Monmouth (4-6, 3-4 CAA) vs. #23/12 UAlbany (8-3, 6-1 CAA)
Saturday, November 18, 2023; 1:00 p.m.
Casey Stadium (8,500), Albany, NY
 
WATCH
FloSports
Play-by-Play: Rodger Wyland
Analyst: Michael Johnson Jr.
 
LISTEN
MonmouthHawks.com
Play-by-Play: Matt Harmon
Analyst: Zach Fabel 
 
Ticket Information
For tickets click HERE for more information
 
Casey Stadium Information
For information and directions click HERE
                           
OPENING KICKOFF
Monmouth is looking to close out its 2023 schedule with a victory over nationally ranked UAlbany on Saturday afternoon at Casey Stadium. The Great Danes come in riding a four-game winning streak in CAA play and have a chance to secure a share of the conference championship with a victory.

RIVALRY RENEWED
Monmouth and UAlbany will meet for the 19th time on Saturday as the longtime foes will continue their rivalry that began as members of the Northeast Conference in 1999. Monmouth has only played four teams more than UAlbany in its history.

A WIN WOULD
Give Monmouth a win over a ranked opponent for the sixth time in program history. Be Monmouth's third consecutive victory over UAlbany. End the Great Danes' four-game winning streak. Give the Hawks a 5-6 overall record and 4-4 mark in CAA play.

THE COACHING MATCHUP
Kevin Callahan
31st Season / 182-141
 
Greg Gattuso
22nd Season / 144-92
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Series Record UAlbany leads 12-6
At Monmouth UAlbany leads 5-4
At Albany UAlbany leads 7-2
Most Monmouth points 38, 2 times
Most UAlbany points 55, 9/29/12
Most combined points 79, 9/29/12
Streak Monmouth, W2
 
NATIONAL HONORS
Dymere Miller was been named the FedEx Ground FCS National Offensive Player of the Week as well as CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts last week. Miller made 11 receptions for a program-record 333 yards and two touchdowns in Monmouth's loss to New Hampshire. The 333 yards were the second-most in CAA history and the most by any receiver in college football this year. Miller had touchdown grabs of 63 and 75 yards, giving him 10 on the year, and made 10+ catches for the fifth time in 2023. Miller leads FCS with 1,241 receiving yards and is second in the country with 85 receptions. Both totals are new single-season standards in the Monmouth record book.
 
FIND FIVE
Dymere Miller is having a historic 2023 season with Monmouth records of 85 receptions for 1,241 yards. Miller also has nine touchdowns on the year. Miller leads the CAA and is second in the FCS in receptions per game (8.5), while his 124.1 yards per game lead the FCS this season. Miller has five double-digit reception games, and had career-highs of 11 catches and 333 yards against New Hampshire. Miller is fifth in career receptions (163) after passing Miles Austin, seventh in touchdowns (17) and is fifth in yards (2,335) and is the fourth Hawk with 10 career 100-yard games.
 
SHIRDEN RISING
Monmouth's junior running back Jaden Shirden is quickly ascending up the Hawks' all-time rushing record book. Shirden entered the 2023 season at seventh in team history with 2,219 career yards. He is currently third, 326 yards behind Pete Guerriero, with 3,648 yards rushing after passing Lavon Cheney, Juwon Farri and Julian Hayes. He is also eighth in team history with 26 career rushing scores following his two TD performance against Stony Brook.
 
DOUBLE THE FUN
Jaden Shirden has run for more than 200 yards six times, including the top three performances in school history. Last season he ran for 299 yards against Fordham, he had 276 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Hampton and had a 251-yard game at William & Mary. Pete Guerriero (2017-19) previously held the record with five-career 200-yard rushing games. The FCS record for 200-yard games is 13, held by Sacramento State's Charles Roberts (1997-2000).
 
JOINING ROBERTS?
Speaking of the Sacramento State back, Charles Roberts, Jaden Shirden is looking to become the first player to lead the country in rushing in consecutive seasons since Roberts did it during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Prior to Roberts, Siena's Reggie Greene was the FCS rushing champion in three straight years (1995-97), while Frank Hawkins of Nevada was the leader in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Shirden has 1,429 rushing yards this year, 211 more than UT Martin's Sam Roberts.
 
THE ART OF THE RUNNING BACK
In three of the last four seasons, Monmouth has had a rusher rank first or second in the FCS in rushing yards per game. Pete Guerriero averaged 142.5 yards per game with 1,995 yards in 14 games in 2019. Juwon Farri ran for 520 yards in four games in the Spring 2021 season (130 per game). Last year Jaden Shirden averaged 156.5 yards per game with a total of 1,722 in 11 contests. Shirden is leading the FCS in rushing yards per game with 142.9.
 
LONG RUNS RETURN
Jaden Shirden's signature breakaway speed and resulting long touchdown runs put him on the radar as a freshman in 2021 with a pair of 75-yard runs for scores. As a sophomore last year, Shirden had eight touchdown runs of 50+ yards. Entering Saturday's game, Shirden has 14 career touchdown runs of 50+ yards, including four across the last five games for Monmouth. He had a season-long 81-yard TD run against Stony Brook.
 
POUND THE ROCK
Sone Ntoh's 92-yard TD run against Lehigh is the second longest in the conference this year. Jaden Shirden's 276 yards against Hampton were the third-most in a single-game in the FCS this year and he is the only player with two 250+ yard performances. His four touchdowns against the Pirates are tied for the CAA lead in 2023 and his 33 attempts at Towson are tied for the most in a game for a CAA player this year. Shirden (119) and Ntoh (110) each went over the century mark in the win over Lehigh, marking the only time this season the duo accomplished that feat as Ntoh set a new career high in the process.
 
