# 2019 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team

The 2019 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team represented Central Connecticut State University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Ryan McCarthy. They played their home games at Arute Field as a member of the Northeast Conference.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches' poll

The NEC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 24, 2019. The Blue Devils were picked to finish in third place.
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place votes) |
| 1 | Duquesne (7) |
| 2 | Sacred Heart (1) |
| 3 | Central Connecticut |
| 4 | Wagner |
| 5 | Bryant |
| 6 | Saint Francis |
| 7 | Robert Morris |
| 8 | LIU |

### Preseason All-NEC team

The Blue Devils had six players at three positions selected to the preseason all-NEC team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 6:00 p.m. | at Fordham* | | Coffey FieldBronx, NY | Stadium | W 26–23 | 2,988 |
| September 7 | 6:00 p.m. | Merrimack* | | Arute FieldNew Britain, CT | NEC Front Row | W 40–37 | 5,114 |
| September 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at Valparaiso* | | Brown FieldValparaiso, IN | ESPN+ | W 42–13 | 2,110 |
| September 21 | 3:00 p.m. | at Eastern Michigan* | | Rynearson StadiumYpsilanti, MI | ESPN3 | L 29–34 | 17,286 |
| October 5 | 2:00 p.m. | at Sacred Heart | | Campus FieldFairfield, CT | ESPN3 | W 28–3 | 5,402 |
| October 12 | 1:00 p.m. | at Columbia* | | Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien StadiumNew York, NY | ESPN+ | W 24–14 | 3,172 |
| October 19 | 1:00 p.m. | Bryant | No. 25 | Arute FieldNew Britain, CT | NEC Front Row | W 52–14 | 5,114 |
| October 26 | 12:00 p.m. | LIU | No. 23 | Arute FieldNew Britain, CT | NEC Front Row | W 28–0 | 3,156 |
| November 2 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wagner | No. 19 | Wagner College StadiumNew York City, NY | NEC Front Row | W 27–13 | 1,698 |
| November 9 | 12:00 p.m. | Saint Francis (PA) | No. 20 | Arute FieldNew Britain, CT | NEC Front Row | W 38–31$^{OT}$ | |
| November 16 | 12:00 p.m. | Robert Morris | No. 19 | Arute FieldNew Britain, CT | NEC Front Row | W 49–28 | |
| November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | at Duquesne | No. 18 | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | NEC Front Row | W 43–10 | |
| November 30 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Albany* | No. 17 | Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey StadiumAlbany, NY (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 14–42 | |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Fordham

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 8 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 26 |
| Rams | 0 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 23 |

### Merrimack

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Warriors | 7 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 37 |
| Blue Devils | 3 | 21 | 13 | 3 | 40 |

### At Valparaiso

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 0 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 42 |
| Crusaders | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |

### At Eastern Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 15 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 29 |
| Eagles | 7 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 34 |

### At Sacred Heart

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

### At Columbia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Bryant

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| No. 25 Blue Devils | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 52 |

### LIU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 23 Blue Devils | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### At Wagner

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Blue Devils | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| Seahawks | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

### Saint Francis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Red Flash | 0 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| No. 20 Blue Devils | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 38 |

### Robert Morris

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colonials | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| No. 19 Blue Devils | 0 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 49 |

### At Duquesne

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Blue Devils | 12 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 43 |
| Dukes | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

## FCS Playoffs

The Blue Devils received an automatic bid (due to winning their conference) for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against Albany.

### At Albany–First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Blue Devils | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 25 Great Danes | 0 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 42 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | |
| Coaches | — | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 18 | |