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ROAD TRIP: Rensselaer makes its first (of 6) road trips on Saturday when it travels to Worcester, Mass. for the Transit Trophy Game against long-time foe WPI ... Kickoff is 1pm at Alumni Stadium.
 
LONG-TIME RIVALS: RPI and WPI have played every year since 1947, making this season the 71st consecutive meetings ... The 57 games from 1947 through 2003 were non-league contests ... The games between 2004 to 2016 were Liberty League matchups.
 
LEAGUE FOES: Rensselaer and WPI were league foes for 13 seasons (2004-16) ...  RPI was 9-4 in conference games against the Engineers.
 
NON-LEAGUE THIS YEAR: The Engineers of WPI are no longer in the same league as RPI, having joined the NEWMAC this year.
 
RPI VS. WPI ALL-TIME: Saturday's game against the Engineers is the 111th meeting between the two schools, dating back to November 3, 1894 ... Rensselaer fell to WPI, 4-0, in that first game ... The all-time series is led by RPI, 58-47-5.

IN THE RECORD BOOK: Rensselaer's 110 all-time meetings with WPI are the second most against any one opponent, trailing only Union (114) ... RPI's 58 wins over the Engineers rank first against a single foe ... Rensselaer's 47 losses is second (79 to Union).
 
TRANSIT TROPHY: After the 1979 contest it was decided by the athletic directors of both schools to create a trophy for this long-standing rivalry ... A transit was chosen because both schools have engineering curriculums ... The Engineers from Troy lead the Transit Trophy series, 24-12-1.
 
RECENTLY: WPI defeated the Engineers last season, 19-7 ... RPI is now 6-4 in its last 10 contests with WPI, but only 3-4 in the last seven, including a 19-7 loss in 2016.
 
LAST SEASON: WPI scored the final 16 points of the game to turn a 7-3 deficit into a 19-7 victory to claim the Transit Trophy at a rain-soaked East Campus Stadium ... It was a defensive battle throughout as neither team eclipsed 300 yards of offense ... RPI got on the scoreboard with an eight-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with a six-yard run on a jet sweep by junior Nick Esposito at the 7:44 mark of the third quarter ... WPI's defense settled down from there and forced key turnovers in leading the visiting Engineers to the win.
 
RPI INDIVIDUALLY: Tommy Avery led all rushers with 97 yards (15 carries) with another 41 (4 of 14) in the air ... Alexander Greenidge led all players with 15 tackles, including five unassisted, 1.5 for lost yards (2) and a fumble recovery ... Brandt Beck added nine stops with five unassisted and 0.5 for lost yards (1).
 
IN WORCESTER: In 54 all-time meetings in Worcester, Rensselaer is 24-28-2 versus WPI ... In the last 10 meetings in Massachusetts, dating back to 1997, the Engineers are 8-2.
 
RPI LAST WEEK: RPI gained 493 yards of offense while holding William Paterson to 51 yards, including only seven through the air, in defeating the Pioneers, 45-0, in the season opener for both teams ... Rensselaer jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession when Tivinis scored at 11:50 of the first quarter ... Following a Rory McCarthy interception, Ed  Trimpert hit Rob Law from four yards out just over two minutes later for a 14-0 edge ... Ethan Wells scored his first of two touchdowns with 3:14 to play in the first quarter and Christian Kapp kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired in the first half ... RPI added 14 points in the third quarter, including a 45-yard touchdown pass from Trimpert to Pat Etter, and one in the fourth for the final margin.
 
HONORED: Junior quarterback Ed Trimpert was named the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week after he completed 11 of 14 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns against William Paterson ... He threw a four-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead and then a 45-yard scoring strike in the third for a 31-0 edge ... He was neither intercepted, nor sacked ... Trimpert also rushed six times for 31 yards, including a long of 15 yards.
 
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL: Tabbed for the Liberty League Weekly Honor Roll following their performances against William Paterson were senior defensive lineman Malik Joseph and classmate Christian Kapp, a kicker ... Joseph had six total tackles with three unassisted and 2.0 for lost yards (5) ... Kapp was recognized after connecting on his only field goal attempt, a 23-yard try to end the first half, and each of his six extra point attempts ... He also had seven kickoffs for 445 yards (63.6 per) with one kickoff for a touchback.
 
RECENT SEASON OPENERS: The Engineers have noew won each of their last six season openers and 16 of their last 17 ... RPI has won its last eight season openers that have taken place in Troy, dating back to 2002.
                                                      
UNDER COACH I: Rensselaer has won each of its five season openers under Ralph Isernia.
 
AT ECAV: RPI's season openers at East Campus Stadium have resulted in five wins in five tries: 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
 
STINGY: Of RPI's last 17 openers, the defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in 15.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
UPCOMING: The Engineers are back home next Saturday when they host Western New England University at noon at East Campus Stadium ... It is the first meeting on the gridiron between the two schools.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION: All Rensselaer football games are aired live on WRPI, 91.5 FM, and on the Internet at www.wrpi.org ... All home games feature live statistics at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/football/ ... A free, live full production is available for the home games online at www.rpitv.org.
 
WPI LAST WEEK: Sophomore Sean McAllen rushed for 246 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead WPI past visiting Anna Maria, 48-0, last Friday night in Alumni Stadium.
 
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.