Central Connecticut football was on the road for the fourth week in a row against Ivy League opponent the Columbia University and came away with a 24-14 victory. The Blue Devils are now 5-1 halfway through the season, the best start to a season for Central in a decade.

Central cracked the STATS Top 25 Football Championship Subdivision rankings, debuting at 25 this week for the first time since 2006.

The Blue Devils are tied for the most road victories in the FCS, with four of their five wins coming on the road.

Continued great defensive play and explosive offensive plays were key for Central against the Columbia Lions, as two of their three touchdowns came from 62 and 71 yards respectively.

Heading into the week, junior safety DJ Exilhomme said that the game plan against the Lions offense is to get them off the field on third downs and to limit their time of possession.

They executed that game plan on Saturday.

Columbia was 23% on converting third downs (3 of 13) and they only possessed the ball for just over 21 minutes compared to Central, who controlled the ball for nearly 39 minutes.

This is the second straight week that the Blue Devils have controlled the ball for over 38 minutes.

“Both sides of the ball played very well, the offense in the first half and the defense all game long,” head coach Ryan McCarthy said to CCSU Athletics.

“That’s a top-10 [Columbia] defense in the country, physical, tough, we knew they were going to make adjustments but that was a good performance [by us].” McCarthy continued.

Junior linebacker Tre Jones, who was named an impact performer in the Northeast Conference for Week Six, led the defense statistically with six tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

The tackles for loss were crucial for Central, holding Columbia’s running attack to 46 total yards. The Blue Devils average 86.8 rush yards per game, which ranks top 10 in the country at the FCS level.

They had nine total tackles for loss and six different players registering them.

Offensively, it was a career-high day all around for the Blue Devils, who posted over 500 yards of total offense.

Graduate transfer quarterback Aaron Winchester threw for a career-high 299 yards and one touchdown while also rushing the ball 18 times for 94 yards and a score. It was his 62-yard long touchdown run late in the fourth quarter that gave CCSU a 10 point lead and helped secure the victory.

Winchester earned Northeast Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight week.

“I don’t see anything that changes with him,” McCarthy said to CCSU Athletics. “It seems like when the moment gets bigger, he rises to the occasion. He’s a leader on the field and I don’t think anything rattles that guy.”

Junior receiver Tyshaun James set a career-high in receiving yards with 126 on four catches. However, James did not score a touchdown, breaking his streak of scoring in each of Central’s first five games this season.

“Tyshaun’s my guy, obviously,” Winchester said to CCSU Athletics. “It’s been proven the last six games and if you give [him] a chance, he’ll make plays for you.”

Sophomore running back Keonte Lucas was responsible for a total of 202 yards against the Lions. He caught four balls, including a 71-yard touchdown catch, for a total of 114 yards. He also ran it 18 times for 88 yards.

Lucas’s 71-yard catch and run was his third 70+ yard touchdown of the season and the longest passing play for the Blue Devils this year.

He leads the team in rushing with 406 rushing yards and is second for all-purpose yard with 539 behind James. He has filled the role of running back nicely after projected starter Aaron Dawson went down with a foot injury.

Winchester, James, Lucas and Jones were all named “Prime Performers” by the NEC this week.

Fellow running back junior Danley Exilhomme ran the ball 12 times for 33 yards and a touchdown against the Lions.

To keep the theme of career-high days and season bests going, senior kicker Francis Cole connected on a season-long 45-yard field goal in the second quarter that gave Central a 10-0 lead.

The Blue Devils come home for their Homecoming game this Saturday, Oct. 19, hosting conference opponent Bryant University. The Bulldogs are 2-5 overall with a 1-1 conference record.

Central will face conference opponents in all of their last six games, with four of them at home.