October 2, 2025
Football Hosts SHU In Lone October Home Game On Saturday
Blue Devils welcome former NEC member SHU at noon
The Central Connecticut State football team plays its lone October home game this Saturday, October 4th when intrastate foe Sacred Heart University visits Arute Field. Game time on Saturday is set for 12:00 pm.
CCSU Game Notes | Tickets | Watch NEC Front Row | Livestats
The former conference rivals are meeting for the 26th time, and the first time since 2023. The Blue Devils lead the series 13-12, but have lost back-to-back games in the series. The last Blue Devil win came on the road in 2019, a 28-3 victory. SHU won the last meeting at Arute Field, 14-10, in 2022.
QUICK HITS
• Jack Stoll recorded a dozen tackles, a single-game career-best, and recorded 2.5 TFL versus the Big Green and earned NEC Prime Performer. Stoll has 21 tackles in the past two games and leads the team averaging 7.6 tackles per game, which is third in the NEC. He has a team-best 1.30 TFL per game, tops in the NEC and 29th in FCS. Stoll is one TFL shy of his career-high season total from a year ago.
• Jadon Turner was named the NEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, after averaging 32.0 yards per KO return versus Dartmouth. For the year he is averaging 28 yards/KO return on the year, second in the NEC and 19th in FCS. Turner is tops in the NEC with 280 return yards, which is good for 14th in the NCAA. Turner has 56 rushing yards on 17 carries this season.
• Chris Jean (2nd) and Stylz Mitchell (6th) are among the best in the nation, and first and second in the NEC in passes defended per game. Jean averages 2.0 per game, with three interceptions and seven PBU, while Mitchell is at 1.75 per game, with a pick and six PBU
• Brady Olson completed a career-best 25 passes versus Dartmouth, a 76 percent completion rate. For the third time in his career, second at CCSU, he had three passing touchdowns (2024 vs Mercyhurst, 2021 vs BC), giving him seven for the season and 24 in his 18 games with the Blue Devils. He currently has a 129.9 passing efficiency rating, the highest of his career. He has five games as a Blue Devil throwing for more than 200 yards.
• CCSU saw its seven game home win streak snapped by Dartmouth. The Blue Devils are 7-1 in the past two years at Arute Field and 9-4 under Adam Lechtenberg.
• Reggie Darkah, who leads the squad with 2.5 sacks, is also tops on the roster in QB hurries, with six through the first five weeks of the season. Eight players have at least one QBH, with Gavin Taylor (5) and Malachi Wright (3) with multiple.
• Today's game marks the only home game, where they are 2-1 this season for CCSU in October. The Blue Devils have three November home games. Central is playing its fifth game in the State of Connecticut this season today.
• Elijah Howard had a second consecutive game over 100 APY versus Dartmouth, rushing for 69 yards and accumulating 42 yards receiving. He is averaging 4.7 yards per rush and 7.1 yards per catch, and leads the team in both receptions (15), rush yards (248), touchdowns (7) and APY (454). Five of those scores have come in the last three games, with three rushing TD (2 at Merrimack) and two receiving (both versus SFU). He is the seventh player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career yards rushing, reaching the mark versus SFU.
• The Blue Devils are currently 8th in FCS in turnovers gained, with 20 on the season. They were The Blue Devils are 17th in the nation in turnover margin, +0.80 per game
• CCSU is the top scoring offense in the NEC, averaging 24 points per game. They rank second in the league in scoring defense, giving up 24.8 points per game.
• CCSU ranks 23rd in the nation in both red zone offense and red zone defense. The Blue Devils have score don 90 percent (18-20) of their chances inside the redzone, first in the NEC, with 13 of those scores being touchdowns. The defense has held in 6-22 red zone situations, allowing 10 touchdowns, a percentage that is second in the NEC.
• Brady Olson has spread the ball around, with a dozen players catching at least one pass this fall. Ten different players made at least one catch in the win over AIC. CCSU as 966 receiving yards this season, an average of 193.2 yards per game.
• CCSU has not recorded a sack in the last two games and have eight total for the season.
• The Blue Devils defense is 15th in the nation with 7.2 TFL per game as a unit, after recording eight versus Dartmouth. Fifteen Blue Devils have had at least 0.5 TFL this season with a single-game high of 2.5 from Jack Stoll versus Dartmouth In the AIC win, 10 different players recorded at least one TFL. The Blue Devils had 11 TFL against AIC.
• The Blue Devils have stopped opponents on 4-5 of their fourth down attempts, and are now 3rd in FCS at .200 in 4th down conversion percentage defense.
• Ten Blue Devils have at least one PBU this season for 25 total on the season. CCSU has broken up at least three passes in every game, with a season-high seven versus Dartmouth.
• Brayden Hall leads the NEC, and is 15th in FCS with his 12.3 yards per punt return this season. He has returned 11 punts, with a long of 28 during the season and is the only NEC punt returner averaging over 7.5 yards per return. Hall is sixth on the roster with 18 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 3 PBU and a forced fumble.
