Aug. 26, 2008
Patriot League Football Release - 8.26.08 
Center Valley, Pa. - While the rest of the Patriot League waits another week to get its 2008 football season underway, Colgate gets a jump on the action when it visits Stony Brook on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Raiders are the only Patriot League team playing 12 games in 2008.
All seven Patriot League teams will be in action on Sept. 6, and the race for the 23rd League title will fully commence when Georgetown visits Lafayette in the
Patriot League opener on Sept. 13.
Defending Patriot League champion Fordham has been picked to repeat its title in 2008 in a poll of the League's head coaches and sports information directors. Fordham earned a first-place selection on nine of the 14 ballots, and received 68 points overall. Holy Cross had four first-place votes and 56 overall points to claim the second position, followed by Colgate with the remaining first-place vote and 53 points in third place. Lafayette placed fourth with 48 points, with Lehigh (35), Bucknell (18) and Georgetown (16) rounding out the preseason poll.
Patriot League Notebook
Patriot League Preseason Players of The Year
The preseason poll voters predicted a repeat performance for the Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year honors, as the 2007 winners received the preseason recognition. Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph was selected as Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Lafayette senior linebacker Andy Romans was picked as the League's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Biddle Goes For Another Milestone in Colgate's Opener
Already the Patriot League record holder in overall victories (95) and League wins (57), Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle opens his 13th season at the helm with a chance for yet another milestone. Biddle begins the season tied for the top spot on Colgate's all-time wins list with Andy Kerr (1929-46). Biddle will try to earn sole possession of the top spot when the Raiders visit Stony Brook Saturday.
Fordham, Colgate Receive Top 25 Recognition
Fordham and Colgate represent the Patriot League in various top 25 lists released in the preseason. The defending League champion Rams are ranked No. 21 by USA Today, No. 23 by Any Given Saturday and No. 25 by The Sporting News, while the Raiders receive the No. 20 ranking from Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview. Fordham was just outside the top 25 in the two major polls, placing No. 26 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 27 in The Sports Network top 25.
Preseason Plaudits for Patriot League Players, Too
Eight Patriot League players received at least one All-America nod heading into the 2008 season, including multiple nominations for Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph, Colgate senior running back Jordan Scott, Lehigh senior defensive tackle Brian Jackson and Colgate senior offensive tackle Nick Hennessey. Lafayette senior linebacker Andy Romans and wide receiver Shaun Adair, Lehigh senior linebacker Tim Diamond and Fordham junior quarterback John Skelton all earned one preseason All-America honor.
Lafayette, Colgate Release Television Packages
Lafayette and Colgate have released their television packages for the season, with plenty of coverage yet again. The Leopards will have all 11 of their games televised by the Lafayette Sports Network, which will be shown live on RCN-4 and WBPH-60 with select games on either FSN-Pittsburgh or the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Colgate will have all six of its home games and its road date at Cornell televised by Time Warner Central New York. Lehigh is expected to release its television package later this week.
League Boasts Top Passer, Rusher in Nation
The Patriot League is home to the top quarterback and running back in the Football Championship Subdivision going into the 2008 campaign. Randolph leads all qualified NCAA players with 292 passing yards and 303 yards of total offense per game in his career, which are also the top current marks in League annals. Colgate running back Jordan Scott has top marks with 4,473 rushing yards and 135.5 rushing yards per game, and comes off a 2007 campaign where he led the nation with 170.45 rushing yards per contest. Scott and Randolph were both finalists for the Walter Payton Award, given to the most outstanding player in the Football Championship Subdivision, in 2007. They are two of only eight finalists returning in 2008.
