Robert Morris (5-0 NEC)

[aceinthehole]

On Saturday, the biggest surprise among first-place teams improved to 5-0 in the NEC, knocking preseason favorite Duquesne out of a tie for the lead with a 41-21 win. The Colonials - the STATS FCS Team of the Week - entered the season with a 14-game conference losing streak and with 17 straight losses against Division I opponents and 18 in a row on the road.

While the Colonials (6-4) trailed at halftime in their four previous NEC games, they must like the front-runner experience. They built a 20-0 first-half lead against Duquesne before absolutely mauling their Pittsburgh backyard rival with defense in the second half, ending a six-game losing streak in the series with their highest point total against the Dukes.
https://sports.yahoo.com/fcs-team-week-robert-morris-keeps-surprise-coming-120551742--ncaaf.html

Nice to see RMU making a comeback. The BobbyMo football program was built by former NY JETS head coach Joe Walton and enjoyed immediate success as a non-scholarships FCS program. The Colonials won the first 5 NEC Championships (1996-2000) and was also the league's first FCS playoff qualifier in 2010.

[aceinthehole]

And on a side note, I can't help but think the rise of the NEC's three Western PA teams (and scholarships) have had some effect on Patriot League programs Bucknell, Lafayette, and Lehigh.

Robert Morris (Moon Township) - 2010 NEC Champs / FCS First Round
Duquesne (Pittsburgh) - 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 NEC Champs / 2015 FCS First Round, 2018 FCS Second Round
Saint Francis (Loretto) - 2016 NEC Champs / FCS First Round

[ysubigred]

And on a side note, I can't help but think the rise of the NEC's three Western PA teams (and scholarships) have had some effect on Patriot League programs Bucknell, Lafayette, and Lehigh.

Robert Morris (Moon Township) - 2010 NEC Champs / FCS First Round
Duquesne (Pittsburgh) - 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 NEC Champs / 2015 FCS First Round, 2018 FCS Second Round
Saint Francis (Loretto) - 2016 NEC Champs / FCS First RoundYeah.. looks like the only bad loss was to a ****ty YSU team [emoji869]

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[NY Crusader 2010]

And on a side note, I can't help but think the rise of the NEC's three Western PA teams (and scholarships) have had some effect on Patriot League programs Bucknell, Lafayette, and Lehigh.

Robert Morris (Moon Township) - 2010 NEC Champs / FCS First Round
Duquesne (Pittsburgh) - 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 NEC Champs / 2015 FCS First Round, 2018 FCS Second Round
Saint Francis (Loretto) - 2016 NEC Champs / FCS First Round

The rise of all of the NEC has had an effect on the PL (see SHU against the PL lately). Not to mention the rise of programs like Albany, Monmouth and Stony Brook. Plus you have the Ivy league "spreading its elbows out", finding a way to put together much stronger rosters overall versus even 10-15 years ago. Dartmouth, Princeton and Columbia are head and shoulders much better than they were in 2009.

[ColonialInsider]

This season has even caught Robert Morris supporters by surprise.

There was a lot of optimism and positivity following the way the team competed in Bernard Clark's first year as coach last season, but most thought the team was at least a year away from competing for the NEC title. But the defense has been phenomenally better, and the offense has been serviceable thanks to the running game and an outstanding tight end in Matt Gonzalez.

I think CCSU is still the heavy favorite Saturday, but seeing the RMU program competitive again after multiple long seasons has been a breath of fresh air.

[aceinthehole]

CCSU is a 16-point favorite on Saturday and I certainly think it could be much closer, but fully expect Central to win at home on Senior Day.

Duquesne is 10-point favorite over Bryant this week and should return to form against the Bulldogs.

Assuming the favorites win this week, the NEC bid will come down to the final week:

CCSU (6-0) at Duquesne (5-1)
Sacred Heart (4-2) at Robert Morris (5-1)

Duquesne and RMU wins the final week would create a 3-way tie (6-1) for the Championship, but I still think CCSU would win the league tiebreaker as the highest rated team by Sagarin and get the playoff bid.

[downbythebeach]

They have had good luck throughout the season. No way they are the best team in the NEC. CCSU will show them that very soon. I think they probably beat SHU this weekend as SHU is out of the playoff hunt and has a long drive, but I wouldn't bet against SHU.

[ngineer]

And on a side note, I can't help but think the rise of the NEC's three Western PA teams (and scholarships) have had some effect on Patriot League programs Bucknell, Lafayette, and Lehigh.

Robert Morris (Moon Township) - 2010 NEC Champs / FCS First Round
Duquesne (Pittsburgh) - 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 NEC Champs / 2015 FCS First Round, 2018 FCS Second Round
Saint Francis (Loretto) - 2016 NEC Champs / FCS First Round

Has probably put a dent in PL recruiting ability in Western PA and Eastern Ohio. In my day we had a good number of kids from that region.