MADISON, N.J. — Coming into today's regular-season finale, Eastern Universisty Football had one job to do. They did it. The Eagles (8-2, 8-1) secured an NCAA Tournament bid and their second Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship with a dominating 52-0 road win over the winless FDU-Florham Devils.
Brett Nabb threw for three scores and ran for two more and the Eastern defense dominated, holding the Devils to 24 yards on the ground while earning a fourth shutout of the year.
"I can't say enough about this senior class," Head Coach
Billy Crocker said after the game. "It is great feeling to finish the job in the regular season finale. I am very proud of this team for all they went thru this year to repeat as champs. We dealt with more adversity than we did a year ago. To see them fight through it all has been amazing. In terms of the game, our defense continues to play at an elite level, and it was a great game for our offense to get some confidence back."
After scoring just a single touchdown on three first-quarter possessions, The Eagles scored touchdowns on their next six possessions to open a 49-0 lead midway through the third quarter. Nabb completed 9-of-13 passes for 208 yards and ran for 63 more.
Playing on FDU's turf for the first time since their program-changing win in 2024, the Eastern defense felt right at home immediately. The Devils (0-10, 0-9) went backwards and punted on each of their first two drives. After a good second punt put the Eagles at their own 30, Nabb led the Eagles on a six-play drive for a score. After moving into FDU territory with a couple short passes and three positive running plays, Nabb found
Chris Rivera over the top for a 43-yard score. Rivera finished with 110 yards for his second 100-yard game of the year.
After the teams traded empty possessions and the Devils punted again, the Eagles went another 71 yards for a touchdown. Nabb, who took a big hit in the second half at Stevenson and missed several possessions, was content early to hand the ball off and throw. The Avalon, N.J. native, however, could not help himself and scampered 25 yards around the edge for a 13-0 lead. With his two rushing touchdowns today, Nabb moved into a tie with teammate
Jeremiah Avrilien for the program's career lead in rushing touchdowns with 33. Avrilien, who had been limited by injury for the last few weeks, came into the game 40 yards short of 1000 for the year. He ran nine times for 41 yards before getting the rest of the day off.
On the next FDU possession,
Logan McGowan tipped a ball at the line of scrimmage, and
Cole Jones made a diving interception. Three plays later,
Eric Smith went around the left side for a 25-yard score.
After the Eagles gave ground but ultimately forced a turnover on downs,
Jordan McCoy reeled in his third catch of the day for 60-yard touchdown. McCoy, from nearby Hackensack, finished with four grabs for 76 yards. After another FDU drive ended on Downs, the Eagles closed out the half with a five-play 83-yard drive. Rivera caught a 45-yard pass and the Eagles got their first redzone chance of the day with less than a minute to play in the period. Smith made a nice one-handed grab for an 8-yard touchdown with 45 seconds on the clock.
The Eagles ran 16 offensive plays for 234 yards in the quarter.
A long return from
Curtis Johnson set the Eagles up on a short field after halftime. Nabb ran for a second 25-yard score, and he and Avrilien went to the bench together. After FDU went three-and-out on their first possession of the half,
Jayden Johnson broke through on a 57-yard scamper to put the Eagles back in the red zone.
Aden Davenport handed off to
Brayden Curry for a one-yard score.
John Nolek converted all seven of his extra points, and after a muffed punt, made a 24-yard field goal to cap the scoring.
The Eastern defense, as they have become this year, was very balanced. Twenty-three players made at least one tackle.
Eric Wilson finished with six tackles, an interception, and a pass break-up. With the shutout, the Eagles will start the season having given up only 109 points. FDU eventually finished with 256 yards of offense.
The MAC declared Delaware Valley co-champs. With a 35-7 win at Widener, the Aggies also finished 8-1 in the league. Eastern claims the league's Automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of the simplest tiebreaker. Eastern won at Delaware Valley 21-7 in late September. The Eagles lost any margin when they stumbled at Alvernia, but they finished the regular-season portion of their journey where they wanted to be. While the Aggies will play ina MAC-Centennial Bowl game, the Eagles will prepare for a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship Tournament. Last year, Eastern won at Franklin & Marshall before falling at home to Susquehanna.
Based on the NPI, Eastern will play in the first round this year.
The opponent and location of the game will be announced on the NCAA Selection show at 5 pm on Sunday evening.
