October 24, 2024
Football Returns To NEC Play With Saturday Trip To LIU
Blue Devils are 1-0 in NEC play
The Central Connecticut State football team returns to Northeast Conference play on Saturday, travelling to LIU for the NEC Football Game of the Week. The 12:00 pm game, at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Old Westbury, NY, will are on ESPN+, NEC Front Row, YES Network, NESN360 and Pittsburgh SportsNet.
CCSU Game Notes | Watch on ESPN+ | Watch on NEC Front Row | Livestats
CCSU is 1-0 in league play, one of three undefeated teams (Robert Morris & Duquesne) in the NEC entering play this weekend. LIU is 1-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Blue Devils are 1-4 in road games, while the Sharks are 1-2 at home this fall.
This is the fifth meeting between the two squads, with LIU on a three-game win strek and leading the series 3-1. CCSU won 28-0 in the inaugural meeting in 2019.
MORE NOTES
• CCSU is +10 points per game in FCS play, with a 27.2-17.2 scoring margin in those five games and a 3-2 record
• For the second time this season Aidan Clark was named the NEC Special Teams Player of the Week, averaging 50.8 yards per punt at Dartmouth. CCSU specialists have won the award five of seven weeks that the Blue Devils have played this season.
• Kimal Clark has back-to-back 10 tackle games and is fourth in FCS at 10.4 tackles per game, and is 9th with 5.7 solo tackles per game
• Jalen Howard is 9th nationally in sacks, averaging 0.93 per game, and ranks 26th in FCS at 1.2 TFL per game
• CCSU is third in FCS in team sacks, recording 3.0 per game, and also sacks allowed, giving up just 0.57 per game
• The Blue Devils have had a total offense advantage in five of seven games this season, and in each of the last three games
• Today marks the end of the Blue Devils second three-game road swing of the season
• The Blue Devils did not commit a turnover at Dartmouth, the first time this season they have not given the ball away and are +5 in turnover margin this fall
• Kimal Clark continues to lead the NEC in tackles (73 and solo tackles (40). He has four double--digit tackle games this fall and eight for his career. He averaged 10.4 tackles per game, the best in the NEC. He recorded his first TFL of the season versus Dartmouth, finishing with 2.5. Clark has 177 career tackles and with 13 versus Fordham and a career-high 18 at UMass. Clark returned a fumble 10-yards for the game-winning touchdown at Saint Francis. Clark has broken up three passes this fall as well.
• Brady Olson threw for 288 yards at Yale, the most he as accumulated in a game as a Blue Devil. He has completed 101 passes, and his 12.02 yards per completion (1,241 total) is tops in the NEC. Olson, a transfer from UMass, has thrown 11 touchdowns, with a season-best three coming in the Mercyhurst win - a game where 1/3 of his completions (3-for-9) were touchdowns. Olson completed 21 passes, on 42 attempts, in the win at Saint Francis and has 15 or more catches in four games.
• The Blue Devils defense has back-to-back 8.0 TFL games and has four on the year. The Blue Devils are averaging 7.4 per game, first in the league and eighth in FCS. The Blue Devils recorded 16 TFL in the win at SFU, the third most in a single-game this season. They also had 13, 10th most in a game, in the win over Fordham. CCSU is the only team with 13 or more TFL in two games this season.
• CCSU held an edge in TOP in five of seven games this season. The Blue Devils were +9:02 at Yale and were +9:54 in the opener at CMU. CCSU averages 30:17 TOP a game.
• The Blue Devils 9.0 sacks versus Fordham remains the most in a single-game this season in FCS. Nine Blue Devils have recorded at least 0.5 sack this fall and three of them are ranked in the top-10 in the NEC in that category.
• Elijah Howard had his third 100+ yard rushing game of the year vs Mercyhurst, with a season-best 169 yards. The effort moved him to 1,502 career yards, 18th in program history. Howard has carried 122 times for 512 yards and his 85.3 yards per game is second in the league. At Yale Howard put up 215 APY, which was second in the league through that weekend. Howard is second on the roster with 15 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown. He is averaging 112.7 APY a game, tops on the roster and in the league and his four touchdowns is the top number this season.
• Jalen Howard remains the league leader in sacks, with 6.5, after recording 1.5 in the Mercyhurst win. He is 9th in the nation averaging 0.93 sacks per game. He is also 26th nationally at 1.2 TFL an outing. He was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 4 TFL, 3 sacks and 7 tackles in the win at SFU. Howard is fourth on the roster with 30 tackles, has three QBH and a fumble recovery to his credit this fall.
• Jack Barnum leads in the NEC in scoring, averaging 7.0 points per game. He is good on 71.4 percent of his field goal attempts, which is 1.43 per game - both tops in the conference. Barnum is 10-14 on field goals and 19-20 on PAT this season. At Yale he recorded the second career three field goal game of his time at CCSU. In the opener he kicked a program-record tying 50-yard field goal at CMU. That kick matched the 2018 mark of Cole Francis, and it was the 24th 50+ yard field goal in NEC history. Barnum has made 23 field goals in 18 games as a Blue Devil. The school record is 32 by Paul Flynn (1987-89). Barnum tied Flynn last season for the single-season field goal mark of 13.
• Jayvis Rayside made a team-best 12 tackles in the game at Dartmouth, a single-game career-high for the transfer from Bryant. He has two interceptions, tops on the team, and a fumble recovery this fall. He had the Blue Devils first INT of the season, picking off the SFU quarterback and returning the ball 13 yards in the NEC season opener. He then had an interception in the win over Mercyhurst. Rayside has 19 tackles this season.
• Malachi Wright is second on the roster with 43 tackles, highlighted by a career-high dozen at UMass. His 6.1 stops per game is good for 9th in the NEC. Wright has 4.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks and three QBH's this fall as well. He was the NEC Defensive Player of the Week following the Fordham game, made 3.5 TFL and had a sack and QBH in the win over the Rams. Wright had an interception, with a 15-yard return, versus Mercyhurst.
• Paul Marsh, Jr. had his first career two touchdown catch game, the first time a Blue Devil has done that since Isiah Williams (10/21/23) at Wagner. Marsh is the team leader with three touchdown catches, which is good for sixth in the NEC. Marsh had a season-best four catches versus Mercyhurst, for 67 yards.
