The Game: Johns Hopkins (6-1, 5-1 Centennial) welcomes Muhlenberg (7-0, 6-0 CC) to Homewood Field for a matchup of the two teams that sit atop the Centennial Conference standings.

A Look Back:  Johns Hopkins made it five straight in the win column as the Blue Jays topped Gettysburg, 51-14, on the road last Saturday (October 20).

Poll Position:  Johns Hopkins is 21st in this week's AFCA Division III Poll.  Dating back to the start of the 2012 season, Johns Hopkins has now appeared in the top 25 of the AFCA Poll 74 times in 76 weeks.

In addition to the #21 ranking from the AFCA, Johns Hopkins is also ranked 22nd in this week's D3football.com Poll.  Dating back to the start of the 2012 season, the Blue Jays have now appeared in the top 25 of the D3football.com poll 79 times in 87 weeks.

Game of the Week:  This week's game between 21st-ranked Johns Hopkins and 22nd-ranked Muhlenberg is the only Division III football game in the nation featuring two ranked teams.  Both teams are also ranked in the top 25 of the D3football.com Poll this week with JHU checking in at 23rd and Muhlenberg ranked 18th.

Ranked vs. Ranked:  For the third time in five years, both Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg enter the game against each ranked in the top 25 by the AFCA.  Below is a look at the three instances this has now happened:

2014 - #12 Johns Hopkins-42, #23 Muhlenberg-26
2016 - #9 Johns Hopkins-30, #24 Muhlenberg-24
2018 - #22 Muhlenberg @ #21 Johns Hopkins

After the Bye:  Last week's game at Gettysburg was the first for the Blue Jays after the bye week.  Since 2011, Johns Hopkins is 34-1 in regular season games played after its bye week.

October Has Been Good of Late:  The calendar flipped to October for the Blue Jays' game at F&M and the second month of the season has been kind to the Blue Jays of late.  Including the win last week at Gettysburg, Johns Hopkins has won 28 consecutive games in the month of October dating back to a 26-17 loss at Ursinus on October 16, 2010.

Ironically, the Blue Jays were just 10-8 in their previous 18 games in the month of October before jump-starting the current 28-game run with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna on October 23, 2010.

What's at Stake:  This week's game between Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg pits the two Centennial Conference teams that control their own fate in the race for at least a share of the league title and the CC's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs.

With three wins, Johns Hopkins would secure no worse than a share of the title and would earn the automatic bid to the playoffs.

 Muhlenberg would secure at least a share of the title with a win this week.  The Mules would lock up the CC's automatic bid this week with a win and a Moravian loss. 

352 is 10th:  Johns Hopkins has scored 352 points through seven games - that marks the most points the Blue Jays have ever scored in a seven-game span in school history.

In fact, the 352 points the Blue Jays have scored this season are already the 10th-highest single-season total in school history.

35+ in Seven Straight:  Johns Hopkins has scored at least 35 points in each of the first seven games this season.  That ties the school record for most consecutive games scoring 35+.  The Blue Jays scored 35+ in seven straight games late in the 2016 season.

Among the National Leaders:  Entering this week's game against Muhlenberg, Johns Hopkins ranks second in the nation in total offense (558.3), sixth in passing offense (352.6) and fifth in scoring offense (50.2).  The Blue Jays also rank ninth in third-down percentage (.512) and the 186 first downs JHU has accumulated are the ninth most of any team in the nation.

Walters Scores 50th Career Touchdown:  Senior running back Stuart Walters touched the ball just seven times last week at Gettysburg, but three of those seven ended with Walters in the end zone.

The three touchdowns give Walters 14 on the season and push his career total to 50 touchdowns.  He is just the second Johns Hopkins player and the fourth in Centennial Conference history to score 50 career touchdowns.

Entering this week's game against Muhlenberg, Walters needs just one touchdown to tie Andrew Kase's (2006-09) JHU career mark of 51 touchdowns.

