#8 Frostburg	vs.	TCNJ

Lions Stadium  I  Saturday, Sept. 8
Ewing, N.J.  I  1:00 pm

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Frostburg Game Notes (PDF)
 

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Setting the Scene
Coming off arguably the best season in program history, Frostburg opened the 2018 campaign with a dominating 34-7 win at Stevenson a week ago. The Bobcats, who won their fifth-straight season opener, sit at No. 8 in the D3football.com Week One Top 25 poll.

Frostburg travels to Ewing, N.J. this Saturday to battle the Lions of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). FSU hasn't lost to the Lions since 1969 and the Bobcats have won five straight in the series.

Last fall, Frostburg posted an 11-2 overall record that included a run to the NCAA playoff quarterfinals. FSU knocked off No. 9 Wittenberg (35-7) and No. 10 Washington & Jefferson (46-23) in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

TCNJ is coming off a 35-21 week one loss at FDU-Florham. The Lions fell behind 28-0 before rallying to close the final gap to 35-21. A year ago, TCNJ posted a 4-6 record in head coach Casey Goff's first season at the helm. The Lions turned it on down the stretch winning four of their final five games, including shutouts of William Paterson and Southern Virginia. TCNJ also downed Rowan and Christopher Newport late in the season.

The Series
Saturday's matchup between Frostburg and The College of New Jersey will be the ninth meeting between the two schools.

The Bobcats dropped the opener to the Lions, 21-14, in 1969. However, FSU is 6-0-1 over the last seven meetings and has won the last five matchups.

Since joining the NJAC prior to 2015, Frostburg has outscored the Lions 102-27 in those three matchups.

Scouting TCNJ
TCNJ is coming off a 4-6 campaign a year ago in Casey Goff's first season as head coach. The Lions entered last week's season opener with plenty of momentum after winning four of their final five games to close the 2017 season.

The Lions' first win came at Rowan, 20-14, in mid-October. They followed the win with three more wins over Christopher Newport (21-19), William Paterson (20-0) and Southern Virginia (27-0). The late season wins led to TCNJ's selection as the dark horse team in the 2018 NJAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Goff arrived at TCNJ from Defiance College where he spent two years. He was the defensive coordinator in 2015 and was promoted to head coach in 2016, leading the team to a 5-5 record.

Last year, the Lions averaged just 276.1 ypg in total offense, while the defense allowed 339.9 per contest. TCNJ paced the NJAC in fewest penalties committed and were third in the league in fewest turnovers and time of possession.

Last week, TCNJ fell behind 28-0 before closing the gap at the final horn to 35-21. Andrew Donoghue tossed a 29-yard touchdown and ran for another three-yard score to power the offense. Donoghue finished the ballgame with 178 yards passing on 12-of-25 attempts. Four of his completions went to Jaiden Elliott for 69 yards and a score. Dave Jachera led the ground game with 37 yards on five attempts.

Scouting Frostburg
Frostburg entered the 2018 campaign as one of the hottest teams in Division III with 21 wins over the last two seasons including two postseason appearances. Head coach DeLane Fitzgerald has increased Frostburg's win total in each of four seasons at the helm after taking over a 1-9 program prior to his arrival.

Last fall, the Bobcats were part of the national playoff equation all season and finished with a school record 11 wins. Frostburg spent the entire season ranked inside the top 25, collected three wins against ranked opponents, beat two of Division III's winningest programs and was one of the final eight teams left standing in the NCAA Playoffs.

Prior to losing to eventual national champion Mount Union in the NCAA Playoffs, Frostburg collected seven-straight wins and outscored its opponents during that stretch by nearly 30 points. The Bobcats knocked off No. 9 Wittenberg (35-7) and No. 10 Washington & Jefferson (46-23) in the first two rounds of the playoffs, DIII's second and third winningest programs of all-time, respectively.

A year ago, the Bobcats opened the season with a 33-7 win over 18th-ranked Stevenson. Fast forward a year and the Bobcats were at it again posting a 34-7 win over the Mustangs in Owings Mills last Thursday. The Bobcats ran for 176 yards and four touchdowns and finished with 430 yards in total offense against outmatched Stevenson.

Frostburg sophomore kicker Jeremy Harrison added two fourth-quarter field goals and the Bobcat defense finished with 10 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. FSU held SU to just 3.9 yards per play.

Senior quarterback Connor Cox completed 8-of-15 passes for 254 yards, including a 92 yarder to Malik Morris in the first quarter. It was the longest pass play for the Bobcats since 2002. Morris finished with three catches for 149 yards. On the ground, senior Jamaal Morant finished with two touchdowns and 54 yards.

Sophomore Avery Thurman led the charge on defense with eight tackles, while junior Wayne Palmer had seven. Sophomore Erik Davenport posted three tackles for loss and one sack.

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 32 wins in four years, including 10 wins in 2016 and 11 wins last fall. Fitzgerald has increased his win total in each of his four seasons after inheriting a 1-9 team.

With a win against TCNJ on Saturday, Fitzgerald will tie legendary coach Jim Crawley for the most wins in program history with 33. Fitzgerald is the 13th head coach in the program's 58-year history.

