• Sat, 11/19 | Football vs. Central Connecticut L, 42-21 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 11/12 | Football vs. Saint Francis (PA) W, 45-34 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 11/05 | Football at Albany W, 31-17 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 10/22 | Football at Robert Morris W, 34-27 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 10/15 | Football vs. Monmouth L, 40-35 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 10/08 | Football vs. Stonehill W, 42-7 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Sat, 10/01 | Football at Duquesne L, 31-28 (Final) BX | BX | RC
  • Sat, 09/24 | Football vs. Wagner W, 30-28 (Final) BX | RC | PH
  • Fri, 09/16 | Football at Sacred Heart W, 26-6 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 09/10 | Football vs. American Int'l W, 27-16 (Final) BX | RC | PH
 

October 25, 2007

Football Visits Stony Brook This Saturday for a 4 pm Game

October 24, 2007

BRYANT FOOTBALL STEPS OUT OF LEAGUE PLAY SATURDAY AT STONY BROOK
Bulldogs Put Undefeated Record On The Line

Game 8 - Bryant University (7-0) at Stony Brook (4-4)
Game Notes (pdf)
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2007,
Location:  Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, Stony Brook, NY
Radio/TV: STONY BROOK RADIO NETWORK - LISTEN LIVE !  /   LIVE STATS

UPDATE:
The Bryant University football team, undefeated after seven games and ranked No. 24 nationally by D2Football.com, hits the road for a non-conference game this Saturday at Division I Stony Brook University on Long Island.  The Bulldogs (7-0) are coming off a 49-21 win over Saint Anselm on Saturday while Stony Brook defeated Maine, 30-23 in overtime to improve to 4-4 on the year.  This will be the first meeting between the two schools and the first Division I opponent for the Bulldogs since 2002 when the team fell to Rhode Island, 28-0 in Kingston, R.I. 

MORE TIDBITS
* Saturday's game will be the 87th game for Bryant since becoming a varsity program in 1999. 
* Bryant owns a 47-39 all-time record covering eight seasons.
* Head Coach Marty Fine owns a record of 26-11 in his fourth year, the most wins for a coach at Bryant. 
* Bryant is 22-5 in its last 27 regular season games, not including last year's postseason loss.  The Bulldogs were 7-3 in 2005 and were 8-3 last year including a loss to West Chester in the NCAA's. 

SERIES: 
This will be the first meeting between Stony Brook and Bryant, but perhaps not the only matchup as Bryant announced its move to Division I last Thursday.  The school will begin Division I play in 2008 and will join the Northeast Conference (NEC) in 2012. 

A GLANCE AT THE SEAWOLVES
Stony Brook comes into the game 4-4 on the season after snapping a three-game losing skid with a 30-23 double overtime win over Maine at home last Saturday.  The Seawolves opened the year with wins over Georgetown (35-28) and Bucknell (48-20) before falling at Youngstown State, 42-6.  Conte Cuttino is averaging 101.0 yards per game rushing with five touchdowns while quarterback Josh Dudash is averaging 213.1 yards passing per game and has 12 touchdown passes.  His primary targets have been Lynell Suggs and Dwayne Eley, each come into the game with 58 and 47 receptions respectively. 

LOOKING AT THE BULLDOGS
Bryant is in the middle of arguably its best season in school history.  A year ago, Bryant posted eight wins on the year in winning the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and advancing to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time in school history.  This year, Bryant is one win away from tying that school record for wins in a season with three games left in the regular season.  The Bulldogs are undefeated at 7-0 and have clinched at least a share of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship.  The Bulldogs are averaging 383.4 yards of total offense this season wtih 207.6 coming on the ground and 175.9 through the air.  Lindsey Gamble is averaging 97.4 yards per game and has 10 rushing touchdowns while Jerell Smith has gone over 100 yards in each of the last three games.  Defensively, the Bulldogs have allowed 130.9 yards per game against the run.  Cornerback Marcus Lindsey and linebacker Paul Polomski lead the way with 51 and 43 tackles respectively.  The Bulldogs have 19 sacks this season and have allowed just four. 


