record 12 kicks this season, including two versus Ithaca last week and two the previous week at Hartwick.
 
Head Coach Dan MacNeill is in his 23rd season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 155-84 (.649) ranks him first at Cortland in career victories and winning percentage. He was the 2015 HERO Sports National Coach of the Year and the D3football.com East Region Coach of the Year, and he and his assistants were chosen as the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition, he's been the New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in both 2008 and 2012, and also was a finalist for Liberty Mutual National Division III Coach of the Year honors in 2008 after leading the Red Dragons to the league title and the NCAA quarterfinals.
 
MacNeill has led Cortland to 17 postseason berths – six NCAA tournaments (1997, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015), eight ECAC bowl games (wins in 2002, 2007 and 2012; losses in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016) and each of the first three New York Bowls (win in 2017; 2018 game canceled due to no Liberty League opponent; home vs. Hobart in 2019).
 
A LOOK AT...HOBART COLLEGE: Hobart finished the season with an 8-2 overall record and tied for second place with Ithaca in the Liberty League, each at 4-2. Ithaca elected to compete in an ECAC bowl game and, as a result, Hobart earned its conference spot in the New York Bowl. The Statesmen's non-league results include wins over Empire 8 champion Brockport, 33-7, as well as ECAC qualifier Morrisville State and New Jersey Athletic Conference opponents Rowan and Montclair State.
 
Ryan Hofmann has passed for 1,988 yards and 18 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He's 149-of-287 through the air (51.9 percent). Jake Catalioto has caught 52 passes for 647 yards and four scores, and Brian Haeffner averages 57.1 rushing yards per game with six touchdowns. Hobart's offensive line is led by left tackle Dillon Carey.
 
Emmett Forde is Hobart's leader with 75 tackles, 41 solo. His 20 tackles for loss include six sacks, and he also has registered three forced fumbles and two interceptions. Andrew Koonz has totaled five of Hobart's 15 interceptions. Jared Leake has 51 tackles, three interceptions and a team-high six pass breakups, and Jayson Prince, a team captain along with Haeffner, has an interception and three breakups.
 
Kyle Hackett is 32-for-35 on his PAT kicks and 11-for-16 on his field goal attempts with a long of 37 yards. John DelliSanti averages 38.4 yards per punt with 14 "inside the 20" and no touchbacks. Rayshawn Boswell and Tim Denham, Jr. each have returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
 
Kevin DeWall is in his second season as Hobart's head coach. He brings an overall record of 13-6 (.684) into the New York Bowl. A 2000 Hobart alumnus, DeWall served as an assistant coach with the Statesmen for 15 years (2000-14), including the last 12 as offensive coordinator. He was the head coach at Endicott College for three seasons from 2015-17 before returning to Hobart. DeWall was a defensive back in football and an attackman for the Statesmen's Division I men's lacrosse program as a student-athlete and helped Hobart earn two NCAA tournament appearances and the 2000 Patriot League title.
 
NOTEBOOK:
 
* Cortland is averaging 39.0 points per game through 10 contests – currently second in school history. The Red Dragons set a school record last fall at 39.3 points per game, and the 1990 team averaged 38.0 points per game in 10 regular-season outings.
 
* Brett Segala is Cortland's career leader with 6,355 passing yards and 58 touchdown passes. The previous records were 6,271 yards and 57 touchdown passes by Steven Ferreira from 2015-17. Segala played in the last four games of the 2016 season, but just one game in 2017 as Ferreira's backup. He started all 10 games last fall as well as this season. With 450 career completions, Segala is six shy of Ferreira's school-record 456 and one away from second-place Dick Puccio's 451 (1988-91). Puccio's total does not include postseason games, which have only counted in records since the 2002 season, by NCAA rule.
 
   Segala's 2,553 passing yards this season are the second-highest regular-season total in school history behind only his own record 2,671 from last season. Also, Segala holds the school record with nine career 300-yard passing games, including two this season (399 at St. John Fisher, 306 at TCNJ).
 
* Zach Tripodi has 1,159 rushing yards through 10 games and 1,971 career rushing yards in 34 games. He's 29 yards away from becoming the ninth Cortland player to reach the career 2,000-yard mark. Tripodi is averaging 5.5 yards per carry this fall. The school record for best rushing average per carry (minimum 100 attempts) is 6.2 yards per rush by Dorian Myles in 2012 (765 yards on 123 carries), followed by 5.7 yards per carry by Scott Berent in 1990 (1,181 yards on 208 carries).
 
