WEST LONG BRANCH – Monmouth University was playing its best football of the season two weeks ago. They had won four of five games with their only loss coming against powerhouse Delaware, which is transitioning to the FBS level next season. In that game, a 42-35 loss, the Hawks were driving for the tie or possible go-ahead score, but Hawks quarterback Derek Robertson’s pass on fourth-and-3 at the Delaware 33 fell incomplete, turning the ball over to the Blue Hens with a minute left in the fourth quarter and they ran out the clock.
They rebounded nicely the following week, hammering CAA foe Bryant 55-17 while racking up 584 yards of total offense. Their much-maligned defense took another step in the right direction, holding Bryant to 303 yards of total yardage.
Following the Bryant win, the Hawks pushed their season record to 4-3, but more importantly, they were 2-1 in the Coastal Athletic Association standings.
With the top-rated offense in the country, featuring the nation’s No.1 quarterback, and a defense that was playing as well as it had in years, the possibility of the Hawks capturing a CAA title, or more likely, an at-large berth in the FCS playoffs was starting to come into focus.
However, the Hawks dream of a post-season run took a massive hit after losing their next two games, both of which easily could’ve gone the other way.
After shutting down Towson’s offense in the first half, limiting them to under 100 yards of offense and 10 points, Monmouth’s defense couldn’t get off the field in the second half. Towson scored on their first three possessions of the second half with the Hawks defense putting up little resistance.
Monmouth’s potent offensive attack, which entered the game averaging over 500 yards of total offense and 45 points per game was held to just seven first-half points, after being stopped on fourth-and-2 at the Towson 30-yard line in the first quarter. Right before the half, the Hawks drove to the Towson 32-yard line where they had a first down with 25 seconds left in the half, but Robertson threw four incompletions into the end zone to end the half, instead of working the sidelines to set up a potential field goal attempt.
In the second half, Monmouth answered Towson’s touchdown with one of their own to make it a 17-14 game in favor of Towson with 3:56 left in the third quarter. After a Towson field goal pushed the score to 20-14, Monmouth drove to the Towson 40-yard line. A sack set up a fourth-and-13 at the Towson 46 and Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan elected to go for it, but a Robertson pass intended for wideout Josh Derry was broken up.
Towson then marched 54 yards in 10 plays to take a 26-14 lead.
Monmouth got the ball back with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter and drove to the Towson seven-yard line where they had a first-and-goal. On first down however, Roberston was strip sacked with Towson recovering at the 13-yard line. The Tigers then ran off the final 6:13 of the game, taking a knee at the Hawks 11-yard line on the final play of the game.
Poor in-game decision making, turnovers and a second-half collapse by the defense played pivotal roles in the game and Monmouth has to be kicking itself for letting it get away from them.
The following week, the Hawks were on the road against 14th-ranked Rhode Island in a game that had playoff implications for both teams.
Monmouth held a 21-17 lead at the half and extended it to 28-17 early in the third quarter. Defensive end Miles Mitchell returned a fumble to the URI 25-yard line and three plays later, Robertson found Tra Neal for a 11-yard touchdown. Monmouth would not score again in the game.
On Rhode Island’s ensuing possession, they drove to the Monmouth 32-yard line where Hawks cornerback K-Shawn Schulters picked off URI quarterback Devin Farrell in the end zone for a touchback.
Monmouth then drove to the URI 34-yard line with a chance to put the game out of reach, but on fourth-and-1, Sone Ntoh, the nation’s leader in rushing touchdowns with 20, was dropped for a one-yard loss turning the ball over on downs with 2:49 left in the third quarter.
Rhode Island then went 65 yards in just four plays to pull within 28-24 with 1:44 left in the quarter. The score remained that way until late in the fourth quarter when Rhode Island went 69 yards on eight plays to take a 31-28 lead with 1:17 remaining.
Monmouth had one last chance and advanced to the URI 46- yard line with just under a minute to play and three timeouts left. However, on first down, Robertson lost a fumble and Rhode Island recovered. The Hawks did get the ball back with 12 seconds remaining, but a series of desperation laterals on the final play of the game resulted in a meaningless Rhode Island score for a 37-28 final.
Although Monmouth’s defense created three turnovers and at times played well, Rhode Island (8-1,5-0) racked up 476 yards of total offense, including 289 yards in the second half when they ran through Monmouth at will. Monmouth’s offense fell well below their average with just 335 total yards on the day. After scoring 21 points in the first half, the Hawks were held to seven points and just 117 yards in the second half.
Grant it, Monmouth just took the fourteenth-ranked team in the country down to the wire and should be commended for that, but when you have the opportunity to go up by 18 points on them on the road you have to close it out. Lessons learned.
The second-half doldrums that have plagued the Hawks in the last two games have to be corrected if they want to finish strong. The most daunting part of their schedule is ahead of them starting Saturday when they travel to New Hampshire (5-4, 3-2) before hosting twelfth-ranked Villanova (7-2, 4-1) and traveling to No.17 Stoney Brook (7-2, 4-1) to close out their 2024 schedule.
When Monmouth’s offense is humming on all cylinders, they can put up points at will against anyone in the country. Robertson is in a bit of a slump, if you can even call it that, but you can expect him to shake it off. You can attribute part of that to the running game, which has been basically nonexistent in the two losses forcing Robertson to put the game on his shoulders. Getting the running game untracked and cutting down on turnovers and miscues for the final push is essential if the Hawks expect to win those games.
The defense, young and inexperienced at a number of positions, needs to be more consistent and play with the intensity they’ve shown sporadically for a full 60 minutes. They have the potential to do that, if they can cut down on missed assignments and keep focused throughout the game.
If the Hawks can win all three games, which is possible if they play up their talent level and avoid turnovers and costly mistakes, that will boost their season record to 7-5 and 5-3 in the conference. Even if they take just two of three, they will finish at 6-6 and 4-4 in the conference. At this point, either one of the options would go a long way in stamping the season a success as well as bode well for the future of the team.
