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Bryant (1-1 / 0-0) vs. Robert Morris (0-3 / 0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 at Noon
Joe Walton Stadium (3,000) - Moon Township, Pa.

Top Story - The Robert Morris University football team closes out a two-game homestand Saturday afternoon by welcoming Bryant to Joe Walton Stadium for a Noon kickoff in the 2009 Northeast Conference opener for both programs. The Colonials are coming off a 21-14 loss to Dayton (9/19) in their 2009 home opener and are 0-3 for just the second time in school history. The 2001 Robert Morris squad started the season 0-3 but rebounded to post six straight wins to close out the season and finish the year 6-3, including 6-1 in the NEC. Bryant is coming off a bye week and enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 1-1. The Bulldogs, in the second year of a four-year reclassification from Division II to Division I, will play their inaugural NEC game Saturday against the Colonials. RMU takes to the road for two straight games after hosting Bryant, visiting Duquesne (10/3) and Central Connecticut State (10/10) before returning home to host Saint Francis (10/17).

Quick Stat of the Afternoon - Robert Morris will look to avoid its first 0-4 start in school history Saturday against Bryant, and the Colonials could look to the success they've had in Northeast Conference openers to help break the drought. Since the inception of the NEC in 1996, RMU owns a record of 8-5 (.615) all-time in league openers. In each of the last two years, the Colonials opened their league slate against Monmouth, splitting the two contests. Bryant marks the fifth different opponent RMU will open its conference schedule with, joining Central Connecticut State (1996-99, 2002), Monmouth (2000, 2004, 2007-08), Sacred Heart (2001) and Saint Francis (2003, 2005-06).

Saturday's Opponent - Bryant and Robert Morris will meet for just the second time on the gridiron Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium. The Bulldogs earned a 20-7 victory over the Colonials in the inaugural meeting between the two programs at Bulldog Stadium (10/18/08) last season.

All-Time Series vs. Bryant
Bryant Leads, 1-0
2008 (L, 7-20), Away
@ Moon Township: 0-0
@ Smithfield: 0-1

Bryant Series Quick Outs - In the inaugural meeting between the Colonials and Bulldogs last season, Bryant scored on the opening drive of the game to take an early 7-0 lead and added touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters ... Robert Morris avoided the shutout when former quarterback Erik Cwalinski (2005-08) scampered 11 yards for a touchdown with 2:38 to play ... The Colonials finished with 141 yards of total offense in the inaugural meeting and posted -20 yards rushing as Cwalinski was sacked eight times in the loss ... Junior running back Myles Russ finished with just 37 yards rushing on 16 carries against the Bulldogs last season, which marked a season low ... Junior linebacker Alex DiMichele paced the RMU defense in last year's contest by recording a game-high 13 tackles, including eight solo and his lone sack of the season ... Bryant running back Jerell Smith finished with 104 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 carries in last year's matchup.

Head Coach Joe Walton (16th Season; Pittsburgh '57) - If there has been one constant associated with Robert Morris University football through the program's first 16 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, the University named its on-campus football stadium 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. 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 15 years of existence. Robert Morris is one of just two programs to claim a pair of victories in the ECAC Bowl, 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 almost 60 percent of the time.

Walton is RMU's only head coach ever, and he is 90-64-1 (all at Robert Morris) at the collegiate level (.584). 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 seven years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants.

Dayton Game Notes - The Colonials fell to 2-10 all-time against the Flyers and have dropped seven straight in the series ... Robert Morris converted just one of its 14 opportunities (7.1 percent) on third down, while Dayton was 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) ... RMU mustered 153 yards of total offense compared to 306 by the Flyers ... The Colonials were penalized six times for 104 yards ... Junior running back Josh Keil scored his first career touchdown with a one-yard run in the first quarter that gave RMU an early 7-0 lead ... For the first time this season Robert Morris failed to win the time of possession battle, as Dayton held the ball for 33:20 compared to 26:40 for the Colonials ... The two teams combined to finish a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth down chances ... Robert Morris converted each of its three opportunities on fourth down, while Dayton was 2-for-2 ... Junior kicker Garrett Clawson averaged 52.3 yards on three kickoffs, while Nick Glavin of the Flyers averaged 60 yards on four kickoffs.

Sack Attack - Robert Morris has done a solid job in its first three games of the 2009 campaign putting pressure on the opposing quarterback, and that is evident in the total of sacks the club has produced. RMU finished with three sacks against Dayton (9/19), as linebackers Adam Lawrence, Alex DiMichele and Ian Milanak each recorded a takedown of Flyer quarterback Steve Valentino. The Colonials have posted nine sacks through three games, which leads the Northeast Conference.

