Stony Brook Beats Bryant 27-17 as Seth Sweitzer Catches Two Touchdowns

One week earlier, Stony Brook watched its winning streak end against UAlbany. There was no time to sulk. Next up was a trip to Smithfield, Rhode Island, to face a Bryant team that had not lost a CAA game all season.

They came home with a 27-17 win, a share of the conference standings with the team they just beat, and a defense that spent the afternoon making life miserable for the Bulldogs.

Bryant outgained Stony Brook 372-312, piled up 25 first downs, ran for a season-high 193 yards and held the ball for more than 35 minutes. It did not matter. Three turnovers, two failed fourth downs and a fumble at the Stony Brook 4-yard line will undo a lot of good work. Both teams now sit at 5-3 overall and 3-1 in CAA play, but only one of them left Beirne Stadium feeling good about it in front of a Family and Friends Weekend crowd of 6,400.

A fast start, then a fight

Stony Brook needed less than two minutes to make its point. After forcing a quick Bryant punt, quarterback Quinn Boyd went to work from his own 26. He hit Linkins for 21 yards, Dely for 19 and Seth Sweitzer for 24, scrambled for seven more to the 4, and CJ Hester punched it in. It was 7-0 with 12:01 left in the first quarter.

Bryant marched right back to the Stony Brook 28, but Joseph Garcia picked off a fourth-down throw. The Seawolves then pushed inside the Bryant 10 before linebacker Drake Lusk made a tackle for loss, and Michael Mannino settled for a 25-yard field goal. It was 10-0 after one quarter.

Brennan Myer finally got Bryant on the board in the second quarter, capping a 75-yard drive that burned 5:30 with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Shamar Fowles on a slant.

Stony Brook answered fast. Boyd converted a fourth-and-5 with a 16-yard strike to Sweitzer, and two plays later the same pair connected for a 12-yard touchdown. It was 17-7 with 3:43 left in the half.

The stop that changed the afternoon

If you are looking for the moment Bryant lost this game, it came just before halftime.

The Bulldogs drove deep into Stony Brook territory, with Myer gaining big chunks with his legs and OJ Ross ripping off a 24-yard run to the 11. They got all the way to the 4. Then a handoff went wrong, the ball hit the turf and Maurice Seals fell on it for Stony Brook with 1:23 left in the second quarter.

Instead of a one-score game, Bryant went to the locker room down 10. Then Boyd struck again. His first throw of the third quarter was a 46-yarder to Dely that set Stony Brook up at the Bryant 25. On the next snap, Sweitzer ran under a 25-yard touchdown pass, and it was 24-7 just 57 seconds after the break.

One fumble and one deep ball, and a game Bryant controlled on the stat sheet had a 17-point gap.

Bryant claws back

Bryant did not fold. Freshman running back Jordan Bennett piled up 38 yards on the next drive, including a career-long 26-yard run, and Nicholas Stoyanovich kicked a 31-yard field goal.

Then, with Stony Brook pinned at its own 12, Ryan Tyler Williams forced a fumble and Scott Walker recovered. Two plays later, junior quarterback Jaden Keefner ran it in from 9 yards out with 1:15 left in the third quarter, and it was 24-17.

Stony Brook's offense went quiet for most of the fourth quarter. The defense did not. One Bryant series ended with three sacks, two from Lance Byndon and one from Khalid Bueno. The next was a three-and-out, even though Bryant started at the Stony Brook 44.

One more chance, one more stop

Bryant got its best opening yet with 6:56 left, when Stony Brook fumbled a snap at its own 18. The Bulldogs gained seven yards on first down and stalled. On fourth-and-6, Byndon got pressure, the pass fell incomplete and Stony Brook still led 24-17.

Then the Seawolves finally moved the ball. On third-and-5 at their own 20, Boyd found Sweitzer for 21 yards, a Bryant penalty tacked on more, and Sweitzer later drew pass interference in the end zone on third-and-8. Mannino hit a 43-yard field goal with 1:50 left. Bryant's last push ended with a fumble at the Stony Brook 16.

Sweitzer, Boyd and a defense that lives in the backfield

Sweitzer was the best player on the field, with eight catches for 122 yards and both touchdown receptions. Boyd completed 19 of 26 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, his third straight multi-touchdown game and his fifth of the season. Hester ran 18 times for 64 yards and scored his 12th rushing touchdown of the year, which leads the CAA.

The defense deserves at least as much credit. Bueno had six tackles and two sacks, and he now has 12 sacks and 19.0 tackles for loss this season, numbers that lead the entire FCS. Ryan Barrett set a season high with 12 tackles. Byndon had two sacks and the fourth-down pressure that sealed it. Garcia's interception was his team-leading second of the year and the sixth of his career. Mannino went 3-for-3 on extra points and 2-for-2 on field goals, and the CAA named him its Special Teams Player of the Week.

For Bryant, Sean Wilson Jr. caught a career-high seven passes for a career-high 103 yards. Bennett ran 14 times for a career-high 81 yards, and Ross added 77 on 15 carries. Myer finished 14 of 26 for 162 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Lusk led the defense with seven tackles, and Anthony Ottinot and Tatum McBall each recorded their first career sacks.

The numbers that tell the story

Bryant converted 6 of 14 third downs. Stony Brook converted 1 of 9. Bryant ran for 193 yards. Stony Brook ran for 48. Read only those lines and you would assume the home team cruised.

The rest of the sheet explains why it did not. Bryant turned it over three times, all in Stony Brook territory, went 0-for-2 on fourth down and was flagged eight times for 107 yards. Stony Brook threw for 264 yards and went 1-for-1 on fourth down, a conversion that led straight to a touchdown. You can find every drive in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

The CAA race just got more crowded. Stony Brook and Bryant are both 3-1 in league play, and Monmouth is the team everyone is chasing. Stony Brook has now beaten Bryant five straight times, dating back to 2018, and owns a 7-1 edge in a series that started in 2007.

The schedule offered no rest for Bryant. Next was a Halloween trip to ranked, league-leading Monmouth. Stony Brook's next game was at home that same day against Sacred Heart at LaValle Stadium, the first meeting between the programs since 2017 and the first since the Pioneers joined the CAA. Both schools have more in their recaps, from Stony Brook (opens in a new tab) and from Bryant (opens in a new tab).

The last word

"We found a way to win, and I'm really proud of our defense and the resilience they showed," Stony Brook coach Billy Cosh said. "They came up with multiple big stops and takeaways, and our special teams were excellent as well. Mannino was huge for us today."

Cosh also pointed to the week his team had just survived. "These guys deserve a lot of credit after a tough loss last week," he said.

Stony Brook got outgained, out-rushed and out-possessed, and still won by 10 on the road against a team unbeaten in league play. The defense took the ball away when it mattered, and Boyd and Sweitzer made the throws that counted. In the CAA in late October, that will play.

Sources: Stony Brook Athletics and Bryant Athletics recaps and the official box score. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Stony Brook Athletics.