With the Big South’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs on the line, the Seawolves will travel to Lynchburg, Va. for a showdown with Liberty in the regular season finale. This is the second straight year these two teams will be playing for the conference championship in the last game of the season.
Stony Brook (6-4, 5-0) is coming off its fourth straight victory, defeating Gardner-Webb 55-3 to move to 5-0 in the Big South for the first time since joining the conference in 2008. The 52-point margin of victory is the largest winning margin in a Big South game.
Junior Brock Jackolski (Shirley, N.Y.) led the Seawolves with 131 yards on the ground and 256 all-purpose yards. He achieved the football hat-trick, rushing for a touchdown, receiving another, and returning a kickoff for a score, becoming the first player in Big South history to achieve such a feat. He surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season.
Freshman Davonte Anderson (Corona, Calif.) set a school record with four interceptions. Stony Brook’s defense forced seven turnovers in all: five interceptions and two fumbles.
Miguel Maysonet (Riverhead, N.Y.) ran for 88 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. He and Jackolski are tied for the team-lead with 12 touchdowns each.
Stony Brook’s two-headed monster of Maysonet and Jackolski became the first duo from one team to rush for 1,000 yards this season at both the FCS and FBS levels. They are the second pair of teammates in conference history to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season (Stony Brook’s Edwin Gowins and Conte Cuttino were the first tandem to do so in 2008).
Maysonet and Jackolski rank 1-2 in the Big South in rushing yards, and are looking to become the first pair of teammates to finish first and second in the category in league history. In addition, they are looking to become just the fourth tandem with 10 rushing touchdowns each, as Maysonet has 10 and Jackolski has nine.
Stony Brook has been executing on all cylinders, scoring at least five touchdowns and more than 30 points in four consecutive games. The recent performances make it hard to believe that this is the same team that took a 59-14 loss to the University of South Florida in the first game of the season just over two months ago.
“The biggest thing is we’ve played with confidence,” head coach Chuck Priore said. “Winning breeds excitement and makes it fun. We’re a more mature team than we were then.”
The Seawolves have been running through the conference schedule, winning all five Big South games by an average of 26 points. After going 1-4 in the non-conference schedule, they are playing their best football at the right time: this season marks the first year the winner of the Big South will receive an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs to compete for a national championship.
“It’s certainly a goal of ours,” said Priore. “It’s a reward for the players and coaches and it’s a reward for Stony Brook.”
Instead of letting the team get overexcited about the potential playoff spot, Priore said he has not had a problem keeping them focused on this game.
“If we lose we’re not going anywhere,” he said.
Liberty (7-3, 4-1) is known as the conference’s perennial powerhouse. The Flames are ranked 18th in the FCS.
“They will be the best team we play since UMass [in Week Four]” he said. “They have all the ingredients of a championship team and that’s why they are where they are.”
Leading the team will be quarterback Mike Brown. He has passed for over 200 yards in all 10 games this season. He ranks second in the FCS in total offense, averaging 331.6 yards per game. He has thrown for 2,622 yards and 21 touchdowns. A dual threat, he has also rushed for 694 yards this year, the second-highest single-season rushing total in conference history.
The Flames will be without leading receiver Chris Summers, who suffered a high ankle sprain after he was horse-collar tackled in the final minutes of Saturday’s 45-31 loss to Coastal Carolina. He broke the Big South single-season record for receiving yards with 1,081. He is tied for first in the FCS with 15 touchdown receptions.
The series between Stony Brook and Liberty is tied at one. Last year, the Seawolves rallied in a very exciting game to defeat the Flames, 36-33, to capture a share of the Big South Championship.
Since Liberty lost to Coastal Carolina (5-5, 4-1), there is a possibility for a three-way tie for first place in the conference at 5-1. If this is the case, points allowed in conference games would be the determining factor in breaking the tie and earning the playoff bid. If Stony Brook wins on Saturday, it would get the playoff bid because it would be 6-0 in league play. Points allowed in conference games will only be a determining factor if the Seawolves lose and Coastal Carolina wins. Stony Brook has allowed 68 points to 106 for Coastal Carolina and 110 for Liberty.
The game will be televised on MASN. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
