Aug. 31, 2006

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Game On!
The 21st season of Patriot League football is here and the quest for the 2006 bragging rights begins in the nation's capitol as Georgetown hosts Holy Cross. All seven Patriot League teams are in action as college football's 137th season on the gridiron begins.

Lafayette and Colgate enter the 2006 campaign as defending Patriot League champions, marking just the fourth time in 20 seasons that two teams could make that claim. However, those four times have come in the past seven years as there has never been more parity in the Patriot League than today.

Colgate is the favorite to capture its second-straight Patriot League banner, and fourth crown in the last five years, receiving eight first-place votes (and 68 total points) in the Patriot League Preseason Football Poll of head coaches and sports information directors.

Two-time defending champion Lafayette received three first-place votes and 61 total points while Lehigh also claimed three first-place votes and 57 total points.

Sweetness
What seems to be a right of passage for the Colgate backfield, sophomore running back Jordan Scott has been tabbed to The Sports Network's preseason Walter Payton Watch as I-AA's top player. Only two student-athletes in Patriot League history have ever walked away with coveted hardware - both Raiders; Kenny Gamble in 1987 and Jamaal Branhc in 2003.

Quotable
"You never know how it's going to turn out when you go from I-AA to the NFL. I think what it shows is the level of play in the Patriot League. It's a compliment to Sean and to the caliber of football in the Patriot League." - Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis on former-Bison Sean Conover's prospects with the Tennessee Titans.

Patriot League Notebook

The Veteran
Colgate's Dick Biddle is the dean of Patriot League head football coaches as he enters his 11th season at the helm of the Raiders ... Biddle is second all-time in Patriot League history in years of service, behind Lafayette's Bill Russo (14 seasons, 1986-99). Only Biddle and Russo have guided a Patriot League team at least 10 years.

Been There, Done That, Got The T-Shirt (and the Rings)
Lafayette's two-straight Patriot League banners give the Leopards the disctinction of becoming the first Patriot League program to win back-to-back titles since Lehigh captured four-straight from 1998-2001 ... Since the new millennium, four teams have laid claim to the Patriot League championship trophy - Lehigh (2000-01, 2004); Fordham (2002); Colgate (2002-03, 2005); and Lafayette (2004-05) ... Lehigh's seven crowns are the most in Patriot League history ... Colgate, Holy Cross and Lafayette are second all-time with five banners.

Deja Vu
Lehigh football fans will see a familiar face on the sidelines once again in 2006, as Andy Coen returns as the 28th head coach in program history ... Coen was the Mountain Hawks' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 1994-99, helping Lehigh to three Patriot League crowns and to the second-round of the NCAA I-AA playoffs in 1998.

New Looks
In addition to Lehigh, both Fordham and Georgetown welcome new head coaches for the 2006 season ... Fordham announced Tom Masella as the 14th Rams head coach since 1922 ... Kevin Kelly was tabbed the 28th head coach in Georgetown's 99-year history ... The three additions mark the most in the Patriot League since 2001 when Pete Lembo and Bob Benson took over Lehigh and Georgetown's programs, respectively.

The Streak
The last time Lehigh failed to score a point in a football game, Ronald Reagan was serving his second term as President of the United States ... Navy's 41-0 shutout of the then-Engineers in 1986 was the last time Lehigh was blanked on the gridiron, as the Mountain Hawks have scored in the next 227 games ... Fordham's scoring streak of 70 consecutive games tied for third longest in Patriot League history and was snapped last season by Colgate (23-0).

This Week in the Patriot League

Holy Cross (0-0, 0-0) at Georgetown (0-0, 0-0)
Multi-Sport Field; Washington, D.C. > 1 p.m.

For just the fifth time, Holy Cross will start the season playing a Patriot League opponent ... the Crusaders are 3-1 against Patriot League teams on opening day ... Georgetown has opened its season against a Patriot League opponent five of the last six years, with its first victory coming last season at Bucknell ... The Crusaders opened its Patriot League season with a victory for the first time since 2002 when it defeated the Hoyas, 48-6, in Worcester, Mass. in week two last year ... Georgetown was also Holy Cross' Patriot League opener in 2002 ... Holy Cross is 14-6 in Patriot League openers ... Georgetown is 1-4.

Georgetown Notebook First-year Head Coach Kevin Kelly is no stranger to the Patriot League, having spent four years on the Navy football staff ... Senior defensive end Alex Buzbee becomes the third Hoya to wear the Joe Eacobacci memorial jersey this season, given in memory to the former-Georgetown player who lost his life in the World Trade Center.

