UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team returns from a bye week on Saturday to take on Alfred University in Empire 8 Conference action at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.  The start time for the contest has been moved to 6 p.m.

BROADCAST INFO:  All Utica College football games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by play-by-play man Dave Peroni, color analyst Fred Miller and sideline reporter Ray Biggs … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com... Utica College home games are also broadcast by WPNR 90.7 FM, the College's own student radio station, over the air and online.

PIONEERS ALL-ACCESS: If you can't make it out to Utica to watch the game in person, Pioneers All-Access is the place to be on game day, providing live video, audio (WPNR 90.7 FM) and stats for all UC home games on the turf …. Pioneers All-Access is a completely FREE service provided for those members of the Pioneer nation that might not be able to make it out to the game … Recent stories and social media are fully integrated into the Pioneers All-Access site for the most comprehensive viewing experience …  Make sure to check out Pioneers All-Access at www.ucpioneers.com/watch.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: All UC football radio broadcasts on WTLB 99.1 FM can be heard on the My Hometown Sports Application available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes... After you download the application make sure to select the ESPN Radio coverage … It's a free application so download today!

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you can't make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.

POSSIBLE BOWL BID: Utica currently holds a 5-3 overall ledger and needs a win on Saturday to tie the program-record for wins in a single season, originally set back in 2012 and 2005 … The Pioneers opened the season with four straight wins, before losing three straight Empire 8 games, and they got back on track two weekends ago to earn their fifth victory of the season …UC has now won five or more games in four out of the last five years …  If the Pioneers win their final two regular season games they would break the program-record for wins in a single season and etch their name on the list of potential ECAC Bowl game selections.

EMPIRE 8 STANDINGS: The Pioneers are currently in a five way tie for third place with a 3-3 mark in the Empire 8 Conference standings … St. John Fisher sits atop the conference standings with a 5-1 conference record, and Ithaca is not far behind with a 5-2 ledger in the E8 … A conference win on Saturday for UC would tie the program record for conference victories, which was originally set in 2012 when the Pioneers went 4-2 in E8 play. 

ALL-TIME VS. ALFRED: Utica and Alfred have met every year since the Pioneers began varsity football back in 2001 ... Alfred has a 12-1 advantage over UC in the all-time series … The only time UC has beaten Alfred was in 2012 when the Pioneers cruised to a 31-7 victory. 

LAST TIME OUT: The Utica College football team scored 24 straight points in the first half and recovered three key Buffalo State fumbles as the Pioneers snapped a three game skid with a 31-21 Empire 8 Conference road victory on October 25^th … Utica junior defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) had a banner day, tying the school-record with 3.0 sacks, and he also added seven tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery … Utica senior receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) helped drive the Pioneers' offense with four catches for 128 yards and a touchdown, while freshman J'Von Evans (Utica, NY/Proctor) added a game-high 85 yards and one score on 22 carries. 

SINGLE SEASON RECORD BOOK: Junior wide receiver Gregory Palmer (Richland, NY/APW) ranks third on the College's single-season list with an average of 18.91 yards per catch this season … Senior punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) currently ranks first on the College's single-season average yards per punt list with an average of 41.39 … Peel also needs 303 punt yards to become just the fourth punter in school-history to punt for over 2,000 yards in a single-season … Freshman J'Von Evans (Utica, NY/Proctor) sits atop the College's single-season record book with an average of 21.18 yards per punt return this season … As a team, the Pioneers need just six pass break ups to break the program's single-season record of 31 set back in 2005 … The Pioneers need four more rushing touchdowns to break the school-record for rushing touchdowns in a single season … UC's average of 135.2 rushing yards per game ranks second all-time in the College's record book … The 2014 edition of the Pioneers currently holds the school's single-season record for average yards per catch (12.93) … Utica needs 237 total yards to become the seventh team in program-history to compile 3,000+ total yards in a single-season.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Senior running back Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) needs six more yards rushing to move into second place in the College's career record book … He needs 218 rushing yards to become the program's all-time leader in career rushing yards … He currently has 1,554 yards rushing and sits in third place behind Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) (1,559) and Mike Capra (1,771) … Baldassare needs three carries to set a new school-record for career carries – he currently has 337 … Baldassare's 15 career rushing touchdowns ranks third all-time and he needs three more to move into second place … Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) needs 29 completions to move into second place on the College's career list – he currently has 362 … He also needs 191 passing yards to become the third player in program-history to throw for 4,000+ yards in a career … Senior free safety James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) ranks second all-time at UC with 13 career interceptions and needs four more to tie the school-record of 17 set back in 2006 by Jon Klosner … Lenahan is tied for fifth all-time with 12 career pass break ups and needs three more to move into third place all-time … Junior defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) is tied for third all-time at UC with four career forced fumbles – he needs two more to obtain sole possession of second place all-time. 

