2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team

2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football
2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football
NEC co-champion
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	7–4 (5–1 NEC)
Head coach	Mark Nofri (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Matt Gardner
Defensive coordinator	Michael Cooke
Home stadium	Campus Field
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team represented Sacred Heart University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Mark Nofri and played their home games at Campus Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 5–1 in NEC play to be NEC co-champions with Duquesne. Due to their head-to-head loss to Duquesne, they did not receive the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs and did not receive and at-large bid.

2018 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 21 Duquesne +^	5	–	1	8	–	3
Sacred Heart +	5	–	1	7	–	4
Central Connecticut	4	–	2	6	–	5
Wagner	3	–	3	4	–	7
Saint Francis (PA)	2	–	4	4	–	7
Bryant	2	–	4	6	–	5
Robert Morris	0	–	6	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason edit

NEC coaches poll edit

The NEC released their preseason coaches poll on July 24, 2018, with the Pioneers predicted to finish in sixth place.^[1] They did not place any players on the preseason all-NEC team.

Predicted finish	Team
1	Central Connecticut
2	Duquesne
3	Bryant
4	Saint Francis
5	Wagner
6	Sacred Heart
7	Robert Morris

Schedule edit

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	Lafayette*	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 35–6	4,157
September 8	3:30 p.m.	at Bucknell*	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 30–14	1,872
September 22	6:00 p.m.	at Wagner	Wagner College Stadium Staten Island, NY	W 41–14	3,178
September 29	1:00 p.m.	at Cornell*	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY	L 24–43	3,620
October 6	3:00 p.m.	Penn*	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	L 27–31	4,503
October 13	6:00 p.m.	at Dartmouth*	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 0–42	3,138
October 20	1:00 p.m.	at Central Connecticut	Arute Field New Britain, CT (Constitution State Rivalry)	W 28–25	5,117
October 27	1:00 p.m.	Bryant	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 49–26	1,678
November 3	Noon	Robert Morris	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 38–7	1,556
November 10	Noon	at Duquesne	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	L 24–28	1,304
November 17	Noon	Saint Francis (PA)	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 13–7	1,852
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source: Schedule

Game summaries edit

Lafayette edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leopards	3	0	3	0	6
Pioneers	7	14	7	7	35

At Bucknell edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	7	7	7	9	30
Bison	0	14	0	0	14

At Wagner edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	7	21	6	7	41
Seahawks	0	7	7	0	14

At Cornell edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	3	7	7	7	24
Big Red	16	20	7	0	43

Penn edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Quakers	7	10	7	7	31
Pioneers	0	0	21	6	27

At Dartmouth edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	0	0	0	0	0
Big Green	21	14	7	0	42

At Central Connecticut edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	7	0	14	7	28
Blue Devils	3	14	0	8	25

Bryant edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	14	6	0	6	26
Pioneers	14	13	13	9	49

Robert Morris edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonials	0	0	7	0	7
Pioneers	21	14	0	3	38

At Duquesne edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	0	7	14	3	24
Dukes	14	7	7	0	28

Saint Francis (PA) edit

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Flash	0	7	0	0	7
Pioneers	3	3	7	0	13

References edit

^ "Northeast Conference - Defending Champ CCSU Tops Preseason Coaches' Poll, Places League-high Seven on All-NEC Team". www.northeastconference.org.

[1] "Northeast Conference - Defending Champ CCSU Tops Preseason Coaches' Poll, Places League-high Seven on All-NEC Team". www.northeastconference.org.

[1]