ALL-TIME SERIES: Ithaca College will make the trip out to Troy this Saturday to take on RPI for a noon kickoff at ECAV Stadium, in what will be IC's final Liberty League contest of the season. Ithaca is 6-2 on the year and 5-1 in the Liberty League, while RPI is 7-1 with a perfect 5-0 mark in league play.
Ithaca and RPI have played 10 times dating back to 1946. The series is split at 5-5 with IC winning each of the past three contests. RPI had won five straight from 2003 to 2021 and the Bombers won the first two meetings in 1946 and 2001.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bombers are coming off a 49-7 victory over Buffalo State last Saturday during Parents Weekend and Senior Day. IC jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and built their advantage to 35-7 by halftime. A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns accounted for the final score.
Ithaca outgained Buffalo State, 447-300, and held the Bengals to just 1.6 yards per carry on 36 attempts.
Michael Reed threw for 119 yards and a touchdown and scored twice more on the ground.
Tyrell Penalba racked up 80 yards on five carries and one touchdown.
IC's defense accounted for five sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Sam Tourangeau racked up nine total tackles, 2.5 for a loss of 14 yards and a sack for nine yards. Tourangeau also blocked a field goal.
HISTORY MADE BY PAQUETTE: Junior
Cam Paquette played a huge role in Ithaca's win against Buffalo State as he recorded six total tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, but his major impact was on an 89-yard pick six, which was the third longest interception return in school history. Paquette also blocked a punt in the game.
SCULLY HAS A BIG DAY: Sophomore
Chris Scully also shined last week with 151 total yards of offense and two touchdowns. Scully rushed for 102 yards on 12 carries with two scores and caught one pass from 49 yards. He came up just two yards shy on the reception from his third score of the game.
300-PLUS: The Bomber rushing attack eclipsed 300 yards in the game and finished the day with 328. The last time IC produced more than 300 yards on the ground in a contest came against Buffalo State two years ago at home on October 28, when they totaled 331.
2X100: Reed and Scully both rushed for more 100 yards, which was the first time for IC teammates to do so since October 14, 2024. Reed was also the first quarterback to run for over 100 yards since 2023.
UNDER 20: Ithaca has held its opposition to 20 points or fewer in seven straight games. Another stingy performance by the Bomber defense will match seven other teams who had eight straight games of 20 or few points (1988, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2022, 2023 and 2024).
Three times has a Bomber defense gone nine straight games (1978, 1989 and 2018) and the school record of 11 consecutive games occurred in 1989.
BATTLE OF THE TWO BEST DEFENSES AND OFFENSES: Ithaca and RPI boast the two best defenses in the Liberty League as the Bombers hold opponents to 13.1 points and RPI sits at 14.3 points per game.
Offensively, RPI is No. 1 at 38.9 points per game and Ithaca ranks second at 29.3 points per outing.
ALL OR NOTHING: Saturday's game is pretty simple for Ithaca in terms of securing a potential co-championship and postseason berth. The Bombers need to beat RPI this week and the Engineers will then need to defeat Union next week to set up a three-way tie for the regular season title. Tiebreakers scenarios will then go into effect to determine the Liberty League's automatic qualifier.
SCOUTING RPI: After a tough Week 2 loss to Utica, 41-14, RPI has been on a roll with six straight wins with the last five coming by more than 26 points in each game. Since the 30-24 overtime win at Brockport, the Engineers have averaged 48.2 points in five Liberty League wins and have allowed just 8.0 points per game.
Kayden White is the player to watch on offense as he has scored 15 touchdowns this season and rushed for 637 yards on 119 carries. Anthony Dematteo has thrown for nearly 1600 yards and 12 touchdowns, to just three interceptions, and he distributes the ball all over the field as six players have over 100 yards receiving.
Matt Krauza paces the defense with 54 total tackles, to go along with 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Miles Lafferty has 49 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss, while T.J. Chadwick has 5.5 sacks on the season.
RPI also excels in special teams as Gage Swanger averages 18.4 yards per punt return and he has taken two back for touchdowns. Cassius Johnson is the main kick returner at 29.7 yards per return, and Thomas Mulvaney has an 85-yard touchdown return.
The Engineers have three solid kickers and punters as well. Anderson Burke averages over 41 yards per punt, but Aleksander Maric is 11-for-12 on the season in field goals and Hayden Gray averages nearly 59 yards per kickoff with nine touchbacks.
66TH CORTACA JUG: The 66th Cortaca Jug Game is on deck for Ithaca as the Bombers will welcome No. 20 Cortland to Butterfield Stadium next Saturday for a 12 p.m. kickoff.
