November 8, 2024
Football Heads To Stonehill For NEC Matchup
The Blue Devils play their final road game of the season on Saturday.
The Central Connecticut State football team takes to the road for the final time in the 2024 regular season as they travel to Stonehill for a 1:00 pm game on Saturday. The Blue Devils are 4-5 on the season, 2-1 in league play, while the Skyhawks are 1-7 overall and 0-4 in conference play.
CCSU and Stonehill are meeting for the third time, with both teams winning on their opponents field. The Blue Devils won 39-14 in the 2022 season finale, while the Skyhawks won at Arute Field last fall, 33-30 on a last second field goal in the second week of the season.
CCSU Game Notes | NEC Front Row | Livestats | Tickets
NOTES
• For the third time this season the Blue Devils held a team to less than 50 yards of rushing. CCSU allowed just 24 yards on the ground to Wagner, on 27 carries. The Blue Devils held Mercyhurst to just 17 yards rushing, on 21 attempts. That is the best rushing defensive effort since the Blue Devils held Brown to 17 yards on 32 carries in 2022. CCSU held Fordham to 47 yards on the ground in the home opener and have now held six opponents south of the century mark in the past two seasons.
• The Blue Devils are top in league in NEC games, allowing just 250 yards of offense an outing against league opponents. Stonehill is 8th in offense, averaging 173.3 ypg, while the opponents in the last two games (Duquesne & RMU) are first and second in offense.
• Dan Toatley was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, after a 4 TFL, 3 sack effort in the win over Wagner
• CCSU ranks third in FCS, first in the NEC, allowing just 0.44 sacks per game and have not allowed a sack in each of the last three games and six total
• The Blue Devils are averaging 3.33 sacks per game, moving up to second in the nation, and are 4th in FCS with 7.6 TFL per game, both are tops in the NEC. CCSU has 10 sacks in the last three games and three games with 6.0 or more sacks.
• Kimal Clark is eighth in the NCAA with a league-leading 5.6 solo tackles per game. He is sixth nationally in total tackles, with 9.8 a game - also tops in the NEC this season.
• Jack Barnum took home his fourth NEC Special Teams Player of the Week award on Monday. He had a 30-yard field goal and was 3-3 on PAT in the win over Wagner. Barnum averaged 59.7 yards per kickoff and recorded three touchbacks.
• Two Blue Devils, Dan Toatley and Jalen Howard rank in the top 22 in the NCAA in sacks. Toatley is 14th at 0.83 sacks per game, while Howard is 22nd at .72 sacks per game. The duo ranks 1-2 in the NEC in sacks per game.
• The Blue Devils have had a total offense advantage in seven games this season, and in each of the last five games
• The Blue Devils have not committed a turnover in three consecutive games and are +6 in turnovers, best in the NEC. The Blue Devils have gained 16 turnovers this fall, the 18th best number in FCS.
• Brady Olson is 51-90 passing in the last three games, with three touchdowns. For the year he is now 137-255 for 1,581 yards and 13 passing touchdowns. Twice this season he has completed 20 or more passes, with a season-best 21 completions in the win at Saint Francis. Olson is averaging 15.22 completions per game, 53rd nationally and his 13 TD passes is 34th best in the nation. In the win over Mercyhurst 1/3 of his completions (3-for-9) were touchdowns.
• Kimal Clark saw a stretch of five or more solo tackles come to an end on Saturday, a game in which he made three solo stops. He remains the league leader in both of those categories and has 88 tackles and 50 solo stops. Clark had a career-best 89 tackles a season ago - and enters this weeks game with 192 career tackles, of which 112 are solo stops. Clark had 53 solo tackles last season. Clark made a career-high 18 stops at UMass, recorded 13 tackles versus Fordham and has four games with double-digit tackle totals. Clark has broken up three passes this fall as well.
• The Blue Devils defense has 32 TFL in the past four games, including a third double-digit effort (10) versus Wagner on Saturday. The Blue Devils lead the league in the category with 68 TFL on the season. The Blue Devils recorded 16 TFL in the win at SFU, the third most in a single-game this season. They also had 13, 11th most in a game, versus Fordham.
• The Blue Devils 9.0 sacks versus Fordham remains the most in a single-game this season in FCS. A dozen Blue Devils have recorded at least 0.5 sack this fall.
• Elijah Howard returned from a two-game absence with a 75 yard, one touchdown effort in the win over Wagner. His last outing was his third 100+ yard rushing game of the year vs Mercyhurst, with a season-best 169 yards. Howard enters this week with 1,577, 17th in program history. Howard has carried 143 times for 587 yards, second in the NEC. 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 110.57 APY a game, 30th in the nation and second in the NEC. He did not play at Dartmouth or LIU.
• Jalen Howard is back in the sack column after a two-week absence, and is second in the league with 7.0 sacks. He has 33 tackles this season, including 9.5 TFL. 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 31 tackles, has three QBH and a fumble recovery to his credit this fall.
• Jack Barnum is leading the NEC with his 6.4 points per game. He has made 11 field goals, two shy of his school-record tying total from a season ago. Barnum averages 1.22 FGM and is good on 73.3 percent of his field goals, both league-best numbers. Barnum is 11-15 on field goals and 25-26 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 24 field goals in 19 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.
• Mike Plaskon continues to be the top receiving option for CCSU, with a team-best 36 receptions for a team-leading 450 yards. He has made 16 of those catches in three league games, with six apiece versus SFU and LIU. His touchdown catch came in the win at SFU. He averages 4.0 catches per game, sixth in the NEC & his 50 receiving yards/game is seventh.
