The 2020 Monmouth Hawks football team represented Monmouth University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Big South Conference. They will be led by 28th-year head coach Kevin Callahan and play their home games at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
| 2020 Monmouth Hawks football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Big South champion | |
NCAA Division I First Round, L 15–21 vs. Sam Houston State | |
| Conference | Big South Conference |
| Ranking | |
| STATS | No. 10 |
| FCS Coaches | No. 10 |
| Record | 3–1 (3–0 Big South) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Jeff Gallo (2nd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Air raid |
| Defensive coordinator | Andy Bobik (27th season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Kessler Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Monmouth $^ | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Kennesaw State | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charleston Southern | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gardner–Webb | 0 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On July 27, it was announced that Monmouth would cancel its fall sports seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Playing fall sports, including football, in the fall has not been ruled out.[1]
Preseason
editPolls
editIn June 2020, the Hawks were predicted to finish second in the Big South by a panel of media and head coaches.[2]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kennesaw State | 68 (8) |
| 2 | Monmouth | 57 (3) |
| 3 | Charleston Southern | 43 (1) |
| 4 | Campbell | 42 |
| 5 | Hampton | 23 |
| 6 | Gardner–Webb | 19 |
| — | North Alabama[i] | — |
- ^ North Alabama was not eligible for the preseason poll due to their transition to Division I.
Schedule
editMonmouth had games scheduled against Rutgers (September 5), Albany (September 12), Maine (September 19), Fordham (September 26), and Hampton (November 7), which were all later canceled before the start of the 2020 season.[3][4][5][6]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 27 | 1:00 p.m. | Charleston Southern | W 35–17 | ||||||
| April 3 | 12:00 p.m. | at Gardner–Webb | W 48–19 | ||||||
| April 10 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 7 Kennesaw State | No. 20 |
| ESPN | W 42–17 | |||
| | | No. 12 | Canceled | ||||||
| April 24 | at No. 4 Sam Houston State | No. 10 | ESPN3 | L 15–21 | |||||
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References
edit- ^ Kelley, Kevin (July 27, 2020). "Monmouth cancels 2020 football season due to COVID-19". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ "Kennesaw State Voted 2020 Preseason Football Favorite". bigsouthsports.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ "Patriot League cancels fall sports due to virus". ESPN.com. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- ^ Hebert, Michael. "BIG SOUTH FOOTBALL: Hampton suspends sports for the fall". TimesDaily. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Monmouth Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.