New Hampshire Wildcats
Colonial
Unlike many CAA teams that have reached the playoffs, New Hampshire was expected to be here. In what has been a season full of surprises with Old Dominion, Towson and Maine reaching the playoffs and traditional powers like William & Mary, Delaware and James Madison struggling, the Wildcats have been one of the few teams that have pretty much done what was expected of them. The Wildcats have not dominated the competition, but that is tough to do in a strong conference. However, New Hampshire has done enough to reach the playoffs and now it is a whole new season.
2011 Record: 8-3, 6-2
Last Playoff Appearance: 2010
Coach: Sean McDonnell (96-61 at New Hampshire, 96-61 overall)
Big Wins: 9/10 at Lehigh (48-41), 11/5 James Madison (28-10)
Bad Losses: 10/15 at William & Mary (27-21), 11/12 at Towson (42-56)
Strengths:
Quarterback Kevin Decker is the man who makes the Wildcats offense tick. Decker has thrown a few too many interceptions, but for the amount of passes that he puts in the air, throwing 14 picks is not too bad. Decker has been amazingly efficient this season, completing over 70 percent of his passes. Joey Orlando and R.J. Harris are Decker’s favorite receiving targets. Both are consistent pass catchers who can also break some big plays. With a handful of other capable receivers, Decker will spread the ball around quite a bit. But Decker can do more than pass the ball, he is also a very good rusher who can pick up big yardage on the ground. When Decker is not running the ball, Dontra Peters is. Peters will not get a lot of carries in most games since this offense runs through Decker, but Peters is a quality running back who takes advantage of his touches and helps balance the offense. The biggest problem this offense can have is one of those very, very rare occasions when Decker has a bad day. But even when UNH lost to William & Mary 24-10, Decker threw for 422 yards. He just got picked off a couple times and failed to convert all of that yardage into points.
Weaknesses:
The more likely scenario for the Wildcats bowing out of the playoffs is a loss in a shootout. This is a team that allowed 41 points against Lehigh, 43 against Richmond and 56 against Towson. They won the first two games anyway and New Hampshire certainly knows how to win a high scoring game. But that is not a good thing. The defense is among the worst in the nation in total yards allowed and the scoring defense is not much better. Linebacker Matt Evans is the leader of the defense and is good for about 15 tackles per game and Brian McNally is a force on the defensive line, but this is a pretty young defense that still needs time to develop. Unfortunately for New Hampshire, it does not appear that the defense has gotten too much better as the 2011 season has progressed, so there is not much hope for improvement during the playoffs. The secondary has a trio of sophomores in Chris Beranger, Manny Asam and Chris Houston who can make some plays, but the unit is not consistent.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Dontra Peters, RB, 568 yards
Passing: Kevin Decker, QB, 3,072 yards
Receiving: R.J. Harris, WR, 658 yards
Tackles: Matt Evans, LB, 154
Sacks: Brian McNally, DE, 7.5
Interceptions: Chris Houston, CB, 5
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 162.64 (52nd in nation, 6th in conference)
Passing Offense: 281.45 (14, 1)
Total Offense: 444.09 (8, 1)
Scoring Offense: 33.55 (21, 3)
Rushing Defense: 176.18 (89, 11)
Pass Defense: 253.91 (110, 11)
Total Defense: 430.09 (106, 11)
Scoring Defense: 32.09 (97, 11)
Turnover Margin: -.45 (T-82, 7)
Sacks: 2.09 (53, 5)
Sacks Allowed: 2.45 (78, 9)
