MEADVILLE, Pa. - Allegheny was defeated 40-19 by 25th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the 2018 season-opener at a steamy Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

The Gators (0-1) out-gained the Engineers 441-369 in total offense, while Allegheny also held a nearly six-minute edge in time of possession, but the visitors took advantage of six Allegheny turnovers, including three in the third quarter, to break open a six-point game at the half and pull away for the win.

Fresh off of a record-breaking sophomore season, Allegheny receiver Alex Victor opened his junior campaign with another dazzling performance, hauling in nine catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns that spanned 65 and 70 yards, respectively. The 245 receiving yards marked a career high for Victor, who last season became the first player in program history to amass 1,000 receiving yards in a season. It was also the second-most prolific game for a receiver in program history, behind only Jay Lewis' 259-yard effort in 1969.

Making his first career start under center, sophomore Nazareth Greer completed 24 of 49 passes for 370 yards and the two touchdown strikes to Victor. Greer also ran for a team-best 58 yards on eight tries, while Tyler Balla gained 38 yards on 18 totes.

After shrugging off a 34-yard pass play on the game's third play, the Gator defense forced an R.P.I. turnover on downs on the first possession of the season. The offense went right to work, with Greer completing a 48-yard strike to Victor on Allegheny's first offensive play of the season to set up first down inside the R.P.I. 20. Three runs from Balla and another carry from Kobe Pinkney gave the Gators first-and-goal inside the six, but R.P.I.'s defense held. Zach Bednarowicz would then give the Gators' an early 3-0 lead on a successful 22-yard field goal try with 9:25 left in the quarter.

The two teams would then trade punts, before R.P.I. embarked on a seven-play, 71-yard scoring drive, capped off with a 30-yard touchdown run from Rob Law, to take a 7-3 lead with 2:15 remaining in the first stanza.

Allegheny's ensuing possession would end with an interception by R.P.I.'s Sean Egan, but just three plays later, the Gators returned the favor, as Quinten Hunt picked off his first career interception on the final play of the first quarter. 

The Gators came up empty on the ensuing trip, and the teams would again trade scoreless possessions until Law's second rushing score of the day, this one from 14 yards out, gave the Engineers a 13-3 advantage with 8:57 until the intermission.

The hosts would quickly shrink the deficit, as on the second play of the ensuing trip, Greer found Victor in the flat, and the speedster broke through a series of tackles with a meandering 65-yard touchdown run. Bednarowicz's point after was good to make it a three-point game with 7:56 to go in the half.

Following the Victor touchdown, a 46-yard kick return from R.P.I.'s Connor Davies set up the Engineers inside the Allegheny 40. An Allegheny defensive holding penalty would give the Engineers an extra 10 yards, but the Gator defense again held strong, ceding just one first down and forcing the Engineers to settle for a 28-yard field goal to up the lead to 16-10 with just inside six minutes left.

Allegheny's next trip nearly proved disastrous, as a botched snap on a punt try gave the Engineers first down inside the Gator 25. However, the Gator defense would quickly thwart the threat, as Corey Laskey recorded a strip sack of R.P.I. quarterback George Marinoupoulos, with the fumble recovered by Chase Balla at the Allegheny 36. R.P.I. would quickly get the ball back with an interception two plays later. The Gator defense would yield just six yards on the Engineers' next trip to close the half.

The second half got off to a sloppy start, as each of the first six drives of the third quarter resulted in turnovers. The Gators' opening trip ended with a fumble inside their own 30 yardline, before Seth Warburton stripped a fumble that was recovered by Kyle McGee on the Engineers' first snap of the half. Greer would then complete a 12-yard pass to Tristan Rhoades and a 16-yard strike to Ben Bachik to move inside the R.P.I. 30, but the Engineers would then play takeaway with another interception.  

R.P.I. would give the ball right back to the Gators on the next play, as Warburton forced his second fumble of the half, which was recovered by Marcus Davenport inside the red zone at the Engineers' 19. Three plays later, the Engineers picked up their third interception of the day, and this proved to be the Gators' most costly miscue of the day, as D.J. Stefonsky returned it 89 yards for the touchdown to put the visitors up 23-10 with 9:24 left in the third quarter.

The third quarter would end with the Engineers driving inside the Allegheny 10, but the Gator defense opened up the final stanza with another big stop, yielding just two yards on a pair of runs and forcing a third down incompletion, forcing R.P.I. to again settle on a field goal to up the advantage to 26-10 with 13:49 to go in regulation.

On the Gators' first play of their ensuing trip, Greer would again find Victor with a short pass, and the receiver would replicate his effort from the second quarter, this time meandering 70 yards for his second score of the day. The two-point conversion try would fail, and the Allegheny deficit stood at 26-16 with 13:19 left.

R.P.I. quickly countered with a big play of its own, as just 40 seconds later, Law took a screen pass from Marinoupoulos for a 71-yard touchdown to up the advantage to 33-16.

The Gators would score the game's next points on Bednarowicz's second field goal of the day with 7:05 left, this one from 32 yards out, before the Engineers closed out the day's scoring with a 10-play, 40-yard, 5-minute drive that was capped off with a four-yard touchdown run by Joe Scaglione with 2:01 left in regulation to seal the win.

In his first start, Greer completed passes to nine different receivers. While Victor led the way with his nine grabs, Rhoades made four catches for 36 yards, and Dwaine Barber three for 44. 

Defensively, Chase Balla paced the Gators with 12 tackles, including a half sack. Laskey chipped in with eight stops, Zach Martin with seven, and Warburton and Bryan Lopez six each. Clarence Long broke up a pair of passes in the secondary.

For the Engineers, Marinoupoulous completed 14 of 27 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown. Law led the Engineers in both receiving (84) and rushing (58) yards, while Jack Hoggard led R.P.I.'s defense with 12 tackles, including a pair behind the line of scrimmage. 

Befitting of a season-opener, in addition to the 10 combined turnovers, the two teams combined to commit 20 penalties for 160 yards, with the Engineers drawing 11 flags for 102 yards, and the Gators nine for 58. 

The Gators will look to bounce back next Saturday, Sept. 8, when they open the North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a 1 p.m. meeting at the College of Wooster.