By Wesley Evans
Game Information
Southern Virginia University (0-5, 0-2 NJAC) vs. Cortland State (1-4, 1-2 NJAC)
Date: Saturday, October 18, 2014
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Location: SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex (Cortland, N.Y.)
All-time vs. Cortland State: First Meeting
Live Stats
Video
Preview
Southern Virginia University will travel eight hours north to Cortland, New York, as it takes on fellow New Jersey Athletic Conference member SUNY Cortland Saturday afternoon at SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex. This is the first and most likely the last time the two squads will meet as Cortland is leaving the NJAC after this season to play in the Empire 8 Athletic Conference.
The Knights are currently seeking their first victory of the season and first ever NJAC win as it faces off against the Red Dragons. Last week, Southern Virginia fell in its Homecoming contest to visiting Montclair State by a 35-15 score in its first ever game at The Fields in Buena Vista, Virginia.
Quarterback Mitch Stevenson leads Southern Virginia, throwing for 207.2 passing yards per game to go along with eight touchdowns on 81 completions, and 1,036 total passing yards on the year. Junior wide receiver Kyler Harris owns a team-best 356 yards receiving on 23 receptions, while tight end Michael Carroll has 12 receptions of his own for 213 yards.
Senior Jerry Washington leads the ground attack for the Knights, accumulating 249 yards on 78 attempts, while also earning 147 yards receiving on 16 receptions.
Defensively, senior defensive back Matthew Gregory leads all Southern Virginia players with 50 tackles—10.0 tackles per game—as he earned a season-high 12 take downs in last week's loss. The Churchville, Virginia, native also owns a team-leading two interceptions on the year. Linebackers Colter Evans and Robert Robbins have brought down 49 and 42 opposing players, respectively, through five games.
SUNY Cortland is coming off its first victory of the season as it took down The College of New Jersey, 24-14, last Saturday in Ewing Township, New Jersey. Cortland has been a member of the NJAC since 2000, and was its first football-only school.
Through the air, the Red Dragons are led by quarterback John Grassi, who is 106-of-184 on the year with 1,151 total passing yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and six interceptions through five games. Grassi's go-to receivers are Jon Mannix—leading Cortland with 30 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns—and Jack Delahunty, who owns a team best 320 yards receiving on 25 receptions and two scores of his own.
On the ground, Dylan Peebles leads Cortland with 286 yards rushing on 96 attempts and five touchdowns—four rushing and one kickoff return.
Defensively, the Red Dragons are led by Matt Ambrose, who has registered 43 tackles through five games.
Walker on Cortland State
"Cortland is in a very similar situation to us. They had two games in the beginning of the year that they made mistakes at the end of the game, which probably cost them two wins. They probably should be sitting at least 3-2 right now and they're feeling the same way that we are where we let a couple of them that slip from us. Those are different games and a different situation.
"They are similar to us offensively in that they like to spread it out. They get really wide and make us adjust to their formations. They like to read numbers and they try to attack where they have the numbers.
"They like the ride play, which is a read option and will require us to have clean eyes in the secondary. We need to be able to read the pass-and-run and not give up anything big by getting a wrong read."
Southern Virginia Head Coach Jason Walker
Jason Walker enters his first season as head coach of the football program after being named to the position in April. Walker served as a defensive graduate assistant the past four years at Brigham Young University, where he learned defensive schemes from head coach Bronco Mendenhall and some of the nation's top defensive assistants.
Cotland Head Coach Dan MacNeil
Dan MacNeil is in his 18th season with the Red Dragons. His overall record of 115-65 (.639) ranks him first at Cortland in career victories and winning percentage. He won NJAC Coach of the Year honors in both 2008 and 2012, and also was a finalist for Liberty Mutual National Div. III Coach of the Year honors in 2008 after leading the Red Dragons to the league title and the NCAA quarterfinals. MacNeil is a Cortland alumnus and began his coaching career at Division I-FCS Villanova University from 1984-1996.
