In the 2001 Dutchman’s Shoes game, Union moved the ball nearly at will, but RPI forced seven turnovers to pull out a 32-29 win.

This season, the Dutchmen again moved the ball nearly at will, but it was the Engineers who committed the turnovers, leaving RPI on the short end of a 32-14 tally that easily could have been much worse.

The first half of Saturday’s game was entirely dominated by the Dutchmen—the Engineers never had possession of the ball in the Union half of the field. However, the RPI defense showed a lot of the same “bend don’t break” character that was so effective in last year’s match: The Dutchmen made three trips to the red zone in the first half and only came away with three field goals off the boot of Cliff Eisenhut.

RPI’s only major defensive breakdown of the half came when Carm Taglione outran the entire secondary and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. Union’s relentless rushing attack added another TD late in the third quarter, leaving RPI in a 22-0 hole.

The Engineers finally put together a scoring drive early in the fourth quarter, with Dan Cole finding Evan Cochran from 23 yards out, giving RPI fans hope for a comeback. The defense fanned that hope after stopping Union on a third-and-short play to bring out its punting unit with about 10 minutes to play—plenty of time for the Engineers’ big-play offense to pick up two scores.

Union Head Coach John Audino read the situation perfectly, though: The Engineers brought everything they had to try to block the punt, but the Dutchmen were faking. Punter Sean Losier threw a short pass to Dan Mehleisen, who scampered down the sidelines for 31 yards. The defense held Union to a field goal once again, but the 25-7 score meant that RPI needed three scores with only 7:05 to play.

Hoping for a quick score, the Engineers tried a reverse option on their next play, but Cochran threw a lame duck into double coverage, and Union’s Alex Smith picked the ball off and took it all the way back to finish off RPI.

The Engineers were never able to get any momentum going Saturday—every time something went their way, the Dutchmen immediately put up a big play of their own. Ten minutes into the contest, RPI’s Mike Defilippi intercepted Union’s Ryan Perry on third down, only to fumble the ball away again on the return. J.R. Williams recovered a Union fumble late in the third quarter, but Cole threw right at a Union defensive lineman on the next play.

The loss, combined with Hobart’s win at Rochester, leaves RPI in third place in the UCAA and seriously diminishes their playoff chances. If RPI and Hobart both win out until they meet on November 16, then an Engineer victory in that game might be enough to win an NCAA berth.

Before the Hobart match, RPI has a three-game homestand. The Engineers have a tough match against Hartwick (currently 4-1) on October 26, followed by games against St. John Fisher (3-3) and St. Lawrence (0-5).