Bryant at Robert Morris Game Notes
Game Notes
Bryant (4-4 / 2-1) @ Robert Morris (3-4 / 1-1)
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013 at Noon
Joe Walton Stadium (3,000) - Moon Township, Pa.
Top Story -Â The
Robert Morris University football team returns home for its third Northeast Conference (NEC) contest this Saturday, Nov. 2, at Noon as the Colonials welcome first-place Bryant to Joe Walton Stadium for a game featured live on ESPN3. RMU opened road conference play last week and came away with a thrilling, come-from-behind, 17-13, win over defending conference champion Wagner. Quarterback
Marcus Prather, who broke camp as the team's third-string option, effectively led a two-minute drill, which was conducted entirely through the air, to score the winning touchdown before safety
Eric Lowry intercepted a pass to end a last-gasp Seahawk attempt. The win helped keep Robert Morris within the thick of the NEC race. Bryant currently controls its own destiny in the conference and will claim the league's automatic playoff berth if it wins out.
Antwan Eddie is second in the nation at the FCS level in punt return average (19.3). RMU has three tilts remaining after the Bulldogs, each against league foes, and will head back east next Saturday, Nov. 9, as it travels to Central Connecticut State.
Quick Stat of the Afternoon - Saturday's contest is part of the conference's broadcast package and will be featured live on ESPN3. That fact should bode well for the Colonials based on recent history. Robert Morris is 6-1 (.857) in its last seven games that have been broadcast by the NEC, including 4-0 (1.000) at home. The Colonials have averaged 27.14 points per game in these seven affairs, including 28.25 at home, while allowing just 15.86 points per game over this set of games, including conceding only 12.75 at home. Saturday's game will mark the first time that Robert Morris has faced Bryant with the bright lights on the game. In fact, from the beginning of the 2007 season to the 2012 campaign, RMU was matched up against six different league opponents as part of the NEC's TV package. Since the 2005 season, Robert Morris is 8-4 (.667) when featured on a NEC broadcast, including 5-2 (.714) at Joe Walton Stadium.
Saturday's Opponent - Bryant has been a thorn in the Colonials' side since the two schools started playing one another. RMU has met the Bulldogs in each of the past five seasons, including three times in Rhode Island, with Bryant claiming a victory on each occasion. In last year's matchup, Robert Morris won the turnover battle and notched over 400 yards of total offense, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs prevailed in a back-and-forth affair, 38-35. RMU has had a lead in each of its past four games against Bryant.
All-Time Series vs. Bryant
Bryant leads series, 5-0
10/18/08 -Â L, 7-20;Â Away
9/26/09 -Â L, 13-20;Â Home
11/13/10 -Â L, 21-27;Â Away
10/22/11 -Â L, 27-34;Â Home
10/13/12 -Â L, 35-38;Â Away
@ Moon Township, Pa. - Bryant, 2-0
@ Smithfield, R.I. - Bryant, 3-0
Bryant Quick Outs - RMU's tilt against Bryant in 2010 marked the first time the program played a game as a ranked team, as the Colonials entered the game #25 in the Nov. 8, 2010, NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) rankings according to The Sports Network … These two teams have combined for more points in each successive game in the series history--27 in the inaugural meeting, 33 in 2009, 48 in 2010, 61 in 2011 and 73 in last season's meeting … Furthermore, Robert Morris has scored more points against Bryant from one year to the next throughout the series ... Robert Morris has had a lead over Bryant in each of the past four meetings, including leading in the second half three times, but has been unable to hang on for a victory ... Robert Morris has had a higher red zone conversion percentage in four of the five previous meetings, while the teams had an equal percentage in the other game.
On This Date (Nov. 2) in Robert Morris Football History - Robert Morris' first-ever game on November 2 was certainly a tough loss for RMU after almost proving to be the greatest comeback in Colonial history. RMU fell behind Wagner, 28-0, and when the Seahawks scored a touchdown in the final minute of the first half to build a 35-7 lead, things did not look promising for the Colonials. However, Robert Morris would respond with 28 unanswered points to even the score, 35-35, in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Ralph Clark (1994-97) ran for the first two of four straight touchdowns before
Jake Newman (1994-97) hit
Fred Parker (1996-98) with a 12-yard strike to pull RMU within a single possession.
