THE MATCHUP: One of the biggest small-college football rivalries is hitting its biggest stage ever as Cortland and Ithaca meet for the Cortaca Jug at MetLife Stadium – the home of the NFL's Jets and Giants – in East Rutherford, N.J. More than 45,000 tickets have been sold as the game looks to break the Division III single-game attendance record of 37,355 set by St. Thomas and St. John's (Minn.) on Sept. 23, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis.
THE SERIES: This is the 61st time that Cortland and Ithaca are playing for the Cortaca Jug. The schools actually started playing in 1930 and have met every year since 1948. Ithaca leads the overall series 41-33-3. In 1959, friends and team captains
Tom Decker of Cortland and
Dick Carmean of Ithaca originated the Cortaca Jug as the prize for the winner of the game between the schools located about 20 miles apart on Route 13.
The original jug was purchased at a yard sale. Each year, the game's result is printed on the Jug. The first Jug ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980s, necessitating a second Jug. That Jug ran out of room for scores after the 2015 season, and a third Jug was created to list the scores beginning in 2016.
Ithaca leads the Jug series 36-24, which does not include the Bombers' 1988 NCAA playoff win over the Red Dragons. Cortland, however, is 14-9 versus the Bombers since 1996, including wins in seven straight seasons from 2010-16.
Ithaca has won the last two matchups, including a 24-21 victory at Cortland last year. The Bombers led 21-0 late in the first half before Cortland rallied and close to within the final margin on
Brett Segala's 9-yard TD run with 11:48 left. The Red Dragons were unable to move the ball out of their own territory on their final two possessions.
Ithaca quarterback
Wahid Nabi completed 13-of-21 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns and
Kendall Anderson ran 26 times for 115 yards and a score.
Andrew Vito caught five passes for 100 yards.
Raif Silva made eight tackles and
Ryan Bronson finished with seven stops and an interception on Cortland's final drive. Cortland tailback
Johnnie Akins ran 18 times for 137 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, and Segala finished 16-of-27 passing for 161 yards and a TD.
Mark DeLuise led the Red Dragons with 16 tackles and an interception and
Kyle Richard ended with nine tackles.
For two years (2015 and 2016) the teams met as Empire 8 foes. Ithaca, however, joined the Liberty League in 2017. Prior to 2015, Cortland was a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference from 2000-14 and an independent before that. Cortland clinched the 2015 Empire 8 title with an 11-8 win at Ithaca.
In 2014, Cortland won at home over the Bombers, 23-20, in one of the most wild and memorable finishes in the rivalry's history. The Red Dragons trailed 20-17 and were lining up for a potential game-tying field goal with no timeouts left and the clock winding down. Holder
Luke Hinton was late getting on the field, and was actually looking back at the kicker when a low snap hit him in the leg. Hinton recovered, rolled to his left and threw the game-winning TD pass to Mannix as time expired. The play was recognized as the nation's number-three play on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 that evening.
Of the last 22 games in the series (1997-2018), 16 have been decided by eight points or less. In the previous 60 Cortaca Jug games, Cortland is 7-5 in games decided by 1-3 points and 11-7 in games decided by 4-8 points, but Ithaca is 8-3 when the margin is 9-16 points and 16-3 when a team wins by 17 or more.
CORTLAND CAPSULE: Cortland improved to 8-1 on the season and closed Empire 8 play with a 5-1 mark as the Red Dragons rallied from an early 14-0 deficit to win 32-21 at Hartwick.
Zach Tripodi ran for a career-best 205 yards, highlighted by a 66-yard burst in the fourth quarter to help set up a TD that extended the lead to 29-21. That play came right after
Dylan Dubuque blocked a 21-yard field goal with less than six minutes remaining to preserve Cortland's one-point lead.
Brett Segala completed 22-of-35 passes for 249 yards and two scores.
Cole Burgess caught a career-high 10 passes for 109 yards and a score and Dubuque led the defense with nine tackles, including two sacks, along with three QB hurries.
