If Central Connecticut State is going to repeat as NEC champions, then this Saturday is a major date on the Blue Devils' calendar.
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Central Connecticut State remained unblemished in conference play in 2017, but it's looked far from perfect here during the 2018 season. CCSU (3-3) has looked uneven through six games, with a head-scratching loss at Lafayette on Sept. 29 as the biggest cause for concern. The Blue Devils also gave up 35 points to Robert Morris last week, which is too much for a championship-caliber defense to cede to a rebuilding program like the Colonials.
CCSU will travel to Bryant (4-1) this Saturday. The Bulldogs aren't the best team on Central's schedule — it opened the season with FBS Ball State and also hosted Columbia in a non-conference FCS match — but Bryant is the most important game CCSU will have played so far this season. Price Wilson and the high-flying Bryant offense will be the first major conference challenge for the Blue Devils in 2018.
Bryant's 33.8 points per game ranks second in the NEC and 32nd nationally; meanwhile, the Blue Devils' defense has held Division I opponents under 30 points only once this season.
The Bulldogs are coming off a huge 21-20 road win at Duquesne that injected them into the very center of the conference title race. The winner of this game will have a major leg up in the NEC championship hunt. If it's Bryant, it'll be the first conference loss for CCSU since November 2016.
For more on Bryant and Central Connecticut State, check out the HERO Sports FCS Podcast, which covers a slew of key games from Week 7. That conversation begins at 43:03 mark. The "Prop Bet" segment, which begins at the 1:12:01 mark, also involves Bryant.
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