Monmouth opens season on Sept. 4 with trip to face Colgate

Monmouth University Head Football Coach Kevin Callahan has announced the team’s 2010 schedule, one that features six home games and non-conference matchups against teams from the Patriot League and Colonial Athletic Association.

“In 2010 the winner of the Northeast Conference earns a bid to the NCAA playoffs,” said head coach Kevin Callahan. “I think our schedule reflects the caliber of competition a playoff team should face.”

...

Monmouth, which will begins the program’s 18th season of football in 2010, continues its tradition of playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules among the members of nine-team Northeast Conference. The 2010 season will mark the first time in history that the NEC champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I FCS Championship, making the Hawks quest for a sixth league title the most exciting to date. MU will host six teams during the regular season for the first time since the 2006 campaign. Monmouth played seven home games that season, posting a 5-2 mark at Kessler Field. It will also be the first time since 2004 that Monmouth will not face an opponent for the first time during the regular season.

For the seventh straight year Monmouth will open up on the road, heading to Hamilton, N.Y. to face the Patriot League’s Colgate Raiders for the second consecutive season. Despite holding a slim margin at halftime, Monmouth fell to Colgate by a score of 35-23 at Andy Kerr Stadium in ‘09. The Raiders, led by senior All-American Pat Simonds, finished 2009 with a 9-2 record and a No. 21 final ranking in the polls.

The 2010 home opener will feature the Hawks hosting the CAA’s University of Maine for the second time in three seasons. Monmouth, who is 0-2 all-time against the Black Bears, fell to Maine in 2008 at Kessler Field on a fourth-down touchdown pass with 2:49 left on the clock. Last season Maine finished second in the CAA North with a 4-4 conference mark and an overall record of 5-6.

After a Sept. 18 scheduled bye week, MU hosts Old Dominion at Kessler Field on Sept. 25. The Hawks handed ODU one of only two losses on the season, capturing a 31-28 victory in Norfolk in front of nearly 20,000 fans.

“Colgate is a perennial Patriot League Champion and has made several appearances in post season play,” said Callahan. “Old Dominion, a future member of the CAA, was eight points away from an unbeaten season in 2009. They are a very talented well-coached football team. Maine, another CAA team, has also made a recent appearance in the FCS playoffs.”

For the second straight season MU will open up conference play against the Duquesne Dukes on Oct. 2. Last year MU defeated the Dukes in West Long Branch on a spectacular Kendall Haley 65-yard interception return for a touchdown. Monmouth heads to the Pittsburgh area for the second consecutive week to face Robert Morris seven days later. After a disastrous 0-6 start to the season, RMU won five straight to finish the year, including a 23-9 victory in West Long Branch in the final week.

Monmouth will then host three consecutive home conference tilts, all against teams the Hawks recorded wins over in 2009. The run starts on Oct. 16 against Bryant, the newest member of the NEC. The Blue & White have won both meetings with the Bulldogs, including last season’s 10-6 defensive battle at Kessler Field. Saint Francis comes to West Long Branch the following week, a team that Monmouth has won four straight against and 15 out of the last 16 meetings. The homestand concludes on Oct. 30th with a tilt against Sacred Heart. The Hawks have won seven straight over the Pioneers, who finished last season with a 2-8 record.

The final three weeks of the season will most likely have a hand in deciding who earns a NEC title and the league’s first automatic playoff bid as Monmouth takes on Wagner, Central Connecticut State and Albany. The Hawks, Blue Devils and Great Danes have captured at least a share of seven straight NEC titles.

The Hawks renew their rivalry with Wagner on Nov. 6 in Staten Island. Last season Wagner stunned Monmouth with an impressive aerial attack but Monmouth clawed back into the game, narrowly missing a last second field goal that would have tied the contest.

Reigning NEC Champions Central Connecticut State wrap up the MU home slate on Nov. 13th. The Hawks will be looking to avenge a 21-19 loss to the Blue Devils last season, a game in which the Blue & White went into the fourth quarter leading 19-0. CCSU ended the regular season with a 9-2 record, losing only to Wagner and No. 7 William & Mary.

The final week of the season pits perennial powers Monmouth and Albany in a matchup of the teams that have won the NEC title a combined eight times. MU has not defeated Albany since the 2006 season, the last time the Hawks brought a conference championship back to West Long Branch. Albany finished second in the NEC last year with a 7-4 overall record and a 6-2 conference mark.

“As we saw in 2009, there is a great deal of parity in the Northeast Conference,” said Callahan. “Every week is a challenge and in order to win you must be at your best.”

Callahan will announce the newest crop of Hawks on Wed., Feb. 3 on National Signing Day. Monmouth concluded last season with a 5-6 record, including a 4-4 mark in conference play. All 2010 start times are still to be announced.

2010 Monmouth Football Schedule

Date Opponent (Conference) Place Time Series Record
Sept. 4 Colgate (Patriot League) Hamilton, N.Y. TBA Tied 1-1
Sept. 11 Maine (CAA) West Long Branch TBA 2-0, Maine
Sept. 18 BYE WEEK
Sept. 25 Old Dominion (Independent) West Long Branch TBA 1-0, Monmouth
Oct. 2 Duquesne (NEC) Pittsburgh, Pa. TBA 3-1, Monmouth
Oct. 9 Robert Morris (NEC) Moon Twp., Pa. TBA 8-7, Robert Morris
Oct. 16 Bryant (NEC) West Long Branch TBA 2-0, Monmouth
Oct. 23 Saint Francis (NEC) West Long Branch TBA 15-2, Monmouth
Oct. 30 Sacred Heart (NEC) West Long Branch TBA 11-4, Monmouth
Oct. 31 Wagner (NEC) Staten Island, N.Y. TBA 9-8, Monmouth
Nov. 13 Central Conn. State (NEC) West Long Branch TBA 10-7, Monmouth
Nov. 20 Albany (NEC) Albany, N.Y. TBA 8-4, Albany

By Monmouth University Sports Information