The Game: Johns Hopkins (7-1, 6-1 Centennial) heads to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania for the Blue Jays' penultimate regular season game of the 2018 season against Juniata (0-8, 0-7 CC).
A Look Back:Â Johns Hopkins made it six straight in the win column as the Blue Jays topped then 22nd-ranked Muhlenberg, 27-16, last Saturday (Oct. 27) at Homewood Field.
Poll Position: Johns Hopkins is 18th 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 75 times in 77 weeks.
In addition to the #18 ranking from the AFCA, Johns Hopkins is also ranked 17th 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 80 times in 88 weeks.
Johns Hopkins also debuted at #3 in the official NCAA South Region rankings this week.
Six in a Row: Johns Hopkins ran its winning streak to six games with last week's 27-16 win over Muhlenberg. This marks the 11th time since Jim Margraff took over as the head coach at Johns Hopkins (1990) that the Blue Jays have won six games or more in a row. Prior to Margraff's arrival, Johns Hopkins had a total of seven, six-game winning streaks in its history (1882-1989) and just one in the 30 years prior to his arrival.
After the Bye: Last week's game at Muhlenberg was the second for the Blue Jays after the bye week. Since 2011, Johns Hopkins is now 35-1 in regular season games played after its bye week.
November Reign:Â Johns Hopkins enters this week's game at Juniata having won 13 consecutive regular season games in the month of November dating back to 2012.
The Race for the Boot:Â The race for the Centennial Conference championship and possession of the championship "boot" enters the final two weeks of the regular season with several teams in contention for at least a share of the title.
Below is a quick look at the most obvious scenarios still in play.
Johns Hopkins - The Blue Jays earn no worse than a share of the title and will claim the Centennial's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs with two wins.
Muhlenberg - - The Mules earn no worse than a share of the title with two wins. Muhlenberg grabs the Centennial's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs with two wins and one loss by Johns Hopkins.
Franklin & Marshall - The Diplomats claim a share of the title with two wins and at least one loss by Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg. The Dips grab the AQ to the NCAAs with two wins and two losses each by Johns Hopkins and Muhlenberg.
Moravian, Susquehanna, Ursinus - While each of these teams needs a little help, none of the three has been eliminated in the race for at least a share of the Centennial title - although one win by Johns Hopkins or Muhlenberg would end the hopes for all three.
What's Next:Â The recipient of the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs will learn its draw when the bracket for the 2018 tournament is announced on Sunday, November 11 (5:30 pm on ncaa.com).
379 is 10th:Â Johns Hopkins has scored 379 points through eight games - that marks the most points the Blue Jays have ever scored in an eight-game span in school history.
In fact, the 379 points the Blue Jays have scored this season are already the 10th-highest single-season total in school history.
Looking at 400: With 21 more points scored this season, Johns Hopkins would top the 400-point mark for just the eighth time in school history. The previous seven times have, coincidentally, been the last seven years.
Chart Toppers: Johns Hopkins leads the Centennial Conference in scoring offense (47.4 ppg), total offense (535.5 ypg.), passing yards per game (341.2 ypg.) and rushing offense (194.2). The Blue Jays are also first in third-down percentage (.500) and first downs per game (26.0).
Among the National Leaders: Entering this week's game against Juniata, Johns Hopkins ranks third in the nation in total offense (535.5), fifth in passing offense (341.2) and fifth in scoring offense (47.4). The Blue Jays also rank 10th in third-down percentage (.500) and the 208 first downs JHU has accumulated are the seventh most of any team in the nation.
Walters Scores 51st Career Touchdown: Senior running back Stuart Walters tied the Johns Hopkins record for career touchdowns with his 51st in last week's 27-16 win over Muhlenberg. He pulled even with Andrew Kase (2006-09) atop the JHU career touchdowns list and is also now tied for third in Centennial Conference history.
Big Plays: Through eight games, the Johns Hopkins offense has 60 plays of 20 yards or longer (an average of 7.5 such plays per game) and 161 plays of 10 yards or longer (20.1 such plays per game). Note that this includes offensive plays only (rushing and passing plays).
Defense Fuels Win Over Muhlenberg: The Johns Hopkins defense forced six turnovers and totaled three sacks and 11 pass breakups to fuel the victory over Muhlenberg. The Blue Jays last forced six or more turnovers in 2010 and the 11 pass breakups are the most by Johns Hopkins since the Jays had 11 in a win against McDaniel in 2005. Hopkins held the Mules 21 points and more than 120 yards below their season averages entering the game.
Seven or Less Under Rehring:Â 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.
65 in 6: 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 65 points in the last six games - all Blue Jay victories.
The 65 points Johns Hopkins has allowed over the last six games are the fewest in a six-game span since the Blue Jays allowed just 44 in the first six games of the 2011 season.
Sack Party: The Johns Hopkins defense has totaled 24 sacks on the year, including 14 in the last three games. With six sacks at Franklin & Marshall and five at Gettysburg, the Blue Jays had 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.
Number Four: Johns Hopkins boasts a 59-7 record since the start of the 2013 season. The Blue Jays' .894 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 (78-4) .951
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (72-5) .935
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater (68-6) .919
4. Johns Hopkins (58-7) .894
5. St. Thomas (MN) (60-10) .857
61 Under to 61 Over: Johns Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff inherited a program with an all-time record that was 61 games UNDER .500 when he arrived (334-395-56). With the win against Juniata on November 4, 2017, Johns Hopkins moved its all-time record to 61 games OVER .500. Entering this week's game against Juniata, Johns Hopkins has an all-time record of 550-483-59 (+67).
Close Calls: Since the start of the 2013 season, Johns Hopkins has lost a total of seven games. Those seven losses have come by five, three, five, seven, four, three and two points (including playoff games). Translation ... JHU has lost seven games in 5+ seasons by a total of 29 points.
On a Roll:Â Johns Hopkins is 79-3 in its last 82 regular season games dating back to late in the 2010 season and 83-10 in its last 93 games overall since late in the 2010 season.
Sustained Success: Since the start of the 2002 season, the Blue Jays sport a 150-38 (.798) record. Taking it back farther, the Blue Jays are 156-41 (.792) since the start of the 2001 season and 161-46 (.778) since the beginning of the 2000 season.
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