The Game
« Johns Hopkins (7-0, 3-0 CC) heads north for a key Centennial Conference game at Muhlenberg (7-0, 4-0 CC). Kickoff between two of the 14 remaining unbeaten teams in the nation is set for 2 pm at Muhlenberg's Scotty Wood Stadium.
A Look Back
« Johns Hopkins improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Centennial Conference with a 42-14 victory at home last Saturday against Ursinus.
« Muhlenberg ensured this week's game against Johns Hopkins would be a matchup of unbeatens as the Mules eased past Dickinson, 42-21, on the road last Saturday.
The Facts
« This is the 138th season of Johns Hopkins football. JHU first fielded a team in 1882.
« Johns Hopkins enters this week's game with an all-time record of 591-489-57 (.545).
« Overall, JHU owns 15 Centennial Conference titles (all won since 2002) and has qualified for the NCAA Playoffs 11 times (all since 2005).
Poll Position
« Johns Hopkins is ranked seventh in this week's AFCA Coaches Poll and eighth in this week's D3football.com Poll.
« This week's #7 ranking marks the 54th time that Johns Hopkins has appeared in the AFCA's top 10; 53 of the 54 have come since 2011.
« Since the D3football.com Poll debuted in 2003, this is the 145th time Johns Hopkins has appeared in the top 25 and 41st time the Blue Jays have cracked the top 10.
« Muhlenberg enters this week's game ranked 16th in this week's AFCA Coaches Poll and 21st in the D3football.com Poll.
7-0 ... Again
« Johns Hopkins improved to 7-0 with last week's 42-14 win against Ursinus. This marks Johns Hopkins' 10th all-time 7-0 start - all 10 instances that the Blue Jays have started a season at 7-0 have occurred since 2003.
« A win this week would give the Blue Jays their seventh all-time 8-0 start. The previous six seasons in which JHU has started 8-0 have all come since 2011 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).
The Race for the Boot
« The race for the 2023 Centennial Conference title - and possession of the championship "boot" - heads into the final three weeks of the regular season. While five teams remain alive to grab at least a share of the title, three have one loss or fewer and the path to the title and the Centennial's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Playoffs in pretty clear.
« Below is a look at where those three teams stand entering this week's action with the simplest path to a share of the title/automatic bid to the NCAAs included. There are other scenarios still in play that will be easier to decipher after this week's games.
Johns Hopkins (7-0, 3-0 CC)
« Wins outright title with wins in final three games.
(Muhlenberg, Dickinson, McDaniel).
« Grabs no worse than a share of the title with a win at Muhlenberg and at least one win in its final two games against Dickinson and McDaniel.
« Earn CC's automatic bid to NCAA Playoffs with wins against Muhlenberg and Dickinson.
Muhlenberg (7-0, 4-0 CC)
« Wins outright title with wins in its final two CC games (Johns Hopkins, F&M).
« Grabs no worse than a share of CC title and earns the league's automatic bid to NCAA Playoffs with a win against Johns Hopkins.
Dickinson (5-2, 2-1 CC)
« Earns a share of the CC title with three wins, a loss by Muhlenberg in either of its last two CC games and at least one loss by Johns Hopkins.
« Earns automatic bid to NCAAs with three wins, two losses by Muhlenberg and a 1-2 record for Johns Hopkins in its last three games if the Blue Jays' only win in that time is at Muhlenberg.
Oktoberfest
« Johns Hopkins flipped the calendar to October with the game against Gettysburg on October 6 ... and the month has been good to the Blue Jays of late.
« Including last week's win against Ursinus, the Blue Jays have won 40 of their last 43 games in the month of October dating back to 2010.
« The Blue Jays had been just 10-8 in their previous 18 games in the month of October before jump-starting the current 42-game run with a 49-24 win at Susquehanna (10-23-2010).
10 Straight
« Dating back to last season, Johns Hopkins has won 10 consecutive games as the Blue Jays won their final three games of the 2022 season and have won seven straight to open the '23 season.
« This is the ninth, 10-game winning streak in program history - every Johns Hopkins winning streak of 10+ games has taken place since the start of the 2002 season.
« A win this week would give JHU an 11-game wining streak for the first time since 2018 and the eighth time in program history. All seven winning streaks in school history of 11+ games have taken place since 2002.
A Tough Stretch
« This week's game at Muhlenberg is the third in a four-game stretch for Johns Hopkins against teams (F&M-Ursinus-Muhlenberg-Dickinson) that are currently a combined 21-7 on the year.
Road Warriors
« Under the guidance of head coach Greg Chimera, the Blue Jays are now 18-4 on the road after topping F&M in their last road game.
« The Blue Jays are 11-3 in Centennial Conference road games under Chimera's direction.
« Dating back to 2013, JHU is 47-9 overall on the road (43-5 in the regular season).
On a Roll
« Johns Hopkins is 113-8 in its last 121 regular season games dating back to late in the 2010 season.
« The Blue Jays are 124-17 in their last 141 games overall since late in the 2010 season.
« Since the start of the 2010 season, the Blue Jays are 127-20 (.864) overall and 101-10 (.910) in the Centennial Conference.
