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SEASON OPENER: The Engineers begin the 2017 with a non-league home game against William Paterson of the NJAC.

FIRST MEETING: Rensselaer and the Pioneers have never faced each other.

RECENT SEASON OPENERS: The Engineers have won each of their last five season openers and 15 of their last 16 ... RPI has won its last seven season openers that have taken place in Troy, dating back to 2002.

UNDER COACH I: Rensselaer has won each of its four season openers under head coach Ralph Isernia ... Each came against Norwich with two of them at East Campus Stadium and two in Northfield, Vt.

AT ECAV: RPI's season openers at East Campus Stadium have resulted in four wins in four tries: 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

STINGY: Of RPI's last 16 openers, the defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in 14. 

EARLY START: Prior to this season, September 3 was the earliest Rensselaer football had started a season ... That game took place last season, a 31-17 win at Norwich.

2017 SCHEDULE: RPI faces two brand new opponents and another for just the second time ... The Engineers have never played William Paterson or Western New England, while facing Buffalo State just once ... Also new to the slate this season is Ithaca College, which Rensselaer has played just three times, the most recent being in 2003.

NEW LEAGUE FOE: Ithaca is now a member of the Liberty League in all sports, including football ... The Bombers were previously in the Empire 8.

OLD FACES: RPI battles the four teams it has played the most in school history in Union (114), WPI (110), Rochester (75) and St. Lawrence (62).

FORMER LEAGUE FOE: WPI had been a member of the Liberty League, but moved away from the conference beginning this season, along with Springfield College and Merchant Marine Academy.

PLAYOFF TEAMS: Three teams on this year's schedule played in the post-season last year ... Western New England, Hobart and Alfred each played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago ... Alfred advanced to the Regional Final after defeating WNEU in the Second Round ... Hobart lost to eventual national runner-up Mount Union in the First Round.

TROPHY GAMES: Once again this year, the Engineers play two trophy games: September 9 against WPI for the Transit Trophy and November 11 against Union for the Dutchman Shoes Trophy ... RPI has possession of the Shoes.

WELCOME BACK: Rensselaer returns 17 starters from 2016, including eight on offense, seven on defense and both the kicker and punter ... There are 42 letter winners back among the 69 returners.

NEWCOMERS: The Engineers welcome 53 newcomers to the team.

TWO-DEEP BREAKDOWN: RPI has 52 unique individuals on the two-deep ... They include 21 juniors, 16 seniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen.

OFFENSIVE UNITS: Of the 11 offensive starters, seven are juniors, three are seniors and one is a sophomore ... The second unit includes four freshmen, four juniors, two seniors and a junior.

DEFENSIVE UNITS: The 11 defensive starters all all seniors (6) and juniors (5) ... The second unit features four sophomores and four juniors, two seniors and a freshman.

ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Rensselaer's special teamers - not including those listed on either offense or defense - are two seniors, two sophomores and a freshman on the first unit ... The second unit has a freshman, a junior and a senior.

CAPTAINS: RPI has four captains for the season in seniors Sean Egan, Malik Joseph, Oliver Kaija and Ethan Wells ... A defensive back, Egan has played 21 games in two seasons, making 65 tackles, including 34 unassisted ... He has two interceptions and 11 pass break-ups with a pair of forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries ... He was All-Liberty League First Team, D3football.com All-East Region Third Team, All-ECAC Division III North Second Team and the team's Defensive Player of the Year ... Joseph, a defensive lineman, is a fifth-year senior who has 112 tackles (45 unassisted) in 28 career games ... He had 31 stops in 2013, 58 in 2015 and 23 in 2016 ... Last year, he was named to the All-Liberty League First Team and the All-ECAC Division III North Second Team ... Kaija, a linebacker, has played 31 career games, making 76 tackles, including 38 unassisted and four for lost yards (7) ... He had 27 solo stops and 31 assisted with a three-yard sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a junior ... Wells, a running back, has gained 554 yards on 104 carries in 20 career contests ... He had personal-bests of 90 attempts for 486 yards and two TDs last season when he also caught two passes for 15 yards.

KAPP ON WATCH LIST: Senior Christian Kapp has been selected for the Fred Mitchell Award 2017 Watch List, which includes 36 of the nation's top collegiate placekickers based on excellence on the field during the 2016 season and for continued community service during the off-season ... He is under consideration following a junior season in which he was successful on 9 of 12 field goals and 32 of 32 point-after-touchdowns in 11 games ... He had field goals in six different games, including a long of 47 yards, on his way to leading the Engineers in scoring with 59 points ... Kapp's 51 kickoffs went for 2,943 yards for a 57.7 yard average. He had nine touchbacks ... He has made 15 of 24 field goals and 73 of 75 PATs in his career.

RPI LAST SEASON: The Engineers split their first four games a year ago before defeating conference opponents Rochester (51-13) and No. 22 Hobart (21-17) ... After three consecutive losses, RPI bounced back to win its final two games, including the Dutchman Shoes Trophy Game over Union (21-12) and the ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl against Maritime (38-6).

FOUR STRAIGHT SHOES: The Engineers' win over Union last season was their fourth straight win over the Dutchmen, the first time in school history that has occurred. 

THIRD STRAIGHT POST-SEASON: The 2016 campaign marked the third consecutive that the Engineers qualified for the post-season ... Rensselaer lost at Framingham State, 42-36 in overtime in an ECAC Bowl in 2014 and defeated Buffalo State, 20-13, in the ECAC Bushnell Bowl.

NEW STAFF: Rensselaer has added Nick Chartain as the assistant offensive line coach, Sean McCleary as the wide receivers coach and Todd Pelletier as the linebackers coach ... Chartain played offensive line at Independence Community College, Memphis and Nicholls State ... McCleary is a 2017 graduate of the University of Albany where he was an undergraduate assistant coach ... He originally attended Delaware Valley, where he was a two-year letter winner as an offensive lineman ... Pelletier most recently coache at Plymouth State ... He spent three years as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, Springfield, where he worked with linebackers, the defensive line and the secondary ... He played linebacker for the Pride.
  
WILLIAM PATERSON LAST SEASON: The Pioneers won their first game, 43-13 against non-league foe Alfred State, before dropping its next two contests ... Following an 18-13 win over Montclair State, William Paterson lost its final six games in posting a 2-8 record ... Five of the games were at home and five on the road.