Game Notes Tickets LiveStats Watch on ESPN3
For the second consecutive year the Sacred Heart University football team enters its final game of the season with the Northeast Conference Championship on the line. The Pioneers host #21/21 Bryant University on Campus Field at noon on Saturday.
The Pioneers will honor 26 members of the Senior Class in a ceremony that will begin at 11:40 a.m. Please visit GameDay Central for updated information on parking, tickets, and the days schedule of events.
SHU is 8-2 on the year and 4-1 in NEC play and has won two consecutive games, to get within a win of the NEC crown. A Pioneer victory on Saturday clinches at least a share of the NEC regular season crown and give SHU the league's automatic bid to the FCS Tournament.
Sacred Heart and Bryant are meeting for the eighth time, with the Pioneers leading the series 4-3 after a 56-28 win at Bryant last fall. That victory, the second consecutive road game in the series, ended a three-game Bulldog win streak in the series. The Pioneers opened the series with a 48-28 win at home and two years later earned a 19-13 victory on Campus Field. The first-ever NEC meeting came in 2009, also in Fairfield, with a 24-14 Pioneer victory. Bryant earned a 25-24 victory in the 2010 meeting and a 26-6 victory on Campus Field in 2011, before winning at home in 2012, 34-14.
Tyler Dube enters the game tied for the program record in touchdown receptions, with 13, after two of his 12 catches at Central went for scores. He has caught at least one pass in 27 consecutive games, dating back to the 2012 meeting with Albany. Dube is 12th in the nation at 6.5 receptions per game and his touchdown reception total ranks third in the country.
The Sacred Heart defense continues to rank among the elite, sitting in the top-10 in the nation in 10 categories, including scoring defense, allowing just 17.5 points per game. SHU has held six opponents to 14 or fewer points this season and held three to only a touchdown. The Pioneers are fifth in the nation in total defense and rush defense and rank first in the country in red zone defense.
The Bulldogs enter today's game with a record of 8-1 and are a perfect 4-0 in the Northeast Conference after winning 20-17 at Duquesne last week. Quarterback Dalton Easton threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns as Ricardo McCray ran for 117 yards. Bryant's win at Duquesne was the Bulldogs' fifth consecutive win. Easton has thrown for 1,494 yards this season with 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. McCray is averaging 6.6 yards per carry, scoring nine touchdowns. Paul Canevari leads Bryant in rushing with 818 yards. The Bulldogs have a turnover margin of +11, allowing just 15.6 points and 288.8 yards of total offense per game.
