Bryant hosts Sacred Heart Saturday night on ESPN3

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University football team welcomes rival Sacred Heart to Beirne Stadium for its home opener on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. on ESPN3. 

Saturday will feature several new gameday experiences for fans. Those can be found below.  

The Particulars
Opponent: Sacred Heart
Location: Beirne Stadium (Smithfield, R.I.)
Kickoff: 7:05 p.m.
Watch Live: ESPN3
Live Stats: Sidearm
Tickets: BryantBulldogs.com
Game Notes: Bryant | SHU

Saturday at Beirne Stadium (Click here for full gameday page)

• Bryant will be honoring the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks on Saturday night.
• Pat and Marge Nassaney will join the players on the field at the coin toss. Their son Shawn was one of four Bryant University students that lost their lives on 9/11.
• Bryant will also have a special tribute to the 13 servicemen that lost their lives in Afghanistan last month. 
• The Bryant football team will be wearing yellow laces in support of LaceUp4Pediatric Cancer. More information can be found here. 

Series History

• Bryant and Sacred Heart will be meeting for the 13th time in program history on Saturday night.
• The Pioneers own a 7-5 lead in the all-time series, having won each of the last two meetings. 
• Saturday will also be the first meeting for brothers Ethan and Noah Gettman. Ethan is a sophomore kicker for the Bulldogs, while Noah is a senior All-NEC kicker for the Pioneers.   

Bulldogs Notes and Notables

• Bryant enters Saturday night with an 0-1 record following a 45-21 loss to in-state foe Rhode Island last Saturday night in Kingston.
• The Bulldogs pulled within 17-14 in the second quarter but the Rams were able to score the next 21 points to put the game away. 
• Offensively, Daniel Adeboboye rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown. 
• Landon Ruggieri and Fabrice Mukendi each scored their first-career touchdowns to account for Bryant's other two scores.
• Ruggieri was one of four Bryant receivers to post three catches at URI. Gary Cooper, David Zorrilla and Shai Young each added three catches.
• Defensively, 2020 All-NEC First Team selection Joe Andresseen led Bryant with 10 tackles and 1.5 TFLs.
• Classmate and co-captain Ryan Saddler added nine tackles and 1.5 TFLs. 
• Bryant's defense was one of the tops in the NEC last year and returns All-NEC First Team selections Jack Daly and Andre Brackett, and NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year Chidi Nna. 

A bit about the Pioneers

• Sacred Heart is 1-0 on the year following a 21-0 victory over Bucknell last Saturday in Fairfield.
• The Pioneers are the defending Northeast Conference champions and were picked as the preseason favorite this fall.
• Julius Chestnut is a consensus preseason All-American and was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after posting 170 yards in week 1. He has rushed for over 3,000 yards in his career, including 1,495 in 2019.
• Sacred Heart also welcomes back 10 of its 11 defensive starters from the spring.

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