No. 19 Football Heads to Springfield for NCAA First Round Battle

ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 19 Ithaca College football team is set to kick off the NCAA Division III Championship this Saturday, November 18 at Springfield College. The game will be held at Stagg Field, with a 12 p.m. start time. Ithaca boasts an 8-2 record for the season, while Springfield comes into the game at 9-1.

GAME COVERAGE

WATCH | STATS | LISTEN | GAME NOTES

TICKETS: Gates open at 10:30am on Saturday. Ticket prices are as follows:

Adult – $8.00
Senior – $4.00
Student/Youth (ages 3 through college) – $4.00
Child (2 and under) – Free

FACILITIES/CAMPUS MAP

ALL-TIME SERIES: Ithaca and Springfield have met 39 times (30-9 in favor of IC) since 1973 and were Empire 8 rivals. Ithaca and Springfield squared off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, with the Bombers prevailing, 31-20.

LAST YEAR’S NCAA MATCHUP: Springfield jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bombers fought back to take a 21-20 halftime edge and shut out the Pride in the second half.

Springfield entered that game as the national leader in time of possession, fewest tackles for loss allowed, and second in fewest turnovers and rushing yards. The Bomber defense limited the Pride’s offense and held them to 252 yards rushing.

Jalen Leonard-Osbourne had two receiving touchdowns on four catches for 101 yards, while A.J. Wingfield ran for 88 yards and threw for 168.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Ithaca claimed its second straight Liberty League championship this season with a perfect 6-0 mark, also defeated now No. 14 Endicott and Alfred to achieve the hardest strength of schedule in Division III at .673. IC’s only losses were to now No. 7 Johns Hopkins and No. 11 Cortland.

Springfield claimed its third consecutive NEWMAC title and has steamrolled its competition, winning by more than 30 points per game.

ITHACA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: The Bombers are one of the most storied programs in Division III history with three national championships in 1979, 1988 and 1991. IC has reached the national title game seven times, finishing as the runner-up four times.

IC will be making its 21st all-time appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship and owns an overall record of 30-17.

THE 2023 NCAA DIVISION III FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: The football national tournament is a 32-team field, with schools playing on campus sites until the national championship game on Dec. 15 in Salem, Va.

LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORS: The Liberty League released its all-league teams, where IC placed 17 players on one of three teams. Leonard-Osbourne was named Offensive Player of the Year, Ben Stola was the Defensive Player of the Year, and Michael Toerper and staff were named Coaching Staff of the Year.

SLYWKA SNAGS SECOND D3FOOTBALL.COM TEAM OF THE WEEK: For the second time this season and third of his career, Slywka found a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week. He notched his sixth interception of the year and has also recorded six pass breakups over the past five games.

MORE ABOUT THE BOMBERS: The Bombers had their eight-game winning streak snapped last week in the 64th Cortaca Jug. Ithaca enters this contest averaging 28.5 points and 383.3 yards per game. The defense allows 14.6 points and 302.5 yards.

Leonard-Osbourne has 861 yards rushing and nine touchdowns, while Colin Schumm is the quarterback. Kline leads the receivers with 616 yards and five touchdowns.

Defensively, Stola paces the unit with 102 total tackles and 10 tackles for loss. Brunner averages just under 40 yards per punt in 35 attempts, while Baldin is 10-for-14 in field goal tries.

NCAA STAT LEADERS: The Bombers are third nationally in sacks allowed per game, seventh in interceptions with 18, and rank in the top 30 in several other categories.

SCOUTING SPRINGFIELD: The Pride have won seven straight contests leading up to this matchup. Springfield is the national leader in rushing yards per game and is third in fourth down conversions and interceptions thrown.

The triple option offense runs through Arsen Shtefan, who has 1206 yards on 197 carries and nine touchdowns. Aiden Lewin is Springfield’s top defender with 78 total tackles, while Will McKay and Quinn Sweeney each have 8.5 tackles for loss on the year.

UP NEXT: The winner of this game will advance to the second round to take on the winner of No. 8 Randolph-Macon and Christopher Newport next Saturday, November 25.