Angelo Foster and Dubuque each blocked field goals to give the Red Dragons a school-record 10 blocks this fall.
Segala is 164-for-275 (59.6 percent) passing this season for 2,362 yards and 21 touchdowns with six interceptions. He set a school regular-season record last year with 2,671 passing yards. Tripodi has run for 1,098 yards and eight touchdowns on 194 carries (122 yards per game, 5.7 yards per carry). Burgess is one of three Red Dragons with 30 or more receptions. He leads the team with 49 catches for 848 yards and eight scores.
Jason Carlock has caught 35 passes for 561 yards and seven touchdowns and Foster has 30 receptions for 477 yards and five touchdowns.
Gregory Alfieri paces the defense with 77 tackles, including 3.5 sacks, and Dubuque has registered 68 tackles with four sacks, two interceptions and four pass breakups.
Paul Imperiale, who has started the last three games, is third on the squad with 55 tackles, and
Devin Smith's 47 tackles include a team-high seven sacks. Smith also leads Cortland with three forced fumbles.
Stone Murray and
Evans Riviere each have three interceptions.
Cortland has enjoyed strong special teams play this season. In addition to its school-record 10 blocked kicks, Cortland is averaging 22.1 yards per kickoff return with one touchdown and 10.1 yards per punt return.
Nick Mongelli is 32-for-32 on PAT kicks and 9-for-12 on field goals, including a 46-yarder each of the last two weeks, and
Liam Casey averages 37.8 yards per punt with 15 "inside the 20" compared to just one touchback.
Head Coach
Dan MacNeill is in his 23rd season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 155-83 (.651) ranks him first at Cortland in career victories and winning percentage. He was the 2015 HERO Sports National Coach of the Year and the D3football.com East Region Coach of the Year, and he and his assistants were chosen as the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition, he's been the New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in both 2008 and 2012, and also was a finalist for Liberty Mutual National Division III Coach of the Year honors in 2008 after leading the Red Dragons to the league title and the NCAA quarterfinals.
In addition to six NCAA appearances (1997, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015), MacNeill's teams won the inaugural New York Bowl in 2017 and qualified for the game again in 2018 (game was canceled due to lack of Liberty League opponent). The Red Dragons also won ECAC bowls in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and they played in five other ECAC postseason games, most recently in 2016.
A LOOK AT...ITHACA COLLEGE: Ithaca opened the season with seven straight wins by an average margin of victory of 32.1 points per game. The Bombers, however, have dropped their last two contests. Ithaca lost at home to Union, 31-21, in a "winner-take-all" game for the Liberty League tournament, and the Bombers' hopes for an NCAA at-large berth took a major hit with a 38-12 loss at RPI last Saturday.
Joe Germinerio, who transferred to Ithaca this fall after three seasons at Brockport, is one of the nation's top quarterbacks. He currently ranks third in Division III in total offense (347.2 yards per game), fourth in completions (26.3 per game), sixth in passing yardage (319.7 per game), seventh in passing touchdowns (30), seventh in points responsible for (22.9 per game) and 10th in completion percentage (69.1 pct.).
The Bombers feature one of the country's top receiver tandems in
Andrew Vito and
Will Gladney. Vito is sixth nationally with 8.4 catches per game (67 catches for 874 yards and eight TDs in eight games) and Gladney is ninth with 7.9 catches per contest (71 receptions for 932 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games).
Isaiah D'Haiti has rushed for five touchdowns and Germinerio has four rushing scores.
Nick Garone leads the Bombers with 86 tackles and four interceptions.
Anthony Robinson has a team-high 11 pass breakups and
John Hadac has totaled 7.5 sacks among his 13 total tackles for loss.
Nicholas Bahamonde has enjoyed an outstanding season as Ithaca's placekicker. He's a perfect 10-for-10 on field goals – nine of which have been from 30 or more yards out, including a 47-yarder. He's also made his last 47 PAT kicks after missing his first attempt of the season.
