Game Preview: University of New Hampshire rd 3

Time to move on from SDSU's resounding victory over UNI in the second round of the FCS playoffs.  Because of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcat upset over Central Arkansas the Jackrabbits get to host another round; this time against a team that they have never played.  New Hampshire is in the Colonial Athletic Association and finished in fourth place this year.  In the regular season they had a 7-4 record overall.  They are lead by head coach Sean McDonnell who is in his 19th season as the head coach.  His career record is 150-87.  So far in the playoffs UNH beat Central Connecticut State 14-0 and then defeated UCA 21-15.    

Offense
The UNH offense is not high powered but is effective and uses a variety of formations and shifts to cause confusion.  They deploy a variety of trick plays that help keep teams honest and bust tendencies.  On the season they average 22.69 points per game, 101.9 rushing ypg, and 260 passing ypg.  Against UCA, they struggled to get their passing game going but were able to grind out the game with their rushing attack.  They only convert 37.62% of their 3rd down opportunities.  In the redzone they have scored on 70% of their opportunities with touchdowns coming on almost 60% of their trips.  They do a good job of possessing the ball, holding it for 31:31 per game. 

There are huge question marks entering this game at the quarterback position.  In the first half against UCA, junior starter #18 Trevor Knight was concussed in a friendly fire incident with an offensive linemen while they were trying to make a tackle after Knight had thrown an interception.  Knight has had a good year statistically passing for 3,197 yards on a 62% completion percentage while throwing 25 Touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.  Knight also is a threat in the run game rushing for 475 yards gained but just for 148 net.  Against UCA he was off to a rough start going 8-14 with 1 TD and 1 INT and just 47 yards passing.  Knight was replaced by red-shirt freshmen #5 Christian Lupoli in the first half.  Lupoli also looks to be a dual threat type of QB.  The game against UCA was only his first extended playing time of the season.  He completed 8 of 10 for 63 yards and 1 TD.  He looked to throw a nice sharp ball and held up under the consistent pressure that UCA applied.  He had 10 rushing attempts for just 5 yards.  The quarterback situation for UNH will be something to watch as the week goes along.  I'd be surprised if UNH even announces a starter.  I will keep you updated as I know more.

At running back the Wildcats rely on the powerful #22 Evan Gray.  On the season he has 165 attempts for 590 yards and 7 TDs.  Against UCA he only had 85 yards on 24 attempts, but they were critical yards that helped melt the clock down.  Gray gets his rest when slasher #29 Brandon Gallagher, who is a converted slot receiver, takes some reps.  Against UCA he had 4 carries for 15 yards.  The primary backup to Gray is #42 DeUnte Chatman who did not get a carry against UCA but on the season has 74 attempts for 392 yards and 3 TDs.  Chatman does look like a really good athlete.  I can't find news of him being injured or suspended.  He only had one carry in the Wildcats first round matchup against Central Connecticut.

The Wildcats have two really good pass catching options at the wide receiver position.  #82 Neal O'Connor and #1 Malik Love have had really good seasons for UNH.  O'Connor has 93 receptions for 1358 yards, and 10 TDs on the season.  However, he has faced press coverage the past two weeks and has really struggled to impact the game.   So far in the playoffs he only has 6 receptions for 67 yards and no touchdowns.  On the other hand, Love has had a great postseason catching 15 passes for 173 yards and 1 TD.  On the season Love has 66 receptions, 687 yards, and 3 TDs.  Other wide receivers are #83 Nick Lorden and #19 Kieran Presley, both have made big plays when their name has been called this season.  The tight end position has a capable receiver in #85 Justin Malone Woods (12 rec, 165 yds, 1 TD) and he is joined by what appears to be a blocking tight end in #98 John Dicaro (6 rec, 86 yds).

The offensive line for UNH has good size but has struggled in pass protection this season.  Starting from left to right are junior #66 Dayne Herron (6-4, 300), red-shirt freshmen #69 Jack Carroll (6-2, 287), senior #73 Jake Kennedy (6-3, 303), red-shirt freshman #70 Matt Mascia (6-2, 295), along with senior #74 Will McInerny (6-7, 299).  This group has given up 50 sacks that have lost UNH 322 yards.  The Jacks pass rush is heating up registering 3 sacks against UNI, but they did get beat on screen passes a few times.  If UNH can't protect their quarterback any better then they did against UCA, I would expect them to mix in a few of these plays.

