Sept. 24, 2003
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The Game: Johns Hopkins (3-0) puts its seven-game winning streak on the line as the Blue Jays travel to Carnegie Mellon (3-0) for the first time since November 2, 1968.
The Teams: Johns Hopkins improved to 3-0 on the year with a 24-0 victory over Randolph-Macon. The Tartans ran their record to 3-0 as well with a 59-6 win over Hiram.
It's a Record: The nine wins for the Blue Jays last season are a school record. Johns Hopkins broke the school record for wins in a season with its eighth of the year with the win over McDaniel. The previous school record of seven victories had been set eight times previously (1998, 1997, 1996, 1981, 1968, 1959, 1948, 1891). Jim Margraff coached the Blue Jays to three of the seven-win seasons before breaking the record in 2002.
It's a First: Johns Hopkins shared the 2002 Centennial Conference title with Muhlenberg and McDaniel. This was the first Centennial championship for Johns Hopkins.
More Firsts: The ECAC Southwest Championship Game victory over Frostburg last season marked several program firsts. This was the first post-season game in the history of Johns Hopkins football and, obviously, it was also the first post-season victory in the history of Johns Hopkins football. It was also the first time in over 100 years that a Johns Hopkins football team played 11 games in a season (1888).
In the Rankings: Johns Hopkins is ranked a program-best 23rd in this week's AFCA Division III Coaches Poll. This is the first time a Johns Hopkins football team has ever been ranked in the top 25. Previously, the highest Johns Hopkins had ever been ranked was 26th on October 15, 2002. JHU was ranked 32nd in the final 2002 poll This week's complete poll can be found on page 5.
Quick Starts: Johns Hopkins is 12-1 in its last 13 games in the month of September and has currently won seven straight in the first month of the season.
More Quick Starts: Johns Hopkins' 5-0 start last season was the best for a JHU football team since 1931, when the Blue Jays opened the season with six straight wins.
Streaking: Dating back to last season, Johns Hopkins has won seven straight games, which ties the school record for consecutive victories. This is also the longest active winning streak in the Centennial Conference and the longest active winning streak in the state of Maryland. JHU has now won seven straight games five times in its history, including twice in the last 16 games. The five, seven-game winning streaks are listed below:
1892 Games 1 through 7
1948-49 Game 4, 1948 through Game 2, 1949
1959-60 Game 5, 1959 through Game 3, 1960
2001-02 Game 8, 2001 through Game 5, 2002
2002-03 Game 8, 2002 - Current
More Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 12-2 since the beginning of the 2002 season, 14-2 in its last 16 games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 18-5 since the beginning of the 2001 season. The 14-2 record over the last 16 games is the best 16-game run in school history.
Outside the League: JHU is 3-0 with all three wins coming against non-Centennial Conference opponents. Dating back to the beginning of the 2001 season, JHU is 9-2 in its last 11 non-conference games.
More Outside the League: JHU has not gone unbeaten in non-conference games since 1991, when the Blue Jays were 2-0-1. They last posted a perfect non-conference record in 1985, when they went 2-0.
The Coaches: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff (JHU `82), who is in his 14th 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 78-52-3 (.598). 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 then-school-record-tying seven wins in 1996, 1997 and 1998 before leading the Blue Jays to their first-ever playoff appearance (and victory), first-ever Centennial Conference title and a school-record nine wins in 2002. Margraff's .598 winning percentage is second among JHU coaches who have coached 30 or more games and the Blue Jays are 54-28-1 (.657) since the beginning of the 1995 season.
Rich Lackner is in his 18th season as the head coach at his alma mater. He boasts an overall record of 124-46-2 (.727) and ranks as the all-time winningest coach in CMU history. In addition, he ranks 14th among active NCAA Division III football coaches in victories and 15th in winning percentage.
Margraff's Resurrection: Since taking over as the head coach prior to the 1990 season, Jim Margraff has guided JHU to nine winning seasons and 78 wins. The 78 wins are one more than Hopkins accumulated in the previous 20 years combined (1970-89). During that time, Hopkins posted nine winning seasons and won 77 games.
And They Shall Lead Us: The Blue Jays selected two players to serve as team captains for the 2003 season: senior DL Paul Smith (Lafayette, NJ/Sparta) and senior LB Paul Longo (Kensington, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase). Smith and Longo were two of JHU's four Verizon District II Academic All-Americans last season.
It's All Academic: Johns Hopkins had four players earn Verizon District II Academic All-America honors (current senior captains Paul Smith and Paul Longo and the now-graduated Brian Williams and John Tiberi). The four selections were one more than the rest of the Centennial Conference teams had combined and no other school in the district had more than two players named to the team.
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season, Hopkins is 28-9 (.757) at home and won 10 straight at Homewood from 1996-97. Currently, JHU has won 10 of its last 12 at home.
The Road Most Traveled: Johns Hopkins is 9-3 in its last 12 road games and has won six of its last seven away from home.
Don't Leave Early: Four of Johns Hopkins' five road games in 2001 and three of the five in 2002 were decided by eight points or less. Dating back to the end of the 2000 season, eight of JHU's last 12 road games have been decided by eight points or less.
Comeback Kids: The Blue Jays trailed 3-0 at halftime against Rochester in the season-opener. Of Hopkins' last 13 wins (dating back to the 2001 season-finale), six have been of the come-from-behind variety.
It's Been a While: The 153 yards the Blue Jays surrendered to Randolph-Macon were the fewest Hopkins has allowed since holding Franklin & Marshall to 138 in a 41-0 win on November 3, 2001.
It's Been Even Longer: Johns Hopkins held Washington & Lee (174) and Randolph-Macon (153) to less than 200 yards of total offense. This is the first time since the middle of the 2001 season that JHU has held back-to-back opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense (Gettysburg-136 & Ursinus-154).
Holding Them Down: The 16 points the Blue Jays have allowed in the first three games this season are the fewest over a three-game span since JHU allowed just 14 points over a three-game period in 1996.
More Holding: The 16 points the Blue Jays have allowed in the first three games this season are the fewest in the first three games of a season since 1960, when JHU allowed just 12 in the first three games of the year.
Going the Distance: Last season, JHU had 28 scoring drives that covered 51 yards or more. In three games this season, the Blue Jays have eight scoring drives that have covered 55 yards or more.
Quick Strike Attack: In three games, the Blue Jays have nine scoring drives that have taken less than 2:50 off the clock.
Offense Reaches the Half-Century Mark: Johns Hopkins out-gained Washington & Lee, 508-174 in the 36-7 win earlier this season. This marked the first time the Blue Jays have amassed 500 or more yards of total offense since November 3, 2001, when JHU had 511 in a 41-0 win over F&M.
The Last Shutout: Prior to last week's shutout win over Randolph-Macon, the Blue Jays' last shutout was a 41-0 victory over Franklin & Marshall on November 3, 2001.
Player Notes of Interest (Included in PDF Version)
