ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 16/18 Ithaca College football team will travel to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this Saturday, October 7 for a 12 p.m. Liberty League matchup at East Campus Stadium. Ithaca enters the game with a 3-1 overall record and 1-0 mark in the Liberty League, while RPI is 4-0 on the year and will be playing its first league game of the season.

COVERAGE

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STATISTICS

ITHACA | RPI | LIBERTY LEAGUE

ALL-TIME SERIES: Ithaca heads to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this Saturday for the ninth all-time meeting between the two schools. RPI holds the series lead, 5-3, but the Bombers snapped their losing streak to the Engineers last season, 13-10. It was the first win for IC against RPI as Liberty League rivals.

PERFECT OPENING TO BERTINO FIELD: Last Friday, September 29, Ithaca College held its formal dedication to the newly renovated Bertino Field at Butterfield Stadium and honored Monica Bertino Wooden '81 for generous donation that made the project possible.

The following afternoon, the Bombers hosted Hobart College and came away with a 24-14 win to remain perfect at home against the Statesmen – 18-0. IC trailed, 7-0, late in the first half but tied the game on an 8-yard completion from A.J. Wingfield to Sam Kline. Less than a minute later, Sam Tourangeau recovered a fumble in the end zone to give IC a 14-7 lead heading into halftime.

The lead grew to 17-7 as Derek Baldin made a 20-yard field goal with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Hobart pulled back to within three points with a touchdown at the 9:31 mark of the fourth, but IC put the game away on a 79-yard TD run by Jalen Leonard-Osbourne, who finished the game with 155 yards on 22 carries.

Ben Stola had 17 total tackles with 3.5 for a loss and one sack, to go along with a fumble recovery. Jordan Sosa also blocked a field goal in the win.

WORTHY RECOGNITION: On Monday, the Liberty League released its weekly awards and named Jalen Leonard-Osbourne the Offensive Performer of the Week and Ben Stola the Defensive Performer of the Week. The following day, D3football.com selected Stola as one of three linebackers to its Team of the Week, making Stola the 57th player in program history to receive the honor since 1999.

IN THE RANKINGS: The Bombers moved up one spot to No. 16 in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll this week and remained at No. 18 in the AFCA Poll. RPI is receiving votes in both polls.

NCAA STAT LEADERS: IC is one of six teams in NCAA Division III that have only turned the ball over once this season. Ithaca also ranks 12th in sacks allowed. Individually, Darren Brunner is 15th in punt average (41.2 yards) and Ben Stola is 17th in tackles per game (10.8).

POLAR OPPOSITES: The story of Ithaca and RPI's seasons thus far from similar. The Bombers have played four games that have not reached 30 points by either team, and three of those contests have been decided by 10 or fewer points. RPI, on the other hand, has scored more than 38 points in three of its four wins for an average margin of 31 points per victory. The Engineers also have shutout each of their past two opponents.

BALANCED OFFENSE; STINGY DEFENSE: The makeup of Ithaca and RPI are similar in terms of the balanced offenses, accompanied by stingy defensive units. The Bombers average 333.3 yards of offense a game as IC runs for 171.5 and throws for 161.8, while the defense surrenders 288.8 yards (131.3 rushing and 157.5 passing) and gives up 14.5 points.

The Engineers rack up 433.5 yards of offense behind 233.3 passing and 200.3 rushing. Their defense allows 211.5 yards (160.8 passing and 50.8 rushing) and 10.3 points.

MORE ABOUT RPI: The Engineers are 4-0 on the season and are coming off a bye week. RPI allowed 41 points over its first two games but has not surrendered a touchdown (or point) in nine quarters.

RPI has rushed for 15 touchdown this season as eight different Engineers have found the end zone. Kayden White leads the rushing attack with four touchdowns and 285 yards, while Christian Buckley is a solid No. 2 option with 154 yards and three touchdowns.

Jake Kazanowksy has thrown for 807 yards and six touchdowns, to no interceptions, on 63.7 completion percentage. Hayden Faraday leads all receivers with 20 receptions, 255 yards and two scores.

The RPI defense has forced three turnovers this season but keeps its opposition in check with 19 tackles for loss and 11 sacks on the year.

UP NEXT: The Bombers return home next Saturday, October 14 for another high-level Liberty League showdown with Union at 1 p.m.