Johns Hopkins-Randolph Macon Football Notes

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The Game: Johns Hopkins opens the 2014 season as the Blue Jays welcome Randolph-Macon to Homewood Field. This will be the 11th meeting between the two teams since 2002 and the 37th overall meeting in series history.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins posted a 10-1 record, won a fifth straight Centennial Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the fourth time in five years last season.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins earned top 20 preseason rankings in three polls. The Blue Jays were ranked 16th by the Sporting News, 8th by Lindy's College Football and 14th by D3football.com. The first AFCA Poll of the 2014 season will be released in late September.

Against the ODAC: This week's game against Randolph-Macon will be the 30th for Johns Hopkins against a team from the ODAC since head coach Jim Margraff took over in 1990. The Blue Jays are currently 20-9 against ODAC teams under Margraff's direction, including 7-3 against the Yellow Jackets.

Turning 80, Looking for 50: Johns Hopkins will play its 80th non-conference game since Jim Margraff took over in 1990 with this week's game against Randolph-Macon. The Blue Jays are 49-29-1 (.627) in non-conference game under Margraff's guidance; this includes regular season and post-season games.

For Openers: Johns Hopkins is 14-9-1 in season-openers under head coach Jim Margraff and the Blue Jays have currently won 11 of their last 15 openers.

Home Openers: Johns Hopkins has won its last three home openers and is 12-3 in its last 15 home openers.

JHU Ties Victory Record: Johns Hopkins posted a 10-1 record in 2013 and tied the school record for victories in a season. Only four times previously - 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2012 - 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 10 times in the last 12 years.

Centennial Conference Champions: Johns Hopkins claimed its ninth Centennial Conference title last season with all nine championships coming since 2002. JHU's nine CC titles are tied for the most in league history with Dickinson and Muhlenberg.

Returning All-Centennial Jays: Johns Hopkins placed 14 players on the 2013 All-Centennial Conference Football Team. Among the 14 were seven first team selections, six second team picks and one honorable mention honoree. Five of the 14 are back this season. Below is a look at JHU's returning All-Centennial players from last season.

Nick Campbell (PK) • 2nd Team
Brandon Cherry (RB) • 1st Team
Matthew Connery (DL) • 2nd Team
Michael Longo (DL) • 1st Team
Ryan Rice (DB) • 1st Team

Sweet September: Johns Hopkins enters the 2014 season having won 15 straight and 18 of its last 19 games in the month of September. The only team to beat JHU in the month of September in its last 19 games? Randolph-Macon, which posted a 41-37 win over JHU on September 11, 2010.

More September: Johns Hopkins has not lost a home game in the month of September since September 22, 2007, when Moravian escaped Homewood with a 44-41 victory. Since then the Blue Jays have won 11 straight at home in September.

Margraff Ranks Second on State Victory Chart: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff sports a career record of 167-82-3 (.669) entering this week's game against Randolph-Macon. He is just the second college football coach in Maryland state history to win 150 career games. Only Morgan State's Eddie Hurt, who won 174 games from 1929-59, has won more games as the head football coach at a college or university in the state of Maryland than Margraff. Cherry, Walters Return: Quite simply, there may not be a more talented returning running back tandem in the region than the one the Blue Jays boast in junior Brandon Cherry and sophomore Stuart Walters. Last season, the pair combined to rush for 1,649 yards and 13 touchdowns while also totaling 17 receptions for 231 yards and another score. Cherry earned First Team All-Centennial honors as he rushed for 986 yards and eight scores, while Walters added 663 yards and five touchdowns. Walters' total is the most by a freshman at JHU since Hari Lymon rushed for a rookie-record 753 in 1992.

Defensive Line Boasts Impressive Numbers: The well-documented return of nine starters on defense should give the Blue Jays' less experience offense (three returning starters) time to jell. There's no more experienced unit on the team than the defensive line, which returns seniors Matthew Connery, Michael Longo and Michael Rocca, who have combined to play in 100 career games between them. If that number doesn't jump out at fans, maybe these do: 231 combined career tackles, including 53.0 for losses and 31.5 sacks.

A Leg Up: Sophomore Nick Campbell burst on the scene last season as he hit 10-of-11 (.909) field goals and 54-of-55 (.982) extra points to earn Second Team All-Centennial honors. Campbell led the nation in field goal percentage and his 10 field goals per just one shy of the JHU freshman record of 11 set by Alex Lachman in 2007.

Anderson Taking Over: Senior Braden Anderson is slated to make his first career start at quarterback for the Blue Jays this week. Anderson has played in 20 games in his career and is 62-of-93 (.667) for 675 yards with four TDs against just one INT; he has also rushed for 121 yards and a score. The last six Johns Hopkins quarterbacks making their first career start all fared well as each came up with victories; those results are listed below:

Shane Kibbe - RMC (2006), W/21-14
Michael Murray - Muhlenberg (2006), W/10-7
Max Islinger - McDaniel (2007), W/31-3
Tyler Porco - St. Lawrence (2008), W/34-3
Hewitt Tomlin - RMC (2008), W/39-31 (3OT)
Robbie Matey - Muhlenberg (2011) - W/27-17

On a Roll: Johns Hopkins is 33-1 in its last 34 regular season games dating back to late in the 2010 season. The only team to top the Blue Jays duirng that run? Franklin & Marshall, which topped the Blue Jays, 14-12, in 2012.

On A Roll, Part II: Johns Hopkins is 35-4 in its last 39 games overall since late in the 2010 season. Three of the Blue Jays' four losses during that time have come in the NCAA Playoffs.

At Home at Homewood: Johns Hopkins has parlayed its home field advantage into victories in recent years. In fact, the Blue Jays are 20-3 in the home blacks since the start of the 2010 season.

Sustained Success: Since the start of the 2002 season the Blue Jays sport a 101-32 (.759) record. Taking it back farther the Blue Jays are 107-35 (.754) since the start of the 2001 season and 112-40 (.737) since the beginning of the 2000 season.

Seven's Heaven: Since the beginning of the 2003 season the Blue Jays are 92-22 (.807) when scoring more than seven points and 0-7 when they have been held to seven points or less.

- Pride and Poise -