The Flames return to the pleasant limited-scholarship Northeast Conference for a second time on September 18th as they travel to suburban Pittsburgh to face Robert Morris University.

First off, we may need to clear up a few things about this school.  First off, it is named after one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  The original Robert Morris was a financier who helped pay for the American effort in the Revolutionary War.  As a result, the Pittsburgh School of Accountancy changed its name in 1962 to Robert Morris College to honor his legacy.  Meanwhile a college in Chicago completely unrelated to the Pittsburgh school adopted the name Robert Morris College as well.  The confusion didn’t stop after both stepped up to university status.  But now their names are different … well, sort of.  The school in Pittsburgh is Robert Morris University.  The one in Chicago is Robert Morris University Illinois.  Confused?  Join the club.  While RMU is a private institution, it has no religious ties.  Incidentally the school in Chicago is starting up football in 2011.  But that has nothing to do with us so I’ll try to move right along …

Courtesy: Robert Morris Athletics

Every discussion of Robert Morris football has to begin with Joe Walton.  He created the program from scratch in the Early ’90s and the stadium where we’ll face the Colonials is named after him as well.  While he may not be a household name for most Liberty fans, he is a very well respected man in NFL circles.  He spent eight seasons as a tight end between the Redskins & Giants.  After retiring as a player in 1964, he spent four seasons as a scout for the Giants before joining the NFL coaching ranks for the next 24 seasons.   In addition to seven seasons as head coach of the New York Jets,  he also served as Offensive Coordinator for Redskins, Jets & Steelers.

Since he began the program in 1994, the Colonials have won five NEC championships and a pair of Mid-Major national crowns.  They have been the unquestioned top program in the league since they joined and they once again are among the favorites in 2010.

Courtesy: Robert Morris Athletics

The primary weapon in Coach Walton’s arsenal is senior running back Myles Russ.  The 5′ 8″ speedster somehow found his way from sunny South Florida to the Steel City.  And he is capable of putting up big numbers in a hurry.  He averaged 5 yards a carry in 2009 posting 1059 in just 11 games.

Courtesy: Robert Morris Athletics

The Colonials passing attack is guided by sophomore quarterback Jeff Sinclair.  As a true freshman in 2009, he completed 53.8% of his passes posting 828 yards with 9 TDs & 6 INTs despite sharing duties with two other QBs.  His big play receiver from last year is gone but he has a big target in TE Shadrae King who caught 34 passes in ’09 including 4 touchdown receptions.

Courtesy: Robert Morris Athletics

Defensively you would expect a Pittsburgh area team to be tougher than nails at linebacker and that is the case with the Colonials.  A pair of rising seniors put up Steeler-esque numbers in 2009 led by Alex DiMichele (pictured above) and Elias Navarro.  DiMchele posted a team-best 109 tackles in 11 games including 8 for loss.  He added 3 sacks, 2 INTs, forced a fumble and recovered four as well.  Navarro added 97 tackles including 10.5 for loss.  Oh yeah, in addition to a pair of sacks the ball-hawking ‘backer picked off 3 passes and recovered a fumble.  In the secondary, another preseason all-NEC pick Rolf Bathold is a lockdown cornerback who intercepted 3 passes of his own in ’09 along with breaking up 12 others.

As is often the case when playing NEC teams, they have some quality talent on the field.  But with limited scholarships, depth is a major concern.  The Flames are a definite step up in scheduling for RMU.  Other than VMI (whom they have lost to both times they’ve met in last 3 years) the Colonials have typically filled their schedule with non-scholarship fodder to help pad their win totals.  With us likely heading to Western PA with a national ranking, we will be a marquee game for their players and fans.  Bottom line, the Colonials are dangerous enough to surprise us if we completely lay an egg.  But if we put on a typical Flames performance like we’ve seen the past few years under Coach Rocco, this should be another high-scoring victory.