District College Football Preview for 8/30/13

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, August 29, 2013 | 10:24 PM

The college football season opens this weekend with just two games as the NEC teams kick off their schedule. All of the local Division II and III teams kick off next week. Robert Morris heads to Kentucky to face a national power and Duquesne takes on a former NEC foe.

Here are previews of both games, check in on Sunday for recaps of both games.

Robert Morris at Eastern Kentucky   7pm Thursday night

The Colonials will kick off the schedule for all of the district teams with a very tough test, travelling to Richmond to take on 19^th ranked Eastern Kentucky. Robert Morris has not beaten a ranked team since defeating Liberty in 2010.

Robert Morris will start the season for the final time under head coach Joe Walton, who announced his retirement effective at the end of the year. The Colonials will have a new quarterback as former Sto-Rox star Paul Jones takes over after transferring from Penn State.

The Colonials return 14 starters from last season’s 4-7 team, including seven on the offense. RMU has four offensive line starters and returns two top receivers in flanker Duane Mitchell and split end Donte Jeter. Jeter led the team in catches with 37 and yards with 631. The pair each grabbed five touchdowns in 2012.

On the defense, six starters return, including NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year Marcelis Branch. The sophomore forced five turnovers, including three interceptions in his freshman campaign, along with 58 tackles. Senior inside linebacker Mike Cook also returns, he led the Colonials with 88 tackles last season.

Robert Morris is picked fourth in the preseason conference poll by the league’s coaches. Wagner, Duquesne and Bryant were all picked ahead of Robert Morris.

Eastern Kentucky is known as the Colonels, they have made 20 post-season appearances and are picked second behind Eastern Illinois in the Ohio Valley Conference coaches poll.

EKU is an opportunistic team, they were second in the FCS last season in turnover ratio at plus 19. Four defensive starters earned preseason all-conference honors, senior linebacker Anthony Brown, senior lineman Shawn Shupperd, junior defensive back Brandon Stanley and senior linebacker Adam Vance. .

Albany at Duquesne   12:10pm   Saturday

The Dukes open the 2013 season against a former NEC opponent in the Great Danes on the Bluff. Duquesne was picked second in the pre-season coaches poll behind 2012 NEC co-champ Albany.

The Dukes look to rebound from a 5-6 season, including 3-5 in NEC play. But Duquesne returns 13 starters from 2012.

Duquesne will have a new quarterback for the first time in a long while, Sean Patterson had graduated, redshirt freshman Dillon Buechel from Montour takes over behind center. Head coach Jerry Schmidt must also find a way to replace over 50 percent of the Dukes offense over the last three years with the graduation of Larry McCoy at tailback. Ryan Ho will be the starter to begin the season.

Duquesne has their leading wide receiver back with Gianni Carter, who had 57 catches and seven touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, former Gateway standout Dorian Bell returns at linebacker. Bell is a preseason All American and preseason all NEC first team, coming off an all conference season in 2012. Look out for safety Chris Johnson to have an immediate impact. The junior transfer from Florida, played in 26 games for the Gators, including the Sugar and Gator Bowls.

Albany returns 11 starters from last year’s NEC co-champs, the Great Danes racked up a 9-2 record..

Albany moves from the NEC to the Colonial Athletic Association for 2013, the Great Danes were picked to finish 10^th in the 11 team league. Junior QB Will Fiacchi returns, he threw for 2,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Great Danes averaged 34 points per game last season.

Head coach Bob Ford is going to step down after this season, he has been the head coach since 1970, the longest current head coach on any level of NCAA play.