« Dating back farther, Johns Hopkins is 190-45 (.809) since the start of the 2002 season, 196-48 (.803) since the start of the 2001 season and 201-53 (.791) since the start of the 2000 season.
Harvey Rolling
« Junior Bay Harvey is enjoying a strong season in his first year as the Blue Jays' starting quarterback. Through seven games, he is 132-of-186 (.710) for 1,807 yards with 24 touchdowns against five interceptions. He has also rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns thus far.
« Harvey currently leads the Centennial in passing yards and completion percentage and ranks second in touchdown passes and pass efficiency (189.8).
« Entering this week's game at Muhlenberg, Harvey has thrown at least two touchdown passes in all seven Blue Jay games this season and three or more in each of the last five games.
« Harvey was 18-of-25 for 310 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed for 22 yards and another score in a 55-20 win at Rowan in late September.
« The five TD passes are a career high and the most for a Hopkins quarterback since Ryan Stevens had five against Gettysburg last season. The six touchdowns responsible for are the most by a JHU player since Stevens threw for six against Ursinus in 2021.
Schuermann Named a Finalist for NFF's Prestigious Campbell Trophy
« Senior defensive end Luke Schuermann was recently named a finalist for the National Football Foundation's 2023 Campbell Trophy. As one of 16 finalists nationwide in all divisions of college football, Schuermann is a member of the NFF's 2023 National Scholar-Athlete Class and has been awarded an $18,000 Postgraduate Scholarship.
« The Campbell Trophy recognizes an individual as the top football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
« Schuermann is a two-time All-American, a two-time Academic All-American and counts 156 tackles, 59.0 tackles for loss and 33 sacks in his career. He ranks first in school history in career sacks and second in career TFLs.
« Among active Division III players, Schuermann ranks first in career TFLs per game (2.03) and second in sacks per game (1.14).
« Schuermann is majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in entrepreneurship and management and is a two-time CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-American.
« John Arena (2013) and JR Woods (2022) are Johns Hopkins' two all-time finalists for the Campbell Trophy.
A Fraternity of One
« Earlier this season, senior Spencer Uggla was named to the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
« With Uggla's selection to the Good Works Team and Luke Schuermann being a finalist for the NFF's Campbell Trophy, Johns Hopkins is the only Division III program with a Good Works team member and a finalist for the Campbell Trophy.
A Fraternity of Five
« With Spencer Uggla's selection to the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and Luke Schuermann being a finalist for the NFF's Campbell Trophy, Johns Hopkins is one of just five college football programs at any level with a Good Works team member and a finalist for the Campbell Trophy this season. The other teams include Duke (FBS), Georgia (FBS), Michigan (FBS) and North Carolina Central (FCS).
Instant Impact
« Freshman Cole Crotty wasted little time making an impact on the Blue Jay football program as he shined in his career debut in the 27-17 win over Ithaca.
« Crotty had three receptions for a team-high 83 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Bombers. Although data is incomplete, there is no record of another freshman scoring two touchdowns in a season-opening game for Johns Hopkins dating back to 1972.
« Since the opening game against Ithaca, Crotty has rolled up at least five receptions in each of the last six games and he's had at least 70 receiving yards in four of the last five games.
« On the year, he leads the team in receptions (41) and second in receiving yards (551) and touchdown receptions (6).
« Crotty's six touchdown receptions are tied for fourth among freshmen in all divisions of the NCAA through games of October 21.
Polce Reaches 1,000
« Graduate student wide receiver Josh Polce etched his name in the Blue Jay record book with his recent effort at Franklin & Marshall.
« Polce had seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the win against the Diplomats and added six receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown in the win against Ursinus to run his season totals to 39 receptions for 558 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns.
« With his 112 yards receiving at F&M, Polce became the 31st player in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. He now has career totals of 76 receptions for 1,098 yards and 17 TDs. He ranks 12th in school history in career touchdown receptions.
Sack Masters
« The Johns Hopkins defense has totaled 26 sacks in seven games this season, including 19 in the last four games with six in the win at Rowan, five against Gettysburg and four each at F&M and against Ursinus.
« While Luke Schuermann is the headliner on the defensive line, 13 different Blue Jays have been in on at least one sack thus far this season.
« Through games of October 21, JHU is tied for fifth nationally in sacks per game (3.71).
Scoring is Up
« After averaging 23.5 points through the first two games of the season, Johns Hopkins has nearly doubled its output in the last five games as the Blue Jays have rolled up 42 (Salisbury), 55 (Rowan), 49 (Gettysburg), 34 (F&M) and 42 (Ursinus) points in their last five games for an average of 44.4 points per game over that span.
Must be the Speech
« There must be something to the speech head coach Greg Chimera gives in the locker room before the Blue Jays take the field for the first and third quarters.
« Through seven games, JHU has outscored the opposition 83-21 in the first quarter and 62-20 in the third quarter.
« The Blue Jays are also +38 in scoring in the second quarter (89-51) to give them a 234-92 scoring margin in the first three quarters of their games to-date.
Additional Information Available in PDF Format
Â
