There may not be moral victories in college football, but there is progress.
Monmouth football went on the road against the momentary darling of the sport and a Mid-American Conference powerhouse. The final score will look predictable on paper. The Hawks lost 49-14 to Western Michigan on Saturday night in Kalamazoo. It was the first game after the Broncos' controversial loss to Michigan had galvanized college football fans across the country in support, and WMU head coach Lance Taylor had foreshadowed the team's response after that painful finish.
"Hey, don't feel sorry for us," Taylor told reporters after the Michigan game. "Feel sorry for the teams that we're going to play."
But don't feel sorry for Monmouth, either. Overall, the Hawks (1-2) put together their best performance of the season as they went toe-to-toe with the Broncos (1-1) in the first half in particular. A much smaller percentage of Monmouth's plays were fatal self-inflicted wounds, and it was enough to obfuscate the team's considerable progress in the third game of the season.
"We did some things well. We moved the ball well, we got stops, but it's putting it all together," Monmouth head coach Jeff Gallo said. "That's a good team, but we're out here trying to compete to win and we can play better. We'll keep pushing to play better."

#Broncos

The Western Michigan Broncos return to Kalamazoo for their 2026 home opener Saturday when they host the Monmouth Hawks at Waldo Stadium.
Sep 5, 2026; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Western Michigan kicker Dieter Kelly (32) celebrates with his teammates after making a field goal against Michigan at the end of the second quarter at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026
Time: 6:30 PM ET
Channel: ESPN+

#monmouth

With no Jayden Warner, Wyatt Jacobson or William Laman in the mix — those local cross country stars all graduated last year — the community will soon get familiar with new names, new local legends. New eras started for local cross country teams on Friday, Aug. 28. The Knappa boys team made an opening statement, while Astoria's strong freshman class made an immediate impact. Here's the roundup for local cross country teams.
Knappa boys flex their muscles
No Wyatt Jacobson? No problem for the Knappa boys cross country team.
The Loggers traveled to Monmouth, Oregon to take part in a star-studded meet at Western Oregon on Friday, Aug. 28. Taking on mostly teams from 4A-6A, the Loggers made an impression. The defending 2A State Champions finished third out of 30 teams in attendance, only finishing behind 6A McMinnville and 5A Corvallis. Knappa scored a total of 108, second place Corvallis scored 103 and in first place, McMinnville had 95.
Returning all but three runners from last year's squad, the Loggers are set up for another three-way ***** le fight with Union and Bandon. Knappa junior Rowdy Justus will also be amongst the runners competing for an individual state ***** le.

#wyatt #jacobson

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jax Leatherwood threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns, and Tennessee Tech beat Monmouth 38-14 in a season opener for both teams on Saturday night.
Tennessee Tech entered the game ranked 14th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll, and the Hawks 22nd.
Tennessee Tech took a 7-0 lead when Leatherwood threw a 2-yard pass to Gabe Nunez with just under 10 minutes left in the first.
Five minutes later, Elijah Jennings ran it in from the 11 to even the score.
A minute before the break, Leatherwood threw an 18-yard touchdown to Qua Ashley to make it 14-7. Carter Brown kicked a 40-yard field goal with 18 seconds before halftime for a 10-point lead.

