Frostburg (#6 D3football.com / #6 AFCA)	vs.	Southern Virginia

Bobcat Stadium  I  Saturday, Oct. 27
Frostburg, Md.  I  1:00 pm
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Frostburg Game Notes (PDF) (PDF)
 

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Setting the Scene
The sixth-ranked Bobcats welcome Southern Virginia to Bobcat Stadium this afternoon for a 1:00 pm showdown on Homecoming. The matchup is the third home game of the fall season for the Bobcats and they carry an unblemished 6-0 record into the contest. The Knights, meanwhile, are 2-5 on the season and just 1-5 in the NJAC. Last week, Southern Virginia was shut out at home by Salisbury, 33-0.

The Bobcats are off to their first 6-0 start since 1999 and have won their last 11 regular season games. If the Bobcats defeat SVU, they will be 7-0 for the first time since 1994.

Last Saturday, Frostburg rallied past Montclair 24-17 with a 71-yard touchdown reception by junior Malik Morris with 5:26 to play in the fourth quarter. Senior Jamaal Morant ran for two second-half touchdowns to help Frostburg secure the comeback victory.

Since the start of the 2016 season, Frostburg has won 24 of its last 26 regular-season contests and the Bobcats have won 14 of their last 16 home games dating back to the midway point of the 2015 campaign.

The Knights opened the season with three-consecutive losses before collecting their first victory at Kean (14-9) in late September. Two weeks ago, SVU defeated the Apprentice School, 23-21, but last week was shutout at home by Salisbury, 33-0.

Southern Virginia was picked to finish ninth in the NJAC Preseason Poll after finishing 4-6 overall and 4-5 in the league a year ago.

The Series
Today's matchup between Frostburg and Southern Virginia is the sixth between the two schools and the Bobcats lead the series 4-1.

FSU has won the last four meetings since losing the first matchup 35-20 in 2007.
Since both schools joined the NJAC in 2015, Frostburg has dominated the three meetings, winning by an average of 28 points per game.

Last season, Frostburg defeated SVU 35-3 and surrendered just 156 yards of offense to the Knights.

Scouting Southern Virginia
Southern Virginia (2-5, 1-5 NJAC) is under the direction of 1st year head coach Edwin Mulitalo. This is his first head coaching job in college athletics. Mulitalo joined the Knights staff in 2016, when he coached the defensive line and he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2017. Mulitalo is a former NFL guard who played 10 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions. He was a member of the 2000-01 Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV.

Last week, SVU was shutout by undefeated Salisbury, 33-0 at home. The Knights could only muster 80 total yards of offense and went 1-12 in third down conversions. Southern Virginia also turned the ball over twice in the loss.
 
Through seven games, the Knights are averaging 248.0 yards per game and only 119.9 yards through the air, the 231st ranked passing offense in the nation. SVU is averaging 10.4 points per game on offense as well.   
 
Defensively, SVU is allowing 355.4 yards per game and 24.7 points per game to opposing offenses, both of which rank sixth in the NJAC. The Knights' leading tackler is defensive back Neil Davis with 37 stops. Davis had a season-high 19 tackles and a fumble recovery last week against Salisbury.
 
Sophomore quarterback Tate Briggs is usually under center for the Knights. He has thrown for 801 yards and three touchdowns so far this season, averaging 114.4 yards per game. Briggs frequently looks for junior wide receiver Josh Newman, who leads the team in receptions (20) and yards (241), and he also has a touchdown on his ledger. In Southern Virginia's first game of the season, Briggs connected with Newman six times for 67 yards in the loss against Christopher Newport.
 
The Knights move the ball well on the ground, thanks in part to junior running back Akiva Wedge. Wedge has run for 576 yards through SVU's seven games this season, averaging 82.3 yards per game, both putting him at the top mark in the conference. He has four rushing touchdowns so far in this campaign. In the Knights' win against Apprentice earlier this season, Wedge received the handoff 20 times, rushing for 148 yards and two scores from 25 yards out and 57 yards out.
 
Scouting Frostburg
Frostburg enters the game at 6-0 after earning a road victory over Montclair State, 24-17 last week. The Bobcats are 6-0 for the first time since 1999, and a win against Southern Virginia would give the Bobcats their first 7-0 start since 1994.
 
Head coach DeLane Fitzgerald is currently in his fifth season at the helm for the Bobcats. He is the program's all-time winningest coach with 37 wins and he led the Bobcats to the NCAA Playoffs last fall.
 
In last week's victory over MSU, Frostburg found itself facing a 10-3 halftime deficit. In the second half, the Bobcats outscored the Red Hawks, 21-7 to earn the win. Junior wide receiver Malik Morris scored the game-winning touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in the game, taking a 71-yard pass to the endzone. Morris currently leads the team in receptions (21), yards (568) and is tied for the team lead with three touchdown grabs. Morris is currently third in the nation in yards per reception (27.05).
 
Senior quarterback Connor Cox has completed 76-of-124 passes for 1278 yards and 11 scores in his six games this fall. Cox has also been a threat to run the ball into the endzone, collecting four rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Jamaal Morant leads the team with six touchdown runs, including the two he scored this past week against MSU.
 
The Frostburg offense is currently leading the league in scoring (38.3) and in total offense (401.8).
 
Defensively, the Bobcats are led by senior linebacker Dre'Quan Reed, who leads the team with 42 tackles. Reed and sophomore defensive lineman Zach Strand are tied for the team lead with 6.5 tackles for losses, including three sacks for each of them.
 
FSU has gained 15 turnovers this season, the second-best mark in the league and is 11th in the nation in total defense (232.2).

Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald
DeLane Fitzgerald is in his fifth season at the helm of Frostburg and has pushed the program to new heights in a short amount of time. He has guided the Bobcats to 37 wins in five seasons, including 10 wins in 2016 and 11 wins last fall. Fitzgerald has increased his win total in each of his four previous seasons after inheriting a 1-9 team.

In a week four win over Rowan,  Fitzgerald became the program's all-time winningest coach with 34 victories. He is the 13th head coach in the program's 58-year history.

Fitzgerald was one of 23 head football coaches hired in 2014 in Division III. Among those 23, he is third with 37 wins, but is the only coach in the group with two 10+ win seasons.

Thirty is a Magic Number
The Bobcats have scored over 30 points in five of their six games this season, and eight of their last nine games overall dating back to 2017. Under DeLane Fitzgerald, the Bobcats are 21-1 when scoring 30 or more.

The Rankings
Frostburg dropped to sixth in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll after last Saturday's 24-17 win over Montclair. The Bobcats remained sixth in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 Poll. FSU entered the season ranked eighth and have spent the last 24 weeks in the D3football.com poll.

Tough To Come By
In his four-plus seasons at the helm, Fitzgerald has led the Bobcats to a 24-1 record when holding opponents to less than 100 yards rushing.

A Win Would ...
- Lift the Bobcats to 273-281-8 overall in 58 seasons
- Land Fitzgerald his 38th victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Be Frostburg's 15th win in the last 17 home games
- Hand the Bobcats their fifth-straight home win
- Be Frostburg's first 7-0 start since 1994
- Land FSU its fifth-straight win over Southern Virginia
- Be the eighth-straight win over a school from Virginia

First To Score
In their two home games this season, the Bobcats have scored first and the 56-0 shutout of William Paterson marked the 23rd-consecutive victory when scoring first. Under DeLane Fitzgerald, FSU is 30-3 overall when having the initial score.

At Home
Frostburg has won 14 of its last 16 home games dating back to a 29-15 win over Kean during the 2015 season.

The Bobcats are currently riding a four-game winning streak at Bobcat Stadium and are outscoring their opponents by nearly 36 points during those four matchups.

Block Party
In their win over William Paterson, the Bobcats blocked three punts, with sophomore Christian Thornton returning one 26 yards for a score. Frostburg has blocked five punts on the season, which ranks first in Division III in blocked kicks. Junior Malik Morris has four of the Bobcats' five blocks on the year and has scored twice on two blocked punts. He also leads the nation with those four blocks.

Since DeLane Fitzgerald took over as Frostburg's head coach in 2014, the Bobcats have blocked 27 total kicks (16 field goal/PAT attempts and 11 punts) and scored 12 special teams touchdowns (seven punt return TDs and five punt block TDs). The Bobcats are 9-0 under Fitzgerald when scoring a special teams touchdown.

Double Trouble
In last week's 24-17 victory at Montclair State, only three Bobcats recorded a reception. However, junior Malik Morris and sophomore Lincoln Ikwubuo each hauled in seven passes for over 100 yards. Morris racked up a career-best 180 yards and the game-winning 71-yard touchdown catch-and-run with 5:26 to play in the fourth quarter. Ikwubuo also set a career mark with 110 receiving yards, with five grabs resulting in first downs. The duo is FSU's first pair to go over 100 yards apiece since Antonio Wood and Haydan Roberts did so at Buffalo State in 2013.

I'll take That
The Frostburg defense has intercepted eight passes and pounced on seven fumbles this fall, but it's the turnover margin that is most impressive.

Frostburg leads the NJAC and is 14th in Division III in turnover margin as it has turned the ball over just seven times in six games. The Bobcats have generated two or more turnovers in four of their six games this season.

69 And Counting
Through six games in his senior season, Bobcat signal caller Connor Cox is currently ninth in Division III among active quarterbacks with 69 career touchdowns.

This season, Cox has tossed 11 touchdown passes to just two interceptions.

By Land and Air
Cox is one of 10 active quarterbacks in Division III who have thrown for  4,000 yards and run for 1,000 in their career. Of those 10 QBs, Cox is fourth in total yards amassing 8,226 total yards behind 7,102 passing and 1,124 rushing yards.

Mr. 2,000
On the final play of the first quarter in the win over Rowan, senior running back Jamaal Morant ran for 10 yards and eclipsed the 2,000 yard plateau for his career. He is the eighth Frostburg player to accomplish the feat and the first since Shanorm Young ran for 2,230 from 2005-07.

Big Play Threat
Bobcat junior receiver Malik Morris is third in the nation in yards per reception at 27.05. In the season opener, he hauled in a 92-yard pass in the first quarter, while in the win over Rowan, he scored the game's first touchdown with a 68-yard pitch-and-catch from senior Connor Cox.

Last week, Morris hauled in a 71-yard scoring pass with 5:26 in the fourth quarter that carried FSU to a 24-17 win over Montclair.

Pitch A Tent
The Frostburg defense has made a living in the backfield of their opponents since the beginning of the 2016 season. During those 29 games, the Bobcats are averaging 9.4 tackles for loss and 3.4 sacks per contest.

4-for-4
In his four previous seasons as the head coach, DeLane Fitzgerald has guided his Bobcats to four wins on Homecoming and a win over Southern Virginia would improve his record to 5-0.

In 2014, FSU upset No. 25 Ithaca, 38-37 in overtime, while last fall, Frostburg dominated Montclair 62-3.

Comeback Cats
In Frostburg's 24-17 win over Montclair last Saturday, the Bobcats rallied from an early 3-0 deficit and trailed at halftime, 10-3, for the first time all season.

Two weeks prior, the Bobcats trailed 14-0 in the first quarter before rallying past No. 6 Wesley, 35-34. In fact, three of the six Bobcat wins this season have come after trailing at the end of the first quarter.