Jordan Scott Record Watch
Jordan Scott set or tied five Patriot League season or career records in 2007, including a season-best 170.45 rushing yards per game. Now, the Colgate running back has a chance to go out as one of the top players in League and NCAA history. Scott is 362 yards away from breaking the all-time Patriot League rushing mark of 4,834 (Lafayette's Erik Marsh, 1991-94), and is within 59 points of becoming the League's all-time leading scorer. He enters the year with 13 consecutive 100-yard rushing games and 24 total 100-yard efforts, both four games away from tying the League marks of Bucknell's Rich Lemon (1993-96). Scott's 1,019 carries are just eight shy of Marsh's Patriot League mark and 196 from a Division I record. Scott has already tied League records with six 200-yard games and three 1,000-yard seasons in his career. Another 1,000-yard campaign would make Scott the first Patriot Leaguer and only the seventh player in FCS history to reach the feat all four of his seasons.
It's a Big One in Worcester
Broadcaster Marketing Services will produce a radio call of an FCS game of the week for the second year in a row, and they'll start the season with a showdown in Worcester as Holy Cross hosts No. 5 Massachusetts on Sept. 6. Frank Santore, who calls the Patriot League men's basketball package on SIRIUS, will have the call at Holy Cross. The game will be broadcast on Saturday evening on WCKY AM 1530 in Cincinnati, which can be heard throughout the eastern half of the United States.
Patriot League Faces Off with Seven FCS Conferences
Every Patriot League team will once again take on a schedule entirely composed of FCS opponents, and the League will square off with seven different conferences. The slate features 18 games against Ivy League opponents and five against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association.
Major Award Winners Back in 2008
All of the Patriot League's 2007 individual award winners return for the 2008 campaign. Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph is back after placing in the top five nationally in most major categories a year ago and winning the Offensive Player of the Year. Lafayette linebacker Andy Romans, the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year, returns after helping the Leopards to the No. 1 rank in total defense a year ago. Fordham running back Xavier Martin enters his sophomore season after taking Rookie of the Year honors in 2007, while his head coach, Tom Masella, has the reigns for a third year after his 2007 Coach of the Year award.
25 All-League Performers Return in 2008
Randolph, Scott and Romans headline a group of 25 student-athletes that earned 2007 All-League honors and come back to the field in 2008. Nine First-Team All-League performers are part of that group, with Scott, Romans and Lehigh's Brian Jackson returning after earning All-America or ECAC recognition a year ago.
More Returning Talent
While the All-League players are most noteworthy, the overall numbers of starters returning are very solid throughout the League. Every team has at least 13 starters back out of their groups on offense and defense, with Colgate and Fordham leading the way with 16 starters returning.
Coaching Stability
Each Patriot League head coach enters at least his third season at the helm, with Colgate's Dick Biddle the elder statesman of the group in his 13th year in Hamilton. Biddle has already set Patriot League records for overall wins (95), League games coached (73) and League wins (57). He trails only Lafayette's Bill Russo (1986-99) for the longest tenure in League history.
This Week in the Patriot League
Colgate (0-0, 0-0) at Stony Brook (0-0, 0-0 Big South)
Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium; Stony Brook, N.Y. - Saturday, 6 p.m.
Series First Meeting
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 95-46 (13th Season) Overall/Colgate; 57-16 Patriot League
Stony Brook Head Coach Chuck Priore, Albany, 1982
Career Record 50-20 (9th Season) Overall/11-11 (3rd Season) at Stony Brook
Colgate and Stony Brook meet for the first time on the gridiron...The Raiders will face an opponent for the first time in each of their first three games of the season, also including a trip to Coastal Carolina on Sept. 6 and home date with Furman on Sept. 13...Patriot League teams have a 4-2 all-time mark against Stony Brook, though the Seawolves knocked off Georgetown and Bucknell a year ago...The Seawolves finished 6-5 in 2007...Stony Brook is playing its first game as a Big South Conference member after previously playing in the Northeast Conference and spending the 2007 season as an Independent...Colgate has never faced a member of the Big South, but will play a team from the conference in its first two games...The Raiders are 3-9 in season openers under Head Coach Dick Biddle, but did beat Albany, 13-11, to begin the 2007 campaign and snap a three-game season-opening losing streak.
