Friday Tailgate

Notes and Quotes from around the Conference to get you ready for the weekend.

Dickinson plays its home opener Saturday against Hobart ... the Statesmen were 9-2 a year ago and champions of the Liberty League ... Hobart's lone regular-season loss was to Franklin & Marshall ... Dickinson soph Jerome Igle ran for 120 yards in the win at Juniata, boosting coach Darwin Breaux's record to 43-8 when a Devil back reaches the century mark ... DB Andrew Ackley picked off three Juniata passes and now has five career picks against the Eagles ... while time will tell the Devils' 2005 fotunes, look out for the future ... Dickinson has just two seniors listed on the offensive two-deep (both starters) and two more on the defensive two-deep (non-starters).

Franklin & Marshall is idle this week. The Diplomats travel to Hobart next Saturday.

Gettysburg looks to break a seven-game losing streak against Hampden-Sydney ... the Bullets' last win was a 33-7 triumph in 1997 ... the Orange and Blue defense will be challenged by Tiger QB J.D. Ricca, who threw for 494 yards and six TDs against Sewanee last weekend ... Nathan Smith returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the third time in his collegiate career with his 86-yard return against Lebanon Valley ... he had a 100-yard return against Averett in 2002 and an 87-yarder against LVC in 2003 ... only Muhlenberg's Joshua Carter '02 has more career KOR touchdowns (4) in CC history ... Gettysburg has not started the season with two wins since 1993 ... H-SC is ranked 23rd by D3football.com.

Johns Hopkins welcomes Randolph-Macon to Homewood Field for its home opener ... the Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 14-12-1 ... The Blue Jays have won their last 12 September games and are 20-3 in their last 23 contests ... PK Ben Scott was the hero of last week's 9-7 win at Rochester, booting a 37-yard field goal with :01 left ... the last time JHU came from behind to win in the final minute was 1997, when RB Adam Gentile scored on an 8-yard run with 33 ticks on the clock to beat Muhlenberg, 24-21.

McDaniel is the first home opponent for Seton Hill College - a first-year program located in Greensburg, Pa. ... the Griffins lost their inaugural game to Urbana, 28-27, as a game-tying extra point was blocked with three minutes left ... the Green Terror will play without QB Brad Baer, who suffered a shoulder separation in the fourth quarter at Bridgewater ... junior Tom Wenrich gets the call ... this is not Wenrich's first time as a reliever, as he pitched for the Terror baseball team last spring, striking out 11 in 11 1/3 IP with a 3.09 ERA ... the 19-point halftime deficit (22-3) erased by McDaniel last weekend was the largest margin overcome since at least 1975 ... the Green and Gold is ranked 24th by D3football.com.

Muhlenberg is idle this week and returns to action next Saturday night for its home opener against Union.

Ursinus takes on high-flying QB John Port and the Albright Lions for its home opener ... Port was an honorable mention All-America last season after throwing for 3,799 yards and 35 touchdowns ... the Bears allowed just 152 passing yards at Susquehanna last week ... QB Vince Gallagher accounted for 227 of UC's 330 yards against the Crusaders with 192 in the air and 35 on the ground ... PK Matt Baney, who missed the entire 2004 season, announced his return with authority, booting three field goals (35, 22, 23 yards).