MU Football: Still Alive

My broadcast partner (Eddy O) made a good point about three weeks ago while up at Sacred Heart saying the goal at this point of the season and moving forward for the rest of the season was being “relevant.” The word has stuck in my head ever since and with two weeks left in the regular season, Monmouth still is relevant. It becomes hard in November with not much to play for when you are a team that has struggled during the season. Things like pride, playing maybe for a winning record, or ending on a high note all sound great but they are not the easiest to do when you had dreams of a championship.

You have to remember that unlike other college sports, there is no league tournament in the NEC or championship game in football so it is either win the league or you don’t get into the postseason. Teams from the NEC are not the same as teams in the SEC where if you finish 4th or 5th you can still get into a bowl game so motivation does become something that may drift with teams not in the title hunt. Now Monmouth needs a lot of things there way but it’s not impossible; Albany is the still team that controls its own destiny because if they win out they will represent the NEC in the FCS playoffs.

Things that need to happened for Monmouth needs to have happen to be that team; Duquesne needs to lose their last two games and finish at 5-3 in the NEC (not impossible with Sacred Heart and Robert Morris still to play), Albany needs to lose this week to MU (win or lose the last week of the season) and most importantly Monmouth needs to win this week versus Albany & next week to close out the year against Wagner. It is a scenario that has Monmouth & Albany tied at 6-2 and based on head to head, the Hawks would go. Bryant factors in the race only in name only as they are not eligible for FCS play this season.

Albany has been a thorn in Monmouth’s side as of late winning every matchup since 2007 so this is a hurdle that MU needs to clear to keep alive the title chances. The Hawks also NEED to win at home where they have lost all four game this season and have a 6-game losing streak overall at Kessler Field. It won’t be easy as the Great Danes are big and physical and have a balanced offense that likes to run the ball with Andrew Smith.

Broadcast Information for this weekend .. Albany @ MU .. 12pm kickoff.. 1160/1310 AM or shoresportsnetwork.com/gomuhawks.com (with video stream)

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