Holy Cross Notebook The Crusaders return three All-Partriot League selections from 2005 - offensive lineman Andrew Schoepfer, defensive back Casey Gough and punter Ryan McManaway ... Holy Cross' three win overall improvement last season was the best in the Patriot League ... Steve Silva's 2005 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year selection was the Crusaders' first since 1990.

Colgate (0-0, 0-0) at No. 10 Massachusetts (0-0, 0-0 A-10)
Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium; Amherst, Mass. > 1 p.m.

This game marks the third-straight season that Colgate and Massachusetts will face one another ... These programs had only met twice before the 2003 NCAA first round game, in 1914 and 1974 ... Colgate enters the season as defending Patriot League champions for the fifth time in the past 10 years ... Both the Raiders and Minutemen ended 2005 ranked in the Top 25 ... Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year selection Geoff Bean returned a 51-yard interception for a touchdown in the second quarter of last season's meeting.

Colgate Notebook Dick Biddle's Patriot League Coach of the Year Award in 2005 was the third in his career, and second second in three years ... Jordan Scott became the second Raider in 2005 to be named Patriot League Freshman of the Year ... Including Scott, the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year selection, the Raiders return four All-Patriot League selections from 2005 - Bean (First-Team), Mike Saraceno (First-team), Cody Williams (Second-Team) and Jake Sulovski (Second-Team)

Albany (0-0, 0-0 NEC) at Lehigh (0-0, 0-0)
Goodman Stadium; Bethlehem, Pa. > 1 p.m.

Lehigh is coming off its eighth-straight season with at least eight victories ... Albany was picked along with defending-champion Central Connecticut State to win the Northeast Conference this season ... In addition to the Mountain Hawks, Albany will also face 2003 National Champion Delaware this season ... Lehigh has won eight-straight season openers, inlcuding the last three at home.

Lehigh Notebook All three Mountain Hawks losses last season were by a combined eight points ... Offensive lineman John Reese and punter Jason Leo are Lehigh's only returning All-Patriot League selection from last season ... Lehigh tied Lafayette for the most student-athletes on the 2005 All-Patriot League squad - 11.

Lafayette (0-0, 0-0) at Sacred Heart (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
Campus Field; Fairfield, Conn. > 2 p.m.

After opening the last three seasons with Marist, two-time defending Patriot League champion Lafayette faces opens the season with first-time foe Sacred Heart ... The Pioneers tied for fifth in the NEC a year ago with a 4-6 overall mark and 3-4 conference record ... The Leopards have opened the last four seasons with a victory ... Lafayette tied Patriot League rival Lehigh for the most All-Patriot League selections in 2005 with 11, four of whom return in 2005 - quarterback Brad Maurer (Second-Team), offensive lineman Mike Saint Germain (First-Team), defensive lineman Marvin Snipes (First-Team) and defensive back Torain Johnson (Second-Team).

Lafayette Notebook The Leopards streak of two-straight NCAA postseason appearances is the first by a Patriot League team since Lehigh put together four-straight from 1998-2001 ... Head Coach Frank Tavani enters his seventh season at Lafayette, the second-longest active run in the Patriot League.

Monmouth (0-0, 0-0 NEC) at Fordham (0-0, 0-0)
Jack Coffey Field; Bronx, N.Y. > 6 p.m.

Although Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella will be making his Patriot League debut against Monmouth, the Hawks are familiar opponents to him out of the NEC, where Masella led Central Connecticut State to two-straight conference crowns ... The Rams will be looking to snap its two-year slide in season openers, falling to Rhode Island in 2004 and 2005 ... Monmouth tied for third in the NEC in 2005 with a 4-3 mark (6-4 overall).

Fordham Notebook Senior kicker Micah Clukey was tabbed as the Patriot League's Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year ... Tom Masella is entering his fifth season as a head coach, first with the Rams.

Duquesne (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) at Bucknell (0-0, 0-0)
Christy Mathewson Memorial Field; Lewisburg, Pa. > 7 p.m.

The Dukes are a familiar season-opening opponent for Bucknell, as the Bison open the season with Duquesne for the fifth time in 10 years ... Bucknell is 3-1 when opening its season against the Dukes, losing only once in Pittsburgh in 2002 ... A rivalry which began in 1933 and continued in 1934, stopped for 62 years before resuming again in 1997 ... The seven-time defending Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference Champion Dukes have been picked for an eighth-straight crown in 2006.

Bucknell Notebook With 18 returning starters, the Bison hold the edge entering the 2006 Patriot League season in experience ... This season marks the 10th anniversary of Bucknell's Patriot League title in 1996 ... The Bison rushing offense was ranked first in the Patriot League in 2005, averaging 207.0 yards per game on the ground.