Football Looks For Third Straight Home Win

The Central Connecticut football team is looking to win its third straight home game for the first time since the 2010 season when it hosts Dartmouth on Saturday at 12 noon.  Central won it's first Northeast Conference game of the season last week topping Bryant 35-33 in dramatic fashion.  On Saturday they host the Big Green in their final non-conference game of the season.

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Today's Game • The Central Connecticut football team returns home for the fourth time this season hosting Dartmouth in its final non-conference game of the season.  The Blue Devils, who have played three road games this season, will play three of their final five games at home.  Central will not leave the state of Connecticut until the final week of the regular season when they travel to Wagner on Nov. 14.  Sandwiched in between a four home-game stretch is a trip to Sacred Heart on Oct. 24.  Today's game will kick off at 12 p.m. 

Last Week • The Blue Devils won in dramatic fashion scoring 28 second half points and putting up 553 yards of total offense in the game, including 207 on the ground and 346 in the air.  The 207 rushing yards are the fourth-highest in the 18 games under head coach Pete Rossomando, while the 346 in the air are the most for the Blue Devils in that same span.  The previous high of 312 came on the road at Dartmouth last season.  Central scored 28 points after halftime and held on in the final minutes for the 35-33 win over preseason conference favorite Bryant.  The 35 points is a season-high for the Blue Devils, and the second-highest point total for the Blue Devils under Rossomando (38 vs. URI last season).  Sophomore running back Cameron Nash put up 296 yards of total offense while redshirt freshman quarterback Tavion Pauldo passed for 245 yards and two scores in the win.

Total Offense • The 553 yards of total offense for the Blue Devils was the most in a single game in the two seasons under head coach Pete Rossomando and the most in a single game since Oct. 12, 2013 against Sacred Heart when they had 583 total yards.  Central went above 500 total yards in back-to-back weeks that season, also putting up 550 the following week in a win over Salve Regina.  The 553 yards last week marked the first time CCSU went over 500 since those games, a span of 22 games.

Back to Back Home Wins • The Blue Devils have won back-to-back home games for the first time since wins over St. Francis U and Salve Regina in the middle of the 2013 season.  Central hasn't won three straight home games since they won 15 straight spanning from 2008 to the opener of the 2011 season.  The 15 straight wins is a school record.  

vs. Dartmouth • The Blue Devils and Dartmouth are meeting for only the second time in the history of the two programs.  Dartmouth won the only previous meeting, 35-25, at home last season.  The Blue Devils are playing a team from the Ivy League for only the third time.  They defeated Columbia on the road in 2009, 22-13.  This marks the first time CCSU has ever hosted an Ivy League team.

Pauldo Earns a Pair of Awards • Redshirt freshman quarterback Tavion Pauldo earned both the Northeast Conference Football Offensive Player of the Week and NEC Rookie of the Week awards this week.  The redshirt freshman was outstanding accounting for a pair of touchdowns through the air, another on the ground and 283 yards of total offense.  Pauldo finished the game 15-of-21 passing for 245 yards, including scoring strikes of 31 and 84 yards.  He also ran for 38 yards on 11 carries, including a run from a yard out to put CCSU on the board in the second quarter. Pauldo helped the Blue Devils respond one more time after Bryant took a 33-29 lead with 4:47 to play.  The signal caller engineered a game-winning 7-play, 73-yard drive, and accounted for 59 of those yards.  Pauldo connected on back-to-back passes for gains of 25 and 24 yards to set up the winning touchdown.

Cameron Nash • Sophomore running back Cameron Nash introduced himself to the CCSU Homecoming crowd with an explosive day in the 35-33 win over Bryant on Saturday.  Nash ran for 90 yards on 16 carries (5.6 per carry), caught two passes for 104 yards and posted 102 returns yards on five returns as the Blue Devils evened their conference record at 1-1 on the season.  Nash's 84-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was the longest play of the season for the Blue Devils and gave them a 29-26 lead.  Nash also produced 16 yards rushing on the final scoring drive for the Blue Devils.  In the second half, when the Blue Devils scored on four of six possessions, Nash produced 74 yards on the ground and 84 yards in the air.  The 84-yard touchdown was the longest scoring play for the Blue Devils since a 94-yard run for Rob Hollomon vs. Salve Regina in 2013.

Captains • Pete Rossomando announced that juniors Dan Hebert and Jevon Elmore and seniors Jake Pinho and Tyler Hurd have been named captains for the 2015 season.  Pinho and Elmore represent the defensive side of the ball, while the offense is represented by Hebert and Hurd. 

Receiving • Sixteen different Blue Devils have caught a pass through the first six games.  Junior captain Dan Hebert has a team-high 15 catches for a team-high 188 yards and four touchdowns.  He had zero touchdown catches in his first two seasons with the Blue Devils.  He had six catches and two touchdowns in the win over Bryant last weekend.  Tight End K.J. Smith is second on the team with 10 catches for 165 yards.  Freshman Courtney Rush has nine catches for 99 yards. 

NEC Weekly Honors • Three Blue Devils have earned weekly award from the NEC this season, all have been named the league's Rookie of the Week, and one has been named Player of the Week.  Tavion Pauldo, Jacob Dolegala and Cameron Nash have each won the Rookie award giving Central the award three times through the first six weeks of the season.  Pauldo was also named the Player of the Week following the team's win over Bryant on Oct. 10.

Since the beginning of 2004 • Since the beginning of the 2004 season CCSU posts a record of 68-60, including 40-18 at home.

25 or More • Since the start of 2004 the Blue Devils are 50-13 when scoring 25 or more points in a game. They are 60-26 when scoring at least 20.

News Radio 1410 • Every Central Connecticut football and men's basketball game will air live on radio.  News Radio 1410 will carry the action with Bruce Biel and Marc Robbins on the call.  Fams can also listen to every game online at www.iHeartRadio.com or with the iHeartRadio app.

NEC Front Row • Thanks to a continued partnership between the Northeast Conference and the Pack Network, live webcasts of NEC sports will be available free of charge on NECFrontRow.com. The site will carry every CCSU NEC football game this season (Excluding the two games broadcast on ESPN3.com this season, home vs. RMU on Oct. 31, and on the road at Sacred Heart on Oct. 24).

Social Media • Follow the Blue Devils all season long on Social Media: Twitter: @CCSUBlueDevils In Game Twitter Updates: @KizerBlueDevil Facebook: CCSUBlueDevils Instagram: CCSUBlueDevils