The season for MU so far has been a little up and down but with the second of three games at home, this is the time for the Hawks to continue that upswing. Monmouth grabbed a somewhat ugly but much needed win last week over Bryant 21-12 and with St. Francis this week and Sacred Heart next week, one would have to think getting back .500 is well within reach. Couple of things from the Bryant game last week that are still lingering for me.
Monmouth had several chance to put this game away and missed chances in the first half after getting off to a 12-0 start. I was concerned about the way they would start the first quarter after the heartbreaker to Robert Morris from the previous week but after starting so fast, I had the sense this game might be a blow out. It never got that far and that was a disappoinment because at this point of the season, a team like MU that isn't very deep could have used an easy game to get some guys some rest.
Battered and bruised all season long, the defense has put up three straight pretty good & getting better games against conference opponents. The idea this week is to do the same against a Red Flash team that doesn't have the stats or the playmakers to cause MU problems unless at some point the injuries catch up. On the plus side, with Jose Gumbs and Kendall Haley patrolling the back at the safety spots, mistakes usually get covered up. The pass rush has been better, the run defense has been solid and these are both trends that need to continue so Monmouth feels good about themselves when they start a brutal November schedule with games against Wagner, CCSU, & Albany.
Monmouth needs to know how important these games are the next two weeks as they can ill afford a slip up if they have any chance of claiming an NEC championship. Robert Morris is clearly the favorite but still has to play CCSU on November 6th. Best case scernario as I see it would be a Robert Morris loss to CCSU, a Monmouth win over CCSU and force a three way tie for the NEC crown and take your chances with a tie breaker.
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