THE MATCHUP: Cortland looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season as the Red Dragons close out their Empire 8 schedule at Hartwick. Cortland lost, 32-26 in overtime, at home to Brockport last weekend. It's only shot to earn the Empire 8's NCAA automatic berth is a win at Hartwick combined with Brockport losses to both Alfred this week and Morrisville Nov. 16. Otherwise, the Red Dragons will likely have to finish the season with a 9-1 record in order to be considered for an NCAA at-large bid.
 
THE SERIES: Cortland leads the overall series with Hartwick, 14-0. Cortland won the first 10 meetings, nine by shutout, between 1929-50. Hartwick discontinued football after the 1950 season and reinstated its program in 1992. The schools rebooted the series in 2015 when the Red Dragons joined the Empire 8.
 
The first three meetings since the renewal were all nail-biters as Cortland won 48-45 in overtime at home in 2015, 50-47 at Hartwick in 2016, and 31-30 at home in 2017.
 
Last year, however, Cortland jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead at won, 56-3, at Hartwick (Cortland is going to Hartwick for the second straight year since the league schedule had to be adjusted with the departure of Buffalo State to the Liberty League). Cortland outgained the Hawks, 608-145, in total offense. Jake Smith caught seven passes for 176 yards and a school record-tying three touchdowns. Brett Segala completed 22-of-32 passes for 326 yards and four scores and also ran for a 37-yard TD and Tommy Heuer was 6-of-7 passing for 91 yards and a score.
 
Cortland's defense recorded seven sacks, including two each by Gregory Alfieri and Dan Appley, and Dylan Studer intercepted a pass. Hartwick quarterback Grant Harman finished 10-for-22 passing for 72 yards and Jack Steinman caught four passes for 43 yards. Cameron Conrad made nine tackles, all solo, and Dylan Williams-Bachman and Stephen Junjulas each intercepted a pass for the Hawks.
 
CORTLAND CAPSULE:  Cortland had a chance to clinch the Empire 8 title but Brockport overcame a 23-0 deficit and defeated the Red Dragons, 32-26 in overtime, in Cortland last Saturday. Brett Segala completed 20-of-36 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jason Carlock, and Cole Burgess caught seven passes for 122 yards. Zach Tripodi ran for 71 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Gregory Alfieri and Dylan Dubuque each made 11 tackles and Vincenzo Pagliaroli and Paul Imperiale finished with 10 tackles apiece. Stone Murray intercepted a pass.
 
Cortland enjoyed a solid outing on special teams in the loss. The Red Dragons finished with two blocked kicks – a first-quarter "team" blocked punt when a Brockport quick kick was hit into a Golden Eagle blocker, and a PAT block by Travis Alvarez with 4:37 left in regulation that kept the game tied at 26-26. Punter Liam Casey averaged 41.2 yards per punt, highlighted by a 71-yard punt that was downed at the 2-yard line and led to a safety on the following play. The 71-yarder matches the third-longest in school history since complete stats were first tracked in 1963. Nick Mongelli made a 46-yard field goal in the third quarter – the longest by a Red Dragon since Ryan DeCamp hit a 46-yarder in 2004.
 
Segala has passed for 2,113 yards and 19 touchdowns with five interceptions through eight games. He's completed 142-of-240 passes (59.2 percent) and has a 155.1 passing efficiency rating, which currently ranks as the fifth best in a season at Cortland. Tripodi has run for 893 yards (111.6 per game) with seven scores. Burgess and Carlock each have seven receiving touchdowns. Burgess leads the team with 39 catches for 739 yards, followed by Carlock with 34 catches for 550 yards. Angelo Foster has 27 receptions for 411 yards and four scores.
 
Alfieri paces the Red Dragons with 73 tackles. Dubuque has 59 tackles and two interceptions and Imperiale has recorded 48 tackles. Devin Smith leads the team with six sacks and nine total tackles for loss. Murray and Evans Riviere share the team lead with three interceptions apiece.

Head Coach Dan MacNeill is in his 23rd season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 154-83 (.650) 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.
 
In addition to six NCAA appearances (1997, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015), MacNeill's teams won the inaugural New York Bowl in 2017 and qualified for the game again in 2018 (game was canceled due to lack of Liberty League opponent). The Red Dragons also won ECAC bowls in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and they played in five other ECAC postseason games, most recently in 2016.
 
A LOOK AT...HARTWICK COLLEGE: Hartwick lost at home to Morrisville State last Saturday, 56-28, despite Grant Harman completing 29-of-55 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Jack Steinman caught 10 passes for 160 yards and two TDs and Davien Kuinlan ran 27 times for 102 yards and two scores. Nelon Priest and Jack Colbath each finished with five tackles. The Hawks registered three interceptions – one each by Stephen Junjulas, Kyle Kessler and Keith Slaughter – and Chase Brindise blocked a kick.
 
For the season, Harman is 131-of-251 passing (52.2 percent) for 1,557 yards and 10 touchdowns but has been intercepted 16 times, including four picks last weekend. Rusty Virkler leads the team with 32 receptions, while Kishaun Bell and Steinman share the team lead with four TD catches each.
 
Kessler and Matt Scotman lead Hartwick with 42 and 41 tackles, respectively. Kessler has a team-high four interceptions. Kevin Roberts is 13-for-16 on PAT kicks and 1-for-3 on field goals. Rusty Virkler averages 34.9 yards per punt. Jason Fucci ranks in the top 20 nationally in kickoff returns at 27.5 yards per return.
 