WOODMAN COMING ON STRONG: 6-foot-5 defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) was named the Empire 8 Conference and ECAC Upstate Defensive Player of the Week after his strong performance at Buffalo State two weekends ago … Woodman currently ranks 18^th nationally and first in the Empire 8 with an average of 1.00 sacks per game … He is currently tied for the school-record with 8.5 sacks this season … His 13.0 career sacks currently ranks third all-time at UC and he needs two more to move into sole possession of second place all-time … He ranks fifth on the team with 41 tackles (21 solo) through eight games … He also has 9.5 tackles for a loss of 44 yards to go along with three fumble recoveries and two pass break ups. 

ONE OF THE GREATS: Utica senior wide receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) is the program's career-leader in receiving yards (3,156), pass receptions (214), receptions per game (6.48) and he now needs just 21 more all-purpose yards to surpass Cody Elliot '09 as the College's all-time leader in all-purpose yards – he currently has 3,749 … Acevedo ranks fourth in the Empire 8 with an average of 96.0 yards receiving per game this season … He has 37 catches to go along with three touchdown grabs. 

WOODBURN MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF: Junior kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) is the program's all-time leader with 70 career extra points made … He also ranks fourth all-time at UC with 121 career points scored … His 17 career field goals made are also tops at UC.

FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman running back and return man J'Von Evans (Utica, NY/Proctor) has made an instant impact on the field, breaking the school's career record in punt return yards with 360 on 17 returns this season … He ranks third nationally with an average of 21.2 yards per punt return … Evans ranks second on the team with 356 yards rushing on 85 carries and he has a team-best seven touchdowns (six rushing, one return).

BALDASSARE LEADS THE WAY: Senior Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) leads UC with 473 rushing yards on 114 attempts this season … He is tied for the team-lead with six rushing touchdowns … His best game this season came against Brockport when he rushed for 147 yards and three scores on 24 carries. 

PIN 'EM DEEP: Senior punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) has had a banner year as he currently ranks ninth nationally with an average of 41.4 yards per punt … He ranks second all-time at UC with 5,075 career punt yards and he has a career average of 39.65 yards per punt (128 attempts) … He has five punts of 50+ yards this season, including a school-record 74 yard punt early in the year … He has pinned opponents inside the 20 yard line 13 times and he has forced six touchbacks.

TACKLING MACHINE: Sophomore linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) currently ranks third in the Empire 8 with 80 total tackles (33 solo) … He also ranks second on the team with six pass break ups … He has posted 12 or more tackles in four games and he added his first sack of the year in the Pioneers' win over Buffalo State. 

BUTKIEWICZ GUIDES THE PASSING ATTACK: Senior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) has completed 99 passes this season for 1,228 yards and five touchdowns … He is averaging 204.67 yards passing per game and he has thrown just one interception … He has a completion percentage of 56.57.

BEWARE OF BENIQUEZ: Sophomore Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) ranks second on the team with 32 catches for 375 yards … His average of 112.75 all-purpose yards per games ranks eighth in the Empire 8 … His 527 combined kick return yards ranks fifth in the Empire 8 and 33^rd nationally.

SENIOR CAPTAIN: Senior captain Jon Treen (Ilion, NY/Ilion) ranks second on the team with a career-high 57 tackles … He also has three tackles for a loss, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

BURNHAM BREAKING OUT: Senior linebacker Brandon Burnham (Fulton, NY/Mexico) is having a break out year … He currently ranks third on the team with 48 tackles (33 solo), including 4.5 tackles for a loss.

SCOUTING THE SAXONS: The Saxons are 5-3 overall and 3-3 in Empire 8 play after last weekend's thrilling 23-21 victory at Salisbury … Trailing 21-20 midway through the fourth, AU drove 72 yards in six plays over 8:37 before freshman placekicker Trevor Monk booted a 22-yard field goal as time expired … The win was the second straight for the Saxons after snapping a three-game skid … The Saxons are scoring 26.5 points per contest while allowing 23.6 … The AU offense produces 384 yards per game: 158 rushing and 226 passing … Sophomore quarterback Tyler Johnson spearheads the offense, rushing for 772 yards and six touchdowns … His 90.3 yards rushing per game ranks fourth in the Empire 8 … Johnson has also completed 125 of 208 passes for 1,604 yards with 13 TDs … The Saxons are hot and cold this season, winning their first three games, before losing three in a row, and now they are back on track with a two game winning streak.