With Stony Brook’s Homecoming game within the week, the Seawolves will look to bounce back from a 1-3 start to this young season.
The Bryant Bulldogs are at a 3-1 record, first in the NEC and will face off with our beloved Seawolves on October 5.
Bryant has somewhat of a balanced attack on offense, but lean on their running game with 64 more rushes than passes in their first four games this year.
This rushing is at the heels of Paul Canevari, who won the NEC Rookie of the Week award for his 214 rushing yards in Bryant’s first three contests.
Canevari could prove problematic for the Seawolves, who have looked spotty overall in defending the rush.
In their lone win against Rhode Island, Stony Brook University held them to 67 yards, but gave up 133
yards on the ground to Buffalo, an astonishing 266 to Villanova and 190 to the Towson Tigers in three losses. In order to triumph over the Bulldogs, the Seawolves will have to make it a collective effort in locking down Bryant’s running game in all four quarters.
Stony Brook’s defense has earned high praise in the advanced statistics department, with footballstudyhall. com’s drive-point efficiency statistic (which you can read more about on their site) ranking the Seawolves’ defense among the top teams in the nation in regards to capitalizing on the defense’s opportunities following week 3.
This piece of knowledge should bring a boost of confidence to Stony Brook’s defense, one that could lead the team to victory on Saturday night.
A specific aspect the team should focus on when it comes to defending Bryant other than their running game is their third-down conversions.
Bryant has struggled
in converting third-down opportunities in their first four games, getting the first down only 20 times in 62 chances.
On the flip side, Stony Brook’s third-down defense has been something to applaud, with opposing teams crossing the first- down marker just 20 times in 51 tries.
Above all else, what should be one of Stony Brook’s largest strategies coming into this game is protecting the football on the offensive end.
The Seawolves gave the ball away 7 times in their three losses, but committed no turnovers in their single win this season.
The team and the school as a whole is still reeling from the news of senior and star running back Marcus Coker’s season ending injury as well as cornerback Reuben Johnson’s. The Seawolves will look to bounce back from these disheartening losses and three straight defeats on Homecoming night.