Brian Fallon averages 36.9 yards per punt and
AJ Clifford averages 24.0 yards per kickoff return.
Dan Swanstrom is in his third season as Ithaca's head coach. The 10th head coach in program history, and only the third since 1967, Swanstrom has a record of 23-8 (.742) entering the Cortaca Jug game. He led the Bombers to 8-3 records and ECAC bowl games in each of his first two seasons. Swanstrom was the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania from 2014-16, and from 2008-13 he progressed from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator to associate head coach at Johns Hopkins University. His collegiate coaching career began as an assistant at the University of Redlands in California from 2006-08. Swanstrom is a Texas native and a 2005 graduate of Rhodes College (Tenn.), where he was a two-time captain, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, and a Gagliardi Trophy finalist.
NOTEBOOK:
* Ten previous college football games have been played at MetLife Stadium since it opened in April 2010, and this year's Cortaca Jug is in position to be the stadium's fifth-highest in attendance.
Previous college games at MetLife:
76,802: Notre Dame 31, Syracuse 15 (9/27/14)
75,614: Navy 35, Notre Dame 17 (11/23/10)
62,794: Notre Dame 50, Syracuse 33 (11/1/16)
61,202: Penn St. 23, Syracuse 17 (8/31/13)
41,292: Rutgers 23, Army 20 (OT) (11/16/10)
39,507: USC 42, Syracuse 29 (9/8/12)
34,167: Morgan St. 20, Howard 3 (9/25/10)
28,712: Morgan St. 38, Howard 35 (9/20/14)
25,816: Benedict 30, Virginia St. 14 (9/14/13)
24,996: Morgan St. 14, Howard 9 (9/24/11)
* Prior to this weekend, the
top-drawing games in Division III football history (researched by D3football.com) are:
37,355: St. Thomas vs. St. John's at Target Field (9/23/17)
19,508: St. Thomas vs. St. John's at Allianz Field (10/19/19)
17,535: UW-Oshkosh at UW-Whitewater (10/8/16)
17,327: St. Thomas at St. John's (9/26/15)
16,922: St. Thomas at St. John's (10/13/18)
16,514: St. Thomas at St. John's (9/24/16)
16,421: St. Thomas at St. John's (10/2/10)
15,287: UW-Platteville at UW-Whitewater (10/3/15)
14,437: Randolph-Macon at Hampden-Sydney (11/12/94)
14,286: St. Thomas at St. John's (9/15/12)
Previous largest Cortaca Jug game: 12,620: Cortland at Ithaca (11/10/01)
* For the first time in Cortaca Jug history both Cortland and Ithaca enter the game averaging more than 40 points per game. Cortland is currently ranked 17th nationally in Division III at 41.1 points per game and Ithaca is ranked 22nd with 40.4 points per game. Cortland set a school record last season with its 39.3 points-per-game average in 10 games.
* Cortland and Ithaca enter the game with many similar season stats, including the following:
(Cortland listed first, then Ithaca)
Points Scored per game: 41.1 / 40.4
Points Allowed per game: 19.9 / 19.4
Total Offensive Yards per game: 453.8 / 455.1
Total Offense Allowed per game: 347.3 / 356.8
Rushing Yards Allowed per game: 123.0 / 121.3
Passing Yards Allowed per game: 224.3 / 235.4
Turnover Margin (overall): +1 / +3
Sacks (by defense): 20 / 20
* In just 24 career games (four in 2016, one in 2017, 10 in 2018 and nine this fall),
Brett Segala has completed 437-of-728 passes (60 percent) for 6,164 yards and 58 touchdowns. His 58 TD passes are a new school record, eclipsing the 57 thrown by
Steven Ferreira from 2015-17. Segala needs 108 passing yards to beat Ferreira's school-record of 6,271. Ferreira is also the school record holder with 456 career completions, followed by
Dick Puccio (1988-91) with 451,
Alex Smith (2004-07, 09) with 448, Tutwiler with 447 and Segala with 437. Segala also holds the school record with nine career 300-yard passing games, including two this season (399 at St. John Fisher, 306 at TCNJ).