#threw #yard #tenn

The final weekend of August is the cue for many to squeeze in a little late-summer fun. But for football fans, it's time for an early welcome to the fall gridiron action.
College football is back with a broad slate of Week 0 action across the country. Monmouth will help ring in the 2026 season with one of the most exciting matchups on Saturday. The No. 23 Hawks go on the road to face No. 15 Tennessee Tech in one of just two Division I matchups between ranked teams during the opening weekend of action.
The APP will have live updates and ******* ysis of the Monmouth season opener as it unfolds. Stay tuned here for all the latest on the Hawks as they try to pull off a major road upset.
Quarterback13 Frankie Weaver (6-5, 215, R-Fr.)Running Back3 Elijah Jennings (5-9, 180, R-So.)6 Kenny Smith Jr. (5-10, 190, R-Fr.)28 ******* r Treadwell (6-1, 225, R-So.)Wide Receiver0 Gavin Nelson (6-0, 180, R-Sr.)7 Tra Neal (6-1, 180, R-Jr.)14 Christian Harrison (6-0, 195, Jr.)Tight End88 Marcus Middleton (6-3, 235, R-Jr.)84 Shane Garrett (6-4, 240, R-Jr.)Left Tackle73 Matt Fries (6-5, 295, R-Sr.)71 Moses Gakodi (6-5, 315, R-So.)Left Guard61 Collin Goetter (6-4, 295, R-So.)75 Bleek Turner (6-4, 305, R-Fr.)Center65 Kevin Shriner (6-1, 300, R-Sr.)79 Alec Grijalva (6-4, 305, R-Sr.)Right Guard74 Michael Petito (6-2, 325, R-Jr.) OR70 Reed Collins (6-5, 310, Gr.)Right Tackle77 Josh Duran (6-6, 305, R-Jr.) OR60 Brady O'Hara (6-7, 300, R-Fr.)Defensive End4 Hunter Watson (6-5, 260, R-So.)Defensive Tackle8 JJ Lewis (6-3, 280, Sr.)90 Brendan Bigos (6-4, 280, R-Sr.)92 Bryce Rooks (6-0, 295, R-Sr.)Defensive End52 Mounir Keshen (6-2, 245, So.)Linebacker27 Spencer Kishbaugh (6-3, 225, R-Jr.)5 Charlie Sasso (6-0, 230, R-Sr.)1 Ryan Russo (6-2, 230, R-Sr.)Star20 Hasson Manning Jr. (5-11, 190, Sr.)Safety2 Jaeden Jones (6-0, 200, Jr.)26 Donovan Fey (6-2, 205, R-Jr.)Cornerback22 Christian Palmer Jr. (6-1, 185, So.)24 Zac Ricci (5-11, 175, R-Jr.)
Game: No. 23/22 Monmouth vs. No. 15/14 Tennessee Tech

#Tech #christian #right #weekend

WEST LONG BRANCH -- There was theme among the songs that blared through the speakers at Kessler Stadium as Monmouth football practice got started Tuesday morning: Tennessee.
The Osborne Brothers' classic rendition of Rocky Top was the soundtrack for the opening stretches. It's a reminder that this is no longer training camp, it's game week. There are just a few days until No. 23 Monmouth will travel to Cookeville to take on No. 15 Tennessee Tech in a rare season-opening matchup of top 25 teams in the FCS. And the Hawks didn't waste anytime beginning to attack that challenge, going straight from stretch lines to 11-on-11 reps of hurry-up offense.
"It's a group that's got something to prove," Monmouth head coach Jeff Gallo said. "This team has something to prove as a collective unit. It's got talent, it's got ability, but it's about our ability every day to keep elevating the standard of our program and push that championship level on a daily basis."
No. 23 Monmouth football vs. No. 15 Tennessee Tech in Week 0: preview
The Hawks' first matchup is a chance to prove that they are at that championship level—or that more work is needed to reach it. Monmouth is on the national radar once again with a preseason top 25 ranking, but that could quickly slip away with a loss, or surge dramatically with a win.

#tennessee #prove

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Knightsbridge withstood a fierce battle on the lead in the early going before pulling away to win the $1 million Pacific Classic by 6 1/4 lengths at Del Mar on Saturday.
Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Knightsbridge ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.79. The 5-year-old horse had shipped to the seaside track north of San Diego from the East Coast after a win in the Monmouth Cup five weeks ago in New Jersey.
"He was kind of skipping over the ground," Alvarado said. "I had my hopes that when I asked him he would give me his best right when we turned for home. It was all heart there. He's a horse that has a lot of talent."
Knightsbridge was challenged over the opening mile by the speedy Full Serrano before shaking him off at the head of the stretch. The winner paid $4.20 as the wagering favorite.
Original Sin finished second. Full Serrano was another 1 1/2 lengths back in third in the West Coast's richest race.

