Nov. 7, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format - Additional Information Available in this Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Game: Johns Hopkins (6-2, 3-1) closes out the road portion of its 2002 schedule at Franklin & Marshall (3-5, 1-3 CC) on Saturday afternoon.
The Teams: Johns Hopkins snapped a two-game losing streak with a 17-10 win over Dickinson. It was JHU's first win over the Devils since 1996. Franklin & Marshall was idle. The Dips lost their last game, 10-6 against McDaniel at home two weeks ago.
Milestone: Johns Hopkins picked up its 400th all-time victory with the win over Ursinus on October 12. The Blue Jays are 401-448-57 (.474) in their history.
Gunning for a Record: Johns Hopkins can tie the school record for wins in a season with a victory in either of its two remaining games. Johns Hopkins has won seven games in a season eight times in its history (1998, 1997, 1996, 1981, 1968, 1959, 1948, 1891).
Stayin' Alive: A win this week over Franklin & Marshall would keep alive Johns Hopkins' hopes of claiming a share of the Centennial Conference Championship. Hopkins needs to win both of its remaining games to share the title with Muhlenberg and McDaniel.
The Coach: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff (JHU `82), who is now in his 13th season as the head coach at Homewood. With the season-opening win over Washington & Lee in 2001, Margraff became the all-time winningest coach in school history and he now sports an overall record of 72-52-3 (.579). The previous record for wins by a Johns Hopkins football coach was 60 by Ray Van Orman (1920-35).
Margraff guided the Blue Jays to a school-record-tying seven wins in 1996, 1997, and 1998 to record the winningest three-year period in school history. Margraff's .575 winning percentage is second among JHU coaches who have coached 30 or more games.
With the win over Ursinus earlier this year, Margraff also became just the third coach in the history of the Centennial Conference to amass 50 league victories. He ranks third all-time in CC wins (51-34-2) and sixth in all-time CC winning % (.598).
Cradle of Coaches: Jim Margraff is one of eight active Johns Hopkins head coaches who rank as the all-time winningest coach in school history in their respective sport.
In addition to Margraff, Bob Babb (baseball), Nancy Funk (women's basketball), George Kennedy (women's swimming), Bill Nelson (men's basketball), Dick Oles (men's fencing), Matt Smith (men's soccer) and Leo Weil (women's soccer) all rank as the winningest coach in their sport's history at JHU.
Margraff's Resurrection: Since taking over as the head coach prior to the 1990 season, Jim Margraff has guided JHU to nine winning seasons (including this year) and 72 wins. The 72 wins are six more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 18 years combined (1972-89). During that time, Hopkins posted six winning seasons and won 66 games.
Series Notes:
* F&M leads the all-time series, 33-18-2.
* Johns Hopkins has won the last five meetings against F&M. A win this season would give Johns Hopkins its first six-game winning streak since the series began in 1912.
* Since Jim Margraff took over as head coach at Hopkins in 1990, seven of the 12 games between JHU & F&M have been decided by seven points or less.
* Last season's 41-0 victory for the Blue Jays was just Hopkins' second all-time shutout in the series.
And They Shall Lead Us: The Blue Jays selected three players to serve as team captains for the 2002 season. Senior DL Pat Doyle (Wilkes Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban), senior OL Kevin Kostibos (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) and senior LB Mike Little (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South).
Star Quality: Hopkins returns three players who earned All-Centennial honors last season. Senior center Kevin Kostibos (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) garnered First Team All-CC status, while senior DL Pat Doyle (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Bishop Hoban) earned Second Team All-CC honors. In addition, senior OL Leif Glynn (Croton, NY/Croton-Harmon) was named an Honorable Mention All-CC performer.
It's All Academic: Senior OL Brian Williams (Katy, TX/Strake Jesuit) and junior DL Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta) were both named to the 2001 Verizon District II Academic All-America Team.
More Pass Protection: Johns Hopkins became the first NCAA Division III team since 1980 to not allow a touchdown pass in an entire season when the Blue Jays turned the trick last season.
Streak Snapper: Washington & Lee's Peter Dean threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Callaham with 9:43 remaining in the third quarter in the season-opener vs. JHU. The TD pass was the first allowed by Johns Hopkins since the final game of the 2000 season. JHU had gone 207 consecutive pass attempts without allowing a touchdown pass.
Role Reversal: One year after leading the nation in pass efficiency defense, Johns Hopkins has become one of the more difficult teams to run against. Currently, JHU is allowing just 107.0 yards per game on the ground, which ranks second in the Centennial Conference. Among JHU's top efforts against the run this season:
Opponent Rushing Attempts-Yards
Rochester 26 rushes for 24 yards
Carnegie Mellon 38 rushes for 73 yards
Ursinus 26 rushes for 53 yards
Randolph-Macon 32 rushes for 15 yards
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season, Hopkins is 25-9 (.735) at home and won 10 straight at Homewood from 1996-97. Currently, JHU has won six of its last eight at home.
The Road Most Traveled: Johns Hopkins is 6-3 in its last nine road games. Hopkins has won its last two games at F&M and is 4-2 in Lancaster under Jim Margraff.
Don't Leave Early: Four of Johns Hopkins' five road games last season and two of the first three this season have decided by eight points or less. Dating back to the end of the 2000 season, seven of JHU's last nine road games have been decided by eight points or less.
Point Production: Johns Hopkins scored 206 points last season, marking the fifth straight season the Blue Jays have scored 200 or more points. This marks the first time in school history JHU has scored 200 or more points in five straight seasons.
Taking the Long Road: JHU has put together numerous impressive scoring drives in eight games. In fact, JHU has had at least two scoring drives that covered 54 or more yards in every game this season. Below is a breakdown of the long scoring drives the Blue Jays have had this year.
Opponent Distance Time Consuming
Washington & Lee 2-of-3 touchdown drives 60 yards or longer
Rochester 5-of-6 touchdown drives 57 yards or longer 4 scoring drives longer than 4:30
Carnegie Mellon 3-of-4 touchdown drives 54 yards or longer 2 scoring drives longer than 4:30
Gettysburg 2-of-3 scoring drives 60 yards or longer 1 scoring drive over 7:00
Ursinus 4-of-5 scoring drives 71 yards or longer 4 scoring drives over 4:00
Muhlenberg 2-of-2 scoring drives 55 yards or longer
Randolph-Macon 2-of-2 scoring drives 61 yards or longer
Dickinson 2-of-3 scoring drives 69 yards or longer 1 scoring drive over 4:30
Totals 22-of-28 scoring drives 54 yards or longer 12 scoring drives over 4:00
Not Surprisingly: For drives such as those listed above to take place, a team must excel on third down. Through eight games, JHU is second in the Centennial Conference in third-down conversions as the Blue Jays are 46-of-117 (.393) on the year.
More Surprising: On the third-down attempts the Blue Jays have failed on, they have gone for it on fourth down 17 times, converting nine (.529). Only one other team in the Centennial has converted nine fourth-down opportunities.
The Numbers Don't Lie: In Hopkins' six wins this season, the Blue Jays are 42-of-92 (.457) on third-down conversions. In their two losses, the Blue Jays are 4-of-25 (.160).
