ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team will kick off its 2026 season this Saturday, September 5 against nationally ranked No. 4 Johns Hopkins University at 12 p.m. at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Md.
GAME COVERAGE
ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday's matchup in Baltimore marks the fourth all-time meeting between Ithacan and Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays have won all three contests with the largest margin of victory coming in last year's meeting, 42-14. In 2024, the Bombers held a 17-point lead in the first half, but allowed 21 second half points to fall, 27-23.
THE 2026 BOMBERS: The Bombers return more than 40 letterwinners and 22 starters from 2025. Fourteen players on the offensive side are back, while 19 return on the defensive end and eight on special teams. Of those 40-plus returners, eight were named All-Liberty League.
A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: It's a new era for the Ithaca College football program as first-year head coach
Brandon Maguire takes over and will guide the Bombers (8-2 in 2025) through a 10-game slate, bookended with nationally ranked opponents. Maguire has served as the offensive coordinator over the past two seasons.
OTHER NEW FACES AND CHANGES ON THE STAFF: Maguire has hired four new assistant coaches heading into the season –
James Colzie III,
Eddie Gonzales III,
Terry Karg and
Jon Ramsey. Three returning coaches,
Will Margraff,
Drew Miller and
Will Gladney, have taken on new or expanded roles with the program.
PRESEASON HONORS FOR SPIRRA: The reigning Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year and All-American, junior defensive back
Joe Spirra, returns in 2026 as a First Team Preseason All-American by D3football.com.
LIBERTY LEAGUE PRESEASON OUTLOOK: In a vote by head coaches, the 2025 Liberty League champion Union Garnet Chargers have been selected to repeat with six first place votes. Ithaca was voted second and received one vote for first, while RPI was slotted third and also had one first place vote.
CORTACA TICKETS: The Bombers conclude the season against No. 23 Cortland in the 67th Cortaca Jug Game presented by Visions Federal Credit Union at Yankee Stadium on November 14 at 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the YES Network.
Tickets for the game can be purchased here.
SCOUTING THE BLUE JAYS: Over the past 15-plus years, Johns Hopkins has become one of the best teams in the East Region of Division III football. JHU has amassed over 150 wins since 2010 and have tallied 10 or more victories in 12 different seasons. In fact, the Blue Jays have reached the national semifinals in each of the past two seasons.
Head coach Dan Wodicka, now in his third year, has an overall record of 24-4 and was named Region III Coach of the Year in 2025.
The Blue Jays are once again loaded and enter 2026 ranked No. 4 in the D3football.com Preseason Poll. Despite some key losses, JHU returns arguably the best receiving corps in DIII with Cole Crotty, Robby Enright and Josh Moore, who combined for 179 receptions, 2700 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Defensively, JHU welcomes back its top two tacklers in Browning Trainer (102 total tackles and 11.5 TFLs) and Jack Smith (84 and 3.0 sacks), along with the team's leader in sacks, Will Seibert, who finished last season with 8.0 sacks for 51 yards.
On special teams, Moore was the leader in kick returns with 687 yards on 28 returns and Alex Orecchio was the program's punt returner with 17 attempts for 253 yards. Chase Alley and Kaleb Wayt are back after serving as the Blue Jays' punter and kicker last season.
UP NEXT: The Bombers will play their first-ever home varsity game under the lights next Saturday at 6 p.m. as long-time rival Alfred University travels to South Hill.