Archie Wannamaker (1996-98) would score the game's final touchdown when he raced 61 yards to pull the visitors even. Robert Morris' comeback dream came to a sudden end when Wagner hit a 41-yard field goal as time expired, ending a crazy game that saw each team commit four turnovers.
Head Coach Joe Walton (20th season; Pittsburgh '57) - At the forefront of the football renaissance at Robert Morris University throughout its 20-year history is Joe Walton, who has built the Colonials from a fledgling program into one of the top Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams in the region.
The one constant associated with the program, Walton was named the first head coach July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, completing everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes for the team's inaugural season in 1994. He owns an overall record of 112-90-1 (.554).
Walton's fingerprints are all over the football program,and to prove that, RMU has played its home games since 2005 in a stadium that bears his name. During his tenure, Walton has led Robert Morris to the first Northeast Conference championship in 1996, guided RMU to a perfect 10-0 season in 2000 and in 2010 helped lead the Colonials to the NEC's inaugural bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs with their league-high sixth regular-season championship.
"It's hard to believe," Walton speaks on how fast time has elapsed. "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 ever happened to me in my life. 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 outright NEC regular-season titles three times (1997, 1999, 2000) while sharing three others (1996, 1998, 2010). Walton led Robert Morris to back-to-back ECAC Bowl victories in 1996 and 1997, and in 1999 and 2000 he guided RMU to a pair of NCAA I-AA mid-major national crowns according to Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette.
In 2010, Walton added to his legacy by engineering the Colonials on an eight-game winning streak for a share of the NEC regular-season title and the NEC's first bid in the NCAA FCS Playoffs. In the process he picked up his 100th career victory in the collegiate ranks.
Last Time Out - Robert Morris trailed for more than 22 combined minutes of the second half at Wagner, but its offense came through when it mattered most in the fourth quarter before the defense engineered one final stop … Marcus Prather's first collegiate completion was a 50-yard strike down the center of the field to Duane Mitchell, the longest catch of the junior's career … Senior defensive lineman Chris Thompkins registered his second forced fumble of the season and also moved into 10th place in career sacks at RMU (12.5) … With Antwan Eddie's strong day, Robert Morris broke its single-season team record for punt return yardage (426) against the Seahawks.
Player of the Week x3 - Antwan Eddie was selected as NEC Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time in 2013 this week. He returned six punts for 99 yards at Wagner to tally the third-highest single-game total in RMU history. In doing so, Eddie broke Robert Morris' single-season school record for total punt return yardage (347) with four games left. Eddie now has three of the top four single-game marks in punt return yardage in RMU history, all within his last five games played. Half of his returns at Wagner went for at least 25 yards, two of which set up scoring drives. Eddie is averaging 19.3 yards per return, a mark that ranks him second nationally at the FCS level.
Pick It Off - Three different Colonials notched interceptions in last week's win. Linebackers Mike Cook and Luke Mueller both tallied picks in the second quarter while Eric Lowry grabbed one to seal the victory with Wagner driving in the final minute. It was the first time in RMU's last 33 games that it grabbed at least three interceptions.
Time to Shine - Marcus Prather was named NEC Rookie of the Week after leading RMU to a comeback win on the road with some fourth quarter heroics in his first collegiate start. Prather threw a 10-yard touchdown to help tie the game in the final frame. After Wagner retook the lead, Prather saved his best for last. He was 5-for-8 for 63 yards on the game-winning drive in the final minutes, including tossing an 11-yard TD on fourth down. Prather was the first RMU quarterback to win in his first start since 2002. His rookie award from the league was the first by a Colonial who plays offense since 2009.
Taking Down the Champs - In rallying to top Wagner on the road last week, the Colonials took down the defending Northeast Conference champions. However, this should not come as much of a shock. With its win against the Seahawks, Robert Morris now has seven wins against a defending NEC champion in the last eight years. Four of those victories have come on the road.
Pin It Deep - Tony LaMancusa tied a single-game RMU record last week at Wagner by having four punts downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He became just the second Colonial ever to achieve that feat and the first in over 10 years. He also tied his career high with a 53-yard punt in the first quarter.
Go For It - With RMU trailing by three with 1:22 left last week at Wagner, the Colonials faced a 4th-and-2 from the Seahawks' 11-yard line. Head coach Joe Walton elected to go for the win and was rewarded when Marcus Prather hit Tyler Digby for a touchdown.
