FOOTBALL CONTINUES HOME STAND AGAINST BUCKNELL

A LOOK AT TODAY'S GAME

• Monmouth comes into today's game looking to string two wins together after coming off the bye week. The Bison fell 27-3 in their last outing to Patriot League leader Colgate to fall to 1-1 in league play.

• The Hawks are 2-0 at Kessler Stadium this season while Bucknell has posted a 1-2 record on the road in 2018.

• Today marks the second overall meeting between the Hawks and Bison. Last season the Hawks earned a 35-13 win in Lewisburg in a game which saw Mike Basile set the MU tackles record.

• Today is the final non-conference contest of the of the season for the Hawks. Monmouth is looking to earn a winning record against non-conference opponents for the third straight season and the fourth time in the last five years.

• Today's game is also Breast Cancer Awareness Day, fans who wear pink will receive a free game ticket (Gameday offer only)

• Today's game can be viewed on ESPN+, with Matt Harmon (pxp) and Eddy Occhipinti (analyst) on the call.

TODAY'S PROMOTIONS Saturday's game is the annual Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness presented by Monmouth Medical Center. Wear pink to the game and receive a free ticket at the Austin Family Box Office on game day. The first 500 fans will receive a free t-shirt courtesy of Monmouth Medical Center.

THE COACHING MATCHUP Kevin Callahan is in his 26th season at Monmouth as the Hawks' head coach. Callahan owns a 147-120 career coaching record, all with Monmouth. Coming into the season, Callahan's 146 victories ranks him 10th among active coaches in the Football Championship Subdivision. The only coach in Monmouth history, he has led the Blue & White to five conference championships, in 1996, 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2006 and its first at-large playoff berth in 2017. Callahan has earned conference coach of the year accolades in 1998, 2003 and 2006 and was named as an Eddie Robinson Award finalist in 2017, finishing 10th in the voting. Prior to arriving in West Long Branch, Callahan served as defensive coordinator at Colgate for eight seasons and at Wagner for three years. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Albany (1977-79) and Syracuse (1980) before becoming a Seahawk assistant in 1981.

Joe Susan comes into today's game with a 38-56 record at Bucknell in his eighth season at the helm of the Bison. Susan ranks seventh in Bucknell history with 38 victories and began the season fifth in games coached. He is 48-56 in his career as a head coach, which included a 10-0 season at Davidson. The 26th head coach since the Bison began play in 1883, he took over a program that currently ranks in the top 20 of the Division I FCS ranks with 596 victories. Susan, a 1978 graduate of the University of Delaware, served near-decade-long stints at Bucknell (1981-1990), Princeton (1991-1999) and Rutgers (2001-2009) before becoming the Bison head coach. He has had tenures at both the FBS (Rutgers, Memphis) and FCS (Bucknell, Princeton, Davidson) levels.

INSIDE THE MU-BUCKNELL SERIES

Second Overall Meeting Overall Record: MU leads 1-0 West Long Branch: N/A Lewisburg, PA: MU, 1-0 First Meeting: Sept. 30, 2017 Last Meeting: Sept. 30, 2017 Longest MU Win Streak: 1 gm Longest BU Win Streak: N/A Largest MU W Margin: 22 pts Largest BU W Margin: N/A Smallest MU W Margin: 22 pts Smallest BU W Margin: N/A Shutouts: None Overtime Games: None

MONMOUTH AGAINST THE PATRIOT LEAGUE

• Monmouth owns a 13-10 record against the Patriot League, winning six consecutive games against the conference.

• The Hawks are 1-0 this season against Patriot League teams, defeating Lafayette 24-20 earlier in the season. In that game the MU defense had two late stops while Kenji Bahar had a career-high 334 yards on 28-of-40 passing.

• Monmouth has won three straight against Lehigh with the Hawks owning a winning a record against Georgetown (2-0), Bucknell (1-0) and Fordham (2-1).

• Colgate (3-1) and Lehigh (5-3) own winning records against Monmouth. Last season Monmouth faced four of the seven Patriot League teams, going 4-0.

INSIDE THE MONMOUTH-BUCKNELL SERIES

• Today's game is the second in the series in between the Hawks and Bison and the first at Kessler Stadium.

• Monmouth took the first ever meeting on Sept. 30, 2017 in Lewisburg, with the Hawks taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looking back.

• Teddy Martinez had a pair of interceptions in the game, Monmouth as a team in 2018 only has two interceptions in five games.

• In that game Monmouth back Eric Zokouri ran for a then-career high 134 yards on 21 carries while the Monmouth defense allowed just 47 yards rushing by Bucknell.

• Early in the first half Mike Basile recorded his 354 career tackle which set the current Monmouth record. Basile would finish with seven tackles.

REGGIE WHITE JR. TAKES OVER MONMOUTH RECEPTIONS RECORD White Jr. picked the biggest moment of the win over Wagner to become Monmouth's all-time leader in receptions; breaking the record with his 213th career catch, which he took 84 yards to the house. White's score put the Hawks ahead 54-47 with 1:14 remaining in a back and forth game. White Jr. finished with seven catches for 161 yards and two touchdowns. His 49-Wiyard reception in the second quarter set up Monmouth's fourth scoring drive, which retook the lead. White Jr. set the program record of 213 catches in just 39 career games, passing current New York Jets TE Neal Sterling (212). In additon to being named Big South Offensive Player of the Week, White Jr. was also named STATS FCS National Player of the Week honorable mention.

VINNY GRASSO SETS MONMOUTH MARK FOR ALL PURPOSE YARDS Against Wagner, Monmouth senior wideout Vinny Grasso crushed the Monmouth all-purpose yard record with 306, surpassing Pete Guerriero's mark of 263 set against Lehigh last season. Grasso had a career-high 147 yards in kickoff returns, a season high 63 yards in punt returns, three receptions for 58 yards and ran the ball twice for 38 yards. He recorded a punt return for 49 yards and had a pair of kickoff returns that were 35+ yards.

DID YOU KNOW? Monmouth currently owns a seven-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The seven-games ties the program record for longest streak, with the Hawks winning seven consecutive from Nov. 9, 2002 to Sept. 25, 2004. The streak began with a win over St. Francis and ended with a conference loss to Stony Brook.

Social Media Links: Follow the Hawks all season long on twitter (@MUHawksFB) Facebook (facebook.com/MUFootball) Monmouth's YouTube page (YouTube.com/monmouthhawks)

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