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THE KICKOFF
Rensselaer travels to Norwich for the first game of 2016. The Engineers, under fourth-year head coach Ralph Isernia, are coming off a 9-2 campaign, which saw them capture both the Transit Trophy and Dutchman Shoes Trophy, share the Liberty League regular season championship and win the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Championship Bowl. RPI's nine wins ranks second in school history, tied with 1997 (9-1) and 1999 (9-1). The 2003 team went 11-2. 

Norwich posted a 6-5 record in 2015, including 6-1 in the ECFC. The Cadets ended the season in the NCAA Tournament, falling at Albright, 49-0, in a first round contest.

THE SERIES
This is the 16th all-time meeting between Rensselaer and Norwich, with the Cadets holding a 7-5-3 advantage in the series. The programs met in 2013 in the season opener, marking the first meeting between the schools in 50 years. The Engineers have won each of the three most recent meetings, including a 37-0 win in 2015.

SEASON OPENERS
In the last 16 years, RPI is 14-2 in season-opening games  with three of those victories coming against Norwich. The Engineers are riding a four-game winning streak with their last loss coming in 2011 to No. 17 Alfred. Prior to that defeat, RPI had not dropped a season opener since 2000. Of Rensselaer's last 16 openers, the defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in 14 of them, including a 37-0 shutout in 2015. 

2016 SEASON
The Engineers play a 10-game schedule with five games at home and five on the road. Once again this year, RPI plays two trophy games - Transit Trophy vs. WPI and Dutchman Shoes Trophy vs. Union - and its schedule features alternating weeks at home and on the road.