2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team

2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football
NEC co-champion
Conference	Northeast Conference
Record	7–4 (5–1 NEC)
Head coach	Mark Nofri (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Gardner
Defensive coordinator	Michael Cooke
Home stadium	Campus Field

2018 Northeast Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 21 Duquesne +^		5	–	1					8	–	3
Sacred Heart +		5	–	1					7	–	4
Central Connecticut		4	–	2					6	–	5
Wagner		3	–	3					4	–	7
Saint Francis (PA)		2	–	4					4	–	7
Bryant		2	–	4					6	–	5
Robert Morris		0	–	6					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team represented Sacred Heart University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Mark Nofri and played their home games at Campus Field. They were a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 5–1 in NEC play to be NEC co-champions with Duquesne. Due to their head-to-head loss to Duquesne, they did not receive the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs and did not receive and at-large bid.

Preseason

NEC coaches poll

The NEC released their preseason coaches poll on July 24, 2018, with the Pioneers predicted to finish in sixth place. They did not place any players on the preseason all-NEC team.

Predicted finish	Team
1	Central Connecticut
2	Duquesne
3	Bryant
4	Saint Francis
5	Wagner
6	Sacred Heart
7	Robert Morris

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	Lafayette*	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 35–6	4,157
September 8	3:30 p.m.	at Bucknell*	Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium Lewisburg, PA	W 30–14	1,872
September 22	6:00 p.m.	at Wagner	Wagner College Stadium Staten Island, NY	W 41–14	3,178
September 29	1:00 p.m.	at Cornell*	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY	L 24–43	3,620
October 6	3:00 p.m.	Penn*	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	L 27–31	4,503
October 13	6:00 p.m.	at Dartmouth*	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 0–42	3,138
October 20	1:00 p.m.	at Central Connecticut	Arute Field New Britain, CT (Constitution State Rivalry)	W 28–25	5,117
October 27	1:00 p.m.	Bryant	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 49–26	1,678
November 3	Noon	Robert Morris	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 38–7	1,556
November 10	Noon	at Duquesne	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	L 24–28	1,304
November 17	Noon	Saint Francis (PA)	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	W 13–7	1,852
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

Lafayette

	1	2	3	4	Total
Leopards	3	0	3	0	6
Pioneers	7	14	7	7	35

See also: 2018 Lafayette Leopards football team

At Bucknell

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	7	7	7	9	30
Bison	0	14	0	0	14

See also: 2018 Bucknell Bison football team

At Wagner

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	7	21	6	7	41
Seahawks	0	7	7	0	14

See also: 2018 Wagner Seahawks football team

At Cornell

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	3	7	7	7	24
Big Red	16	20	7	0	43

See also: 2018 Cornell Big Red football team

Penn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Quakers	7	10	7	7	31
Pioneers	0	0	21	6	27

See also: 2018 Penn Quakers football team

At Dartmouth

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	0	0	0	0	0
Big Green	21	14	7	0	42

See also: 2018 Dartmouth Big Green football team

At Central Connecticut

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	7	0	14	7	28
Blue Devils	3	14	0	8	25

See also: 2018 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team and Constitution State Rivalry

Bryant

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	14	6	0	6	26
Pioneers	14	13	13	9	49

See also: 2018 Bryant Bulldogs football team

Robert Morris

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonials	0	0	7	0	7
Pioneers	21	14	0	3	38

See also: 2018 Robert Morris Colonials football team

At Duquesne

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	0	7	14	3	24
Dukes	14	7	7	0	28

See also: 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team

Saint Francis (PA)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Flash	0	7	0	0	7
Pioneers	3	3	7	0	13

See also: 2018 Saint Francis Red Flash football team