*
Zach Tripodi ran for a career-best 205 yards at Hartwick last week and has 1,098 rushing yards through nine games. With 1,910 career rushing yards, Tripodi is 90 away from becoming the ninth Cortland player to reach the career 2,000-yard mark. Tripodi is averaging 5.7 yards per carry this fall. The school record for best rushing average per carry (minimum 100 attempts) is 6.2 yards per rush by
Dorian Myles in 2012 (765 yards on 123 carries), followed by 5.7 yards per carry by
Scott Berent in 1990 (1,181 yards on 208 carries).
*
Nick Mongelli is 32-for-32 on PAT kicks this season. The last kicker to go an entire season without missing a PAT kick (minimum 25 made) was
Matthew Mintz (35-for-35) in 2006.
* Cortland has blocked a school-record 10 kicks this year – five punts (two vs. Fitchburg, one each vs. Alfred, St. John Fisher and Brockport), two PATs (vs. Utica, returned for two points, and Brockport), and three field goals (one at St. John Fisher, two at Hartwick). The previous school single-season record for blocks was nine, set three times (over 10 games in 2005, 12 games in 2010 and 11 games in 2016). Six different Red Dragons have blocked at least one kick this fall. Cortland leads Division III nationally with its 10 blocked kicks, but Ithaca is tied for first in the nation with no blocked kicks allowed.
* Cortland has returned three blocked punts for touchdowns this fall – the most ever by a Red Dragon squad (complete defensive stats were first tracked at Cortland in 1979).
Marc Anthony Dalce has two of those touchdowns as he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone versus Fitchburg State and returned a block 20 yards for a score at St. John Fisher.
Dylan Studer had a 13-yard blocked punt return for a score versus Alfred. The previous team record of two blocked punt returns for TDs in a season happened in both 1992 (
Andy Jones at Brockport,
Jason Dudek at Albany) and 1995 (
R-Kal Truluck vs. Montclair State,
Curtis Merrick at Brockport).
* Cortland has allowed sacks on just 2.06 percent of its pass plays this year (six sacks on 297 pass plays – 291 passes plus the six sacks). The school record for lowest sack percentage allowed is 2.61 percent in 2011 (nine sacks, 344 pass plays) and 3.58 percent in 2002 (12 sacks, 335 pass plays).
* A total of 19 different players have scored for Cortland through eight games this season. Only once since at least 1978 has a Red Dragon team had that many players score in one year. The 2012 Cortland team had 19 players reach the scoring column, while the 2007 and 2011 teams each had 18 players score.
Dylan Dubuque became the 19th Cortland player to score this season when he tackled a Brockport runner in the end zone for a safety.
*
Cole Burgess has six 100-yard receiving games this season, including each of the last three games. The school record for most 100-yard receiving games in a season is seven by
John Babin in 2013, while
Jon Mannix had six in 2015 and
Steve Ellis had six in 1994. Also, Burgess has three kickoff returns for touchdowns in his first two collegiate seasons (two last season and one this year). The school record for career kickoff return touchdowns is five by
Dylan Peebles from 2013-15.
* Three different Red Dragon kickers have scored this season.
Nick Mongelli is 32-for-32 on PATs and 9-for-12 on field goal attempts (including career-best 46-yarders versus Brockport and Hartwick).
Patrick Luby is 8-for-8 on PATs and made his lone field goal attempt, and
Nick Guglielmo is 5-for-5 on PATs and 1-for-2 on field goal kicks. Mongelli missed the second and third games of the season due to injury, leading to Guglielmo handling placekicking at TCNJ and Luby versus Buffalo State. The last time Cortland had three different kickers score points was in 1978 when
Bob Barber made three field goals and kicked 11 PATs,
Joe Borke made five PATs and
Bill Schoft converted on four PATs.
