The Friday Tailgate 10/29

With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Johns Hopkins can end all the drama surrounding the 2005 Centennial football season. The Blue Jays, ranked 16th nationally by the American Football Coaches Association, need one win over either Ursinus or McDaniel to secure the outright CC championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The other big news in the Conference is the addition of Juniata and Moravian Colleges to our football family beginning with the 2007 season. Changes are in the wind for the Mid-Atlantic regional conferences ... and we are thrilled to add two institutions with a strong commitment to academics and athletics.

Franklin & Marshall at McDaniel
This is the 39th meeting between the Diplomats and the Green Terror in a series that dates to 1904 ... F&M holds a 20-16-2 advantage including a 20-7 decision last season in Lancaster ... it is Homecoming in Westminster where the Diplomats have not won since 1995 ... McDaniel is 51-20-1 in Homecoming games ... it's an elimination game as neither team can lose and hope for a share of the Conference title ... the Terror is +6 in turnover margin, while F&M is -5 ... McDaniel has a CC-best 22 sacks, while the Diplomat offensive line has allowed just 10 sacks ... Terror LB Ron Ringgold leads the Conference in tackles (100) ... listen to the game on WTTR-AM 1470 or WFNM-FM 89.1.

Ursinus at Johns Hopkins
It is the 48th consecutive meeting for the Bears and the Blue Jays in a series that began in 1958 ... it is the longest active run for a Hopkins' opponent, exceeding even the McDaniel series that was interrupted in 1963 due to the JFK assassination ... Hopkins holds a 28-15-4 advantage and has won 10 of the last 13 meetings, including four straight ... the Blue Jays fell one spot in the AFCA rankings to No. 16 ... since the start of the 2003 season, JHU has been in the top 25 17 times in 26 weeks ... the CC's top two players in total offense are featured in Hopkins QB Zach DiIonno and Ursinus QB Vince Gallagher ... listen to the game on WJHUradio.com

Muhlenberg at Gettysburg
It is the 70th gridiron meeting for the Mules and the Bullets in a series that started in 1907 ... Gettysburg holds a 40-28-1 lead but Muhlenberg has won the last five matchups ... the Bullets' last win was a 42-28 triumph in 1999 ... Bullet RB Tom Sturges is 127 yards away from the 1,000-yard mark for the season ... Mule QB Matt Johnson can beat you with his arm and his legs ... as a RB, he ran for 131 yards and three TDs vs. the Orange and Blue last season ... as a QB, he has a CC-leading 113.3 pass efficiency rating ... Muhlenberg leads the CC in passing offense (193.7), while Gettysburg is last against the pass (259.9).

Hampden-Sydney at Dickinson
This is the third time that the Tigers and the Red Devils have squared off with H-SC winning 21-20 in 2003 and 18-14 last season ... the tale of the tape shows what Dickinson needs to do against the Tigers ... under coach Darwin Breaux, the Devils are 64-7 when gaining more yards than their opponent and 63-6 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter ... DB Andrew Ackley leads the CC with six interceptions ... he'll have a chance to add to that total, as Tiger QB J.D. Ricca averages 40 passes per game and has thrown for 2,585 yards this season ... listen to the game on WDCV-FM 88.3.