November 29, 2024
Football Heads To URI For FCS Playoff Game
The Blue Devils are making their third FCS Playoff appearance after winning their seventh NEC Championship.
The 2024 Northeast Conference Champions Central Connecticut State football team begins its FCS Playoff journey on Saturday, travelling to 10th seeded and ranked Rhode Island. The game will be played at Meade Stadium in Kingston, RI and will kick-off at 12:00 pm.
The Blue Devils, winners of four straight, enter the game with a 7-5 overall record. It is the first winning record, and playoff appearance, since the record setting 2019 season. The Rams are 10-2 on the year and won their final two regular season games.
CCSU Game Notes | Watch ESPN+ | Livestats | Tickets
• Picked last in the NEC Preseason poll, the Blue Devils won their seventh NEC Championship title, with a win over #19 Duquesne, to earn the FCS Playoff AQ. CCSU is playing in its third FCS playoff (2017 & 2019). The seven championships is the most in NEC history.
• The win over Duquesne was the Blue Devils first over a ranked opponent since opening the 2014 season with a 31-27 win over 7th ranked Towson. The Blue Devils have three wins over ranked teams during their time at the FCS (I-AA) level.
• CCSU took home four of the five NEC major postseasons awards. Elijah Howard was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Year, Kimal Clark Defensive Player of the Year, Christopher Jean, Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Adam Lechtenberg Coach of the Year.
• Adam Lechtenberg was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the FCS National Coach of the Year. Christopher Jean was named a Jerry Rice Award Finalist, presented annually to the FCS Rookie of the Year.
• The Blue Devils are 2nd in FCS in turnover margin, at 1.25, and turnovers gained, 30, entering the postseason.
• Christopher Jean was named the FCS National Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after tying a school record with three interceptions against Duquesne. He also earned NEC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week honors, both for the second week in a row. Jean's INT total from Saturday is tied for tops in the FCS this season and is now 19th nationally with 0.3 interceptions per game. He remains second in FCS with four fumbles recovered, and leads the NEC in both of those categories. He is third in the NEC, 20th nationally with 1.1 passed defended per game.
• Kimal Clark has 109 tackles this season, tied for the fourth most in a single-season in CCSU Division I history. Randall Laguerre (2016) and Ian Whittingham (2000) hold the mark with 116 tackles in a season.
• CCSU finished the season a perfect 5-0 at home, equaling the 2019 team, that also won an NEC Championship. Both of those campaigns saw an overtime game in the penultimate home game. CCSU defeated Robert Morris 35-33 in 2OT on November 16th and defeated Saint Francis (38-31) during the 2019 campaign. The 2019 season is also the last time the Blue Devils finished over .500 in a season, going 11-2.
• Jack Barnum connected on two field goals in the win over Duquesne, giving him 15 for the season. That becomes the program's single-season record, surpassing his 13 makes from a year ago and the 13 originally made by Paul Flynn in 1987. Barnum has 28 field goals in his CCSU career, four shy of the career mark of Flynn.
• CCSU held Duquesne to 14 points in the regular season finale, the fewest points the Dukes scored against an FCS opponent this season. Duquesne entered the game scoring 41.2 points per game in NEC play.
• CCSU had its four-game streak of not allowing a sack broken by RMU and have allowed three in the last two game, for seven total. The 0.58 sacks per game is second in FCS, trailing only South Dakota State which allows 0.50 sacks per game. CCSU has not allowed a sack on seven occasions this season.
• The Blue Devils are averaging 3.00 sacks per game, which is 6th in FCS. The Blue Devils have 36 sacks this season, with 25 in league play. The Blue Devils are 12th in FCS at 7.2 TFL a game,. Both numbers lead the NEC.
• For the fifth time this season the Blue Devils held a team under 100 rush yards, allowing Duquesne just 58 yards on the ground. CCSU held three teams under 50 yards on the ground during the campaign, with a season-best rushing effort against Mercyhurst, allowing only 17 yards. On the year, CCSU is allowing 103.1 rush yards per game, which is 8th in FCS. FCS opponents average only 96.1 yards per game on the ground.
• The Blue Devils are +10 in scoring overall this season, with a 299-289 advantage. In the 10 FCS games, CCSU is outscoring its opponents 258-188.
• CCSU intercepted seven passes in the win over Duquesne. That is tied for the most in FCS play this season.
• Elijah Howard had 110 yards on the ground in the win over Duquesne, his fourth 100+ yard rushing game of the season. He has accumulated 833 yards on the ground this season and is 2nd in the NEC at 83.3 yards an outing. Howard is first in the league, 41st in FCS, at 106.50 APY this season. He has run for eight TD's this fall, with five coming in the Blue Devils last four games, all wins. His 19 receptions is tied for second on the roster as well, and he averages 10.2 yards per reception, including a touchdown.
• Christopher Jean, in addition to his pass defense, led CCSU's defense versus Duquesne with seven tackles. He made six solo stops in that victory. He enters postseason with 30 tackles in nine games played. He has 2.5 TFL.
• Brady Olson has engineered an offense that is averaging 323.5 yards per game this season. He has thrown for 15 touchdowns, this season going 174-339 for 2,091 yards in the air. He has also run the ball 51 times for 159 yards and three scores. Olson is averaging 14.5 completions per game, third in the NEC, and his 12,0 yards per completion is second. In the win over Mercyhurst 1/3 of his completions (3-for-9) were touchdowns, and marks the most TD's he has thrown in a single-game.
• The Blue Devils defense has recovered more fumbles, 16, then any two other NEC schools combined. The Blue Devils are first in the nation in that category.
• Kimal Clark enters postseason ranked 23rd in the nation at 9.1 tackles per game. He has made a career-high 109 tackles this fall and has 213 career tackles. He has recorded 10 or more tackles five times this season and nine times in the past two seasons. Clark made a career-high 18 stops at UMass, and has a career-best 59 solo tackles this season.
• CCSU had an NEC record 12 players named to the NEC First Team. All-told, 15 Blue Devils earned All-Conference, the most in a full participation season in league history (Duquesne had 16 in the 2020-21 COVID season)
• The Blue Devils held an advantage in time of possession eight times this season and in all but one NEC contest. CCSU averages 31:17 of possession, 29th nationally and 1st in the NEC. The season-high was +11:06 in the win at Stonehill.
