ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team hosts its first game of the 2026 season at Bertino Field at Butterfield Stadium on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. against Alfred University. Both teams are 0-1 heading into Saturday's contest.
GAME COVERAGE
ALL-TIME SERIES: Ithaca welcomes long-time rival Alfred University to Butterfield Stadium on Saturday evening in what will be the 65th all-time meeting dating back to 1933. The Bombers are 44-18-2 against the Saxons over the previous 64 games and have won each of the past six contests by an average of 27.2 points per game. Alfred's last win in the series came back in 2017.
FOR THE FIRST TIME: Ithaca began playing football at Butterfield Stadium (formerly South Hill Field) back in 1958. Saturday's matchup marks the first time that Ithaca's varsity football team will play a night game after more than 300 contests at the venue.
LIVE PREGAME SHOW: ESPN Ithaca will be on-site Saturday to host a live pregame show outside the main entrance to Butterfield Stadium beginning at 4:30 p.m. with Nick Karski and Ryan Gineo. Fans can listen to the show on 107.1 FM or at
www.espnithaca.com.
LAST TIME OUT: Ithaca dropped its season opener to No. 4 Johns Hopkins, 30-21, last Saturday in Baltimore, Md. After trailing Hopkins, 17-0, at halftime, the Bombers outscored the Blue Jays, 21-13, over the final two quarters of action.
Ithaca rushed for 220 yards in the loss, which was just the fourth time over the past three seasons that Hopkins has surrendered that many yards on the ground. The Bombers were also 9-for-17 on third down conversions.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Michael Reed accounted for most of IC's offense on the day as he threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 158 yards and another score.
Nicholas Lang was on the receiving end of both Reed touchdown passes as Lang finished the game with 105 yards on six receptions.
Joe Spirra guided the defense with 11 total tackles, including eight solo stops.
RECEIVING VOTES: For the second straight week, Ithaca is receiving five votes in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll.
WEEKLY HONORS: Junior punter
Caleb Wandell was selected as Liberty League Special Teams Performer of the Week on Wednesday afternoon and was named the top punter of the week by D3football.com, as part of its Team of the Week. Wandell averaged 45.0 yards on four punts against Johns Hopkins with a long of 72 yards.
CORTACA TICKETS: The Bombers conclude the season against Cortland in the 67th Cortaca Jug Game presented by Visions Federal Credit Union at Yankee Stadium on November 14 at 1 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased on Ticket Master by searching 'Cortaca Jug'.
SCOUTING ALFRED: The Saxons are coming off a 24-17 loss on the road to Hobart on Friday evening in their opener. Alfred produced 326 yards of offense with 242 coming through the air, while the defense allowed 408 yards to the Statesmen and more than 230 of those came on the ground. The Saxons also allowed seven sacks.
Former IC quarterback, Matt Parker, transferred to Alfred following the 2025 season and went 24-for-35 for 242 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Parker completed passes to 10 different receivers, led by Tommy Nyquist with six catches for 51 yards. Nyquist was also the leading rusher with 45 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Jack Bestpitch and Landon Spencer each notched nine tackles on defense, while Micheal Davis and John Requis Wilcox each recorded seven stops.
UP NEXT: The Bombers remain at home next Saturday, September 19 for a 1 p.m. kickoff to open Liberty League play against Hilbert College.
