Overview: Perhaps the Liberty League should literally be re-named the "Literally League". Why? Because the race for the league title, well, literally came down to the final week of the regular season. When it finally came to a close on November 13, it was the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers emerging as the automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Division III playoffs after knocking their longtime archrivals in the Union (N.Y.) Dutchmen, 19-17, in the annual battle for the Dutchman Shoes Trophy. While RPI finished LL action at 5-1 en route to a final regular-season record of 9-1, Union had to settle for a 4-2 mark in conference play to go with a final regular-season finish of 8-2 overall. That was after the Dutchmen went undefeated at 8-0 overall through their first eight games.
The other two teams in the LL to win at least eight games at the season’s end were the Hobart Statesmen and the Ithaca Bombers. The Statesmen ended the 2021 season at 9-2 overall and 4-2 in the Liberty League after defeating Washington & Jefferson in the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl on November 20, while the Bombers finished at 8-2 overall and 5-1 in LL action after losing to RPI and Cortland by a combined margin of just three points. Ithaca lost to RPI, 14-11, on October 30, and to Cortland, 28-27, in the Cortaca Jug game on November 13.
Going into the 2022 season, don’t be surprised if any of the four teams mentioned above find themselves on top of the Liberty League this fall.
Final 2021 Liberty League Football Standings
NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2022 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.
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