Top Story - The Robert Morris University football team closes out its 2006 regular season schedule Saturday afternoon when it travels to Fairfield, Conn., for a 12:30 p.m. contest against Sacred Heart. The Colonials are coming off a 16-6 loss at home to Albany and have been knocked out of the 2006 Northeast Conference championship race but a victory over the Pioneers would give RMU seven wins on the season. That would mark the most victories for Robert Morris since finishing a perfect 10-0 in 2000. The defeat against the Great Danes dropped the Colonials to No. 7 in the latest I-AA Mid-Major poll according to The Sports Network. Robert Morris currently sits in fourth place in the league standings with a 4-2 conference mark, while the Pioneers are tied for eighth with a 1-5 NEC record and are 2-8 overall.
Quick Stat of the Afternoon - The Robert Morris defense has been as consistent as any unit in the country in 2006, and the Colonials will look to end its season on a high note Saturday @ Sacred Heart. RMU enters the game ranked second in I-AA in total defense (225.80 ypg) and pass defense (122.30), 11th in scoring defense (14.0 ppg) and 12th in rushing defense (103.50). Yet, the scoring defense number could be a little misleading. Since allowing five touchdowns in its first two games, the Colonial defense has allowed its opponents to score just seven touchdowns in the last eight games. Opposing defenses have scored four touchdowns against RMU this season, and take those away from the club's total of points allowed and the Colonial defense is allowing an average of just 11.2 points per contest.
Saturday's Opponent - Robert Morris and Sacred Heart will square off for the ninth time Saturday, with the Pioneers holding a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Colonials will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak against Sacred Heart, as the last victory for RMU over the Pioneers came Nov. 4, 2000, in a 31-20 victory at Campus Field.
Sacred Heart Series Quick Outs - The Pioneers have won the last five meetings between the two clubs, including a 27-20 win at Joe Walton Stadium (11/12/05) in last year's game ... Robert Morris has been outscored by Sacred Heart, 58-3, in its last two games in Fairfield, Conn., at Campus Field ... In last year's meeting sophomore quarterback Erik Cwalinski established a career-high for passing yards by finishing 13-for-29 for 307 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions ... The Pioneers are the only Northeast Conference team that Robert Morris owns a losing record against in the all-time series.
Head Coach Joe Walton (Pittsburgh '57) - If there has been one constant associated with Robert Morris University football through the program's first 13 years, it has been Joe Walton. He was named head coach on July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, including everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes. His fingerprints are all over the program, and to prove that, he had the University's first on-campus football stadium named in his honor. Joe Walton Stadium hosted its first football game in 2005 to rousing success, as the Colonials defeated Butler, 49-13, on Sept. 17, 2005.
“I've said this many times before, and I mean it when I say that this situation is one of the best things that has happened to me in my life,” Walton said. “It happened at the right time. Before this position became available, I felt I was too young to quit coaching, but I wasn't anxious to get back into pro football. When this came along, it was the perfect fit. This situation was the perfect opportunity for me to continue to do what I like to do, and I've loved every minute of it.”
Under Walton's tutelage, the Colonials have claimed five Northeast Conference titles and a pair of mid-major national crowns in the program's first 13 years of existence. Robert Morris is one of just two programs to claim a pair of victories in the ECAC Classic, having won it in back-to-back seasons in 1996 and 1997. The success has done nothing to dampen Walton's enthusiasm for coaching football at Robert Morris, and with him on the sideline RMU wins nearly 70 percent of the time.
Walton is RMU's only head coach ever, and he is 81-49-1 (all at Robert Morris) at the collegiate level (.622). Walton was the head coach of the New York Jets from 1983-89, when he went 53-57-1 (.482). Also included among Walton's 35 NFL seasons is two (1990-91) as offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A two-time All-America tight end at Pittsburgh, Walton played eight years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants.
Albany Game Notes - The two teams combined for a paltry 170 yards of total offense, as RMU posted 79 yards and Albany 91 ... The Great Danes recorded 10 sacks on the afternoon, while Robert Morris finished with three ... Thanks to Albany's 10 sacks the Great Danes held Robert Morris to -51 yards rushing, the lowest total in RMU's 13-year history ... The Colonials recorded just one first down on their first seven possessions in the first half, going three-and-out on six straight possessions ... The defeat settled Robert Morris with an overall record of 2-3 at home in Joe Walton Stadium and in two years in their new stadium the Colonials own a record of 4-6 ... On RMU's eighth possession of the game sophomore quarterback Erik Cwalinski was intercepted by Dave Nicomini, who returned the pick 21 yards for a touchdown ... Robert Morris and Albany combined to convert just four of 30 third-down opportunities ... RMU avoided its first shutout at home when Cwalinski connected with freshman Frankie Probst for a 19-yard touchdown pass late in the game.
Finish - Robert Morris enters its 2006 season finale Saturday @ Sacred Heart looking to put its stamp on defense in the school record book. Entering their contest with the Pioneers the Colonials are yielding an average of 225.80 yards of total offense, which leads the Northeast Conference and ranks second in I-AA. Barring an offensive outbreak by Sacred Heart against RMU, the club should establish a new school record for total defense. The current Robert Morris school record is 258.5 yards per game allowed, set by the 1996 club. The Colonials also enter their tilt with Sacred Heart allowing an average of 122.3 yards per game passing, which would be the second best mark by RMU in school history. The 2002 club allowed an average of just 88.3 yards per game passing.
Linebacker U: Penn State or RMU? One can point to assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Dan Radakovich as the mastermind of the Robert Morris defense. Radakovich, the grandfather of “Linebacker U” at alma mater Penn State, has slowly turned RMU into Pennsylvania's Western version of the same name. The latest linebacker is senior outside linebacker Jeff Rommes, who moved into the top 10 all-time at Robert Morris against Albany (11/4) thanks to 10 takedowns. Rommes now owns a career total of 213 stops, which ties him for ninth all-time with former defensive back Dante Payne (1994-97). In the top 10 at Robert Morris for career tackles, six are linebackers, including each of the top four.
Stick Em - One Colonial that has really stepped up his play since Northeast Conference play began is junior outside linebacker Chad Wengert. After posting just 15 tackles in RMU's first four games of the season, all non-conference tilts, Wengert has done an about face. He's posted 55 tackles in RMU's six league games, an average of 9.2 stops per game that ranks fifth in the league. Wengert enters this week's season finale @ Sacred Heart second on the club in tackles with 70.
Senior Salute - You certainly couldn't ask anything more of the senior class on the defensive side of the ball thus far in 2006 for Robert Morris. A quick glance at the Northeast Conference leaderboard, and three of the top six players ranked in tackles for loss are Colonials. Senior defensive lineman Ray Gensler leads the NEC and ranks 10th in I-AA with an average of 1.65 tackles for loss per game, while senior defensive lineman Matt Brunck ranks tied for second in the league (1.20 per game). Tied for fifth is senior linebacker Jeff Rommes, who averages 0.90 tackles for loss per contest.
Down to the Wire - The monster year that senior defensive lineman Ray Gensler has posted in regard to sacks allowed him to tie yet another school record in the club's tilt against Albany (11/4). By posting one and-a-half sacks against the Great Danes, Gensler tied the single-season school record of 11, also held by former defensive lineman Jason Spencer (1994-97). Gensler enters Saturday's game @ Sacred Heart with a legit chance to establish a new single-season record. Gensler's 11 sacks ranks sixth in the Northeast Conference single-season records, while his career total of 19 ranks fifth all-time.