Last fall, Frostburg posted a school record 11 wins (11-2), upset three nationally-ranked teams, advanced to the NCAA Playoff quarterfinals and ranked ninth in both major polls at season's end.

Fitzgerald was one of 23 head football coaches hired in 2014 in Division III. Among those 23, he is third with 32 wins, but is the only coach in the group with two 10+ win seasons.

Fitzgerald - Season Openers
Last week's 34-7 win over Stevenson improved Fitzgerald's record to 5-0 in season openers at Frostburg. The Bobcats are averaging nearly 37 points per game in openers under Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald - At Night
Fitzgerald's teams at Frostburg have also been perfect under the lights, winning all 10 contests that have kicked off after 6:00 pm. Last fall, the Bobcats won all three night games and they opened the season with the 34-7 win over Stevenson last week. The next night game will be the Bobcats' home opener as they welcome Christopher Newport to Bobcat Stadium next Saturday (Sept. 15) for a 7:00 pm.

A Win Would ...
- Lift the Bobcats to 268-281-8 overall in 58 seasons
- Land Fitzgerald his 33rd victory at the helm of Frostburg
- Be the sixth-straight win over TCNJ
- Be the sixth-straight win in the state of New Jersey
- Hand Frostburg its 11th-straight win over a school from New Jersey
- Be the 10th-straight road win during the regular season

The Rankings
Frostburg entered the 2018 season ranked eighth in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 Poll and after a week one win, the Bobcats remain eighth. Frostburg finished last season ranked ninth in both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association Top 25 polls.

First To Score
Last week, the Bobcats scored first against Stevenson on a Jamaal Morant five-yard touchdown run. The Bobcats never relinquished the lead in a 34-7 victory over the Mustangs. The week-one win marks the 20th-consecutive victory for Frostburg after scoring first. Under DeLane Fitzgerald, FSU is 27-3 overall when having the initial score.

Program History
Frostburg is in its 58th year of collegiate football in 2018 and the Bobcats have an overall record of 267-281-8. The Bobcats have made two appearances in the NCAA Playoffs (1993 & 2017) and have played in eight ECAC Bowl Games.

Road Wins
Over the last two seasons, Frostburg has lost just twice away from Bobcat Stadium and is 12-2 in away and neutral site games. However, the Bobcats have won nine-straight contests on the road during the regular season.

He Made It!
Former Frostburg All-American defensive lineman Niles Scott was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad on Sunday afternoon. He is one of just nine players on the practice squad and he is the only defensive lineman. He is also the only Division III player on the practice squad. Scott finished his senior season as a Bobcat last fall by being named to the AP Little All-America First Team and the D3football.com All-America Second Team. He finished the season with 51 total tackles, including 16.5 tackles for loss (104 yds.) and 10 sacks (77 yds.).

Oh Captain, My Captain
A quintuple of Frostburg players will serve as team captains for Saturday's  matchup with TCNJ: seniors Riley Hartman, Noah Teeter, Dre'Quan Reed, Boakum Vital and Grayson Boyce.

Elite Company
In 2016 and 2017, the Bobcats posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time in program history. Only six other programs in Division III accomplished the same feat in the past two seasons (Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor, UW-Oshkosh, St. Thomas, North Central and Wittenberg).

FSU is one of 12 teams to reach the national quarterfinals in the same timespan.

Most Wins in Division III in 2016 & 2017
# Player    Wins
1. Mary Hardin-Baylor    29
2. Mount Union    27
3. UW-Oshkosh    25
4. St. Thomas    23
T5. Frostburg State    21
T5. North Central (Ill.)    21

58 And Counting
Senior signal caller Connor Cox enters his final season ranked sixth in DIII among active quarterbacks with 58 career touchdowns.

By Land and Air
Cox is one of six active quarterbacks in Division III who have thrown for  4,000 yards and run for 1,000 in their career. Of those six QBs, Cox is third in total yards amassing 7,119 total yards behind 6,078 passing and 1,041 rushing yards.

You Know Sergio
Senior wideout Senior Andino set the Frostburg single-season record with 13 touchdown receptions last fall. He caught a TD pass in nine-straight games to close the season and hauled in multiple scoring passes against William Paterson, Montclair, Southern Virginia and Kean.

Big Play Threat
Bobcat junior receiver Malik Morris was second in the NJAC last season in yards per reception at 18.6. All five of his touchdown receptions were 20 yards or greater (57, 43, 72, 46, 20). Last week, Morris caught three passes for 149 yards, including a 92 yarder in the first quarter.

Pound the Rock
In FSU's week one victory over Stevenson, the Bobcat offense executed 44 rushing plays compared to 16 passing plays. The Bobcats posted two touchdown-scoring drives with only one pass play on each drive. In the second quarter, Frostburg ran the ball eight times for 41 yards on a nine-play 59-yard march that was capped by Malcolm Facey's three-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, Frostburg ran the ball on 11-of-12 plays for 57 yards on a drive that spanned nearly five minutes and resulted in a Jamaal Morant three-yard touchdown.

Pitch A Tent
The Frostburg defense has made a living in the backfield's of their opponents over the last two seasons. During those 24 games, the Bobcats are averaging 9.4 tackles for loss and 3.4 sacks per contest. Last week against Stevenson, Frostburg posted 10 TFLs and 4.0 sacks.