Five Takeaways From Monmouth's 42-31 Victory At Towson

WEST LONG BRANCH – The Hawks knew going into last Saturday’s skirmish at Towson that it was going to be a dogfight, and that’s just what they got. Monmouth didn’t put the game away until late in the fourth quarter on Elijah Jennings' third rushing touchdown of the day, set up by a Derek Robertson to Josh Derry 35-yard pass completion down to the Towson 34-yard line. Five running plays later, Jennings ran it in from three yards out to give Monmouth a 42-31 lead with 2:06 left in the game. The Defense then put the finishing touches on the game to seal the win.

The win pushed the Hawks' season record to 5-1 and 2-0 in the Coastal Athletic Association, its best start since 2017 when that team went 9-1 to start the season before finishing 9-3 after a loss to Kennesaw State in the de facto Big South championship game and a loss to No.20 Northern Iowa in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

Now, at the midpoint of the season, the Hawks venture into the meat-and-potatoes portion of their schedule with six conference games remaining that will eventually determine just how far this team can go as the postseason playoff picture looms.

MONMOUTH HAS ITS RUNNING GAME AT FULL THROTTLE

For the second game in a row, Monmouth’s rushing attack played a significant role in securing the victory. In their win against Delaware State two Saturdays ago, the Hawks rushed for 252 yards, with the bulk of that yardage coming in the second half when they desperately needed to run time off the clock to keep Delaware State quarterback Kaiden Bennett on the bench in the shootout. Rodney Nelson rushed for 203 yards, with 153 of those yards coming in the second half. After the Hawks took a precarious 49-38 lead, the defense forced a three-and-out. The offense then held on to the ball for the final 7:16 of the game, running the ball on 10 of the final 12 plays. Then, in last Saturday’s 42-31 win at Towson, the Hawks rushed for 204 yards with Nelson picking up 156 yards on 27 attempts and a touchdown, while Jennings added 47 yards on 11 carries with three touchdowns. Towson pulled to within 35-31 with 4:48 remaining in the game, but Monmouth answered with a seven-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, with five of the seven plays coming on the ground. With Monmouth’s running game humming like it is, it takes a lot of pressure off the shoulders of All-American quarterback Derek Robertson, having to win every game himself. Monmouth’s offense is even more deadly with this balanced attack.

THE DEFENSE HAS A KNACK FOR MAKING BIG PLAYS WHEN THEY’RE NEEDED MOST

You can say what you want about Monmouth’s defense and the yardage they allow, but they’re starting to make a name for themselves by creating turnovers at the most opportune time. In the first quarter of last Saturday’s game with Towson driving, J.J. Lewis’ strip sack and Deuce Lee’s recovery led to a Hawks score. Then, in the second quarter, with Towson again driving and facing a fourth-and-five at the Monmouth 31, Brendan Bigos stripped the ball from Winston Watkins into the hands of Hunter Watson, who returned it 33 yards to the Towson 37. Nelson then picked up 31 yards on second down, and two plays later Jennings took it in for the score. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Hawks holding on to a tenuous 42-31 lead, Josiah Graham recorded back-to-back sacks, stripping the ball from quarterback Andrew Indorf on the second one and into the arms of defensive tackle Bryce Rooks. Monmouth then ran out the clock on two Nelson runs and a Robertson kneel down. Graham’s seven sacks give him the CAA lead and is third in the country. Defensive end Lamont Lester, who recorded 1.5 sacks against Delaware State, has five sacks, which rank eleventh nationally and second in the CAA. Monmouth’s 17 team sacks are tied for 13th in the country and third in the CAA.

MONMOUTH’S THIRD AND FOURTH-DOWN EFFICIENCY KEPT SCORING DRIVES ALIVE

The Hawks converted seven of 10 third-down plays and two out of two fourth-down plays, with eight of those conversions leading to touchdowns. On Monmouth’s first possession of the game, they converted third and fourth-down plays to take a 7-0 lead. Then, on their second possession, they also converted third and fourth-down plays before taking a 14-0 lead. With the score tied up at 21-21, the Hawks converted a third-and-four before Jennings scored on a one-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal at the one to take a 28-21 lead. In the fourth quarter, Nelson picked up five yards on a third-and-four play to extend the drive before Robertson found tight end Jack Neri on the next play to give the Hawks a 35-28 lead. It would be beneficial, but highly unlikely, if the Hawks could maintain this type of conversion rate (75%). However, with this juggernaut offense, anything is possible.

THE HAWKS' OFFENSIVE LINE DESERVES MORE CREDIT THAN IT’S GETTING

Monmouth’s offensive line has given up just seven sacks in six games, the least amount of any team in the CAA, and in last week's win at Towson, Robertson wasn’t sacked at all. Two weeks ago, against Delaware State, the line allowed just one sack. It appears that the more time left tackle David Dutra, left guard Chris Moreno, center Kevin Shrinner, right guard Shalik Hubbard, and right tackle J.T. Cornelius are on the field together, the more dominant they are becoming. And it’s not just pass protection that sets them apart; it’s their ferocious run blocking up front that allows Monmouth to play an extraordinary brand of complementary football. The line has paved the way to a No.1 ranking in the country for total offensive yards per game (554.3), including rushing offense per game (170.2) and passing offense per game (384.2). Granted, Robertson has a little something to do with that; I’m being factitious, but he would be the first to tell you that all credit goes to the offensive line. Robertson is as humble as he is great.

ROBERTSON DOESN’T NEED TO BE SUPERMAN IN EVERY GAME FOR THE HAWKS TO WIN

If you look at Robertson’s stat line from last week’s win at Towson, 27-of-32 (84%) for 250 yards and two passing touchdowns with zero interceptions, one might think they were fairly pedestrian. But the only reason you would come to that conclusion is because it’s Derek Robertson we’re talking about. Those are career-game numbers for many quarterbacks. Robertson came into last week's game averaging over 400 yards passing per game and 4.4 touchdown passes per game: freakish numbers. For Robertson, it’s all about winning; nothing is about him. When you ask him about an off-the-chart pass play he completed, he’ll immediately give credit to his receiver, line, or coaches; it’s never about him. He’ll adapt his style of play to whatever is needed to win. If you take a closer look at his stats from last week, his completion percentage jumps off the page. We’re talking 84 percent here while throwing 32 passes; that in itself is ridiculous. His passing yards and touchdown passes were a little down last week, but that’s only because the running game was churning out yardage, and they were playing the possession game. We take Robetson’s greatness for granted, and we’re all a little spoiled by his prodigiousness. So, with six regular-season games left on the schedule, let Robertson be Robertson, and hang on for the ride.