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October 01. 2012 11:16PM
New Hampshire Wildcats head coach Sean McDonnell in the first quarter against the Toledo Rockets at the Glass Bowl. (Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE)
UNH Wildcats move to 14th in football poll, set mark as current longest ranked team
New Hampshire Wildcats head coach Sean McDonnell in the first quarter against the Toledo Rockets at the Glass Bowl. (Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE)
University of New Hampshire head football coach Sean McDonnell is all about the present.
He's never been a big fan of looking back and gloating about past accomplishments. He's also not interested in weekly grid polls, always saying they don't mean anything until the playoffs roll around in November.
So when asked Monday about his program's lofty feat of owning the nation's longest streak of being in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 for 118 straight weeks, McDonnell predictably downplayed it.
“The only thing its means to me is that we've attained consistency as a top 25 program,” said McDonnell. “That's it. For what we're trying to accomplish now, it means very little.”
The Wildcats are ranked No. 14 in the latest Sports Network poll after their 34-14 rout of now-No. 16-ranked Delaware at Cowell Stadium in Durham. UNH is also No. 17 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
The win snapped the Blue Hens' seven-game winning streak and allowed UNH to improve to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
UNH's top-25 poll appearance streak started in Sept. of 2004. Montana held the nation's longest streak of 197 weeks until this week. The Grizzlies dropped out of the poll after a 32-26 loss at Eastern Washington.
The Wildcats could have also dropped out of the top 25 with a loss to the Blue Hens, but McDonnell said his team responded well following their 64-61 shootout loss to No. 4 ranked Old Dominion (5-0).
“No matter the result, we have a 24-hour rule to either enjoy the victory or get down after a loss,” explained McDonnell. “Once Sunday comes around for film sessions, we're getting ready for our next opponent. No matter the result, our kids understand they can't dwell on a win or loss. They have to look ahead to the next opponent and I thought they did that well getting after Delaware following our loss to Old Dominion. Now it's on to Georgia State.”
On Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Wildcats face the winless Panthers (0-5), who are coming off a 35-3 loss to William & Mary. That game featured seven Georgia State turnovers. The Panthers have lost five games by a margin of 28.4 points.
“They're a young team making mistakes, struggling to hang onto the football,” said McDonnell. “Having said that, they're still a very dangerous team. We have to remain focused and build off our team win against Delaware.”
The Panthers are preparing for UNH quarterback Andy Vailas of Bedford and cornerback Dontra Peters
Vailas tied his career high with 23 pass completions for 315 yards last week against the Blue Hens. He completed two touchdown passes to R.J. Harris and rushed for a one-yard score.
His effort earned him the CAA offensive player of the week. Peters had two interceptions, giving him the league lead with three. He was named the CAA defensive player of the week.
“We've got a resilient football team made up of players who are unselfish and work hard,” said McDonnell, who said he's looking forward to the challenges ahead in October.
“We just finished September with our head above water,” said McDonnell. “It's important to start stringing some wins together and that's our next goal heading into the Georgia Dome.”
jhabib@unionleader.com
He's never been a big fan of looking back and gloating about past accomplishments. He's also not interested in weekly grid polls, always saying they don't mean anything until the playoffs roll around in November.
So when asked Monday about his program's lofty feat of owning the nation's longest streak of being in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 for 118 straight weeks, McDonnell predictably downplayed it.
“The only thing its means to me is that we've attained consistency as a top 25 program,” said McDonnell. “That's it. For what we're trying to accomplish now, it means very little.”
The Wildcats are ranked No. 14 in the latest Sports Network poll after their 34-14 rout of now-No. 16-ranked Delaware at Cowell Stadium in Durham. UNH is also No. 17 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
The win snapped the Blue Hens' seven-game winning streak and allowed UNH to improve to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
UNH's top-25 poll appearance streak started in Sept. of 2004. Montana held the nation's longest streak of 197 weeks until this week. The Grizzlies dropped out of the poll after a 32-26 loss at Eastern Washington.
The Wildcats could have also dropped out of the top 25 with a loss to the Blue Hens, but McDonnell said his team responded well following their 64-61 shootout loss to No. 4 ranked Old Dominion (5-0).
“No matter the result, we have a 24-hour rule to either enjoy the victory or get down after a loss,” explained McDonnell. “Once Sunday comes around for film sessions, we're getting ready for our next opponent. No matter the result, our kids understand they can't dwell on a win or loss. They have to look ahead to the next opponent and I thought they did that well getting after Delaware following our loss to Old Dominion. Now it's on to Georgia State.”
On Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Wildcats face the winless Panthers (0-5), who are coming off a 35-3 loss to William & Mary. That game featured seven Georgia State turnovers. The Panthers have lost five games by a margin of 28.4 points.
“They're a young team making mistakes, struggling to hang onto the football,” said McDonnell. “Having said that, they're still a very dangerous team. We have to remain focused and build off our team win against Delaware.”
The Panthers are preparing for UNH quarterback Andy Vailas of Bedford and cornerback Dontra Peters
Vailas tied his career high with 23 pass completions for 315 yards last week against the Blue Hens. He completed two touchdown passes to R.J. Harris and rushed for a one-yard score.
His effort earned him the CAA offensive player of the week. Peters had two interceptions, giving him the league lead with three. He was named the CAA defensive player of the week.
“We've got a resilient football team made up of players who are unselfish and work hard,” said McDonnell, who said he's looking forward to the challenges ahead in October.
“We just finished September with our head above water,” said McDonnell. “It's important to start stringing some wins together and that's our next goal heading into the Georgia Dome.”
jhabib@unionleader.com
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