What happened next was the stuff of miracles: RPI’s Mike DeFilippi recovered the ball, weaved through several Statesmen, turned the corner, and dove across the goal line, giving the Engineers their first lead of the game and an amazing 35-29 victory.

With the win, RPI claims undisputed possession of the UCAA title, their fourth in five years. In addition, their perfect 8-0 record against a tough schedule has earned them the top seed in the east bracket of the NCAA Division III tournament and a first-round bye.

Hobart established an early lead by burning the Engineers on two big plays. Both teams went three-and-out on their first two drives, but RPI’s second punt was returned 72 yards for a touchdown by the Statesmen’s Dan Suozzi. On Hobart’s next offensive play, Joe Pirozzolo simply outran the RPI secondary, making a 78-yard reception to put the Engineers in a 14-point hole midway through the first quarter.

For most of the game, the Engineers’ offensive line was unable to contain the aggressive Hobart pass rush—the Statesmen frequently brought eight, nine, or even ten men to the line of scrimmage and harried Quarterback Dan Cole all day long, holding him to just 38 percent passing.

The Engineers’ offense finally got going late in the first quarter, holding the Hobart pass rush at bay long enough to string together a set of completions that culminated in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cole to Evan Cochran.

RPI closed the gap to six by halftime, sandwiching a touchdown between two Hobart field goals. The Engineers put together a nine-play, 77-yard drive, capped by Kevin Siska’s 11-yard reception for the score. Jim Sears picked off a pass by Hobart’s Craig Swanson on their first play after the kickoff, but the Engineers were unable to capitalize, and the RPI secondary was burned once again on the Statesmen’s next offensive play, with Suozzi pulling down a 66-yard pass from Swanson that put the ball on the RPI 13, clearing the way for an Eric Ampuja field goal that put the Statesmen up 20-14 at the half.

The Engineers had a chance to take the lead early in the third quarter when Chris Speck intercepted a Swanson pass at the Hobart 31-yard line. The Engineers moved the ball to the 18, but Cole then missed on three consecutive passes due to heavy pressure by the Hobart defense, and RPI Head Coach Joe King made the questionable call of going for it on fourth-and-10. Cole was nearly sacked, and the Statesmen took over on downs.

Hobart put together another scoring drive late in the quarter, once again keyed by a big pass play. This time, Swanson found Jeremy Archer all alone in the middle of the field for 37 yards, and the Statesmen scored three plays later. The Engineers foiled the two-point conversion, making the score 26-14.

RPI struck back on their next drive, once again containing the aggressive pass rush long enough for Cole to complete some medium-range passes for first downs. In just six plays the Engineers went 67 yards, Cochran finishing off the drive by catching the ball on a quick slant in the middle of the field and running an additional 15 yards for the touchdown, closing the gap to five as the third quarter ended.

Hobart switched to a rushing attack that proved effective, eating up over six minutes of clock time to get to the RPI 23, where yet another Ampuja field goal increased the Hobart edge to eight points.

Back came the Engineers once again, converting twice on fourth down in driving 75 yards to the end zone. The two-point attempt was overthrown by Cole, leaving the Engineers down by two points with under five minutes remaining.

The defense stepped it up another notch at this point, holding the Statesmen to seven yards in three plays to get the ball back. Ampuja’s punt travelled 48 yards to the RPI 15, and the Engineers had their work cut out for them.

Cole hit Siska with a 15-yard strike, followed by a 56-yard bomb to Cochran, who made a juggling catch in tight coverage to put Rensselaer in striking distance. Three tries for the end zone all fell incomplete, setting up the blocked field goal and DeFilippi’s recovery.

The Statesmen still had just under two minutes remaining, and they fought out to their own 42-yard line. An apparent fumble by Swanson was recovered by Hobart Running Back Ty Godinho and carried deep into RPI territory, but Swanson was ruled down. Speck intercepted Swanson on the next play, sealing the victory for the Engineers.