TERRE HAUTE, Ind.-- The Fightin' Engineer's football team opens their season at home against DePauw on Saturday, September 6, at 7 PM. 

ROSE-HULMAN NOTES:
* The Fightin' Engineers have been picked to finish third in the HCAC Preseason Poll, conducted by the league's head coaches. 
* The team earned 26 points in the preseason poll results. 
* Rose-Hulman finished last season in third place in the HCAC after earning an overall record of 5-5 and a conference record of 4-2. 
* The team returns five HCAC All-Conference selections from last year, including Jay Smith, Ben Klein, Marshall Koch, Wyatt Bell, and Antonio Barnes. 
* Jay Smith is the top returner for the Fightin' Engineers, leading the backfield last season with 271 rushing attempts, 1297 rushing yards, and 16 touchdowns. 
* Smith set a new school record for rushing yards in a single season in 2024. 
* He also broke the single-game rushing record last year with 252 yards in the team's 52-10 win over Bluffton. 
* In the game against Bluffton, he became the sixth player in school history to rush fr five touchdowns in a single game. 
* Kolton Nanko is the team's top returning wide receiver, totaling 33 catches for 506 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2024.
* Antonio Barnes leads the defense, tallying a team-high 70 tackles last season. 
* He is joined by Marshall Koch, who also led the defense last year with 56 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, and a team-high 5.5 sacks. 
* The Fightin' Engineers are led by Head Coach Jeff Sokol, who enters his 15th season with Rose-Hulman. Sokol has led Rose-Hulman to three HCAC Titles and two NCAA Playoff appearances in 2016 and 2021. 
* After hosting DePauw, Rose-Hulman will hit the road to take on Trine on Saturday, September 13, at 7 PM. 

DEPAUW NOTES:
* The Tigers open their season against Rose-Hulman on Saturday. 
* The team returns from a successful 2024 season, where they finished the year as the NCAC Champions with a record of 11-1 overall and 8-0 in the conference.
* DePauw ended their season against Johns Hopkins in the third round of the NCAA Division III Football Tournament with a final score of 14-9.
* The Tigers totaled four student-athletes who were named Preseason All-Americans by D3football.com, including Robby Ballentine, Matthew Berry, Zach Kerr, and Joey Roland. 
* Caden Whitehead is the top returner in the backfield, leading the team last season with 162 carries for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns. 
* Robby Ballentine is the team's star receiver, finishing last year with 78 catches for 1204 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. 
* Joey Roland leads the team defensively, ending the 2024 season with a team-high 12 sacks.
* The Tigers are led by Head Coach Brett Dietz, who enters his fifth season with the team.
* After opening their season against Rose-Hulman, DePauw will travel to take on Centre on Saturday, September 13, at 7 PM. 

SERIES HISTORY:
* Rose-Hulman trails in the all-time series between both teams with a record of 12-46-1 against DePauw. 
* The Tigers have won the last eight games against Rose-Hulman, dating back to the 2004 season.
* DePauw earned the win last season when both teams met, defeating the Fightin' Engineers with a score of 57-14. 
* The last time Rose-Hulman defeated DePauw was during the 2003 season with a final score of 22-12. 
* When hosting the Tigers, Rose-Hulman has a home record of 5-10 overall.