Gamenotes (PDF)GAME TIME
The Morgan State Bears will face #16/18 Richmond in the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. Game time at Robins Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3. The game will be broadcast live by Morgan State's flagship station WEAA, 88.9 FM, also on Heritage Sports Network (HSRN) and Sirius XM. It will air on Sirius Channel 136 and XM Channel 204. The winner of the game will play at No. 7-seeded Coastal Carolina on December 6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Morgan State (7-5 overall, 6-2 MEAC) won a share of the MEAC Championship and earned the conference's automatic qualification. This is the first Division I postseason trip for the Bears.
• Richmond (8-4, 5-3 CAA) finished fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Spiders are an at-large qualifier and will be making its ninth trip to the Football Championships (FCS) Playoffs, including a national championship in 2008. This will be the first trip to the playoffs since 2009.
THE BEARS-SPIDERS SERIES
•Saturday's matchup marks the first meeting between the two schools.
QUICK HITS
• MSU QB Moses Skillon set the school record for most touchdown passes in a game – the Florida native tossed five TDs in a 69-7 rout at Hughes Stadium against the Hornets. It was the most points by the Bears since posting 69 points vs. Hampton in 1967.
• MSU has 12 senior Bears who will be suiting up for the first Division I postseason appearance in school history.
• Morgan State and Richmond are ranked among the FCS leaders when it comes to passing and defending the pass. The Bears rank No. 2 in passing yards allowed (141.4), while the Spiders rank No. 9 (307.7) in pass offense.
• Senior DE Christopher Robinson set the school's career sack record (28.5) two weeks ago and recently set the school's single season sack record ... he currently has 15 sacks and counting...
• Sophomore RB Herb Walker Jr. is a member of the Walter Payton Award Watch List.
• Lee Hull's Bears were predicted to finish last in the MEAC's Preseason Order of Finish. However, MSU not only finished with it's first winning record since 2009...but they also captured its first MEAC Title in 35 years.
• Senior LB Nate Ayers recorded a pair of interceptions vs. Delaware State - The Baltimore product has eight picks for his career.
BEARS OPEN 116th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 116th season of football, and the first under head coach Lee Hull.
SCOUTING THE SPIDERS
The Spiders finished with an overall mark of 6-6 and were T-5th place with a 4-4 CAA record during the 2013 season.
• They returned16 starters from a team that won its final four games of the 2013 season.
• Richmond will enter this weekend's contest fresh off of a 34-20 win at William & Mary. The Spiders snapped a 2-game losing streak and earned an at-large bid for its ninth appearance in the FCS playoffs.
• The Spiders offense is led by QB Michael Strauss. Strauss completed 29-of-40 passes for 291 yards including a pair of touchdown passes to lead Richmond past the Tribe.
• Seth Fisher, 6-2, 232 pound r-junior, is the Spiders premier running back by accounting for 717 yards on 148 carries (4.8 avg) with 10 TDs.
• Wideouts Reggie Diggs, Brian Brown and Rashad Ponder have led the Spiders as favorite receiving targets. Diggs has 885 yards on 69 catches with a five TDs, while Brown has 65 receptions for 873 yards and 2 TDs, and Ponder has 56 catches for 644 yards. Richmond has eight players with over 100 receiving yards.
• The Spiders have one of the top defenses in the CAA. The defense ranked No. 3 in the conference in total defense (332.1) , No. 3 in rushing defense (126.2), and No. 7 in pass defense (205.9).
• Richmond's defense has been led by Eric Wright, Omar Howard and Justin Grant. Wright leads the Spiders with 82 tackles and 7 TFLs, Howard has 72 stops wth three sacks. Grant has 71 tackles with five breakups. The Bears O-Line will also have to account for Justin Williamson who paces the Spiders with seven sacks, and nine TFLs.
• Danny Rocco is in his 3rd year as Richmond's head coach. He has led the Spiders to a 22-13 record. In 2012, Rocco led Richmond to a share of the CAA Football championship, posting an overall record of 8-3 and a conference mark of 6-2. As a result of his effort, he was named a finalist not only for the Eddie Robinson Award, but also the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.
MSU IN THE CIAA
MSU was a power as a former member of the CIAA. The Bears posted 173 wins between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 CIAA championships. Earl Banks added to the championship collection by winning four titles during the 1960s and a MEAC title in 1971. Clarence Thomas led the Bears to a MEAC title in 1979...and now - after a 40-year drought - Lee Hull has added a MEAC title.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Morgan State was the best in the MEAC at scoring in the red zone. Through the first 12 games, the Bears scored 31-of-37 (83%) times inside its opponent's 20 yardline ... 29 of the 31 scores have been TDs.
NOTABLE NATIONAL NOTES
Here are a few 2014 FCS national statistics of note on offense, defense and special teams that pertained to the Bears:
• Herb Walker Jr. currently ranks in the FCS No. 12 in yards per game (117.1 ypg), No. 16 in rushing yards (1,288 yds), No. 17 in rushing yards per carry (6.08 avg); T-No. 27 in scoring (90), has the No. 4 highest rushing total (271 yds vs. Holy Cross) in the FCS;
• Senior LB Cody Acker ranks T-17 nationally in solo tackles (66 TT); has the T-No. 12 highest total tackles (19 vs. E. Michigan) in the FCS;
• R-Senior LB Christopher Robinson ranks No. 4 nationally in sacks (15), ranks T-No. 21 in tackles for loss (18);
• The Bears rushing offense ranks 24th nationally total offense (211.3);
• The Bears passing efficiency defense ranks No. 10 (104.3) and No. 2 in passing yards allowed (141.4).
• The Bears rank No. 30 in 3rd down conversions (.425).
BEARS IN THE POLLS
The latest Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) released Monday morning has Morgan State moving up to No. 6 (80 votes) for Week 12. The Bears remained at No. 7 in the BoxToRow Coaches Poll (82) and improved to No. 7 (74 votes) in the BoxToRow Media Poll.
A WIN WOULD ...
... give the Bears an 8-5 record...its most wins since recording an 8-2 finish in 1970 under legendary MSU head coach Earl C. Banks.
... give Lee Hull his first NCAA FCS Playoff victory as a head coach.
... would be the Bears' seventh win in the last 10 games.
... improve the Bears record against Richmond to 1-0.
... mark the Bears first NCAA FCS Playoff victory...and its first postseason victory since defeating Wester Chester State 14-6 on December 10, 1966 at the 21st Annual Tangerine Bowl Classic in Orlando, Florida.
MSU SENIORS GOING OUT ON TOP
The following is the list of the Morgan State senior football players play in their last regular season game as collegiate student-athletes last Saturday at Hughes Stadium against Delaware State. These 12 seniors are working diligently to complete their final courses so they can obtain their degree and take a step into the world as educated young men. The 2014 seniors are:
#15 QB Robert 'Josh' Council
#55 DE Christopher Robinson
#62 C Clarence Swain
#94 DT Micale Allen
#5 LB Cody Acker
#22 LB Nathan Ayers
#25 LB Donyae Olton
#42 S Paul Eatman Jr.A
#72 OT Darren Pinnock
#76 OG Randon Key
#99 NG Bradley Sanchez
LEE HULL FINALIST FOR THE EDDIE ROBINSON FCS COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Morgan State first-year head football coach, Lee Hull has been nominated as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award. The Robinson Award, now in its 28th year, is given to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) each year and is named after legendary Grambling head coach Eddie Robinson. Picked last (9th) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll, Morgan State posted a 7-5 overall record, and captured a share of the MEAC Title with a 6-2 conference record, marking its first conference championship since 1979.
COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
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