Central Connecticut Preview
(BGA Oct. 18) – No idea if he favored the Single-Wing over the T-Formation, but his most famous saying suggests Harvard grad George Santayana could probably have given a pretty fair locker room speech.
Although Sammy McCorkle is an Ivy League coach you can be pretty sure he won’t be bringing up Santayana’s name prior to Saturday’s game against Central Connecticut. But you can be absolutely certain he’ll invoke a message not unlike the familiar one the philosopher/essayist offered up early in the 20th century:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Consider:
• Week Two Dartmouth opponent Merrimack is a school with a modest history in Division I. Week Five Dartmouth opponent Central Connecticut played in the Division II ranks until 1993.
• Merrimack came into its game against Dartmouth with a 1-3 record, but only one of the losses was to an FCS team. (The other two were money games against FBS schools.) Central Connecticut comes into its game against the Big Green with a 3-3 record, but only one of the losses has been to an FCS school. The other two? You guessed it. They were money games against FBS schools.
• Merrimack took the field against Dartmouth with a roster a first-year coach had breathed life into with transfers, including a dangerous grad transfer running back. Central Connecticut’s first-year coach has a roster featuring no fewer than 18 transfers, including three from junior college powerhouse Lackawanna, two from UMass – including the starting quarterback – and a dangerous transfer running back from Virginia Tech.
• Dartmouth needed a field goal with three seconds remaining to grab a come-from-behind win at Merrimack. While he’ll take a “W” any way he can get it, McCorkle would like nothing better than for the similarities to end right there.
“They do remind me of Merrimack,” McCorkle said after Thursday’s practice. “They’ve both got dudes. They are very athletic. They are physical and they’re going to challenge you at all levels. They well-coached and disciplined. They do a lot of good stuff on offense, defense and special teams.”
The transfers leading the way for Central Connecticut on offense are 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior quarterback Brady Olson and 5-11, 176 tailback Elijah Howard.
Olson passed for almost 2,000 yards at UMass, including 214 yards and three touchdown passes against Boston College in his first action as a freshman. He has 10 touchdown passes to five interceptions this fall although he’s completing just 52.1 percent of his throws. He was a 48.7 percent passer with 16 interceptions to 10 completions for the Minutemen.
Despite the low completion rate, McCorkle is wary of the former three-star recruit.
“He’s got a cannon,” the coach said. “That’s why he started at UMass. He’s got a live arm and can stretch it. He’s good a good feel in the pocket and does a nice job managing their offense. Obviously he’s got a lot of experience.”
The more dangerous weapon of the transfers is Howard, another three-star recruit who played corner at Virginia Tech before transitioning to running back last year at Central Connecticut. As a high school junior in Tennessee he ran for 1,422 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Originally committed to Tennessee as a three-star recruit, he ran for 990 yards last year at Central with an 82-yard run to his credit. He’s topped 100 yards in three games this fall with 108 in a one-point loss at Yale two weeks ago and 169 yards last week in a win over Mercyhurst. He’s also capable out of the backfield, catching 15 passes for 125 yards this year.
“He’s obviously a very athletic guy playing cornerback,” said McCorkle. “He’s got balance, good speed and good quickness. He’s very elusive. We’ve got to do a good job with our feet and a better job of tackling in space.”
Mike Plaskon, a 5-10 senior who came to Central Connecticut from Bridgeton Academy, leads the receiving corps with 22 catches for 283 yards. He had three grabs for 65 yards against UMass, and four for 44 against Central Michigan. Howard is next with 15 catches for 125 yards and one touchdown.
The receiving corps also includes a familiar name. Isaac Boston, a grad transfer from Dartmouth, has three catches for 48 yards including a touchdown in the game at Yale.
The Blue Devils do a good job of protecting the quarterback and the QB does a good job of getting rid of the ball with the team allowing 0.67 sacks per game, fourth-best in the nation.
Defensively, Central Connecticut is first in the country with 3.33 sacks per game, inflated by nine in a win over Fordham but still a good number. Defensive end Jalen Howard, a 6-1, 265 defensive line transfer from Villanova, has a team-high 6.5 sacks while strong safety Kimal Clark leads the team by a wide margin with 63 tackles, 28 more than linebacker Malachi Wright.
With five interceptions and five passes and nine fumble recoveries Central Connecticut is ninth in the nation in turnovers gained.
“They're very physical and they're very aggressive,” said McCorkle, who said starting quarterback Jackson Proctor will be a game-time decision after missing Yale with an undisclosed injury. “Now, when I say aggressive, that doesn't mean they're blitzing all the time. They're just a very aggressive group across the board and they definitely create havoc up front.”
Dartmouth and Central Connecticut have played two common opponents. The Big Green defeated Fordham by 32 points, 45-13. The Blue Devils defeated the Rams by 30 points, 33-3.
Dartmouth beat Yale in overtime by a point. The Blue Devils fell to the Bulldogs by a point, 23-22.
Given the comparative scores and memories of what happened against Merrimack, McCorkle is hopeful his team can establish itself early against the visitors from down I-91.
“That’s always important,” he said. "They play with a lot of energy. What you don’t want to do is give them extra energy, extra confidence by getting out to a fast start.
“We know there are going to be good plays and others that aren’t as good. We had that at Yale with the two big passes they hhit. We’ve got to avoid those and if they happen, be able to weather the storm. And we don’t want to hurt ourselves with penalties and mistakes.
“That’s where we got in trouble at Yale. When you have bad technique and get a little sloppy, that’s when you are going to get call for stuff. Our big thing is trust your technique, trust your fundamentals and trust what you have been coached to do.”
With the win at Yale last week and a return to Ivy League action at surprising 3-1 Columbia next week, Central Connecticut could be the same kind of “trap” game Merrimack was a week ahead of the Ivy League opener against Penn. But McCorkle doesn’t see it like that.
“Our guys know they are good and we have to play our best,” he said. “I mean, two of their losses were against FBS teams and they almost beat an FBS team. They should have beaten UMass.
“They were a fourth down at Yale away from being 4-0 against FCS teams. That’s how we’re looking at it. We know it’s going to be a really good challenge. Our guys want to go 1-0 each week and in order to do that we have to be ready to go out there and play our game.”
At Central Michigan 66, Central Connecticut 10
At Central Connecticut 33, Fordham 3
Central Connecticut 27, at St. Francis 20
At UMass 35, Central Connecticut 31
At Yale 23, Central Connecticut 22
At Central Connecticut 38m Mercyhurst 20
