SUNY Cortland · Next-Season Outcome Band1930
The Cortaca Jug
Co-founder of the oldest annual rivalry between regional opponents, played at MetLife Stadium
SUNY Cortland8-3Hope-Doping·Offseason
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.
Title DroughtSince 2023 · 2 yrs
Fans here believe cortland's chip is earned: beat #1 North Central 38–37 in the 2023 Stagg Bowl to win the national championship, proving a small SUNY program could do what the big boys couldn't.
low signal
Red Dragons country waits.
SUNY Cortland · Next-Season Outcome Band
Floor / Base / Ceiling
Floor 6-6
Base 8-4
Ceiling 11-1
floor6-6Competitive but likely outside bracket contention.
base8-4Conference title contender. Bracket bid realistic.
ceiling11-1Deep playoff run. Program-defining year.
Variance assumed at ±2 wins from last-season record. Replace with the season-path projection once preview data is built.
Recent Form · last 10 games
Mixed
Three of five. Trending up, not yet hot.
Streak L2Last 5 · 3-2Last 10 · 8-2
The forecast
Opens Sep 5
vs Grove City · away
Game Week
11 days
until kickoff · at Grove City · Sat Sep 5 · 16:00 UTC
The experience
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.
DIVISION III · THE PATH TO THE STAGG BOWL
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.
Empire 8 · 2025
| Team | Conf | Overall | Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SUNY Cortland | 7-0 | 8-3 | 61.5 |
| 2 | Utica | 6-1 | 8-3 | 60.8 |
| 3 | St. John Fisher | 5-2 | 7-4 | 54.0 |
| 4 | Brockport | 4-3 | 7-4 | 54.1 |
| 5 | Alfred State | 4-4 | 5-5 | 46.3 |
| 6 | Alfred | 2-5 | 4-6 | 46.2 |
| 7 | Hartwick | 2-6 | 4-6 | 42.3 |
| 8 | SUNY Morrisville | 0-7 | 0-10 | 31.1 |
61.5 CFB Zeitgeist#42 of 240 D353.2 strength of schedule3 quality wins
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.
Source: CFB Zeitgeist — conference records + NPI-style rating from 2025 games · the field is 40 teams, NPI-selected
THE 2025 SEASON · 8-3
Signature win 65-12 over Alfred; toughest day 14-31 against Grove City.
Community pulse
No high-engagement r/cfb discussions tracked for this program in the last year.
The Pulse on SUNY Cortland
—
Red Dragons country waits.
What moved it — fall camp · last 14 days
Camp
Fall camp open — install + scrimmage cycle
ongoing
"Go Red Dragons."
— SUNY Cortland fanbase · recurring line
43 mentions · sample growing
Player stats — 2025 season
No player stats logged for this program yet — stats appear once the season is underway.
SUNY Cortland · 2025 schedule & results8-3Hard slateAverage opponent win rate 57%.
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sep 6 | — | — | — | Grove City | L 14–31 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 13 | #445 | #497 | — | Union | W 30–6 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| 4 | Sep 20 | #466 | #627 | — | @Hartwick | W 59–9 | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 5 | Sep 27 | #476 | #597 | — | @SUNY Morrisville | W 48–3 | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| 6 | Oct 4 | #470 | #485 | — | Utica | W 28–13 | 4-1 | 3-0 |
| 8 | Oct 18 | #468 | #559 | — | Alfred | W 65–12 | 5-1 | 4-0 |
| 9 | Oct 25 | #465 | #552 | — | @St. John Fisher | W 31–7 | 6-1 | 5-0 |
| 10 | Nov 1 | #463 | #572 | — | @Alfred State | W 49–7 | 7-1 | 6-0 |
| 11 | Nov 8 | #450 | #481 | — | Brockport | W 44–14 | 8-1 | 7-0 |
| 12 | Nov 15 | #446 | #498 | — | @Ithaca | L 21–26 | 8-2 | 7-0 |
| Bowl Season | ||||||||
| 13 | Nov 22 | #452 | #415 | — | @Springfield | L 7–21 | 8-3 | 7-0 |
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. Stadium Red Field seats 6,500.
Home21-3Away20-3
Venue texture
66°F average kickoff temp; 21% of games had measurable precipitation; 8 mph average wind.
Based on 24 home games with weather data.
All-Time Record
42-7
since 2022 · 4 seasons · .857 win rate
HOME
21-3
AWAY
20-3
NEUTRAL
1-1
2020s
Program memory
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2023 Stagg Bowl Victory
Cortland defeated #1-ranked North Central 38–37 for the NCAA Division III national championship
2023
Five-time Empire 8 Champions
Cortland won five consecutive Empire 8 titles in the 2020s
Moment of the Year · SUNY Cortland · 2025
Moment of the Year · SUNY Cortland · 2025Postseason · Lost 7-21 at Springfield
Week 13 of 2025. The single game that defined the season's arc.
THE RIVALRY · SUNY CORTLAND vs ITHACA
The Cortaca Jug
Ithaca 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 21-26 in 2025.
Postseason History
Postseason HistoryRecent postseason (2023-2025): 5-1
Most recent: 2025 — loss 21-7 (away). Last 5 postseason: 4-1.
20252023202320232023
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