October 3, 2024
Football Returns To Action Saturday At Yale
The Blue Devils and Bulldogs are meeting for the first time in football program history
The Central Connecticut State football team returns to action on Saturday, capping a three-game road swing, by travelling to New Haven, CT for a meeting with Yale University. The 12:00 pm game will be played at the Yale Bowl.
The Blue Devils, coming off of a bye week, are 2-2 on the year, while the Bulldogs are 1-1.
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NOTES
• Kimal Clark had a career-high 18 tackles at UMass, the second most tackles in an FCS game this season and earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors as a result. His 11.5 tackles per game is tops in the NEC and ranks third amongst FCS players. Clark is also 11th in solo tackles, averaging 5.5 stops per game. He has two 10+ tackle games this season, 13 versus Fordham and the aforementioned 18 at UMass, and now has six double-digit tackles games in his collegiate career. Clark returned a fumble 10-yards for the game-winning touchdown at Saint Francis.
• Today's game at Yale marks the final road game of a three-game road trip that took the Blue Devils to Loretto, PA, and Amherst, MA, before a bye week last week
• Malachi Wright also had a career-high tackle total at UMass, making 12 stops
• CCSU has not allowed a sack in any of the last three games and ranks fourth in the NCAA at 0.5 sacks allowed per game
• The Blue Devils are tops in the FCS in sacks per game, averaging 4.0 per game, thanks in part to an FCS single-game high of 9.0 sacks versus Fordham
• CCSU's eight fumble recoveries, two for touchdowns, are tops in FCS
• CCSU is averaging 8.3 TFL per game through four weeks, tops in the NEC and fifth in FCS. The Blue Devils recorded 16 TFL in the win at SFU, the second-most in a single-game this season.
• Elijah Howard has four touchdowns, three on the ground and one receiving, and is tied for first in the NEC in that category. Through four games he is averaging 54.8 yards per game on the ground, including his fifth 100 yard rushing game, at SFU, when he carried for 102 yards. He has nine catches, second on the team, for 45 yards and is averaging 70.0 APY/game, second on the team.
• CCSU has two defensive touchdowns, scored by Kimal Clark (at SFU) and Vince Thomas (vs. Fordham). That number is tops in the NEC and fourth in FCS.
• Brady Olson has completed 21 or more passes in each of his first four games and his 15 per game is second in the NEC. He is averaging 158.8 yards per game, with a season-high of 223 versus Fordham. Olson has thrown five TD passes to five different receivers in the past three games. He was 21-42 at SFU, with the 42 pass attempts the most by a CCSU QB since Kyle Zajack threw 36 times at Merrimack 11/12/22.
• The Blue Devils are averaging 4.0 sacks per game, leading the nation in that category. CCSU had 9.0 sacks versus Fordham, which remains tied for the high water mark in FCS single-games this season. The Blue Devils have at least one sack in each of the last three games. Eight players have recorded at least one sack this season and four rank in the top-seven in the NEC.
• Jalen Howard leads the NEC in both sacks (5th in FCS) and TFL (11th in FCS) through the first five weeks of the season. He was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 4 TFL, 3 sacks and 7 tackles in the win at SFU. He has 16 tackles this season, with the seven at SFU a season-high.
• The three points allowed to Fordham is the second time in as many seasons that CCSU has held a Division I foe to three or less points (Wagner, 2023)
• CCSU held an edge in TOP in each of the first three games, but UMass was +15:32 and the Blue Devils are now -:53 in TOP for year, The Blue Devils had the ball for 34:57, +9:54, in the opener CMU.
• Jack Barnum tied the program record with a 50-yard field goal at CMU. It matched the 2018 mark of Cole Francis and earned Barnum NEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. It is the 24th 50+ yard field goal in the NEC and is 16th longest in FCS through Week 3. Barnum is 5-7 on field goals this season and 12-12 on PAT's, leading the team with 27 points. His 1.25 field goals made per game and .714 FG percentage are both tops in the NEC.