Dan MacNeill, Cortland's current head coach, was a senior captain and a starting defensive lineman on that 1978 squad.
* Cortland punter
Liam Casey has recorded two of the longest punts in school history this season. His 71-yard punt versus Brockport – tied for the third longest since full records were first tracked in 1963 – pinned the Golden Eagles at the 2-yard line and set up a Cortland safety. Casey also had a 69-yard punt in Cortland's win at Morrisville State.
* Cortland has scored on 88.9 percent (40-of-45) of its red zone trips this season with 31 touchdowns and nine field goals. The Red Dragons are holding opponents to 69.7 percent red zone scoring success (23-of-33 with 21 touchdowns and two field goals). Ithaca ranks 14th nationally in red zone offense (89.1 percent) and Cortland ranks 15th.
* Cortland is 6-5 all-time in overtime games, including a 32-26 loss at home to Brockport this year. All 11 games were decided in the first extra session. Cortland and Ithaca have played two overtime games, with Cortland winning both: 37-30 at Ithaca in 2005 on an
Alex Smith TD pass to
Anthony Morat, followed by a
Stef Sair interception, and 23-20 at home in 2006 when
Bill Hauser picked off a pass and
Matthew Mintz made a 40-yard field goal.
* Cortland is in its fifth season in the Empire 8 this fall. The Red Dragons joined the league in 2015 after 15 seasons in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Cortland finished in at least a tie for first in the NJAC six times (2005-08, 2010, 2012) and shared the Empire 8 crown in 2015. Three current Empire 8 members - Cortland, Brockport and Morrisville State - at one point played in the NJAC and are affiliate members of the E8 in football only. The other league teams - Alfred, Hartwick, St. John Fisher and Utica - are full conference members. Buffalo State left the Empire 8 after last season and joined the Liberty League – a move that Ithaca also made entering the 2018 season.
* Cortland and Ithaca rank in the top 40 nationally in Division III in the following team and individual categories:
CORTLAND:
1st, Blocked Kicks, 10
4th, Fourth Down Conversion Percentage Defense, 19.0 pct.
6th, Fewest Sacks Allowed, 0.7/game
15th, Red Zone Offense, 88.9 pct.
16th, Fewest Tackles for Loss Allowed, 4.1/game
17th, Scoring Offense, 41.1 pts./game
20th, Fewest Blocked Kicks Allowed, 1
28th, Total Offense, 453.8 yds./game
40th, Team Passing Efficiency, 153.3 rating
40th, Fewest Turnovers Lost, 11
Marc Anthony Dalce, 4th, Punt Return Touchdowns, 2 (both blocked punt returns)
Cole Burgess, 6th, Kickoff Return Touchdowns, 1
Dylan Studer, 9th, Punt Return Touchdowns, 1 (blocked punt return)
Nick Mongelli, 9th, Field Goals, 1.3/game
Zach Tripodi, 17th, Rushing, 122.0 yds./game
Cole Burgess, 18th, Kickoff Returns, 27.1 yds./return
Travis Alvarez, 20th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Dylan Dubuque, 20th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Angelo Foster, 20th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Devin Smith, 22nd, Forced Fumbles, 0.3/game
Nick Mongelli, 24th, Field Goal Percentage, 75.0 pct.
Brett Segala, 32nd, Passing Touchdowns, 21
Brett Segala, 34th, Passing Yards, 262.4 yds./game
Brett Segala, 35th, Passing Yards per Completion, 14.4 yds./completion
Brett Segala, 36th, Total Offense, 271.6 yds./game
Brett Segala, 36th, Yards per Pass Attempt, 8.6 yds./attempt
Cole Burgess, 36th, All-Purpose Yards, 141.1 yds./game
Zach Tripodi, 39th, All-Purpose Yards, 139.2 yds./game
Cole Burgess, 40th, Total Receiving Yards, 848
ITHACA:
1st, Fewest Blocked Kicks Allowed, 0
6th, First Downs, 233
6th, Punt Return Defense, 1.2 yds./return
7th, Passing Offense, 335.9 yds./game
8th, Third Down Conversion Percentage, 53.3 pct.
