CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 ranked Cortland Red Dragons in the 65th Cortaca Jug Game at Grady Field, in front of 9,562 fans, but the Bombers came up short in a 28-17 loss. Ithaca held multiple leads in the contest, but the running game from Cortland proved to be the difference down the stretch and the Bombers finish the 2024 season with a 6-4 record.

Ithaca won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Cortland stared the opening drive of the game at its own 22-yard line and went 3-and-out as Owen O'Neill blew up a third down pass play and forced Zac Boyes to scramble out of the pocket to throw the ball away.

IC started its initial possession of the game at its 32-yard line with 13:28 on the clock after Marcus Boyle returned a punt eight yards. Jalen Leonard-Osbourne took the first two carries for 11 yards and a first down. On 3rd-and-9, Matthew Parker hit Jake Williams on a screen pass, and he rumbled 56 yards for a touchdown to give the Bombers a 7-0 lead with 11:24 remaining in the quarter.

The Bombers were forced to kick of the 20 a penalty on the touchdown, which gave the Red Dragons possessions at the 36-yard line after the kickoff. Cortland reached IC territory and faced a 4th-and-2 from the Bombers 44, and Boyes picked up a first down on a draw. On the next play, Cortland designed a wide receiver pass from Sam Cotton to Jaden AlfanoStJohn for a 42-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:30 left.

A short return from Leonard-Osbourne spotted Ithaca at its 13 on the next drive. IC quickly faced a third down but converted as Parker hit Ben Marinaccio for an 8-yard gain. Another third down try was picked up as Williams earned a hard-fought 1-yard gain to continue the drive at the 33. For the third straight time, IC was successful on third down as Leonard-Osbourne bounced outside and sprinted 58 yards for another IC touchdown with 3:33 on the clock to put the Bombers back on top, 14-7, and cap off a 9-play, 87-yard drive.

There was a combined 265 yards of offense in the first quarter as IC accounted for 155 and Cortland had 110 yards.

The second quarter started with Cortland with a first down at the IC 28-yard line. Cortland deadlocked the game again at 14-14 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Ethan Gallo with 12:28 left.

IC once again started deep in its own territory with a 4-yard return to the 18. The Bombers were behind the sticks on second down after a 5-yard penalty and then Parker found Leonard-Osbourne for a 21-yard completion. IC's drive stalled after that, and Williams boomed a 50-yard punt to the Cortland 22.

Cortland drove down to the IC 5-yard and faced 4th-and-inches with 5:34 left in the half but the Bombers stuffed a run up the middle to regain possession. IC went 3-and-out and had to punt.

The Red Dragons then botched a snap and Danny Portas recovered a fumble at the IC 26. Portas returned the fumble 15 yards to the 41-yard line with just over two minutes left in the half. The Bombers moved into Cortland territory, but a sack pushed the Bombers into an unmanageable third down to force a punt with 42 seconds to go. The ensuing punt from Williams rolled to the Cortland 1-yard line for a 52-yard boot to send the game to halftime in a 14-14 tie.

Ithaca took a touchback to begin the second half. The Bombers picked up four first downs in the drive, including a pass interference call on Cortland to move IC down to the 26-yard line. IC stalled there, but Derek Baldin drilled a 42-yard field goal with 11:20 left in the quarter to give the Bombers the lead at 17-14.

Cortland started at the 30 and immediate moved into IC territory on back-to-back runs by Gallo down to the Bombers' 21-yard line. A 14-yard pass, accompanied by a roughing the passer, spotted Cortland at the 4-yard line and then the Red Dragons scored on a third down pass to CJ Messina to jump back ahead, 21-17, with 9:18 remaining in the quarter.

Parker started the next drive with a 26-yard completion to Nicholas Lang to quickly move the Bombers towards midfield and then IC entered Cortland territory on a 9-yard run by Leonard-Osbourne, but the drive ended there Williams punted to the Cortland 4-yard line.

The Red Dragons faced a 3rd-and-5 at their own 20, but Boyes escaped pressure multiple times and picked up a first down on a 7-yard run. Cortland was held at its 34 and had to punt to begin the fourth quarter, which gave IC the ball at its 37-yard line.

The Bombers ran for four yards on the first play and Cortland was flagged for holding to spot IC at the Cortland 49. Ithaca faced 4^th-and-4 at the Cortland 43 and turned the ball over on downs.

Cortland used the running attack and accounted for 52 yards on the ground but fumbled at the Ithaca 1-yard line and the Bombers recovered at the 6 as Henry Takacs forced the fumble and Jake Connolly earned the recovery. IC would have to punt, which traveled 51 yards with just under nine minutes to go.

Two plays later after the change of possession, Boyes ran for 26 yards to the IC 33-yard line. The Red Dragons then moved into the red zone on a short pass to Gallo and scored on a 3-yard run by Boyes to make it 28-17 with 3:42 left in the contest.

IC had a final chance to pull back to within a score but turned the ball over on downs at the Cortland 31-yard line with just over a minute left. Cortland ran out the clock to extend its winning streak to 22 games.

The Bombers held Cortland in check through the air, as Boyes was limited to just 89 yards passing but he ran for 132 yards. Gallo was a force as well with 183 yards rushing on 32 carries as the Red Dragons finished the game with 324 yards on the ground.

Leonard-Osbourne rushed for 117 yards on 13 carries, caught a pass for 21 yards and had 38 return yards. Parker threw for 148 yards, while Williams accounted for 80 yards of offense.

Ryan Burns led the defense with 14 tackles, while Connolly and Joe Spirra each had 13 tackles. Andrew Swierbut finished with nine stops and Isaiah Couser tallied seven tackles.