* Cortland has blocked a school-record 12 kicks this year, including at least one in each of the last five games. That total includes five punts (two vs. Fitchburg, one each vs. Alfred, St. John Fisher and Brockport), three PATs (vs. Utica, returned for two points, Brockport and Ithaca), and four field goals (one at St. John Fisher, two at Hartwick, one vs. Ithaca). The previous school single-season record for blocks was nine, set three times (over 10 games in 2005, 12 games in 2010 and 11 games in 2016). Six different Red Dragons have blocked at least one kick this fall, including three each by Angelo Foster and Travis Alvarez and two by Dylan Dubuque.
 
* Cortland has returned three blocked punts for touchdowns this fall – the most ever by a Red Dragon squad (complete defensive stats were first tracked at Cortland in 1979). Marc Anthony Dalce has two of those touchdowns as he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone versus Fitchburg State and returned a block 20 yards for a score at St. John Fisher. Dylan Studer had a 13-yard blocked punt return for a score versus Alfred. The previous team record of two blocked punt returns for TDs in a season happened in both 1992 and 1995.
 
* Cortland has allowed sacks on just 1.88 percent of its pass plays this year (six sacks on 319 pass plays – 313 passes plus the six sacks). The school record for lowest sack percentage allowed is 2.61 percent in 2011 (nine sacks, 344 pass plays) and 3.58 percent in 2002 (12 sacks, 335 pass plays).
 
* Senior linebacker Gregory Alfieri leads Cortland with 92 tackles this fall and has exactly 200 tackles in 34 career games. The next highest Cortland player is Dylan Dubuque with 90 tackles in 17 games, including 81 this season.
 
* A total of 19 different players have scored for Cortland through 10 games this season. Only once since at least 1978 has a Red Dragon team had that many players score in one year. The 2012 Cortland team had 19 players reach the scoring column, while the 2007 and 2011 teams each had 18 players score. Dylan Dubuque became the 19th Cortland player to score this season when he tackled a Brockport runner in the end zone for a safety.
 
* Cole Burgess has six 100-yard receiving games this season. The school record for most 100-yard receiving games in a season is seven by John Babin in 2013. Burgess enters the New York Bowl with 904 receiving yards in 10 games, 96 shy of becoming just the fifth player in school history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in a season. Also, Burgess has three kickoff returns for touchdowns in his first two collegiate seasons (two last season and one this year). The school record for career kickoff return touchdowns is five by Dylan Peebles from 2013-15.
 
* Three different Red Dragon kickers have scored this season. Nick Mongelli is 34-for-35 on PATs and 9-for-12 on field goal attempts (including career-best 46-yarders versus Brockport and Hartwick). Patrick Luby is 8-for-8 on PATs and made his lone field goal attempt, and Nick Guglielmo is 5-for-5 on PATs and 1-for-2 on field goal kicks. Mongelli missed the second and third games of the season due to injury, leading to Guglielmo handling placekicking at TCNJ and Luby versus Buffalo State. The last time Cortland had three different kickers score points was in 1978 when Bob Barber made three field goals and kicked 11 PATs, Joe Borke made five PATs and Bill Schoft converted on four PATs. Dan MacNeill, Cortland's current head coach, was a senior captain and a starting defensive lineman on that 1978 squad.
 
* Cortland punter Liam Casey has recorded two of the longest punts in school history this season. His 71-yard punt versus Brockport – tied for the third longest since full records were first tracked in 1963 – pinned the Golden Eagles at the 2-yard line and set up a Cortland safety. Casey also had a 68-yard punt in Cortland's win at Morrisville State.
 
* Twelve of Cortland's pass completions this season have covered at least 40 yards. Cole Burgess has made six of those catches and Angelo Foster four, yet its Jason Carlock with the two longest catches this year – 80 yards versus Ithaca last weekend and 67 yards at St. John Fisher (neither, interestingly, went for touchdowns).
 
* Cortland has scored on 89.6 percent (43-of-48) of its red zone trips this season with 34 touchdowns and nine field goals. The Red Dragons are holding opponents to 70.3 percent red zone scoring success (26-of-37 with 24 touchdowns and two field goals).
 
* Cortland is 6-5 all-time in overtime games, including a 32-26 loss at home to Brockport this year. All 11 games were decided in the first extra session.
 
* Cortland is in its fifth season in the Empire 8 this fall. The Red Dragons joined the league in 2015 after 15 seasons in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Cortland finished in at least a tie for first in the NJAC six times (2005-08, 2010, 2012) and shared the Empire 8 crown in 2015. Three current Empire 8 members - Cortland, Brockport and Morrisville State - at one point played in the NJAC and are affiliate members of the E8 in football only. The other league teams - Alfred, Hartwick, St. John Fisher and Utica - are full conference members. Buffalo State left the Empire 8 after last season and joined the Liberty League – a move that Ithaca also made entering the 2018 season.
 
