Jan. 21, 2012
2011 Football Season Review
2011 JHU Football Photo Galleries - (Photos Available For Purchase)
2011 JHU Football Video Segments - (Relive the 2011 season in video)
The Team: Johns Hopkins (10-1) enjoyed one of the finest seasons in school history in 2011 as the Blue Jays posted a 10-1 record, won the seventh Centennial Conference Championship in school history and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the third time.
These are the Facts: The 10-1 record this season improved JHU's all-time record to 481-474-58 (.503). Johns Hopkins moved its all-time record over .500 for the first time since 1912 with the 41-0 victory at Moravian on September 17.
JHU Ties Victory Record: Johns Hopkins posted a 10-1 record in 2011 and tied the school record for victories in a season. Only twice previously - 2003 & 2009 - had Hopkins won 10 games in a season. Johns Hopkins had never won more than seven games in a season prior to 2002, but the Blue Jays have posted eight or more wins eight times in the last 10 years.
Centennial Champs: The Blue Jays claimed the Centennial Conference title for the third consecutive year and the seventh time in school history. JHU posted a perfect 9-0 record in league play (the program's first undefeated Centennial season) and claimed the third outright CC Championship in school history (2005, 2009, 2011). Hopkins shared the title in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2010. Only Dickinson (9) and Muhlenberg (8) have more titles than the Blue Jays, who are tied for third on the list with McDaniel with seven titles each.
NCAA History: Johns Hopkins made its third trip to the NCAA Playoffs with all three appearances coming since 2005 under the direction of Jim Margraff, the all-time winningest coach in school history. The Blue Jays are 2-3 all-time in the NCAAs with a run to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2009 highlighting JHU's NCAA history. Unlike the previous four NCAA games in school history, the Blue Jays hosted the first round game this season. JHU dropped a 23-12 decision to St. John Fisher, which advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals before being eliminated.
Post-Season Regulars: In addition to this being the third appearance in the NCAAs for the Blue Jays, this was also the eighth time Johns Hopkins has advanced to the post-season as JHU has also played in five ECAC Bowl Games with each of those coming since 2002. Including the 2-3 record in NCAA action, Johns Hopkins sports a 6-4 all-time post-season record as the Blue Jays are 4-1 all-time in ECAC Bowl Games. Included is a 44-14 win over Lebanon Valley in the 2010 ECAC South Atlantic Bowl. Including ECAC games, Johns Hopkins has advanced to the post-season in each of the last four years.
The Coach: Johns Hopkins is coached by Jim Margraff, who recently his 22nd year as the head coach at JHU and sports a 147-79-3 (.648) record. The 2011 AFCA Region 2 and Centennial Conference Coach of the Year, he is the all-time winningest coach in school history and is also the all-time winningest coach in Centennial Conference history. With a late-season win against Franklin & Marshall this year, Margraff became the first coach in Centennial Conference history to win 100 league games.
November Reign: Johns Hopkins had won nine straight games in the month of November prior to the loss to St. John Fisher in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Jays are 28-5 in November since 2001 and 40-17-1 in November under head coach Jim Margraff.
Seniors Lead The Way: With a 24-man senior class, the Blue Jays were no doubt one of the most experienced teams in the nation. With so many key contributors among the 24, the Blue Jays utilized game captains throughout the year instead of selecting among the group for season-long captains. By many standards, this is the class by which all future classes will be measured at Johns Hopkins. Consider:
? Johns Hopkins compiled a record of 36-10 since the current seniors arrived in 2008. This ties the JHU record for most wins by a class as the class of 2005 also won 36 games (36-8).
? The Blue Jays earned at least a share of three straight Centennial Conference titles.
? Johns Hopkins made four straight post-season appearances during their career (two NCAA, two ECAC). Only JHU's class of 2005 also qualified for the post-season all four years.
? Success came at home and on the road for the seniors. The Blue Jays were 17-5 (.773) at Homewood Field and 19-5 (.792) on the road in their career.
About the 10-0 Start: Johns Hopkins started the season with a 10-0 record for the first time in school history. Prior to this season, JHU had never won more than its first seven games of a season (1892, 2003, 2005) Streaking: Johns Hopkins closed the 2010 season with five straight wins and ran that streak to 15 with 10 wins to open the 2011 season before falling in the NCAA Playoffs. The 15-game streak is the longest in school history, surpassing 11-game streaks that bridged the 2002-03 and 2004-05 seasons. JHU outscored the opposition 625-178 during the winning streak.
The 15-game winning streak is also the longest in Centennial Conference history. Dickinson previously held the record as the Red Devils won 14 straight games from 1987-88.More Streaking: JHU's 15-game winning streak was the second-longest active Division III streak in the nation when it was snapped. Only Wisconsin-Whitewater, which ran its winning streak to 45 games with a third straight national championship, had a longer streak than JHU's 15-game run entering the playoffs.
