Monmouth (5-6, 3-4 CAA) at #20/18 Stony Brook (8-3, 5-2 CAA)
Saturday, November 23; 1:00 p.m. ET
LaValle Stadium; Stony Brook, NY
 
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Play-by-Play: Jonny Wincott
Analyst: Brandon London
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Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti
Analyst: Jack Barteck

LaValle Stadium Information
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Season Finale
Monmouth heads to Long Island for another contest against a nationally-ranked team following the 40-33 upset win over No. 8/9 Villanova. On deck is Stony Brook, who has its sights set on an appearance in the FCS playoffs. 

Milestone Watch
Derek Robertson is two passing touchdowns short of the single-season mark and 283 yards away from Kenji Bahar's record setting 2019 campaign. Ryan Moran is tied for ninth in program history with 244 career tackles.

A Win Would ...
Give Monmouth consecutive wins over ranked opponents for the first time ever.
Bring the Hawks to .500 on the year, their best mark since 2021.
Be Monmouth's sixth victory and fourth in CAA play.
Be Monmouth's seventh win all-time against a ranked team (6-24).

The Coaching Matchup
Kevin Callahan
32nd Season / 187-148
 
Billy Cosh
First Season / 8-3
 
All-Time Series
Series Record: Monmouth leads 7-4
At Monmouth: Monmouth leads 4-2
At Stony Brook: Monmouth leads 3-2
Most Monmouth points: 56, 11/4/23
Most Stony Brook points: 36, 9/30/06
Most combined points: 73, 11/4/23
Biggest Monmouth win: 39, 11/4/23
Current streak: Monmouth, W2

Practically Perfect
Derek Robertson was named the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week as well as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week after leading Monmouth to an upset win over No. 8/9 Villanova. The win was Monmouth's fourth win over a top-ten ranked opponent since 2019 and the sixth ranked victory in program history. Robertson directed Monmouth's offensive explosion with a near-perfect passing day as he was 22-of-23 for 358 yards and three touchdowns against the Wildcats. The senior's 95.7% completion percentage is the best in FCS this season and it was his sixth game this year with more than 350 passing yards. He threw touchdowns to Sone Ntoh, Josh Derry and Maxwell James, three of 10 different receivers to catch a pass from Robertson on the day.

Keys to Victory
Controlling the line of scrimmage has been the key to success for Monmouth this season. The Hawks have won all five games in which they have more rushing yards than their opponent. In addition, scoring 40 or more points has been the magic number for the Blue and White as they are undefeated over the last two seasons when reaching the 40-point mark. Monmouth has won the turnover battle or had an equal amount of turnovers in each of its five wins this season. 

A Ntoh for the End Zone
Running back Sone Ntoh has found the end zone 37 times on the ground in 22 career games for Monmouth. Ntoh scored two rushing touchdowns and his first receiving TD against Villanova to extend his streak of games with a touchdown to 11. Ntoh has scored at least one touchdown in all but two games over the last two seasons, highlighted by his career-high five TD effort against Fordham. Ntoh's five touchdowns against the Rams equaled the program record held by David Sinisi and Ralph O'Neill. His 37 career rushing touchdowns rank second in program history.

50 Piece
Monmouth has scored 50-plus points three times this season, marking the first time the team has accomplished that feat since 2018 and the third time ever, joining the 2014 squad. No Monmouth team has ever scored more than 50 points in a game four times. On the year, MU is averaging 37.6 points per game, with the program record sitting at 36.4 points per game set in 2022. The 63 points Monmouth scored against Fordham are the most for a CAA team in a game this season and only two other CAA teams have scored more than 50 points in a game this year.In their five wins, the Hawks have outscored their opponents 251-135. Overall, Monmouth has scored 413 points, while surrendering 355 points. 

Defense Rising
Monmouth's defense has steadily improved throughout the season and turned in its best performance of the year in the win over Bryant. The Hawks held Bryant to a season-low 17 points and set new season-highs in sacks (3), tackles for loss (6) and interceptions (2). It was the first time Monmouth had three sacks and two picks in the same game since it had four sacks and two interceptions at Towson last season. Against Rhode Island, Monmouth's defense forced a season-high three turnovers, two interceptions and a fumble recovery, as well as a turnover on downs. Faced with multiple short fields, Monmouth's defense held its own at UNH and forced four field goals, as well as a turnover on downs against the Wildcats. In the upset over No. 8/9 Villanova, Monmouth's defense held the Wildcats to a season best 93 yards rushing. 

Derek's Dominance
Derek Robertson has been exceptional for Monmouth this season, emerging as one of the top quarterbacks in the FCS. He currently is third in the nation in passing yards per game (309.2) and ranks third in passing touchdowns with 28. Robertson is also responsible for 15.5 points per game (11th in FCS), while his passing efficiency rating of 159.3 places him 10th nationally. Robertson has recorded the second 3,000 yard passing season in program history. He tied the program record with his 35 completions at FIU, equaling the effort by Kyle Frazier against Cornell on October 13, 2012. 

Within the CAA, Robertson is leading the conference in most major passing categories, including passing yards and touchdowns. Monmouth's high-powered offense leads the league in total offense at 471.7 yards per game, passing offense (310.4) and scoring at 37.5 points per contest. Robertson became the fastest Monmouth QB to 2,000 passing yards in a season when he did it in six games and he has six games with more than 350 yards passing.

Spreading the Love
Derek Robertson has distributed the ball effectively this season, connecting with a variety of Monmouth receivers, including 10 in the win over Villanova. Robertson has completed double-digit passes to eight different players. Josh Derry and TJ Speight each have more than 50 receptions with Derry racking up 819 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Speight and Tra Neal lead the Hawks with six touchdowns each, while Jack Neri, Maxwell James and Gavin Nelson have also each scored at least three touchdowns. The depth of Monmouth's receivers has been instrumental in its ranking as the top passing offense in the CAA and fifth in the FCS, at 310.4 yards per game.

Tackling Totals
Justin Bennin made a career-best 14 stops against Towson, the most for a Monmouth player in a game this year. Deuce Lee (12), Sam Korpoi (10) and Damir McCrary (8) each set new career highs in total tackles against Eastern Washington, with Korpoi equaling that effort against Towson. Miles Mitchell added six tackles at EWU to equal his career high, while Alex Odom made eight in his Monmouth debut, giving him more than 200 career tackles after coming over from Temple with 199 stops to his name. In the Lafayette game, Emmanuel Lane led Monmouth with a career-best nine stops. Isaiah Rogers set a new career-high with 11 tackles in the Delaware contest.  Israel Clark-White turned in a new personal high with seven tackles in the wins over Bryant and Villanova, while Charlie Sasso (8) and Jaden Jones (7) each had career-highs at Rhode Island.