Mark Carr is in his 18th season as Hartwick's head coach. He has an overall record of 67-108 (.383), and his 67 wins are the most in school history. He led the Hawks to a share of the Empire 8 title and the NCAA playoffs in 2007, as well as ECAC bowl games in 2002, 2008 and 2009. He spent nine years as Hartwick's offensive coordinator while an assistant from 1993-2001. Carr graduated in 1990 from the University of New Hampshire, where he set numerous passing records as the starting quarterback for the Wildcats. He served as UNH's quarterbacks coach when they won the Yankee Conference title in 1991.
 
NOTEBOOK:
 
* In just 23 career games (four in 2016, one in 2017, 10 in 2018 and eight this fall), Brett Segala has completed 415-of-693 passes (59.9 percent) for 5,915 yards and 56 touchdowns. He currently ranks second at Cortland in career TD passes, third in passing yardage and fifth in completions. Steven Ferreira (2015-17) is Cortland's leader in all three categories with 57 TD passes, 6,271 passing yards and 456 completions. J.J. Tutwiler (2000-03) is second in passing yardage with 6,007. Ferreira's 456 completions are followed by Dick Puccio (1988-91) with 451, Alex Smith (2004-07, 09) with 448 and Tutwiler with 447.
 
* Zach Tripodi has rushed for 893 yards through eight games this season. He's looking to become the ninth player in school history to run for at least 1,000 yards in a season and the first since Justin Autera in 2010. Tripodi's 1,705 career rushing yards in 32 games leaves him 295 away from becoming the ninth Red Dragon to reach the 2,000-yard mark.
 
* Cortland has blocked eight kicks this season – five punts (two vs. Fitchburg, one each vs. Alfred, St. John Fisher and Brockport), two PATs (vs. Utica, returned for two points, and Brockport), and one field goal (at St. John Fisher). The school single-season record for blocks is nine, set three times (over 10 games in 2005, 12 games in 2010 and 11 games in 2016).

* 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 (Andy Jones at Brockport, Jason Dudek at Albany) and 1995 (R-Kal Truluck vs. Montclair State, Curtis Merrick at Brockport).
 
* A total of 19 different players have scored for Cortland through eight 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 last weekend.
 
* Three different Red Dragon kickers have scored this season. Nick Mongelli is 29-for-29 on PATs and 6-for-7 on field goal attempts (including a career-best 46-yarder versus Brockport). 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 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 Hartwick rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
 
CORTLAND:
2nd, Blocked Kicks, 8
7th, Fourth Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 21.1 pct.
10th, Fewest Sacks Allowed, 0.8/game
17th, Fewest Tackles for Loss Allowed, 4.3/game
18th, Scoring Offense, 42.3 pts./game
21st, Red Zone Offense, 87.8 pct.
25th, Total Offense, 449.4 yds./game
30th, Fewest Turnovers Lost, 9
32nd, Kickoff Returns, 23.1 yds./return
38th, Third Down Conversion Percentage, 45.6 pct.
39th, Team Passing Efficiency, 155.72 rating
40th, Team Passing Efficiency Defense, 106.5 opponent rating
 
Marc Anthony Dalce, 4th, Punt Return Touchdowns, 2
Cole Burgess, 6th, Kickoff Return Touchdowns, 1
Dylan Studer, 8th, Punt Return Touchdowns, 1
Cole Burgess, 12th, Kickoff Returns, 29.5 yds./return
Nick Mongelli, 13th, Field Goal Percentage, 85.7 pct.
Devin Smith, 17th, Forced Fumbles, 0.4/game
Travis Alvarez, 18th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Nick Mongelli, 22nd, Field Goals, 1.0/game
Zach Tripodi, 25th, Rushing Yards, 111.6 yds./game
Brett Segala, 27th, Passing Yards per Completion, 14.9 yds./completion
Brett Segala, 31st, Passing Touchdowns, 19
Brett Segala, 33rd, Passing Yards, 264.1 yds./game
Brett Segala, 33rd, Yards per Pass Attempt, 8.8 yds./attempt
 
HARTWICK:
31st, Interceptions, 12
 
Nelon Priest, 3rd, Fumbles Recovered, 3
Jason Fucci, 18th, Kickoff Returns, 27.5 yds./return
Kyle Kessler, 23rd, Interceptions, 0.5/game
Eli Greene, 34th, Fumbles Recovered, 2
 
 
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)
 
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.)
 
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)
 
CORTLAND CORTACA JUG FLASHBACK:
 
The 2019 Cortaca Jug rivalry game between Cortland and Ithaca College will be played Nov. 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with the schools hoping to break the Division III football attendance record of 37,355 set by Minnesota schools St. Thomas and St. John's at Target Field in Minneapolis in September 2017. Ticket sales for the 2019 Cortaca Jug game have recently surpassed the 42,000 mark.
 
Each game week as the big event nears we'll be taking a look back at some of the top Cortland memories from past Cortaca Jug games. This week's story looks back at one of the wildest finishes in school history as Cortland defeated Ithaca, 23-20, when a botched field goal turned into a winning TD pass as time expired.


SCHEDULES/RESULTS:

CORTLAND vs. HARTWICK – SERIES RECORD
(Cortland leads 14-0)

Year      Winner......................... Score                   Site
1929     Cortland........................ 53-0                      Cortland
1930     Cortland........................ 67-0                      Hartwick
1932     Cortland........................ 24-0                      Cortland
1933      Cortland....................... 40-0                      Cortland
1942     Cortland........................ 47-0                      Cortland
1946     Cortland........................ 28-0                      Cortland
1947     Cortland........................ 10-0                      Hartwick
1948     Cortland........................ 14-7                      Hartwick
1949     Cortland........................ 39-0                      Cortland
1950     Cortland........................ 37-0                      Hartwick
2015     Cortland........................ 48-45 (OT)            Cortland
2016     Cortland.........................50-47                    Hartwick
2017     Cortland.........................31-30                    Cortland
2018     Cortland.........................56-3                      Hartwick