* Cortland and Hobart rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
 
CORTLAND:
 
1st, Blocked Kicks, 12
3rd, Fewest Sacks Allowed, 0.6/game
7th, Fourth Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 22.7 pct.
8th, Fewest Tackles for Loss Allowed, 3.7/game
15th, Red Zone Offense, 89.6 pct.
27th, Scoring Offense, 39.0 pts./game
35th, Total Offense, 439.1 yds./game
40th, Net Punting, 34.6 net yds./punt
 
Marc Anthony Dalce, 4th, Punt Returns for Touchdown, 2 (both blocked punt returns)
Cole Burgess, 9th, Kickoff Returns for Touchdowns, 1
Dylan Studer, 10th, Punt Returns for Touchdowns, 1 (blocked punt return)
Nick Mongelli, 13th, Field Goals, 1.1/game
Angelo Foster and Travis Alvarez, each 13th, Blocked Kicks, 3
Cole Burgess, 20th, Kickoff Returns, 27.0 yds./return
Zach Tripodi, 21st, Rushing Yards, 115.9 yds./game
Nick Mongelli, 21st, Field Goal Percentage, 75.0 pct.
Dylan Dubuque, 24th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Brett Segala, 30th, Passing Yards per Completion, 14.4 yds./completion
Devin Smith, 31st, Forced Fumbles, 0.3/game
Zach Tripodi, 36th, Rushing Touchdowns, 11
Brett Segala, 38th, Passing Yards, 255.3 yds./game
Brett Segala, 38th, Passing Yards per Attempt, 8.5 yds./attempt
Cole Burgess, 40th, All-Purpose Yards, 137.9 yds./game
 
HOBART:
 
7th, Turnovers Gained, 27
14th, Kickoff Returns, 23.9 yds./return
16th, Turnover Margin, plus 1.1/game
17th, Fumbles Recovered, 12
26th, Net Punting, 35.3 net yds./punt
29th, Interceptions, 15
32nd, Fewest Sacks Allowed, 1.1/game
38th, Red Zone Defense, 61.1 pct.
38th, Team Tackles for Loss, 7.8/game
 
Rayshawn Boswell, 1st, Kickoff Returns, 33.8 yds./return
Emmett Forde, 8th, Tackles for Loss, 2.0/game
Rayshawn Boswell and Tim Denham Jr., each 9th, Kickoff Returns for Touchdowns, 1
Kyle Hackett, 15th, Field Goals, 1.1/game
Andrew Koonz, 18th, Interceptions, 0.5/game
Emmett Forde, 31st, Forced Fumbles, 0.3/game
Kyle Hackett, 36th, Field Goal Percentage, 68.8 pct.
 
2019 Cortland Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)
 
Cole Burgess, Wide Receiver/Kick Returner
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 19 vs. Alfred)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (wide receiver) (Oct. 26 at St. John Fisher)
 
Dylan Dubuque, Linebacker/Special Teams
D3football.com National Team of the Week (special teams) (Nov. 9 at Hartwick)
 
Liam Casey, Punter
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 12 at Morrisville St.)
 
Angelo Foster, Wide Receiver/Special Teams
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 5 vs. Utica)
 
Patrick Luby, Kicker
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 28 vs. Buffalo St.)
 
Nick Mongelli, Kicker
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 9 at Hartwick)
 
Offensive Line – David Aaronson, Russell Howard, Michael Bailey, Russell Lugbauer, Travis Alvarez
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 28 vs. Buffalo St.)
 
Brett Segala, Quarterback
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 14 at TCNJ)
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 5 vs. Utica)
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 26 at St. John Fisher)


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

Year     Winner........................... Score                   Site
1903     Hobart............................ 22-6 #                  Cortland
1966     Cortland........................ 15-8                      Cortland
1967     Cortland........................ 18-14                    Hobart
1979     Hobart............................ 17-16                   Cortland
1980     Cortland........................ 12-7                      Hobart
1981     Cortland......................... 21-20                   Cortland
1982     Hobart............................ 14-10                   Hobart
1985     Hobart............................ 16-3                     Cortland
1986     Hobart............................ 26-6                     Hobart
1987     Hobart............................ 24-14                   Cortland
1988     Cortland........................ 29-6                      Hobart
1989     Cortland........................ 17-0                      Cortland
2005    Hobart............................ 23-22                    Hobart  (NCAA First Round)
 
# Hobart's records list the score as 23-6 for the 1903 game