Oct. 20, 2010
Johns Hopkins-Susquehanna Football Notes in PDF Format
The Game: For the first time in more than 30 years, Johns Hopkins (3-3, 3-2 Centennial) will play Susquehanna (1-6, 1-6 CC) as the Blue Jays travel to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania for a matchup with the Crusaders.
The Teams: Johns Hopkins slipped to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the Centennial Conference with a 26-17 loss at Ursinus last Saturday. Susquehanna dropped its fifth straigth as the Crusaders fell to Dickinson, 28-24, at home last Saturday.
The Coaches: Johns Hopkins is led by Jim Margraff, who is in his 21st year as the head coach at JHU and sports a 132-78-3 (.627) record. He also ranks second all-time in CC history with 88 league victories to his credit (he is two behind Gettysburg's Barry Streeter). Steve Briggs is in his 21st season as the head coach at Susquehanna. He will carry a 111-99 record into Saturday's game against Johns Hopkins.
Welcome Aboard: Susquehanna is in its first season as a member of the Centennial Conference (football-only member). This week's meeting will be the first between Johns Hopkins and Susquehanna since 1978, when a freshman quarterback named Jim Margraff led the Blue Jays to a 30-0 victory over the Crusaders in the first of 36 straight starts at quarterback for Margraff.
Not That Far Away: Johns Hopkins' three losses this season have come by a total of 16 pionts to three teams (Randolph-Macon, Muhlenberg, Ursinus) that currently have a combined record of 17-2.
Get Us Now: JHU graduated a large, accomplished senior class after a magical 2009 season. With that turnover in personnel, the Blue Jays became a much younger group. JHU started just four seniors (two each on offense and defense) against Muhlenberg, just five (three on offense, two on defense) against Dickinson and only three (two on offense, one on defense) last week against Ursinus.
Tomlin Sets School Record: Junior Hewitt Tomlin became JHU's career leader in wins by a starting quarterback with the 44-10 win against Dickinson on October 8. Tomlin, who is now 20-8 in 28 career starts at Johns Hopkins, had been tied with JHU Hall of Famer Mark Campbell for most career wins by a starting QB. Campbell played from 1982-85 and was also an All-American pitcher for the Blue Jay baseball team.
Finding Their Grove: After graduating several key members from last season's nationally-ranked defense, JHU figured to field a defense that improved as time went on. The numbers certainly bear that out. After allowing 927 yards and 62 points in their first two games combined, the Blue Jays have allowed 909 yards and 69 points in the last four combined.
Turnovers Tell the Story: In JHU's three losses, the Blue Jays have turned the ball over a total of 12 times. On the flip side, they have just two total turnovers in their three wins.
Wernick Rolling: Junior Sam Wernick totaled 123 more all-purpose yards against Ursinus and continues to rank among the Centennial leaders in several categories.. Wernick ranks third in the Centennial Conference in receptions per game (6.00), third in receiving yards per game (84.0), second in all-purpose yards per game (141.7) and fifth in kickoff return average (22.6). He has 36 receptions for 504 yards and six touchdowns and has returned 15 kickoffs for 339 yards (22.6).
Road Warriors: The Blue Jays posted a 6-2 record on the road last season after punching up a 4-1 record on the road in 2008. Including the four road games this season, JHU is 16-6 since the start of the 2007 season on the road and 38-15 on the road since the start of the 2001 season.
More Road Warriors: Johns Hopkins played its final four games of the 2009 season on the road (one regular season game - three NCAA Playoff games) and opened the 2010 season with three straight away from Homewood. Johns Hopkins was one of the last teams in the nation to play a home game this season when the Blue Jays hosted Muhlenberg on October 2.
Scoring is Up: Johns Hopkins averaged 29.8 points per game last season, the highest total for a Blue Jay team since the 1968 team averaged 34.3 points. JHU picked up right where it left off a year ago in the season opener as the Blue Jays punched up 37 points against Randolph-Macon and scored at least 27 points in the first five games this season. JHU had scored at least 27 points in eight straight regular season games dating back to last season before being held to 17 at Ursinus.
Mid-Game Surge: JHU holds a scoring advantage in the first quarter (42-23) and has been outscored by nine points (54-45) in the fourth quarter of its games this season. However, the second and third quarters have been all Blue Jays. Hopkins has outscored the opposition by a combined score of 108-54 in the second and third quarters combined..
Streak Snapped: Johns Hopkins was held to a then season-low 340 yards of total offense against Muhlenberg, bringing to an end a streak of six consecutive regular season games in which the Blue Jays totaled at least 400 yards on offense.
JHU has punched up 400 or more yards of total offense nine times in its last 12 games dating back to last season. The Blue Jays were held to a season-low 148 yards at Ursinus last Saturday.
200-200: JHU totaled 200 yards rushing for the first time this season with a 200-yard effort against Dickinson. The Blue Jays also passed for 276 yards in the win to mark the first time this season JHU has gone over 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game.
It's a Record: The 384 yards passing for Johns Hopkins against Randolph-Macon is the most ever for JHU in a season opener. The 384 yards also rank as the fourth-best total (as a team) in JHU history.
It's Another Record: JHU got 326 passing yards at Gettysburg to follow up the 384 yards through the air in the season opener. This is the first time in school history JHU has gotten 300 or more passing yards in back-to-back games.
It's Been a While: Johns Hopkins forced three turnovers with two interceptions and one fumble recovery in last week's game against Ursinus. JHU has forced a Centennial-best 16 turnovers and the Blue Jays are now tied for fifth in the Centennial in turnover margin (+0.33).
The Blue Jays' recent success has been due in large part to its opportunistic defense and its penchant for forcing turnovers. Consider ...
? JHU has forced at least one turnover in 22 straight games dating back to late in the 2008 season.
? JHU has forced two or more turnovers in 18 of the last 20 games dating back to late in the 2008 season.
? JHU had an 18-game streak where it posted at least one interception snapped in the win against Dickinson. JHU had intercepted at least one pass in 18 straight games dating back to the final game of the 2008 season vs. Catholic and now has at least one pick in 19 of the last 20.
We Are the Champions: Johns Hopkins won its fifth overall Centennial Conference title in 2009, including its second outright title. JHU had never won a CC Championship prior to 2002, but has now grabbed at least a share of five of the last eight titles. The Blue Jays shared the title in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and took the title outright in 2005 and 2009.
JHU Ties Victory Record: The 10 wins for the Blue Jays last season tied the school record for victories in a season. Previously, JHU had won 10 games in a season just once (2003).
Unchartered Waters: Johns Hopkins became the first Centennial Conference team to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals since 1985 when it knocked off previously unbeaten Hampden-Sydney and Thomas More in the first two rounds of the NCAA Playoffs last season. In addition, the two road wins for the Blue Jays in the NCAAs last season matched the total number of road victories the Centennial Conference had accumulated from 1983-2008.
One of Two: Johns Hopkins was one of just two teams in the nation to win a pair of NCAA Playoff games on the road last season. The Blue Jays won at #14 Hampden-Sydney in the first round and at #10 Thomas More in the second round. Only Albright, which won in the first two rounds on the road as well, also won a pair of playoff games away from home this season.
Streaking: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 66-28 (.702) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 72-31 (.699) since the start of the 2001 season and 77-36 (.681) since the beginning of the 2000 season. The 74 wins the Blue Jays amassed from 2000-09 are the most wins in a decade in school history. The previous record of 55 wins came in the 1990s. To put this in perspective, Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season prior to this decade. In the decade just completed, the Blue Jays averaged more than seven wins per season (7.4).
Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 57-19 (.750) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.
Player Notes of Interest Included in PDF Version