Colgate Notebook Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle has 95 career wins, tied for the most in school history with Andy Kerr (1929-46)...Biddle leads in career wins (95), League wins (57), and League games coached (73) in Patriot League history...The Raiders are the only Patriot League team to play 12 games this season, with 11 consecutive weeks before a bye on Nov. 15...They return nine starters on offense, including All-America running back Jordan Scott and First-Team All-Patriot League offensive tackle Steve Jonas...Scott has an opportunity to break numerous Patriot League records, including the all-time rushing mark...Four of the five starters are back on the offensive line...The Raiders have won seven games or more in 10 of Biddle's 12 seasons, including a 7-4 mark in 2007.
Team Notebooks
Bucknell A.J. Kizekai returns after earning First-Team All-Patriot League status as a kick returner and setting a League and Bucknell mark with 1,113 kick return yards in 2007...The Bison were flagged for only 29 penalties in 2007, while no other FCS team had fewer than 41...Of the five departed offensive starters, four were on the offensive line...First-Team All-Patriot League defensive end Josh Eden is taking the next two years off to serve a Mormon mission...The Bison host Duquesne to open the season at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6...Bucknell beat Duquesne, 28-19, in the 2007
season opener.
Fordham The defending Patriot League champion and preseason favorite Rams have 16 starters returning, including eight on the offensive side of the ball...Quarterback John Skelton is back after receiving Second-Team All-Patriot League honors, while running back Xavier Martin was the 2007 Rookie of the Year...The Rams are in search of consecutive Patriot League titles for the first time...Fordham was one of the most improved teams in the country in 2007, going from 3-8 to 8-4 and a trip to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs...Fordham begins its 2008 campaign at home against Rhode Island at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6...The Rams beat Rhode Island, 27-23, to start the 2007 season.
Georgetown The Hoyas bring back 15 starters from last year's team...Nicholas Umar was selected to wear the Joe Eacobacci No. 35 Memorial Jersey, which is an award in honor of the former defensive standout who was killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001...2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Charlie Houghton returns at running back...The Hoyas play their first three games on the road, with the home opener on Sept. 27 against Holy Cross...They begin the year at Howard at 1 p.m. on Sept. 6.
Holy Cross The Crusaders have eight starters back on the
offensive side of the ball after leading the Patriot League and
placing in the top 15 nationally in passing, total and scoring offense a year ago...Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Dominic Randolph returns as the active FCS leader in passing and total offense per game...Holy Cross plays the exact same opponents and order of games as the 2007 season, with only the sites switched...It has won seven games in each of the last two seasons, and the 14-8 mark is the best two-year span since 1991-92...The Crusaders begin the year by hosting No. 5 Massachusetts at 1 p.m. on Sept. 6...They lost to the Minutemen, 40-30, to open the 2007 campaign.
Lafayette Linebacker Andy Romans and fullback Joe Russo will serve as co-captains in 2008...Romans returns as Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year after earning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors and leading a Lafayette defense that placed first nationally with 260.9 yards per game allowed last season...Quarterback Rob Curley had a 3-1 record in starting the final four games of the season, and led the Leopards to a season-ending three-game win streak...Four running backs who started at least one game return on offense...Lafayette faces a five-game road trip from Oct. 11-Nov. 8, with the last three being Patriot League contests...The Leopards open on the road at Marist at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6...They beat the Red Foxes, 49-10, in the 2007 season opener.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks have eight starters returning on the offensive side of the ball, but will be starting a new quarterback...Lehigh is coming off its first losing overall and Patriot League season since 1997...They have not recorded consecutive losing Patriot League records since 1988-89...First-Team All-League defensive lineman Brian Jackson and linebacker Tim Diamond return, but the Mountain Hawks have to replace the entire starting secondary...Lehigh opens the 2008 season at home against Drake at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 6.
