After three straight victories to open up conference play this fall, Franklin College came crashing back to Earth on Saturday afternoon, suffering a 49-0 defeat at Rose-Hulman.
Jailen Hobbs scored three of his four touchdowns in the second quarter for the Engineers (4-3, 4-0 HCAC), who outgained the Grizzlies by better than a two-to-one margin and also took advantage of three interceptions.
Franklin College (3-4, 3-1) trailed by just seven after the first period, but Hobbs set the rout in motion with a 51-yard punt return for a score early in the second. He added two more scores in the quarter, including a 40-yard TD catch with just 21 seconds left in the half that made it a 28-0 game.
Center Grove graduate Riley Roberts returned an interception for a Rose-Hulman touchdown in the third quarter.
Garrett Cora gained 99 yards on the ground, but Franklin struggled to get anything going through the air, completing just nine of 36 passes for 67 yards.
Kody Wilkerson led the Grizzlies defensively with 11 tackles.
Next up for Franklin College is a trip to Manchester for its final road game of the season.