At A Loss For Words - While RMU's pressure of the quarterback has resulted in nine sacks and four quarterback hurries so far in 2009, the Colonials are excelling at getting in the backfield, as well. Robert Morris finished with 11 tackles for losses that totaled 31 yards in its 2009 home opener against Dayton (9/19). That helped push the season total for RMU in the category to 30 tackles for losses that have totaled 104 yards, an average of 10.0 per game that ranks second in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Individually, the leader has been senior linebacker Ian Milanak, who has recorded six and-a-half tackles for losses that have totaled 21 yards, including a pair of sacks. Milanak's average of 2.17 tackles for loss per game ranks tied for ninth in the FCS with Chad King of Old Dominion entering Saturday's game against Bryant.

Hot Rod - Sherrod Evers continues to produce in a Robert Morris uniform in his final season of eligibility in 2009, as the redshirt senior led the Colonial receiving corps with five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown in RMU's home opener against Dayton (9/19). Evers has recorded a touchdown in each of the first three games of the season for Robert Morris, and his three touchdown catches lead the Northeast Conference. Evers enters Saturday's NEC opener against Bryant ranked second in the league in both receptions (19) and receiving yards (270) and third in receptions per game (6.33). Evers has been the main man for RMU, as he has accounted for 43.2 percent (19-of-44) of the receptions for the Colonials so far this season.

Moving, Just Keep Moving - With the hot start for wide receiver Sherrod Evers to the 2009 campaign, the redshirt senior has bolted up the career charts for both receptions and receiving yards. Evers entered the season ranked 19th all-time at RMU for career catches, but thanks to 19 receptions through the first three games, his career total of 66 now ranks sixth all-time. Evers also ranked 14th entering 2009 in career receiving yards with 740, but thanks to 46 yards receiving against Dayton (9/19), Evers became the ninth Colonial with 1,000 career receiving yards. He enters Saturday's game against Bryant with 1,010 and is 29 yards shy of moving into eighth place.

Alex The Great - Alex DiMichele has picked up right where he left off last season in regard to leading the Colonial defensive unit, as the junior linebacker has paced Robert Morris in tackles in each of RMU's first three games of the 2009 campaign. DiMichele finished with 15 tackles in the season opener @ VMI (9/5), tied for team-high honors with eight takedowns @ Bucknell (9/12) and tied for game-high honors with 12 stops against Dayton (9/19). He also recovered three fumbles against the Keydets in the season opener, becoming the first Colonial in school history to accomplish the feat. DiMichele enters Saturday's game leading the Northeast Conference in tackles with 35, an average of 11.7 per game. In 13 career games in an RMU uniform, DiMichele has reached double-digit tackles in 10 of them, averaging 11.7 tackles per contest.

Seeing Red - A year after leading the Northeast Conference in red zone defense, Robert Morris is again shutting down its opponents once it gets inside the Colonial 20-yard line. In the first three games of the season, RMU's opponents have combined to reach the red zone 10 times, with RMU allowing just five scores. That 50 percent success rate leads the NEC. In 2008, Robert Morris allowed its opponents to score just 67.5 percent (27-of-40) of the time inside its own 20-yard line. On the other hand, Robert Morris also leads the Northeast Conference in red zone offense, having scored on each of its four trips inside the 20-yard line of its opponents so far this season.

Special Delivery - Currently the RMU career leader in punting average with an average punt of 40.8 yards, junior Nick Schirtzinger has opened the 2009 campaign with a trio of solid games, averaging 41.2 yards on 19 punts. Of his 19 punts so far this season, Schirtzinger has placed five of those inside the 20-yard line of the opponent as well as booted four at least 50 yards. Included in that is a career-long punt against Dayton (9/19), when he connected for a 74-yard punt in the fourth quarter. Schirtzinger is just the third Colonial in school history to post a punt of at least 70 yards, and he enters the NEC opener Saturday against Bryant ranked second in the Northeast Conference in punting average. In Schirtzinger's 24 career games as RMU's starting punter, he has averaged at least 40.0 yards per punt in 15 contests. A look at the three longest punts in school history:

Name	Date	Opponent	Yards
Chris Longo	9/20/97	@ Dayton	77
Nick Schirtzinger	9/19/09	Dayton	74
Michael Schlaepfer	11/8/03	@ Albany	71