Defense
The defense for UNH is very good and has the size and speed that reminded me of Illinois State. Anyone that watched the game against the electric UCA offense knows this.  UNH won this game because of all the turnovers they forced along with the pick 6 in the second half.  On the season they only give up 18.85 ppg.  They allow 118.1 ypg rushing and 235.15 ypg passing.  They have recorded 34 sacks, recovered 9 fumbles, and have 18 interceptions.  It looks like they play mostly a 4-3 defense, which they list on the depth chart as a 4-2-5 with 3 safeties. At times against UCA they had an edge rusher stand up in a 3-4 alignment.

The strength of this unit is upfront. In the middle are some huge men who are also great athletes, #72 Rick Holt (6-4, 294) and #71 Ryan Sosnak (6-2, 288) were so active on Saturday recording 9 and 7 tackles a piece.  On the season Holt is second on the team in tackles with 71, something unheard of from an interior defensive lineman.  He also has 9 sacks, 3 pass break-ups, and had a big tipped ball that resulted in an interception on Saturday.  Sosnak has 32 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4 pass break-ups of his own.  If these guys don't get pressure on the quarterback, they look to get their hands up and knock down the passes.  It would be one thing if the interior for UNH was the only good part of this unit, but the defensive ends have also had good seasons.  #91 Jae'Wuan Horton (6-2, 241) has 8.5 sacks on the season to go with 52 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  The final member of this group is #99 Brian Carter (6-2, 236) and he has 27 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the season.

The linebackers for the Wildcats are fast and swarm to the ball.  #54 Quinlen Dean leads the team in tackles with 118 stops but also has added 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a forced fumble.  He is joined by #58 Jared Kuehl who has 58 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 interception, and a forced fumble of his own.  Against UCA these two recorded five tackles each but seemed to be much more active then those statistics show.

The safties for UCA are #16 Rick Ellison (69 tackles and 2 INTs), #4 D'Andre Drummon-Mayrie (55 tackles and 2 sacks), and #33 Evan Horn (41 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 INTs).  Obviously they do a lot of unique things with this group to showcase their athleticism and to confuse opposing quarterbacks.  Horn had the huge pick 6 that gave UNH the lead.  It will be interesting to see how this group handles Dallas Goedert and the rest of the wide receivers.

The starting cornerbacks are redshirt freshman #41 Alonzo Addae and sophomore #9 Isiah Perkins.  Perkins is a ball hawk with 5 interceptions on the season along with 8 other break-ups and 37 tackles.  Addae has 35 tackles on the season and 6 pass break-ups.  UNH played a lot of zone against UCA so I would expect to see the same treatment against the Jacks high powered passing attack.

Special Teams           
This unit has really struggled for the Wildcats.  On the season they return the kickoffs just 16.78 yards and allow 21.26 yards on kick return.  The bright spot is punter #5 Max Pedinoff who has a 40 yard average, has zero touchbacks, and has forced 26 fair catches, while pinning 20 inside the 20.

The field goal responsibilities have been divided between #38 Morgan Ellman who is just 2-5 on the season with a long of 39.  Against UCA he missed a chip-shot.  Pedinoff has also tried these duties this season and has gone just 4-8 with a long of 41.  Clearly, this is a big advantage for the Jacks.

On kickoffs Ellman has a 56.5 yard avg and only has 4 touchbacks while also kicking 4 balls out of bounds.  Cade Johnson will certainly have an opportunity to work some magic.

In the return game,  #33 Joe Horn handles the punt return duties with a 3.62 avg on 21 attempts.  True freshman, #7 CJ Turner returns kick-offs for UNH and has a 16.13 avg and a long of 26 on the season. Against UCA, Brandon Gallagher returned kicks and had a 22.5 yard average.

Prediction
The UNH Wildcats are a solid team.  Saying anything different is not really knowing them.  Teams don't make it to the quarterfinals on sheer luck.  They run an offense that can run and pass and has skill.  Their defense is fast and physical and is not easily moved.  While we all consider the MVFC to be the top conference in the FCS, the CAA is not that far behind in quality and depth.  All that being said, this Jackrabbit team feels special right now.  They are playing at a very high level and I don't see that changing this week.  I'll take the Jackrabbits 31-14.

Same message as last week.  Show up. Bring a friend. Be loud. Last Saturday was an awesome atmosphere for a college football game.

Go Jacks!
-Matt