The Grove City College football team will host New York State power Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this Saturday afternoon in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III James Lynah Bowl. Kickoff will be 12 p.m. at Robert E. Thorn Field.
Grove City (8-2) enters the game on a six-game winning streak. The Wolverines closed the 2019 regular season Saturday with a 63-0 win at Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Thiel in the 36th Mercer County Cup game. R.P.I. concluded the regular season at 6-4 after dropping a 33-0 decision Saturday at Liberty League champion Union (10-0) in the Dutchman Shoes game.
Grove City is the defending James Lynah Bowl champion as the Wolverines defeated Morrisville State, 56-48, in last year's game at Robert E. Thorn Field. That marked the first postseason victory in Grove City College football history.
R.P.I. will make its sixth straight postseason appearance. Last season, the Engineers advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Engineers also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2017. R.P.I. qualified for ECAC bowl games in 2014, 2015 and 2016, winning in both 2015 and 2016.
The teams do not have any common opponents this year. However, R.P.I. defeated visiting Allegheny, 52-14, in the season opener in Troy, N.Y., September 7. Grove City scrimmaged Allegheny during preseason camp.
Saturday's game will be the first meeting between the programs. Grove City is 1-1 all-time in ECAC bowl games. In 1997, the Wolverines fell to Kings Point, 25-12, in the ECAC Southwest Bowl. Including R.P.I., all three of Grove City's bowl foes will be from New York.
Grove City College Sports Information