SUNY Cortland
8-3 2025 finalCortland is the national champion that won the 2023 Stagg Bowl and owns the most iconic rivalry in Division III — the Cortaca Jug against Ithaca, the biggest little game in America.
Red Dragons country waits.
Cortland is the national champion that won the 2023 Stagg Bowl and owns the most iconic rivalry in Division III — the Cortaca Jug against Ithaca, the biggest little game in America.
Cortland went 8–1 (5–0 Empire 8) in 2025 under new coach Tom Blumenauer, ranked #14 nationally before losing the Cortaca Jug to Ithaca 26–21. The loss cost a likely top-seeded playoff position despite dominant regular-season recor…
Offseason
69 days
until kickoff · Sun Aug 30 · 17:00 UTC
The 2026 Outlook
SUNY Cortland sits 1st in the Empire 8 Conference and 42nd of 240 in the CFB Zeitgeist — on the at-large bubble — the conference title is the surer route.
| Team | Conf | Overall | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cortland | 6-0 | 8-3 | 61.5 |
| 2 | Utica | 5-1 | 8-3 | 60.8 |
| 3 | St John Fisher University | 4-2 | 7-4 | 54.0 |
| 4 | Brockport | 3-3 | 7-4 | 54.1 |
| 5 | Alfred University | 2-4 | 4-6 | 46.2 |
| 6 | Hartwick | 2-5 | 4-6 | 42.3 |
| 7 | SUNY Morrisville | 0-6 | 0-10 | 31.1 |
| 8 | Hilbert College | 0-1 | 0-10 | 29.5 |
Win the Empire 8 Conference for the automatic berth into the 40-team NCAA Division III bracket. Miss it and the path is an at-large bid, selected by NPI — the metric the CFB Index mirrors. Six wins survive the bracket to the Stagg Bowl.
Signature win 65-12 over Alfred University; toughest day 14-31 against Grove City College.
The Pulse on SUNY Cortland
What moved it — offseason · last 30 days
Aspiration Ladder
Brief Part III §33.4 · SUNY Cortland
The baseline for a successful season.
The primary goal and national bracket path.
One of 32 national tournament entries.
The Division III national championship game.
SUNY Cortland · Next-Season Outcome Band
Floor / Base / Ceiling
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Who We Are
The Cortaca Jug
Ithaca College leads the all-time series 44-36-3 through 2025.
Played since 1930. They play for the Cortaca Jug — a yard-sale jug that now fills Yankee Stadium and MetLife — record D3 crowds.
Most recently, SUNY Cortland fell to Ithaca College 21-26 in 2025.
Home-Field Advantage · SUNY Cortland · 2018-present
Above-Average
87% home win rate vs 86% on the road. margin runs +4.6 better at home.
Act IIILast Season Reviewed
2025 season · tap to expand
Recent Form · last 10 games
Mixed
Three of five. Trending up, not yet hot.
Schedule Strength · SUNY Cortland · 2025
Hard
Average opponent win rate 57% across 11 finalized games. Strong conference slate — wins here carry full weight in Super Region selection.
Moment of the Year · SUNY Cortland · 2025
Postseason · Lost 7-21 at Springfield
Week 13 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.
Postseason History
Recent postseason (2023-2025): 5-1
Most recent: 2025 — loss 21-7 (away). Last 5 postseason: 4-1.
From the Archive — SUNY Cortland
Postseason 2023: Won 25-24 vs Grove City College
In 2023, the program won 25-24 vs Grove City College in the postseason — a tight home result that left the 1-point margin on the books.
Go Red Dragons.