TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will open the 2018 football season on Saturday at 7 p.m., when the Fightin' Engineers face defending NCAA Division III national champion Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio.
LIVE COVERAGE: LIVE STATS / LIVE AUDIO / LIVE VIDEO (NOTE: $9.95 FEE FOR VIDEO)
VIDEO NOTE: Although there is a fee for the live stream, the game will be replayed on SportsTime Ohio Monday at noon and Wednesday at 7 a.m.
MEDIA GAME NOTES
RHIT NEWS & NOTES:
* Rose-Hulman has been ranked No. 19 nationally by the College Football America Yearbook and is ranked No. 20 by Street & Smith's Football Magazine in this year's preseason rankings.
* Senior Mike Riley is a preseason first-team All-American by four major national outlets. Riley received first-team preseason All-American honors from College Football America, Street & Smith's, D3football.com and Podyum.
* The Fightin' Engineers return four first-team all-HCAC selections from last season. Returnees include Riley; safety John Kirby; offensive lineman Lucas Leiner; and HCAC rushing champion Garrett Wight.
* Head coach Jeff Sokol has a 48-23 record at Rose-Hulman, including a 42-14 mark against HCAC foes.
* The Fightin' Engineers have a tradition of Academic All-American excellence. Last season, three players (Matt Murray, Alec Thompson, Garrett Wight) earned Academic All-American honors. Rose-Hulman players have combined for 27 Academic All-American awards since 2002, including 16 in the last seven years under coach Jeff Sokol.
* Rose-Hulman played in the highest scoring NCAA Division III game in history during the Sokol era, defeating Illinois College 74-68 in triple overtime in 2014.
MOUNT UNION NOTES:
* Mount Union is the gold standard of NCAA Division III football programs with 13 national championships, including nine since 2000. The Purple Raiders most recently won NCAA Division III national titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017.
* Since 2000, Mount Union has an overall record of 238-11.
* D3football.com has named three Purple Raiders as preseason All-Americans. Justin Hill is a first-team wide receiver, Gabe Brown a first-team cornerback, and D'Angelo Fulford is the second-team quarterback.
* Mount Union is ranked No. 1 by all four major national outlets that conduct preseason top 25 polls.
SERIES HISTORY:
* This is the first meeting of the series. Rose-Hulman will host Mount Union in the 2019 home opener next September.
DID YOU KNOW?
* Senior Mike Riley led all NCAA football players (FBS, FCS, II, III) leader in sacks during the 2017 regular season with 17.
