The Bowdoin College football team will play its NESCAC home opener on Saturday against Middlebury College at Whittier Field.

Game time is set for 1 p.m.

The teams will be the first to play on the newly-renovated Whittier Field facility. It will be the 23rd meeting alltime between the schools in football. The historic stadium underwent numerous changes this summer.

Bowdoin opened its season with a 28-14 defeat at Williams, with the difference being a pair of big plays by the Ephs. Williams connected on a 93-yard touchdown pass and a 43- yard touchdown run to build a 28-7 lead in the fourth quarter and hold on for the victory.

Middlebury defeated Wesleyan in its opener, jumping to a 20-7 lead and holding off a late surge by the Cardinals for a 30-27 victory at home. The Panthers compiled 352 yards through the air in the win.

After one week of play, the Polar Bears have a handful of players ranked among the NESCAC leaders. Nate Richam is fifth in the league after a 54-yard rushing effort last week, while Nick Vailas stands fifth in the conference with seven catches. Punter Michael Chen is fourth with a 39.6 average and leads the conference with five punts inside the 20- yard line. Latif Armiyaw is tied for fifth in the conference with 10 tackles.

As a team, Bowdoin ranks eighth in the conference in total offense (220 yards) and seventh in total defense (439).

Middlebury captured a pair of NESCAC Players of the Week after defeating Wesleyan. Wesley Becton was named co-Defensive Player of the Week after making 11 tackles and forcing a pair of fumbles against the Cardinals. Jimmy Martinez was named Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 96 yards for a score. Quarterback Jared Lebowitz is third in the league with 352 yards passing. The Panthers rank sixth in the conference in total offense (394 yards) and eighth in total defense (451).

Last year, the Panthers ran away with a 40-3 victory in Vermont. Lebowitz posted 369 yards passing, while Ryan Rizzo had 125 yards rushing for Middlebury. Richam had 63 yards rushing to lead Bowdoin, while defensively Andrew Joyce had 11 tackles, while Armiyaw collected 10 stops.

All-time, the squads have only played each other 22 times in the series history. Middlebury has won three straight dating back to 2012, while Bowdoin’s last win came in 2009.

Fans unable to attend the home opener can tune in to the Northeast Sports Network for complete coverage beginning with a pre-game show at 12:45 p.m..