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SEASON OPENER: The No. 25 Engineers begin the 2017 campaign with a non-league road game at Allegheny University of the NCAC.

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

TREND CONTINUES: RPI played three opponents last season for the first time in program history ... The Engineers hosted William Paterson and Western New England and traveled to Wesley for an NCAA Playoff game.

RECENT SEASON OPENERS: The Engineers have won each of their last six season openers and 16 of their last 17 ... RPI is 4-1 in its last five openers away from Troy.

UNDER COACH I: Rensselaer has won each of its five season openers under head coach Ralph Isernia ... The first four came against Norwich with two at East Campus Stadium and two in Northfield, Vt. ... Last year was against William Paterson.

STINGY: Of RPI's last 17 openers, the defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in 15, including a 45-0 shutout of William Paterson last season. 

EARLY START: Prior to this season, September 2 was the earliest Rensselaer football had started a season ... That game took place in 2017.

EXTENDED SEASON: The Engineers extended their 2017 season with a bid to the NCAA Tournament following a Liberty League championship ... RPI won a tiebreak with Ithaca based on a head-to-head win over the Bombers ... Rensselaer traveled to Wesley, where it lost, 45-27.

FIRST SINCE 2007: The Engineers' NCAA appearance a season ago broke a 10-year drought in the national post-season ... The previous game was in 2007.

ANOTHER POST-SEASON: By winning the league championship last year, RPI has now played in four straight post-season contests, winning half.

HIGHLIGHTS: Rensselaer is coming off an 8-3 season in which it went 4-1 in the Liberty League ... RPI also won both its trophy games, defeating WPI, 36-14, for the Transit Trophy and Union, 20-14, for the Dutchman Shoes Trophy, each on the road.

ON OFFENSE IN 2017: Rensselaer averaged 177.7 rushing yards, 167.7 passing yards and 29.2 points per game.

DEFENSIVELY IN 2017: The Engineers allowed only 19.1 points and 95.9 rushing yards per game in 2017.

ALL-LEAGUE RETURNERS: RPI has 10 student-athletes on its roster who were All-Liberty League a season ago ... Bobby Boos (OL), Chris Neu (OL), Sean Egan (DB) and Conor Davies (RS) were on the First Team ... Keaton Ackermann (WR), Aaron Castillo (OL), Jack Hoggard (LB) and Rory McCarthy (DB) were on the Second Team ... Amaechi Konkwo (DL) and Zac Montrielf (P) were Honorable Mention.

RETURN SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Conor Davies was the Liberty League co-Special Teams Player of the Year last season as a junior ... He averaged 11.8 yards per punt return and 21.4 per kickoff return.

COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Head coach Ralph Isernia led the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year in 2017, the first such honor for Coach I and his assistants in his tenure in Troy.

CO-FAVORITES: Rensselaer sits atop the Liberty League Preseason Coaches Poll after collecting 23 points, including three first-place votes ... The Engineers are tied with Ithaca, which also has three first-place votes and 23 points ... Hobart (16) is third, followed by Union (14), St. Lawrence (9) and Rochester (6).

NATIONALLY-RANKED: RPI is ranked 25th in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 ... Rensselaer received 49 votes, which was just three behind 24th-ranked Franklin and Marshall and eight ahead of Springfield ... Mount Union, the defending national champion, is first with 623 points.

LEADING THE WAY: Selected to lead Rensselaer as captains are seniors Danny Calabro, Aaron Castillo, Sean Egan and Jack Hoggard ... Egan was a captain last season, while the others are each in their first years in the role ... Calabro (wide receiver) and Castillo (offensive line) play offense, while Egan (defensive back) and Hoggard (linebacker) play defense.

NEU TABBED: Senior offensive lineman Chris Neu, a tackle, has been selected to the D3football.com Preseason All-America Second Team ...  He helped the Engineers average 177.7 rushing yards, 167.7 passing yards and 29.2 points ... Rensselaer, which allowed just 20 sacks, was first in the Liberty League in rushing offense and second in scoring offense ... As a junior, Neu was All-Liberty League First Team, All-ECAC Second Team, D3football.com All-East Region Third Team and the team's Offensive Lineman of the Year.

EGAN NOMINATED: Sean Egan, a senior, is one of 169 student-athletes nominated for the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team... The cornerback has been heavily involved with Capital Region and national charitable organizations throughout his time in Troy, consistently volunteering for team initiatives ... He is also a vice president of SAAC.

WELCOME BACK: Rensselaer returns 16 starters from 2017, including eight on offense, seven on defense and the punter ... In total, 75 student-athletes return from last year's squad.

NEWCOMERS: The Engineers welcome 45 newcomers to the team, including three seniors ... Running back Bryce Todd, who began his career at Rensselaer before transferring to Hofstra for two years, is back ... T.J. Kelly and Quinn Fettig, both of whom are All-Liberty League lacrosse players, are playing their first seasons of college football.

TWO-DEEP BREAKDOWN: RPI has 49 unique individuals on the two-deep ... They include 20 seniors, 15 sophomores, seven juniors and seven freshmen.

OFFENSIVE UNITS: Of the 11 offensive starters, eight are seniors, one is a junior, one is a sophomore and one is a freshman ... The second unit includes four freshmen, each on the offensive line, five sophomores and two seniors.

DEFENSIVE UNITS: The 11 defensive starters are two sophomores, two juniors and seven seniors ... The second unit features four seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.

ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Rensselaer's special teamers - not including those listed on either offense or defense - are three sophomores, a junior and a freshman ... Both the starting kicker and the starting punter are in their second years with Zac Montrief, the punter, having a season of experience ... Sanjay Krishnan is taking over for three-year kicker Christian Kapp, who graduated.

NEW COORDINATORS: Serving in new roles on the coaching staff beginning this season are Jeff Dittman, who is now the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, Nick Marcella, the new offensive coordinator, and Keith Larson, who is now the special teams coordinator ... Dittman was most recently the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach ... Marcella was the passing game coordinator who had coached several offensive positions in his three seasons with the Engineers ... Larson mentored the defensive backs while assisting with special teams and handling football operations in his first two seasons in Troy ... New to the staff this season are Troy Anthony (QBs), Bobby Johnson (Ops/OL) and Ross Martin (DL).