TALE OF THE TAPE - BRYANT AND STONY BROOK 
   Bryant    STONY BROOK
Scoring Offense  31.0  23.9
Scoring Defense  18.7  28.4
Rushing Offense  207.6  158.1
Rushing Defense  130.9  185.1
Passing Offense  175.9  220.4
Passing Defense  164.6  169.9
Total Offense  383.4  378.5
Total Defense  295.4  355.0

THE COACHES:
Bryant coach Marty Fine is currently in his fourth season coaching the Bulldogs.  Since his first year in Smithfield in 2004, Fine owns a coaching record of 26-11. Stony Brook coach Chuck Priore is in his second year at Stony Brook (9-10) and eighth overall as head coach (48-19).

GAMBLE AND SMITH COMBO:
Bryant has been going with a three-back rotation in the backfield with Chris Peaks (three touchdowns vs. Saint Anselm), Howard University transfer Jerell Smith, and sophomore Lindsey Gamble.  Gamble ran for 177 yards on 26 rushes against Merrimack in Week 2 and followed with a career-best 182 yards and school record-tying 4 touchdowns in the win over Assumption. Recently, Smith has been red-hot, rushing for more than 100 yards in each of the last three games (125 yards vs. CW Post, 105 vs. Stonehill, and career-best 135 vs. Saint Anselm on just eight carries).

WINNING WAYS:
Bryant has put together two consecutive winning seasons since a 4-5 slate in Fine's first year as coach in 2004.  In 2005, Bryant went 7-3 overall followed with an 8-3 campaign in 2006.  The only other winning season was in 1999 when the team went 5-4.  Bryant is 22-5 in its last 27 regular season games, not including last year's NCAA playoff loss.

BULLDOGS AGAINST DIVISION I FOES
This will be the third meeting for Bryant against a Division I school.  The Bulldogs are 0-2, falling to the University of Rhode Island, 28-0 in the 2002 season opener, and 19-15 in the 2000 season-opener. 

BULLDOGS RANKED NO. 3 REGIONALLY
One week after climbing atop the Division II NCAA Northeast Regional poll, the Bulldogs dropped to No. 3 despite defeating Saint Anselm, 49-21.  The strength of schedule hurt the Bulldogs this week, but the team is still in good position to qualify for the NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row.  Six teams qualify for the NCAA Playoffs from the Northeast Region (4 total regions for field of 24) with the top two receiving a first round bye.  No. 3 will host No. 6 and No. 4 will host No. 5. 

1. California (PA)
2. West Chester
3. BRYANT
4. Indiana (PA)
5. Shepherd
6. Charleston (WV)
7. Slippery Rock
8. Southern Connecticut
9. Bentley
10. Glenville State
11. American International
12. Edinboro

GRANATELL ON THE MARK:
Senior quarterback Charlie Granatell (Franklin Lakes, NJ / Ramapo) has started every game (35) since coming to campus as a freshman in 2004.  Granatell's junior year was his best yet, passing for a career-best 1,975 yards and 21 touchdowns. Granatell finished the season ranked second nationally with a 167.5 efficiency rating. 

GRANATELL ON THE SEASON
Granatell enters this week's game with 6,069 career passing yards and 52 career passing touchdowns.  He is the holder of 15 school records.  On the season, Granatell has completed 100 of 160 passes (62.5 percent) for 1,168 yards and 10 TDs.

NEXT UP
Bryant will return to Northeast-10 Conference action next Friday when the Bulldogs travel to Southern Connecticut for a Friday night game at Jess Dow Field.  Kickoff is at 7 pm.  The Bulldogs will return home the following week (Nov. 10) to host Bentley College at noon at Bulldog Stadium.

 

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