2018 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team
The 2018 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team represented Central Connecticut State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Pete Rossomando and played their home games at Arute Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 4–2 in NEC play to finish in third place.
| 2018 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Northeast Conference |
| 2018 record | 6–5 (4–2 NEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Ryan McCarthy |
| Defensive coordinator | Andrew Christ |
| Home stadium | Arute Field (Capacity: 5,500) |
| 2018 Northeast Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Duquesne +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacred Heart + | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Connecticut | 4 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wagner | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Francis (PA) | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryant | 2 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Blue Devils finished the 2017 season 8–4, 6–0 in NEC play to win the conference title. They received the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, their first FCS playoff appearance in school history, where they were defeated by New Hampshire in the First Round.
Preseason
NEC coaches poll
The NEC released their preseason coaches poll on July 24, 2018, with the Blue Devils predicted to become NEC champions.[1]
| Predicted finish | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Central Connecticut |
| 2 | Duquesne |
| 3 | Bryant |
| 4 | Saint Francis |
| 5 | Wagner |
| 6 | Sacred Heart |
| 7 | Robert Morris |
Preseason All-NEC team
The Blue Devils placed seven players on the preseason all-NEC team.[2]
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Offense Jacob Dolegala – QB Arthur Gilmore – TE J’Von Brown – OL Connor Mignone – OL |
Defense Chris Tinkham – DL Kenneth Keen – LB Tajik Bagley – DB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | at Ball State* | ESPN+ | L 6–42 | 9,801 | |
| September 7 | 6:00 p.m. | Lincoln (PA)* | NECFR | W 55–0 | 5,115 | |
| September 15 | 5:00 p.m. | Columbia* |
| NECFR | L 24–41 | 3,789 |
| September 22 | 1:00 p.m. | at Fordham* | Stadium | W 24–13 | 7,134 | |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | at Lafayette* | Stadium | L 24–31 | 5,295 | |
| October 6 | Noon | at Robert Morris | NECFR | W 56–35 | 1,844 | |
| October 13 | 1:00 p.m. | at Bryant | NECFR | W 48–14 | 3,745 | |
| October 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Sacred Heart |
| ESPN3 | L 25–28 | 5,117 |
| October 27 | Noon | Wagner |
| W 49–24 | 852 | |
| November 10 | Noon | at Saint Francis | ESPN3 | W 30–14 | 912 | |
| November 17 | Noon | Duquesne |
| L 31–38 | 3,617 | |
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- Source: Schedule
Game summaries
at Ball State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Devils | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
Lincoln (PA)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blue Devils | 27 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 55 |
Columbia
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 14 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 41 |
| Blue Devils | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
at Fordham
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Devils | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Rams | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
at Lafayette
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Devils | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Leopards | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
at Robert Morris
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Devils | 21 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 56 |
| Colonials | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
at Bryant
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Devils | 6 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 48 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Sacred Heart
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneers | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Blue Devils | 3 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 25 |
Wagner
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Blue Devils | 14 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 49 |
at Saint Francis (PA)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Devils | 0 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 30 |
| Red Flashes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Duquesne
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dukes | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Blue Devils | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |