ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team will play its final home game of the 2026 season this Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Bombers host RPI at Bertino Field at Butterfield Stadium. The winner of the contest will earn an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Championship.
GAME COVERAGE
ALL-TIME SERIES: Ithaca hosts RPI this Saturday in what will be the 12th meeting between the two schools since 1945. Eight of the previous 11 meetings have been played since 2017, and five of those games have been decided by three points or fewer. IC has won each of the past four matchups, while RPI owned a five-game winning streak from 2003 to 2021.
LAST TIME OUT: IC ran its winning streak to seven in a row last Saturday at Buffalo State as the Bombers prevailed, 65-14. Eight different players scored touchdowns in the win as the Bombers rushed for five touchdowns and scored four times through the air.
IC accumulated 508 yards of offense with 280 yards passing and 228 yards rushing to finish the afternoon with 29 first downs. The Ithaca defense held Buffalo State to 246 yards and registered 3.0 sacks.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM BUFF STATE: Michael Reed threw for three touchdowns and scored once on the ground as he finished the day with 206 total yards.
Chase Myers scored two rushing touchdowns, while
Gavin Bickford and
Ryan Turner also scored on the ground.
Tyler Wolfe threw a touchdown pass as
Nicholas Herskowitz,
Nicholas Lang,
D'Adj Love and
Ahmad Taylor all caught touchdown passes.
Davin Foote led the defense with seven total tackles with a 0.5 sacks, while
Jake Green,
Henry Takacs and
Collin Leonhardt all factored into sacks as well.
Andrew Mendel blocked a punt, which led to a safety.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY: Ithaca has been playing football since 1930, and for the first time in program history, the Bombers have scored 60 or more points in three different games.
IN THE RANKS: Ithaca ranks top 20 nationally in the following team categories: Punt Return Defense (2nd – [-1.0]), First Down Offense (4th – 216), Fourth Down Defense (6th – 15.8%), Fewest Turnovers (9th – 6), Scoring Defense (12th – 10.9), Scoring Offense (15th – 44.1), Rushing Offense (17th – 240.6), Total Offense (18th – 474.6), Rushing Defense (20th – 73.6).
SENIORS AND FAMILIES: Saturday marks Senior Day and Parents Weekend for the football team. Prior to kickoff, the underclass parents will be recognized in the end zone and then the senior parents and families for the 31 seniors on this year's team will be honored at midfield during halftime.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO TODAY: Saturday's outcome is simple. The winner is the Liberty League champion and will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Ithaca owns two outright Liberty League titles (2022 and 2023), while RPI has won the conference three times since 2017 and shared the regular season crown each season with the Bombers.
A CLASS OF THEIR OWN: Ithaca and RPI head into Saturday's matchup ranked top two in the Liberty League in scoring offense and defense, total offense and defense, rushing offense and defense, offensive passing efficiency, red zone offense, first down offense and defense, fourth down defense and punting.
SCOUTING RPI: The Engineers are 6-2 on the season and 5-0 in the Liberty League. Following a season-opening win against WPI, the Engineers dropped contests to Utica and Brockport, but have since won five straight by nearly 50 points per game.
RPI averages 40.8 points per contest and allows 13.9 points to its opposition. The Engineers compile 379.1 yards a game and surrender 248.8 as the defensive unit has forced 20 turnovers with 26 sacks.
Kayden White is the player to watch on Saturday as he leads RPI in rushing with 760 yards and 10 touchdowns. White also has 176 receiving yards and another score. Micah Balzarini has thrown for 961 yards and eight touchdowns, while Nate Ehui is the leading receiver with 18 receptions for 398 yards and five touchdowns. Grayson Hunter is another viable option at tight end with 308 yards and three touchdowns.
The defense is anchored by top tackler P.J. Poknis with 57 total stops and 9.5 tackles for loss and the team's leader in sack, Owen Boland, with 6.0 for 39 yards. Luke Lavello and Lance Hersh lock down the back end of the defense with seven combined interceptions.
CORTACA: Next Saturday, November 14, the Bombers conclude their regular season with the 67th Cortaca Jug Game presented by Visions Federal Credit Union at Yankee Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on the YES Network. Tickets are still available on Ticket Master.