11th, Completion Percentage, 67.6 pct.
14th, Red Zone Offense, 89.1 pct.
22nd, Scoring Offense, 40.4 pts./game
25th, Total Offense, 455.1 yds./game
33rd, Team Passing Efficiency, 156.6 rating
34th, Net Punting, 34.9 net yds./punt
35th, Kickoff Returns, 22.5 yds./return
37th, Defensive Touchdowns, 2
37th, Interceptions, 13
Nicholas Bahamonde, 1st, Field Goal Percentage, 100.0 pct.
Joe Germinerio, 3rd, Total Offense, 347.2 yds./game
Joe Germinerio, 4th, Completions, 26.3/game
Joe Germinerio, 6th, Passing Yards, 319.7 yds./game
Andrew Vito, 6th, Receptions, 8.4/game
Joe Germinerio, 7th, Passing Touchdowns, 30
Joe Germinerio, 7th, Points Responsible For, 22.9 pts./game
Will Gladney, 9th, Receptions, 7.9/game
Will Gladney, 9th, Receiving Touchdowns, 14
Kyle Smith, 9th, Punt Return Touchdowns, 1 (blocked punt return)
Joe Germinerio, 10th, Completion Percentage, 69.1 pct.
Nicholas Bahamonde, 13th, Field Goals, 1.1/game
Kyle Smith, 20th, Blocked Kicks, 2
Andrew Vito, 22nd, Receiving Yards, 109.3 yds./game
Joe Germinerio, 29th, Passing Efficiency, 163.8 rating
Will Gladney, 30th, Touchdowns, 14
Will Gladney, 31st, Receiving Yards, 103.6 yds./game
AJ Clifford, 33rd, Combined Kick Returns, 553 yds.
Will Gladney, 34th, Scoring, 9.3 pts./game
Nick Garone, 35th, Interceptions, 0.4/game
2019 Cortland Weekly Award Winners (game date/opponent in parentheses)
Cole Burgess, Wide Receiver/Kick Returner
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 19 vs. Alfred)
D3football.com National Team of the Week (wide receiver) (Oct. 26 at St. John Fisher)
Dylan Dubuque, Linebacker/Special Teams
D3football.com National Team of the Week (special teams) (Nov. 9 at Hartwick)
Liam Casey, Punter
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 12 at Morrisville St.)
Angelo Foster, Wide Receiver/Special Teams
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Oct. 5 vs. Utica)
Patrick Luby, Kicker
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 28 vs. Buffalo St.)
Nick Mongelli, Kicker
Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 9 at Hartwick)
Offensive Line – David Aaronson, Russell Howard, Michael Bailey, Russell Lugbauer, Travis Alvarez
D3football.com National Team of the Week (Sept. 28 vs. Buffalo St.)
Brett Segala, Quarterback
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 14 at TCNJ)
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 5 vs. Utica)
Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 26 at St. John Fisher)
CORTLAND CORTACA JUG FLASHBACK:
The 2019 Cortaca Jug rivalry game between Cortland and Ithaca College will be played Nov. 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with the schools hoping to break the Division III football attendance record of 37,355 set by Minnesota schools St. Thomas and St. John's at Target Field in Minneapolis in September 2017. Ticket sales for the 2019 Cortaca Jug game have surpassed the 45,000 mark.
Each game week during the season we've taken a look back at some of the top Cortland memories from past Cortaca Jug games. This week's final flashback looks at
the 1988 Cortaca Jug game at Cortland, billed the "Upstate New York Game of the Century" as both teams entered with 8-0 records.
SCHEDULES/RESULTS: