The football team, which has won six of its first seven games, remained in the hunt for an NCAA Division III playoff spot with last week's 34-7 victory over Coast Guard. The final three games of the 2000 campaign will make or break the Dutchmen's season as all three contests are on the road against teams that have a combined won-loss record of 17-3.
The journey begins this Saturday as the Dutchmen travel to Oneonta to play 6-1 Hartwick at 1 p.m. Next week Union heads to the University of Rochester to take on the 5-2 Yellowjackets and on November 11, they conclude the regular season at 6-0 Springfield.
Union, which has been to postseason in 12 of the last 17 years, has been to the NCAA event eight times since 1983. However, they have not been to the national championship tournament since 1995.
While the Dutchmen remain in the NCAA playoff hunt with their 6-1 record, the selection committee will surely notice that Union's opponents have a combined record of 14-33 (a winning percentage of .298). Included among the first six opponents is 5-1 Hobart, which defeated Union in Schenectady by the score of 13-12. Take the Statesmen out of the mix and the Dutchmen's six victories have come against teams with a combined record of 9-32 (a winning percentage of .219).
Union has done well against the remaining three opponents. The Dutchmen are 3-0 against Hartwick since the series began in 1997. Union has posted victories of 13-3,30-14 and 34-14, respectively. Against Rochester, the Dutchmen have won eight of the last nine with the only blemish coming in 1998 when the Yellowjackets posted a 26-21 upset.
The Garnet has beaten Springfield, 38-7 and 37-22 since the series was renewed in 1998. Union's victory in 1998, which came at Springfield, cost the Pride their first-ever 10-0-0 campaign.