ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 9/8 Ithaca College football team welcomes Liberty League rival Hobart College to Butterfield Stadium on Saturday, October 19, for a 1 p.m. kickoff. Ithaca is 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Liberty League, while Hobart is 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league play. Hobart's lone loss of the season came to Union College, 23-7, on October 5 when the Statesmen were ranked 21st by D3football.com.

GAME COVERAGE

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STATISTICS

ITHACA | HOBART | LIBERTY LEAGUE


ALL-TIME RESULTS: Ithaca and Hobart College face off for 33rd time since 1961 and IC holds a 27-5 record over the Statesmen. The most recent matchup between the two schools came in 2018, as the Bombers defeated Hobart in an away game by a score of 10-3. Hobart last defeated IC, 23-3, in 2016.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Bombers defended their home field last Saturday, October 12, and defeated Buffalo State by a score of 48-14 to move to 5-0 on the season. Senior Will Gladney and junior Andrew Vito led the way for the Bombers receiving corps. Gladney recorded 11 receptions for 140 yards, while Vito hauled in nine receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
 
The Bombers began the day with a successful onside kick and scored a touchdown nine plays later on a 1-yard run by senior Joe Germinerio. Ithaca recorded a touchdown on each of its first five drives to jump out to an early 35-7 lead in the first half.  Freshman kicker Nicholas Bahamonde capped off the first half with a 30-yard field goal to give the Bombers a 38-7 lead heading to intermission. At the end of the day, Ithaca's offense recorded 141 rushing yards, 342 passing yards, for a combined 483 total yards.
 
Ithaca's defense did its job once again as they stopped Buffalo State four out of six times on fourth down conversions. The Bombers also recorded one sack and only allowed 70 total yards of rushing offense.
 
Germinerio continued his impassive start to the season as he completed 28-of-37 pass attempts for 325 yards and three passing touchdowns. Senior Isaiah D'Haiti scored a pair of touchdowns on a 1-yard run and an 18-yard reception, while senior Kendall Anderson tallied the final score of the game on a 9-yard run.
 
LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORS:  Bahamonde earned Liberty League Rookie of the Week for the fourth straight week for the Bombers as he converted on successful onside kick, made all six extra points, and drilled both field goals from 30 and 32 yards.
 
CRACKED TOP TEN:  Following the win over Buffalo State, Ithaca moved up to eighth in the national rankings by AFCA and ninth by D3football.com.
 
NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Through five games this year, Ithaca is ranked among the nation's best in multiple team and individual categories.
 
The Bombers remain fourth in third down conversions (55.2%) and are third in fourth down conversion percentage (80%).  Continuing in the offensive category, the Bombers are eighth in scoring offense (47.6 PPG).
 
Individually, Germinerio is ranked fifth in points responsible for, fifth in passing touchdowns, sixth in total offense, seventh in completion percentage, ninth in passing yards per game, ninth in competitions per game, and 12th in passing yards.
 
Gladney ranks eighth in receptions per game and tenth in receiving touchdowns.
 
Bahamonde is ranked in multiple categories as well as he is tied for first in field goal percentage and seventh in field goals per game.
 
CORTACA TO SET RECORD:  On October 3, the New York City Chapter of the National Football Foundation (NYC/NFF) announced that the 2019 Cortaca Jug Game, set for November 16 at MetLife Stadium, will set the Division III attendance record. With just over five weeks to go, sales have exceeded 39,000 tickets for the game. The previous record of 37,355 was set in 2017 for a game held at Target Field in Minneapolis. 
 
SCOUTING THE STATESMEN: Hobart is currently 5-1 on the season with its lone loss coming to Union two weeks ago.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Hobart is led by quarterback Ryan Hofmann, who has thrown for 12 touchdowns and 1,175 yards. Wide receivers Mike Giacobbe and Jake Catalioto lead the receiving corps combining for six total touchdowns and over 700 yards.

The receiving corps has big play ability as five players have hauled in receptions over 53 yards this season.
 
Defensively, Hobart has intercepted the ball 12 times and has recorded 13 sacks on the season, to go along with 50 tackles for loss.  The Statesmen are allowing 16.8 points per game. Emmett Forde leads the defense with four total sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

The Statesmen also possess a special teams weapon in kicker Kyle Hackett, who is 8-of-11 in field goal attempts and has booted eight touchbacks.
 
UP NEXT: The Bombers go on the road as they travel to take on the University of Rochester for yet another Liberty League matchup.  The game will be played at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, October 26.  Ithaca has won the past two meetings against the University of Rochester.