PK Enters the Record Book - Part I:  Junior defensive back Patrick Kelly intercepted a Gettysburg pass on the last play of the game last week and returned it 90 yards before being tackled.  The 90-yard interception return is the longest in school history - 10 yards longer than Les Matthews' 80-yard return against then Western Maryland (McDaniel) on November 18, 1972.

PK Enters the Record Book - Part II:  Not only did Patrick Kelly set a Johns Hopkins record with a 90-yard interception return at Gettyburg, he also become the first player in school history with two different types of 90+ yard plays.  Kelly had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Gettysburg last season and added the 90-yard INT return last week.

The only other player in school history with two 90-yard plays is Harrison Bernstein, who had kickoff returns of 95 and 92 yards during his career from 1996-99.

Big Plays: Through seven games, the Johns Hopkins offense has 56 plays of 20 yards or longer (an average of 8.0 such plays per game) and 148 plays of 10 yards or longer (21.1 such plays per game).  Note that this includes offensive plays only (rushing and passing plays).

Seven or Less Under Rehring:  Since Mickey Rehring took over as the Blue Jay defensive coordinator in 2013, Johns Hopkins has held the opposition to seven points or less 14 times - including the three-point performance by Moravian on September 15 and the six-point effort by Ursinus a week later.

49 in 5:  After allowing an average of 34 points per game in the first two games, the Blue Jay defense has worked its way into form and has allowed a total of just 49 points in the last five  games - all Blue Jay victories.

The 49 points Johns Hopkins has allowed over the last five games are the fewest in a five-game span since the Blue Jays allowed just 45 in a five-game span midway through the 2017 season.  This is also just the second time Johns Hopkins has allowed less than 50 points in a five-game span since Mickey Rehring became the Blue Jays' defensive coordinator in 2013.

Sack Party:  The Johns Hopkins defense has totaled 21 sacks on the year, including 11 in the last two games.  With six sacks at Franklin & Marshall and five at Gettysburg, the Blue Jays have five or more sacks in back-to-back games for the first time since notching six against Randolph-Macon and five against Susquehanna early in the 2012 season.

Because You'll Ask - Part I:  For the record, the last time Johns Hopkins scored a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams - prior to turning the trick in the season-opener against Randolph-Macon - was on November 10, 2007, when Richard Hill returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, Adam Winter returned an interception 12 yards for a score and the Blue Jay offense scored a pair of touchdowns in a 31-3 win at McDaniel.

Because You'll Ask - Part II:  With the three returns for touchdowns this season (FR, INT, Blocked PR), Johns Hopkins has now scored 49 touchdowns on returns since head coach Jim Margraff took over in 1990.

At Home at Homewood:  Johns Hopkins has parlayed its home field advantage into victories in recent years.  In fact, the Blue Jays are 46-5 (.902) in the home blacks since the start of the 2010 season.

More Homewood:  Including the 52-6 win against Ursinus, Johns Hopkins has now won 41 straight regular season home games.  The Blue Jays last dropped a home game in the regular season on October 2, 2010 when Muhlenberg topped JHU, 30-27.

Number Four:  Johns Hopkins boasts a 58-7 record since the start of the 2013 season.  The Blue Jays' .892 winning percentage over that time ranks fourth among Division III teams.  In order, the top five teams in the nation in winning percentage since the start of the 2013 season (with records included):

1. Mount Union (77-4) .951
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (71-5) .934
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater (67-6) .918
4. Johns Hopkins (58-7) .892
5. St. Thomas (MN) (59-10) .855

On a Roll:  Johns Hopkins is 78-3 in its last 81 regular season games dating back to late in the 2010 season and 82-10 in its last 92 games overall since late in the 2010 season.

Sustained Success:  Since the start of the 2002 season, the Blue Jays sport a 149-38 (.797) record.  Taking it back farther, the Blue Jays are 155-41 (.791) since the start of the 2001 season and 160-46 (.777) since the beginning of the 2000 season.

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