Football Plays at 2 p.m. on Saturday at #5 Youngstown State
Blue Devils and Penguins will air live on ESPN3
Today's Game • The CCSU football team travels to Youngstown State to face its first nationally-ranked opponent of the season in a 2 p.m. contest. The Blue Devils will be playing the Penguins for the second time. YSU won the only other meeting, 63-24, on Sept. 18, 2010. Following today's game the Blue Devils will return home to host Walsh on Sept. 23 at 12 p.m. at Arute Field.
Last Week • The Central Connecticut football team hosted its first home game of the season, falling to Fordham on a late rally, 38-31. The teams were meeting for the first time and CCSU got off to a fast start, jumping to a 17-0 lead. Sophomore Tajik Bagley returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and junior Tymir Hinton scooped up a fumble for a 31-yard score. The Rams would regroup, scoring 21 unanswered points as quarterback Kevin Anderson ran for a score and passed for two more to make it 21- 17. Central would regain the lead on a 20-yard pass from junior Jake Dolegala to junior Jose Garcia just before halftime. A two-yard plunge by senior Cameron Nash pushed the Central lead to 31-21. Anderson tossed his third touchdown of the day just before the end of the third quarter and Fordham then tied it on a 40-yard field goal with 4:43 to play. The Blue Devils got the ball back after blocking a field goal, but the Rams would return an interception for 29 yards with 1:27 to play for the winning score. Dolegala finished the game 18-of-41 for 224 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Nash had a team-high 57 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Drew Jean-Guillaume caught four passes for 42 yards. Defensively, the Blue Devils forced three turnovers. Hinton and sophomore Kyle Baum each recovered a fumble, while senior Jarrod Cann picked off a pass and had nine tackles. Senior Randall LeGuerre and junior Kenneth Keen each had a team-leading 11 tackles.
Bagley Earns NEC Weekly Honors • Sophomore Tajik Bagley was named the Northeast Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 11. Bagley returned the opening kickoff against Fordham 95 yards for the score. It was the first kickoff return for a touch- down for CCSU since Najae Brown took a kick 95 yards against St. Francis U on Nov. 7, 2015. Bagley added eight tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in the game.
Hinton To The House • Junior Tymir Hinton recovered a fumble and returned it 31 yards for a score against Fordham. It was the first time since Sept. 15, 2012 (David Rose at New Hampshire) that the Blue Devils returned a fumble recovery for a score. It was his third career touchdown, having returned two interceptions for scores in 2016.
CCSU Picked Fourth, Four Earn Preseason Honors • The Central Connecticut football team was tabbed fourth in the 2017 Northeast Conference Football Preseason Coaches' Poll it was announced at the league's Social Media Day held at MetLife Stadium. Four Blue Devils were also named to the Preseason All-NEC Team. Senior wide receiver Joey Fields and junior K.J. Smith return on the Central offense and led the quartet of Preseason All-NEC honorees. Senior linebacker Randall Laguerre and senior defensive back Jevon Elmore earned Preseason All-NEC honors and will help anchor the CCSU defense. Head coach Pete Rossomando is set to begin his fourth season at the helm of the Blue Devils. Central returns a total of 18 starters, including eight on both the offensive and defensive side of