SHORT AND LONG YARDAGE BACK
Sone Ntoh is tied for the CAA lead and is tied for third in the FCS in rushing touchdowns with 14 on the season. Known for punching in touchdowns near the goal line, Ntoh ran away from the Lehigh defense on a 92-yard touchdown run, the longest run of the season for Monmouth. Ntoh also had a 66-yard score at Towson and has 394 yards on 53 carries this season, good for 8.4 yards per carry.
 
MCCRAY SLINGING IT
Graduate transfer quarterback Marquez McCray is having an excellent season throwing the football for Monmouth. McCray ranks in the top 20 in the FCS in four statistical categories; his 21 passing touchdowns are 11th, he is 15th in both passing yards (2,497) and passing efficiency (152.3) and he is 20th in passing yards per game (249.7). McCray threw for a career-high 402 yards against New Hampshire, the most for a Monmouth QB in a game since Kenji Bahar had 407 against Gardner-Webb in 2018 and the fourth 400-yard passing performance in team history. Monmouth is 4-2 this season when McCray does not throw an interception, he has seven games with at least two touchdown passes and has thrown for 725 yards and six touchdowns over the past two games.
 
SCORING MARGIN
Monmouth's scoring margin in 2023 is shaping up to be one of the program's best in its 31-year history. The Hawks are +9.5 points per game better than their opponents this season, the best mark since the 2006 squad averaged 11.16 more points per game than their adversaries. The program's high-water mark during a full season was in 2003 when the Blue and White outscored their opponents 247-101 for an average of 12.1 points per game. During the four-game spring 2021 campaign, Monmouth was 16.5 points per game better than their foes.
 
IMPACT TRANSFERS
Monmouth welcomed the addition of several impact players from the transfer portal ahead of the 2023 season. Graduate linebacker Jake Brown came to Monmouth from Harvard where he was a 2022 All-Ivy League Honorable Mention choice. The defensive line features two-time All-PSAC First Team selection Nick White (Gannon University - DII), Isaiah Oduro (Lackawanna College), Isaiah Rogers (Central Michigan) and Antonio Colclough (JMU). Offensively Harvard running back Sone Ntoh and reserve offensive lineman Matt Fries (Illinois) are the new faces to know. On special teams, Luke Schabel (Incarnate Word) has taken over as the team's primary punter.
 
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Harvard graduate transfer linebacker Jake Brown was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week following his performance in the Hawks' win over Towson. Brown led Monmouth's defensive efforts with a team-high seven tackles, a pair of sacks and forced a critical fumble in the 42-23 victory. Holding on to a 28-23 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Brown jarred the football loose from Towson quarterback Nathan Kent. The fumble was recovered by Miles Mitchell inside Towson territory and Monmouth scored two plays later to regain a two-possession lead. Brown has led the Hawks in tackles in three straight games with 12 at William & Mary, 10 against Stony Brook and 12 opposite New Hampshire. He leads the team this year with 66 stops, despite missing two games with an injury.
 
MORAN IN THE MIDDLE
Graduate linebacker Ryan Moran racked up a career-high 13 tackles at FAU, including nine solo stops, to lead the Monmouth defense. Moran's 13 stops are the most in a game this season. Moran, a team captain, has started 27 consecutive games, the longest active starting streak on the team and is tied for second on the Hawks in tackles this season with 59. Last week Moran contributed his first sack of the season.
 
AK MAKES PLAYS
Wide receiver Assanti Kearney became a major weapon for Monmouth's offense last season and he was second on the team in catches (37), yards (638) and touchdowns (4). He set season highs in catches (6) at Maine, yards vs. Fordham (121) and touchdowns (2) in the win over Villanova. Kearney was named to Phil Steele's CAA Preseason All-CAA Fourth Team and has four touchdown catches in 2023. Kearney delivered a 27-yard touchdown reception on fourth down in the season opener at FAU before hauling in TD receptions of 36 and 16 yards in the victory at Towson. AK set a new career-high with 124 yards and a touchdown in the win against Stony Brook.
 
MORE WEAPONS EMERGE
In addition to Dymere Miller and Assanti Kearney, Marquez McCray has a number of options to spread the ball around. TJ Speight had career-highs of six receptions for 72 yards and a 15-yard rush in the season opener and followed that effort up with another six-catch night for 30 yards in the win over Towson. Dre Tucker has three touchdown receptions this season and also recovered a muffed punt on special teams against Towson. Gavin Nelson, Ashanti Caviness Jr. and Josh Derry each hauled in their first-career touchdowns against Lehigh, Hampton and Elon, respectively. Jack Neri scored his first touchdown of the season from his tight end position against Stony Brook.
 
CAA IN THE POLLS
Three CAA Football teams are ranked and three others are receiving votes in the latest FCS Top 25 polls. Delaware moved up to #7 in the Stats poll and #6 in the AFCA poll following its 45-7 road win at Campbell. Villanova is #10 in the Stats poll and #15 in the AFCA poll after a 33-10 victory over Towson. UAlbany is ranked #12 in the Stats poll and sits at #23 in the AFCA poll after knocking off Stony Brook, 38-20. Richmond (both polls), William & Mary (AFCA) and Rhode Island (AFCA) are the teams receiving votes.
 
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