2020 Monmouth Hawks football team

2020 Monmouth Hawks football
Big South champion
NCAA Division I First Round, L 15–21 vs. Sam Houston State
Conference	Big South Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 10
FCS Coaches	No. 10
Record	3–1 (3–0 Big South)
Head coach	Kevin Callahan (28th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Gallo (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Andy Bobik (27th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Kessler Stadium

2020 Big South Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Monmouth $^		3	–	0					3	–	1
No. 17 Kennesaw State		2	–	1					4	–	1
Charleston Southern		2	–	2					2	–	2
Gardner–Webb		0	–	2					2	–	2
Robert Morris		0	–	2					0	–	3
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Notes: Due to COVID-19, the Big South suspended the fall 2020 football season. Hampton opted out of the spring schedule. Campbell and North Alabama played only in the fall. Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2020 Monmouth Hawks football team represented Monmouth University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Big South Conference. They will be led by 28th-year head coach Kevin Callahan and play their home games at Kessler Field in West Long Branch, New Jersey.

On July 27, it was announced that Monmouth would cancel its fall sports seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Playing fall sports, including football, in the fall has not been ruled out.^[1]

Preseason

Polls

In June 2020, the Hawks were predicted to finish second in the Big South by a panel of media and head coaches.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Kennesaw State	68 (8)
2	Monmouth	57 (3)
3	Charleston Southern	43 (1)
4	Campbell	42
5	Hampton	23
6	Gardner–Webb	19
—	North Alabama[i]	—

1. North Alabama was not eligible for the preseason poll due to their transition to Division I.

Schedule

Monmouth had games scheduled against Rutgers (September 5), Albany (September 12), Maine (September 19), Fordham (September 26), and Hampton (November 7), which were all later canceled before the start of the 2020 season.^[3][4][5][6]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
March 27	1:00 p.m.	Charleston Southern		Kessler Field West Long Branch, NJ		W 35–17
April 3	12:00 p.m.	at Gardner–Webb		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC		W 48–19
April 10	1:00 p.m.	No. 7 Kennesaw State	No. 20	Kessler Field West Long Branch, NJ	ESPN+	W 42–17
April 17		at Robert Morris	No. 12	Joe Walton Stadium Moon Township, PA		Canceled
April 24		at No. 4 Sam Houston State	No. 10	Bowers Stadium Huntsville, TX (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN3	L 15–21
Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[7]

References

1. Kelley, Kevin (July 27, 2020). "Monmouth cancels 2020 football season due to COVID-19". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
2. "Kennesaw State Voted 2020 Preseason Football Favorite". bigsouthsports.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
3. Myerberg, Paul. "Big Ten football reduces season schedule to only conference games, maybe setting stage for others to follow". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
4. "Patriot League cancels fall sports due to virus". ESPN.com. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
5. Hebert, Michael. "BIG SOUTH FOOTBALL: Hampton suspends sports for the fall". TimesDaily. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
6. Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
7. "2020 Monmouth Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.