Football Travels To Duquesne Looking For Sixth Consecutive Win

The Central Connecticut State football team, winners of five consecutive games, travels to Duquesne for a Saturday game on ESPN+. Kickoff at Rooney Field is set for noon in Pittsburgh.  The Blue Devils are 7-3 on the season and 5-0 in NEC play and have clinched at least a share of the NEC crown for the season. Duquesne is 5- on the year and 3-2 in league play.

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With two games remaining in the regular season the Blue Devils are the lone unbeaten in the NEC. A victory in either of its last two games (at Duquesne or home on 11/22 versus Mercyhurst) secures the outright crown and the league's AQ to the FCS Championship. Duquesne, Mercyhurst and Wagner can all earn a share of the crown with two wins in the final weeks of the season and two CCSU losses. Only Duquesne, due to tiebreakers, can earn the FCS berth.

• The Blue Devils have won five straight games, tied for 11th longest active streak in the nation. It is the program's longest win streak since 2019, when the Blue Devils won the final eight regular season games.

• The 30 point margin of victory over Stonehill is the largest in NEC play for Central since the 2019 win over Duquesne (43-10)

• CCSU has won nine straight NEC games, dating back to last season, which is tied for the 6th longest conference win streak in FCS. Montana State has won 15 straight league games

• Elijah Howard was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week after a season-high 173 yards on the ground, that included a 93-yard touchdown run - the third longest play from scrimmage in FCS this season and the longest in the NEC. It is the Blue Devils longest rush since Howard went 70 yards vs SHU in November 2023.

• Chris Jean had two PBU on Saturday and is second in the nation at 1.6 passes defended per game this season (4 INT, 12 PBU). He is 10th at 0.4 interceptions a game.

• The Blue Devils have secured a winning season for the second straight year and a winning NEC record

• The 40 points is the most for the Blue Devils versus an FCS opponent since scoring 51 versus Delaware State in 2023 and the most in league play since scoring 49 versus Merrimack in 2021

• Jack Stoll recorded 2.5 TFL on Saturday and has 6.0 over the last three games, giving him 13 on the year. He is 17th in FCS and tops in the league at 1.30 TFL per game and leads the league at 1.17 per game. He has a team-best 73 tackles, three shy of his single-season best and has two games this year with a dozen tackles

• CCSU is allowing a league-best 10.6 points per game to conference foes (53 total) while scoring 25.8 points per game (129 points), second in the conference. CCSU (+15.2) and Duquesne (+14.6) have the largest margin of victories in NEC play.

• Chris Jean has eight career interceptions, 24th among all level of active NCAA players and first in FCS. He is second among active players in FCS with 1.25 passes defended per game, with 22 PBU to his resume, in addition to the interception total. He tied a school record with three interceptions in the win over Duquesne last season.

• The Blue Devils have recorded 26 TFL in the past three games, raising the season average to 7.4, which is 9th in FCS rankings and tops in the NEC. Nineteen players have at least 0.5 TFL this season with Jack Stoll (13) and Gavin Taylor (9) leading the way. The Stonehill game was the seventh this season, and third straight, that CCSU had 8.0 or more TFL in a contest, with a season-best 11 in the win over AIC

• For the third time this season Eric Jackson notched a career-high, recording 11 tackles in the win over Stonehill. In the past two games he has made 19 tackles, eight solo, to give him 44 for the year. Jackson has four games this season with seven or more tackles. He has 1.5 TFL and two PBU.

• Stonehill is the fifth team this season that CCSU has held to less than 100 yards rushing, allowing 60. The Blue Devils held Wagner held Wagner to 48 rush yards, the lowest total of the season for an opponents. CCSU has held 13 opponents, in 35 games since 2023, to less than 100 yards. CCSU leads the NEC, 17th nationally, allowing just 119.8 rush yards per game, and are holding NEC opponents to 68.6 yards per game on the ground