Fall 2010 football schedule.
Fall 2010 Football Schedule Announced
By Brittany Burke
The 2010 CCSU football schedule was released last week, getting die hard fans excited for a new season and another run at the NEC title, and while it is only March and baseball is just getting into full swing it is never too early for football.
The CCSU Blue Devils’ (9-3, 7-1 NEC) season came to an end on Dec. 5, when they lost 23-28 against Butler in the Gridiron Classic, but despite the bowl loss they walked away NEC Champions, losing just three games away from Arute Field.
Next season’s schedule places the Blue Devils on the road in a tough season opener versus the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, a team ranked seventh in the FCS’ Top 25 polls, on Sept. 4 in Durham, NH.
“It’s very challenging, and we’re playing a very good traditional playoff team from the Colonial League conference in New Hampshire and we’re playing a historical power. They’ve won about three or four National Championships in Youngstown State,” said Head Coach Jeff McInerney of the teams non-conference opponents.
CCSU went undefeated at home during the 2009 season and seem to thrive while playing in front of the home crowd, going 17-2 at Arute field since Coach McInerney took over. The Blue Devils are back at Arute field on Sept. 11 when they host Division II school: Bentley.
The Blue Devils end non-conference play on the road traveling to Youngstown State University to face the Penguins in Youngstown, Ohio. The games against UNH and YSU are going to be tough for the Blue Devils, which means preparation begins early.
“We’re going to prepare by practicing in the spring for them first, get an early start and going to camp, and just prepare to go out there and play the teams at the highest level and try to beat them,” Coach McInerney said.
The following week of Sept. 25 the Blue Devils begin their conference play against Bryant in front of the CCSU fans.
The 2010 season brings the CCSU community an additional chance to cheer on their Blue Devil football team. Instead of just four home games, the Blue Devils are finally scheduled to play five of their 11 games at CCSU.
The home games include matches against Bentley, Bryant, Duquesne, Wagner (the only NEC team to defeat the Blue Devils last season) and St. Francis (PA). The game against St. Francis (PA) on Nov. 20 will close out the regular season for the CCSU Blue Devils football team.
The game against Bentley was a late addition to the 2010 schedule, which ensured that CCSU would play at home for the extra game that the fans had been pushing for.
“We ended up picking up another home game because the students, everybody’s been pushing. The fan base wants more than four home games so we picked up Bentley to play at home,” said Coach McInerney.
While the Blue Devils were granted their extra home game, finding an opponent proved to be a challenge within itself.
“We wanted a home game, we didn’t want to go home and home, and a lot of the people, they wanted us to play home and home,” said Coach McInerney. “The reason we play two big games for the money to help our budget… When you play home and home you don’t get any money, so you have to pick an opponent just who will play you at home.”
The fifth home game will prove to be beneficial for both the fans and the team, who traveled for eight of their games during the 2009 season. An extra game means no concerns with travel and missing school for the team, while giving the fans an additional week to show their support for their school.
CCSU’s first opportunity to cheer on the Blue Devils is Sept. 11, which gives the fans less than six months to get pumped, or “fire up,” in the words of Coach McInerney, for the 2010 season.
