Coming off of a loss to Ithaca College in front of 40,000 fans, Cortland had a ton to prove as they plummeted in the national rankings from #11 to #17.
The loss left Cortland as the visiting team for the first round of the NCAA playoffs, where they were slated to play the #16 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets.
Randolph-Macon resides in Ashland, Virginia.
The Yellow Jackets are home to a tantalizing running game, along with the best 3rd down conversion percentage in the nation.
The first round matchup began with a Cortland drive that stalled after just one first down. The Yellow Jackets pounded the ball through the run game, only to throw the ball to their leading receiver, David Wallis, for a 71 yard touchdown pass.
After this, the Red Dragon offense cooked, with back-to-back passing touchdowns to Cole Burgess and Rashad Tucker, respectively.
The teams traded blows, with Cortland going into half up 28-21.
Both teams faltered on their first possession of the 2nd half, but quarterback Drew Campanale led the Yellow Jackets on an eight play, 80 yard drive, punched in by running back Nick Hale for six. This knotted the score at twenty-eight a piece.
Cortland then gave the ball back to Randolph-Macon almost immediately, following an interception. On the ensuing drive, the Jackets ran in their second score of the half and held Cortland on their three possessions in the 4th quarter to seal the win, 35-28.
The loss knocked Cortland out of the playoff race, and sent the Empire 8 champions home questioning what went wrong.
Sophomore quarterback Zac Boyes threw for 3 touchdowns and 318 yards. His leading receiver was Junior Cole Burgess, who hauled in six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Leading the defense were linebackers Devin McArthur and Joe Ruggieri, who had eight tackles a piece.
While Randolph-Macon faces #14 Delaware Valley in the Sweet 16, SUNY Cortland goes back to the drawing board, starting the unrelenting push of the offseason.
After the Red Dragons rattled off nine straight wins to start the season, they dropped the final two marking the first time in Coach Fitzpatrick’s tenure that he has lost consecutive games.