UNH Notebook: 'Cats finding pressure points
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
Here's an FYI for those who haven't been paying attention during the early portion of the season: The University of New Hampshire football team is no longer an offensive juggernaut.
Instead, UNH has morphed into a team best known for its defense. At least that's what the statistics suggest.
The Wildcats have held their opponents to 30 points in their two games, and are ranked first in the nation in average yards allowed per game (162.5). UNH is allowing 36.5 yards per game on the ground and 126 through the air.
In addition, UNH (2-0) has recorded eight sacks, recovered three fumbles and intercepted two passes.
"When you can get pressure on the quarterback, get hits on the quarterback you're coverage becomes that much better," UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. "Your defense becomes that much better. When you get sacks within a drive the percentages of touchdowns go way down, so it's important for us to get pressure on the quarterback."
The UNH defense will get its next test Saturday, when the Wildcats will play a non-league game against Dartmouth. The opening kickoff at UNH's Cowell Stadium is scheduled for noon.
Dartmouth opened its season with a 34-15 loss to Colgate last Saturday. The Big Green played that game without junior wide receiver Tim McManus (leg injury), who is expected to miss the UNH game as well.
The Wildcats have seven players who have at least one sack. UNH had 13 sacks in 13 games last season.
"When I first got here our defense wasn't even on the map, so these last two years have been real fun for us," UNH defensive end Kevin Peters said. "Dartmouth is a real good team. They're gonna try to run the ball on us and hopefully we shut that down. Get them in third and long and get our (defensive backs) some picks."
Back in motion
Senior running back Chad Kackert missed UNH's first two games while recovering from a hamstring injury, but returned to practice this week. McDonnell said he expects Kackert to see limited action in Saturday's game.
Junior running back Sean Jellison has made the most of his opportunity in Kackert's absence. Jellison has rushed for a team-high 180 yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries. Jellison, who played at Souhegan High School, has also caught a team-high seven passes for 67 yards and one TD.
"Sean has played a lot of football this year," McDonnell said. "Over the course of the last two years he's been in an auxiliary role. Whenever he's been asked to do it he's played pretty well and now you feel comfortable when he's in there playing, being the No. 1 guy because he's played a lot of football and he's making plays against good people."
McDonnell on injuries to freshman offensive lineman Chris Zarkoskie (ankle sprain) and sophomore defensive end Brian McNally (shoulder):
- Zarkoskie:"That's still bothering him a little bit. I don't know how much we're going to get him on Saturday, if at all."
- McNally: He practiced a little bit (Tuesday). (Tuesday) was the first time he took a step back in his rehab. I'm not anticipating him playing this week. We're preparing just as we did for Ball State without him in the plans. If he can play and give us some reps, he will."
Going Green
When asked about Dartmouth during his weekly session with the media, McDonnell singled out junior defensive end Charles Bay.
"I see a better football team," McDonnell said. "And it starts on the defensive line. I think they've got a kid there Charles Bay, number 96 -- he's a very good football player. He a top-half-of-the-league defensive player in the CAA or in the Ivy League. He's athletic. He gives them a presence on the edge, and we gotta be very aware of him. Where he's at."
Familiar faces
McDonnell said there are probably eight-to-10 players on the Dartmouth roster who UNH recruited. That list includes sophomore defensive tackle Mark Dwyer, junior defensive tackle Tyler Green and sophomore running back Nick Schweiger.
"Our recruiting is a little bit different than theirs," McDonnell said. 'One, start with the academics, and two, how they go national (with recruiting), where we're a little bit more local."
