Big League Clu kicks off the FCS Road Trip Series with a little local flavor.

With October finally here, we are in the thick of the college football season. Saturday afternoon tailgaiting, cheering for your favorite teams, watching the school mascot make a complete ass of itself and hearing the crowd go into a frenzy after a big touchdown; that’s what it’s all about. Last week I previewed a big rivalry out of the Big Sky conference between Montana and Eastern Washington University (check it out here in case you missed it). The fact that they’re two schools out of the NCAA’s Division I – FCS subdivision, it got me thinking… How much do people actually know about these schools out of the FCS? Not many, I can assure you, unless of course you went to one of those schools.

So because Big League Clu is for the people, I have decided to start a new series. It is very similar to the Mid-Major Conference Road Trip series I debuted last year. The difference is that this series goes through the Division I-FCS schools duh! For the series debut, I decided to start things off with a local powerhouse in the greater New York area, enjoy!

Stony Brook Seawolves (5-1, 1-0 in the Big Sky conference)

Last Week’s Results: vs. Charleston Southern (1-3) – W 49-7

Next Game:  @ Coastal Carolina

Are you a Seawolf?

That’s right people! we’re talking about S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook here! Better known as State University of NY @ Stony Brook, these Seawolves are running amock in the Big South conference. They’re only loss of the year was at Syracuse, where they lost 28-17. They were right in in for much of the game too. The Seawolves have had some very impressive wins too. Look at what they did at West Point! They beat up on another NY team, the Army Black Knights, 23-3. They also just got finished whooping Charleston Southern 49-7 at Stony Brook this weekend. Just what has made these Seawolves so dominant? A lot of it due to the fact that head coach Chuck Priore has done a great job of recruiting good talent in and around the local NY/CT area in his seven years running Seawolves.

Conference wise, they’ve had some success that has started all the way back 2005 when they shared the NEC (Northeast Conference) title. In 2009/2010, the Seawolves won a share of the Big South Conference title, and last season they went undefeated in the conference and made it to the second round of the playoffs. Getting back to that 2010 team, the Seawolves had eight different players earn All-Conference and five of them even made first-team selections. That team obviously created a good, solid foundation for the Seawolves to become a contender in the Northeast Corridor. I feel that coach Priore obviously knows what he is doing and has done a great job of building up this local team.

The 2012 team looks as if they’re ready to run away with the Big South, as they’re the only school with a winning record and they should most likely make some sort of run in the FCS playoffs. But, when I look at the conference they’re playing in, it makes me laugh a little bit. Really? The Big South Conference? They are by far the “northest” team in the Big South, as all of the other teams are located in Virginia or the Carolinas. According to my super secret underground sources, however, Stony Brook will be moving to the Colonial Athletic Associate in 2013, along with the team that I will be previewing in next weeks segment of the FCS roadtrip. You will just have to stick around to find out about that other school, won’t you?

Anywho, Stony Brook also boasts some talent on the offensive side of the ball. They’re led by Senior QB Kyle Essington, who has thrown for 1,009 yards and 12 TDs. Essington’s favorite target appears to be fellow Senior WR Kevin Norell, who has caught 684 yards and has 5 of those 7 TDs. The Seawolves also happen to have a phenom at running back named Miguel Maysonet, who has rushed for 918 yards and has 10 total TDs (9 rushing, 1 receiving). Look out college football, these Seawolves are for real! There is a bright future ahead for Stony Brook, and we’re beginning to see some big time rivalries develop with FCS programs like Colgate, Brown and even some FBS schools like Rutgers, UConn, Buffalo and even Boston College. So look out, Jobu, your Eagles are going to have targets on their backs! Go Seawolves!

Featured image courtesy of: Stony Brook University