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Thursday, November 30, 2006

The best of...MU football game notes

From Greg (Do I want to watch MU vs. Seton Hall or Eagles vs. Carolina Monday night?) Viscomi

MONMOUTH AGAINST THE PFL... The Monmouth University football team is 1-2 all-time against teams from the Pioneer Football League. Although the Hawks have never faced San Diego,
whom they take on in the inaugural Gridiron Classic, they have played Jacksonville and Dayton, who they’ve taken on twice. The Hawks lost the only game in which they’ve hosted a team from the PFL, dropping a 27-14 decision to Dayton on November 5, 1998. They lost at Dayton the previous year by a score of 51-16. Most recently, Monmouth traveled to and defeated Jacksonville 32-28 on November 18, 2000.

How come I didn't make this trip?

About San Diego


Head Coach: San Diego is headed up by third-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh,
a two-time PFL Coach of the Year selection, owns a 28-6 record. He has coached the Toreros to a No. 16 national ranking and a 10-1 record. Harbaugh played 15 seasons in the NFL and was a four-year letterwinner as a quaterback at the University of Michigan.
He also coached in the NFL under current Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, while he was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.

My comment: Kevin Callahan coached under....Walt Hamline!




Offense: The Toreros sport one of the best offenses in college football at any level, ranking first in the nation scoring (44.2 ppg), total offense (509.7 ypg), passing offense (303.6 ypg) and third down conversion percentage (59.3 %). They are more than just a passing offense, as they sport a balanced offensive attack, also ranking 14th nationally
in rushing offense (206 ypg). San Diego is led by their dual-threat quarterback Josh Johnson, who leads the nation in passing efficiency (174.8 passer rating) and total offense (341.5 ypg), while throwing for 34 touchdowns and running for 11 more. His favorite targets are Ben Hannula (54 catches, 536 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Wes Doyle (48 catches, 856 yards, 11 touchdowns), while his main deep-threat in John Matthews (27 catches, 578 yards, 7 touchdowns, 21.4 ypc). Johnson is second on the team in rushing (616 yards) behind JT Rogan, who has rushed for 992 yards and 12 scores on the year. For as good as the offense has been, they have also been efficient, only turning the ball over seven times all season.

My comment: Should MU even bother to show up?

Defense: For all the publicity head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Torero offense has received, their defense has also been solid all season long, ranking 17th in the nation in total defense (274.1 ypg) and fifth in scoring defense, only allowing 13.5 points per game. They have also intercepted 14 passes, good enough for 17th in the country, just one pick behind the Hawks 15. They only give up 110 yards on the ground, good enough for 14th in the country. They are led defensively by linebacker Kyson Hawkins, who leads the team with 68 tackles. Defensive end Eric Bakhtiari ranks in the top-10 in the country with 19 tackles for loss and leads the team with five sacks. The Toreros fly to the football as a team, as 20 different players have at least 10 tackles, and eight have intercepted passes.

My comment - They haven't exactly been playing Ohio State. Of course..neither has MU



Special Teams: San Diego’s special teams have also held up their end of the bargain and then some, as they rank in the top 10 in the nation in kickoff return average as their 22.8 yard per return average lands them in 8th. Running back JT Rogan leads the team with 347 yards on 12 returns, good enough for a 28.9 ypr average, including a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. They also limit the opposition to only 17.1 yards per kickoff return, good enough for 17th nationally. They place fifth in the country in punt return defense, holding the opposition to a meager 3.71 yards per return.

My comment: MikePizzulli and Andrew Mandeville have to hold up their end for MU

Notes


MU is one of seven teams in I-AA to have 10 wins on the season and is the only team to record all of it’s wins against I-AA opponents. • Monmouth is 10-0 when leading or tied going into halftime this season. MU’s only loss came against Stony Brook, who led 29-0 at the halfway point. • MU sack leader Erik Yngstrom needs 2.5 sacks to tie former Hawk Jason Gmitter
in career sacks with 25.5. Yngstrom currently has 23 career sacks including four in 2006. • 2006 is the third time in four years that the Hawks have won the NEC Championship.
It was the fifth NEC title for MU, but this is the first time they have not had to share it with another team.


Also: Adam San Miguel needs eight receptions to tie some guy named Miles Austin for the all time MU lead.

e-mail tonygsports@aol.com

1 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Too bad you didn't make the trip to Jacksonville. Great game and lots of fun. Honestly, Monmouth had more fans than Jacksonville did that day (it was Florida/Florida State later in the evening over in Tallahassee). Also had the craziest beginning I've ever seen. Monmouth returned the opening kickoff for a td. Monmouth kicked off out of bounds. Jacksonville scored on a 65 yard td pass on their first play. 7-7, less than 30 seconds into the game.

9:37 PM, November 30, 2006  

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