Stony Brook didn't need to beat Gardner-Webb to have a shot at winning the Big South Conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with a victory next Saturday at Liberty. But if momentum means anything, the Seawolves have a full head of steam heading to Liberty after crushing the Runnin' Bulldogs, 55-3, Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium.
Brock Jackolski led the way on offense with three touchdowns - a 94-yard kickoff return to begin the second half, a 6-yard scoring pass from Michael Coulter and a 19-yard run that put him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season. On defense, cornerback Davonte Anderson had a school- and Big South-record four interceptions, leading to 17 Seawolves points.
The first was the most important because it stopped a Gardner-Webb drive when SBU had only a 7-3 second-quarter lead. On the first play after the interception, Coulter executed a great play fake in the backfield and hit wide receiver Matt Brevi on a deep post pattern for a 61-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead. That play basically triggered the onslaught that followed.
The Seawolves improved to 6-4 overall and 5-0 in the Big South. Liberty dropped into second place (7-3, 4-1) when it suffered a surprising 38-24 loss at Coastal Carolina. Despite the loss, Liberty can get the automatic playoff bid if it beats Stony Brook head-to-head, but from the looks of things, the Seawolves are hitting on all cylinders.