A Final Streak: In addition to boasting the second-longest active Division III winning streak in the nation when the regular season ended, the Blue Jays also boasted the second-longest active overall winning streak in college football (NCAA). Only Wisconsin-Whitewater's 40-game streak at the end of the regular season was longer in all divisions of college football.
Ok, One More: Johns Hopkins' current 13-game winning streak in Cenntennial Conference games is the longest in school history and is the third-longest in league history.
Poll Position: Johns Hopkins was ranked second in the South Region of the two official NCAA Regional Rankings released late in the season (Nov. 2, Nov. 9). Mary Hardin-Baylor was ranked first in both sets of rankings. This is the highest Johns Hopkins has ever been ranked in the official NCAA Regional Rankings.
More Poll Position: Johns Hopkins closed the season ranked 19th in the final AFCA Poll and was ranked in the top 25 in each of the 10 AFCA polls during the 2011 season. This is the longest streak of top-25 rankings in school history, surpassing the seven-week run the Blue Jays enjoyed from 2003-04.
Johns Hopkins also closed the season ranked 18th in the d3football.com poll. JHU was among the teams listed as receiving votes for the first four weeks of the d3football.com poll this seson before moving into the top 25 on September 25. JHU remained in the top 25 for the remainder of the season.
The Johns Hopkins Office of Athletic Communications uses the AFCA Poll to reflect JHU's official ranking at the time of a game. The Blue Jays' week-by-week rankings for the 2011 season can be found on page 4.
A Final Poll Position: Johns Hopkins checked in at number seven in the final Lambert Meadowlands Football Poll of the season. The Blue Jays were ranked eighth in the first Lambert Poll of the season and remained in the top eight in the poll throughout the season. The poll ranks teams in the East in all four Divisions of NCAA Football (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) and the team at the top of the poll at the end of the season is awarded the prestigious Lambert Cup. Johns Hopkins' highest finish in the Lambert Poll came in 2009, when the Blue Jays finished second. The Lambert Cup Poll can be found on page 4.
Offense Rolls: Johns Hopkins finished either first or second in the Centennial Conference in every major statistical offensive category in 2011. JHU finished first in passing offense (312.3), scoring offense (39.8) and total offense (492.7). The Blue Jays also finished second in rushing offense (180.5).
More Offense: In addition to ranking first or second in the Centennial in every major statistical category, the Blue Jays also finishd second in the nation in total offense (492.7), 12th in scoring offense (39.8) and seventh in passing offense (312.3).
Yardage, Point Marks Fall: Johns Hopkins set numerous records on the offensive side of the ball this seaon, including marks for points (39.8) and yards (492.7) per game. The Blue Jays' marks for overall points scored (438) and total yards (5,420) also broke previous schools records. JHU scored 27 or more points in 10 of 11 games this season and totaled 400 or more yards seven times and 500 or more yards four times.
One the Flip Side: While the offense grabs most of the attention, JHU was equally effective on the defensive side of the ball. The Blue Jays held seven of 11 opponents to 17 points or less and eight opponents to 286 yards or less.
Among the Best: Johns Hopkins finished in the top 25 nationally in five major defensive statistical categories. The Blue Jays finished 10th in total defense (244.3), 25th in rushing defense (103.1), 12th in scoring defense (13.1), 17th in passing yards allowed (141.2) and 19th in pass efficiency defense (96.44). Johns Hopkins also ranked first or second in the Centennial Conference in all five of those categories as well.
By Air or Ground: Johns Hopkins scored a school-record 62 touchdowns (previous record of 51 came last season) in 11 games this season and those 62 were pretty well distributed. The Blue Jays had 31 rushing touchdowns, 27 passing touchdows, two via interception return and two on fumble returns.
Defense Fuels Victories: While the Johns Hopkins offense grabbed attention with the points and yards it has put up, the Blue Jay defense also enjoyed a strong season as well. Consider:
? The Blue Jays' 11 opponents had 148 combined possessions against JHU - only 14 resulted in touchdowns. Three of the 17 overall TDs JHU allowed have been scored by the opposition's defense/special teams.
? The Blue Jays forced two turnovers vs. USMMA and three vs. Susquehanna, Moravian and Muhlenberg before coming back with two more vs. Juniata and Dickinson and three vs. Gettysburg. Hopkins has forced two or more turnovers in 28 of its last 36 games.
? JHU has forced at least one turnover in 35 of its last 38 games.
? JHU has at least one interception in 28 of the last 37 games.
? JHU is allowing an average of 3.8 yards per play. Muhlenberg ranked second in the CC in yards allowed per play (4.3).
? Hopkins held Susquehanna to 179 yards of total offense and Moravian to just 194. This is the first time since late in the 2009 season that JHU has held consecutive opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense.
Additional information, including player notes of interest, available in PDF version.
