This weekend, the Muhlenberg football team will close out its 2017 season with a bowl game versus Carnegie Mellon University. The Mules, who have played Carnegie Mellon in football three times previously, will be playing at the University of Delaware, in Newark, Delaware. The team qualified for an East Coast Athletic Conference Bowl game following a 7-3 campaign.
“One more victory as an exclamation point for the Mike Donnelly era of Muhlenberg Football is the only goal” – Corey Goff
Muhlenberg has not played a football game at Delaware Stadium in over 60 years- last done in 1953- and playing in a Division 1 stadium is an exciting opportunity for this group of Mules.
”This certainly adds to the excitement of the opportunity for the team, thankfully we get to play in their great stadium but we don’t have to play the Blue Hens. We just need to make sure the unique venue does not become a distraction. The last time I saw a game at Delaware their field was 120 yds x 53 yards just like ours. Overall the team is very excited about the opportunity to go out and play one more game, for a championship. This year’s senior class has a chance to tie the school record for wins in a four year span in our storied program’s history,” said Acting Head Coach Corey Goff.
Unlike a regular season game, this ECAC Bowl Game matches the Mules against an unfamiliar opponent. This means that extra work must be put in before the game, in a shorter amount of time.
“The greatest difference is that we are not familiar with our opponent. As a coaching staff, we spend a great deal of time each year in the offseason studying film and personnel of the best teams in our conference so we can be prepared schematically for those contests. We know our regular season opponents very well because we compete against them every year and we watch film and follow their teams all season long. The last time a Muhlenberg football team prepared for Carnegie Mellon was 1997, I think most of those players have since graduated. Adding to this challenge is the fact that in a normal week we would begin preparing for the following week’s opponent much sooner than we have been able to this week since we just found out our opponent today. Our coaches are working frantically now to break down video and prepare for our first meeting with the team on Tuesday Nov. 14 at 7 a.m. The compressed schedule makes preparation a bit more chaotic for the coaches,” said Goff.
“The last time I saw a game at Delaware their field was 120 yds x 53 yards just like ours” – Goff
But despite the unique nature of this matchup, the goal on the field for all 60 minutes will be the same as always.
“Find a way to win. One more victory as an exclamation point for the Mike Donnelly era of Muhlenberg Football is the only goal,” said Goff.