#alvarado #full #lengths

WEST LONG BRANCH -- Monmouth football had a new coach and almost an entirely new starting offense when they hit the practice field to embark on the 2026 season on Thursday, but the expectations haven't changed for the Hawks.
Despite losing the weapons that accounted for 73% of the production for the top offense in the country at the FCS level, Monmouth was chosen as the second team in the Coastal Athletic ****** ociation preseason rankings behind only the defending conference champion Rhode Island.
Most teams undergoing this level of change are not burdened with expectations, but it's a testament to the growth of the Monmouth program and the respect for the transition from formerly the longest-tenured coach in Division I to a longtime ****** istant that was a mastermind behind the Hawks' gaudy offensive production. Good or bad, the Hawks remain indifferent to outside ****** sments.
"You always want to focus on execution over expectations," first-year head coach Jeff Gallo said. "It'll come down to how well we execute what we do. That is what's important. Expectations are—it's all about how you execute. And we always say, we're performance over perception."
3 big takeaways from Monmouth football coaching change to Jeff Gallo

#hawks #coach #gallo #Football

When it comes to the Jersey Shore’s biggest summer party, ******* ody knows how to conquer the Monmouth Park dirt quite like Bob Baffert.
The Hall of Fame trainer holds the all-time record for the most victories in the prestigious Grade 1 Haskell Stakes.
Over his legendary career, Baffert has captured the Haskell crown an astonishing NINE times and it’s unlikely he’s finished yet.
From legendary Triple Crown heroes to gutsy, breakout speedsters, Baffert’s dominance at Monmouth Park is unparalleled.
With Bob Baffert’s first Haskell Stakes win coming back in 2001 with the Gary Steven’s ridden Point Given.

A few years ago, the Rutgers passing attack was one of the weakest units on the team; now it is perhaps the best unit on the team. While improved quarterback play has been a major driver for this turnaround, the drastic improvement of the wide receiver core needs its flowers as well. In 2022, the season before wide receivers coach Dave Brock arrived on the banks, Rutgers recorded 1,827 passing yards. In his first season as wide receiver coach, the Scarlet Knights totaled 1,788 passing yards. Their top receiver in 2022 was Sean Ryan, who recorded 440 yards and three touchdowns. The Knights’ top receiver in 2023 was Christian Dremel, who made 36 catches for 468 yards and three touchdowns.
However, everything began to change for the Knights in 2024. They got a new quarterback in Athan Kaliakmanis. Ian Strong was entering his second year with the program. On top of that, Monmouth standout Dymere Miller and a very promising wide receiver prospect named KJ Duff joined the team in the offseason, courtesy of coach Brock.
That season, the Knights were led in receiving yards by Miller, with 757, and receiving touchdowns by Strong with 5. Strong and Miller combined for 9 receiving touchdowns that year, when the year before, the entire team only had 10.
2025 was another leap forward for the wide receiver core, with Duff recording 1,084 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, while Strong recorded 762 yards and five touchdowns. DT Sheffield, who transferred to Rutgers from North Texas, another result of Brock’s recruiting efforts, recorded 577 yards and 5 touchdowns. Had he been on the 2022 or 2023 squad, he would have been Rutgers’ leading receiver by over 100 yards, yet he was the third receiver on the 2025 squad. This should help put everything into perspective about what Brock has accomplished in just three years as coach.
His success has translated well to the recruiting trail, as the team has landed a few four stars, such as Dyzier Carter, and highly viewed three stars such as Jourdin Houston and Vernon Allen, who could see a decent amount of playing time this upcoming season. Also, earlier in his tenure, Brock played a major role in securing Duff’s commitment, which turned out to be a major recruiting win.

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