Oct. 19, 2005
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The Game: Johns Hopkins (6-0, 4-0 CC) hits the road to take on four-time defending Centennial Conference Co-Champion Muhlenberg (3-3, 2-1 CC). The Blue Jays and Mules are the only two teams in the Centennial Conference with winning records in league play.
The Teams: Johns Hopkins posted a 9-2 record, claimed a share of a third straight Centennial Conference Championship and won the ECAC Southeast title in 2004. Muhlenberg claimed a share of the Centennial Conference Championship for the fourth straight year as the Mules posted an 8-3 record and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the third straight season.
Poll Position: Johns Hopkins jumped from 18th to 15th in this week's AFCA Division III Coaches Poll. The Blue Jays have now been ranked in the top 25 in each of the last four weeks. Prior to the 2003 season Johns Hopkins had never been ranked in the top 25 in the nation in football. Since then the Blue Jays have been ranked in the top 25 in the nation 16 times in 25 weeks and have received votes in every poll since the start of the 2003 season.
This week's number 15 ranking marks the eighth time JHU has appeared in the top 20 and is tied for the second-highest ranking in school history. The Blue Jays were ranked 15th on October 14, 2003 before peaking at 13th on October 21, 2003.
Series History: Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg are meeting for the 38th time in a series that dates back to 1968. The Mules lead the series, 20-16-1, and have won four straight and five of the last six. The Johns Hopkins-Muhlenberg game has developed into one of the toughest in the Centennial as, despite Muhlenberg's recent run, close, competitive games have been the norm. Both teams have won five of the last 10, six of the 10 have been decided by eight points or less and each team has won three of those six. During the same time both teams have won once by exactly 13 points and once by 20 points or more. Further demonstrating the tightness of the series ... over the 10-game span the Mules have outscored the Blue Jays, 193-179 for an average score of 19.3-17.9.
Title Time: From 1969-2001 the Johns Hopkins football team did not win a title of any kind. In the last three years the Blue Jays have grabbed a share of three straight Centennial Conference titles and won three ECAC Championships (ECAC Southwest-2002, ECAC South Atlantic-2003, ECAC Southeast-2004).
Streaking: The win over Gettysburg improved the Blue Jays' record to 25-3 in their last 28 games, 34-5 in their last 39 and 40-8 in their last 48. These represent the best records ever over those numbers of games in school history.
Seniors Tie School Record: The win over Gettysburg improved JHU's record to 34-5 since the start of the 2002 season. The 34 wins tie the school record for most wins in a four-year period (34 / 2001-04).
Just In Case: While it is way too early to think about championships it should be noted that the Blue Jays could claim a share of their fourth straight Centennial Conference title this weekend (although a lot has to happen). If Johns Hopkins beats Muhlenberg, Ursinus beats Gettysburg and Dickinson knocks off Franklin & Marshall the Blue Jays will be assured of no worse than a tie for the conference title. In this scenario every team in the league except Hopkins would have at least two losses, while the Blue Jays would be 4-0 in CC play. With JHU having just two conference games remaining after this weekend the Blue Jays could do no worse than share the championship.
Under no circumstance can a team in the league (regardless of the outcome of the games listed above) secure the Centennial's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs this weekend.
Non-Conference Roll: The 9-6 win over CMU extended JHU's winning streak in non-conference games to 13 games. The Blue Jays last dropped a non-conference game on October 26, 2002 at Randolph-Macon (17-12).
Home Sweet Home: Since the beginning of the 1996 season Johns Hopkins is 39-10 (.796) at home and has twice enjoyed 10-game winning streaks at Homewood Field during that time. Currently, the Blue Jays have won 16 of their last 18 and 22 of their last 26 at home.
Road Warriors: The win over Dickinson was JHU's eighth straight victory away from Homewood Field and 16th win in its last 18 road games. The eight-game road winning streak is the longest in school history. Johns Hopkins previously had a seven-game road winning streak from 1967-69.
Comeback Kids: The come-from-behind win over Rochester was dramatic in that it ended with Ben Scott's 37-yard field goal with just one second remaining in the fourth quarter, but Jim Margraff-coached teams have excelled in this situation throughout his career. The Blue Jays came from behind to win six times last season, erasing 14-point deficits in wins against Ursinus and Waynesburg (twice).
Last Second Heroics: Prior to this season the last time the Blue Jays came from behind to win in the final minute was in 1997, when Adam Gentile scored on an eight-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining to beat Muhlenberg, 24-21. Ben Scott provided the heroics with a 37-yard field goal with one-second remaining against Rochester and went one better in the win over Carnegie Mellon as he snapped a 6-6 tie with a 24-yard field goal as time expired to lift Hopkins to a 9-6 win.
Seven's Heaven: For all the different numbers and statistics that can be applied to the Johns Hopkins football team, there has been one simple way to measure the success of the Blue Jays recently. Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 25-0 when scoring more than seven points and 0-3 when they have been held to seven points or less.
Keys to Success: Johns Hopkins is an impressive 60-4 (.938) under head coach Jim Margraff when scoring 24 or more points...currently, the Blue Jays have won 47 of their last 49 when scoring 24 or more...at the same time, Hopkins is 69-10-2 (.864) when holding the opposition to 14 points or less since Margraff arrived for the 1990 season...the Blue Jays have won 33 of their last 35 games when holding the opposition to 14 points or less.
Defense Leads The Pack: A trademark of the Johns Hopkins football team is a solid defense. Despite several key injuries the Blue Jays have continued that trend as they rank first in the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (5.7 ppg), total defense (216.0 ypg), rushing defense (103.5 ypg), pass defense (112.5 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (74.70 rating). The Blue Jays rank second in the nation in scoring defense seventh in total defense and fifth in pass efficiency defense.
Shutouts: The 14-0 shutout of Gettysburg was JHU's second of the season. Johns Hopkins has posted 14 shutouts in 15+ seasons under head coach Jim Margraff and the two this season mark the fourth time in the Margraff era that JHU has posted two or more shutouts in one year (1992 (2), 1996 (2), 2003 (3), 2005 (2)). The Blue Jays posted 11 shutouts in the 20 seasons prior to Margraff's arrival in 1990.
More Defense: The shutout against Gettysburg marked the fifth time in six games this season that the JHU defense has allowed seven points or less. In addition, the 34 points the Blue Jays have allowed are the second-fewest allowed by a JHU defense in the first six games of a season in the last 45 years. Only the 2003 team, which allowed just 30 points in the first six games of the season, allowed fewer points through six games since 1960 than the 2005 team.
Scoring Defense: Johns Hopkins got a 31-yard fumble return for a touchdown (Adam Luke) and a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown (Adam Colicchio) in the win over Dickinson. This marked the first time since September 29, 2000 (54-13 win over Gettysburg) that Johns Hopkins has scored two defensive touchdowns in the same game.
"Odd" Defense: Perhaps the most unusual defensive note about Johns Hopkins has to do with odd-numbered years and the JHU pass defense. In the last three odd numbered years (2001, 2003, 2005) the Blue Jays have come up with 50 interceptions and allowed just four touchdown passes. The Blue Jays led the nation in pass efficiency defense in 2001 and 2003 and rank fifth in the nation this season. JHU did not allow a touchdown pass in 2001 and had 28 interceptions while allowing just two TD passes in 2003.
Player Notes of Interest (Included in PDF Version)
