Week 7 Stats: 162 rushing yards, 25 rushes, 3 rushing touchdowns (go-ahead touchdown)
Smith racked up the yards once again on Saturday. Slicing Mercyhurst’s defense to the tune of 162 yards on the ground on 25 carries, the sophomore ran for a career-high three touchdowns to propel Central Connecticut to a 43-40 road win in a game that has NEC instant classic written all over it. With his team down 11 points in the second half, Smith took over to rush for three touchdowns, scoring on 36- and two-yard rushes before delivering the eventual game-winning strike — a one-yard scamper — to make it a 43-32 Central Connecticut advantage with 3:47 left to play. Smith has been a workhorse for the Blue Devils all season. He leads the NEC with five rushing touchdowns, 588 rushing yards and 7.4 rushing yards per carry, while with a league-best 98.0 rushing yards per game, he is knocking on the door of triple digits. With this week’s award, Smith has earned the honor a league-best four times this season.