Oct. 6, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Fordham and Lehigh face off in Bethlehem in Saturday's lone Patriot League football matchup, with the Rams at 0-1 in the standings and the Mountain Hawks playing their League opener. Every other team is in non-League action, with Bucknell, Holy Cross, Colgate and Georgetown all playing at home and every squad but the Bison facing an Ivy League opponent.
Patriot League Football Release - 10.6.08 
Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week
Marcello Trigg, Bucknell Jr., QB, 5'11, 186, Tampa, Fla./Robinson
Trigg receives his second Offensive Player of the Week honor of the year after leading Bucknell to a 21-17 victory at Marist on Saturday. He completed 19-of-26 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, and also ran for a score to account for all three of the Bison's touchdowns. Trigg completed six passes for 88 yards on Bucknell's game-winning drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Shaun Pasternak with 1:03 remaining. Both of Trigg's touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter as Bucknell rallied from a 17-7 deficit, and he threw for 166 yards in the second half. The 19 completions and two touchdown passes both equaled career highs. Trigg ranks second nationally with a 182.4 passing efficiency rating.
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week
Andy Romans, Lafayette Sr., LB, 5'11, 215, Allendale, N.J./St. Joseph Regional
The 2008 Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Romans earns his first Defensive Player of the Week nod of the season and the fourth of his career after recording a game-high 18 tackles in Lafayette's 27-13 loss to Harvard on Saturday. He also recorded two quarterback hurries as Lafayette held Harvard to three points in the second half. Romans is second in the Patriot League with 39 tackles this season.
Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week
Jarard Cribbs, Lehigh So., DB/PR, 5'10, 165, Waldorf, Md./Lackey
Cribbs gave Lehigh a 12-10 halftime lead over Cornell when he returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half of the eventual 25-24 Mountain Hawk loss on Saturday. The touchdown was the first of his career, and he finished with 89 total yards on three punt returns. The 84-yard punt return touchdown was the second-longest in Goodman Stadium history. Cribbs receives his first Special Teams Player of the Week honor.
Patriot League Rookie of the Week
Robert De La Rosa, Bucknell Fr., DL, 6'1, 275, Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township
De La Rosa notched a career-high nine tackles and one tackle for loss in Bucknell's 21-17 win at Marist. He had four solo tackles to tie for the team lead. De La Rosa entered the game with five tackles on the season. He earns his first Rookie of the Week award.
Patriot League Notebook
Everybody in Action on Saturday
After a weekend where three teams were off, every Patriot League squad hits the field this Saturday. The highlight of the day comes at Lehigh, where the Mountain Hawks host defending champion Fordham in the lone Patriot League contest of the weekend. Lehigh is playing its Patriot League opener, while Fordham is at 0-1 in League action after losing to Colgate on Sept. 27. Bucknell (Hofstra), Colgate (Princeton), Georgetown (Penn) and Holy Cross (Brown) all host a non-League opponent, while Lafayette travels to Columbia.
Georgetown/Colgate Matchup Cancelled
Due to the outbreak of norovirus on Georgetown's campus, the Georgetown/Colgate contest scheduled for last Saturday in Hamilton was cancelled. Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause the "stomach flu," or gastroenteritis, in people.
One Comeback Victory, Two Heartbreaking Losses on Saturday
Three of the four games involving Patriot League football squads went down to the wire on Saturday, with Bucknell emerging as a winner with a fourth-quarter comeback to down Marist, 21-17. The Bison scored 14 fourth-quarter points, including the winning touchdown with 1:03 remaining, to rally from a 17-7 deficit for a 21-17 victory at Marist. Holy Cross came back from 14 points down in the final four minutes to force overtime at Yale, but could not convert a field goal to prolong the contest in the second overtime and fell, 31-28. Lehigh lost a back-and-forth game at home against Cornell on the final play, as the Big Red used a 20-yard touchdown pass as time expired to knock off the Mountain Hawks, 25-24. Lafayette suffered its first loss of the season, as Harvard notched a 27-13 victory in Easton. The Leopards' loss snapped a six-game winning streak that was tied for second in the FCS.
Close Calls, Dramatic Finishes Defining Non-League Matchups
The down-to-the-wire contests over the weekend were nothing new for Patriot League squads in non-League games this season. Patriot League teams have played 23 non-League matchups thus far, and 14 of those have been decided by seven points or less. Patriot League teams are 7-7 in those close non-League games, with all of the losses by three points or less. Patriot League teams have a hard-luck 1-7 record in games decided by three points or less. Six games have been decided when one team has a chance to tie or go-ahead on the final play, including the losses by Holy Cross and Lehigh over the weekend, and Patriot League teams have a 2-4 mark in those games. That includes victories by Colgate (at Coastal Carolina) and Bucknell (at Robert Morris). Holy Cross and Lehigh have both lost twice on the final play of the game, and all three of the Crusaders' defeats are by three points or less.
Colgate's Scott Resumes Record Chase
After an unexpected week off due to the cancelled game against Georgetown, Colgate senior running back Jordan Scott resumes his record-setting season on Saturday against Princeton. Scott goes in search of the Patriot League records for consecutive and overall 100-yard rushing games, as he is currently tied with Bucknell's Rich Lemon (1993-96) in both categories with 17 consecutive and 28 overall 100-yard rushing efforts. Scott is also one touchdown away from becoming the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer, as his mark of 322 points trails Lafayette's Joe McCourt (2001-04) by just four for the top spot. Already the FCS career carries leader, Scott needs 62 carries to break the all-time Division I carries record of 1,215 (Steve Bartalo, Colorado State 1983-86). Scott comes into the day with 814 rushing yards this season, and is trying to become the eighth player in FCS history and first Patriot Leaguer to record four 1,000-yard campaigns in his career. If he hits the 1,000-yard mark on Saturday, Scott would become only the third player in FCS history to rush for 1,000 yards in five games. Scott has already set the Patriot League and Colgate career rushing records this season, with 5,287 career yards coming into Saturday. He also holds Patriot League records with 51 rushing touchdowns and eight 200-yard rushing games. Scott leads all active FCS players in career rushing yardage, all-purpose yardage, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, scoring and carries. He also leads with 203.5 rushing yards per game this season, and is second nationally in all-purpose yards and scoring per game in 2008.
Weekly Honors Pour in For Scott
Colgate running back Jordan Scott had the highest two-game rushing total in League history with 511 yards in his last two games, and was recognized by national organizations for his efforts. He was named an ECAC and College Sporting News player of the week after his 239-yard, two-touchdown effort against Dartmouth on Sept. 20, then won consecutive honors from those organizations as well as a Co-Offensive Player of the Week award from The Sports Network after his career-high 272 yard, four-touchdown day in a 31-24 win against Fordham on Sept. 27. He also earned consecutive running back of the week honors by SME Network for both performances. Scott had company on last week's ECAC awards, as Georgetown's Nick Parrish earned ECAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his two interception returns for touchdowns in Georgetown's loss against Holy Cross on Sept. 27.
Three Patriot Leaguers on Draddy Trophy Watch List
Holy Cross senior kicker Matt Partain, Bucknell senior fullback Kevin Mullen and Lehigh senior defensive back Brendan Van Ackeren all represent the Patriot League on the inaugural list of 164 semifinalists for the 2008 Draddy Trophy, announced by The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame on Wednesday. As semifinalists, all three student-athletes also become candidates for the 2008 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Awards. Draddy Trophy semifinalists are nominated by their schools, must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Scott, Randolph, Lafayette in Familiar Spots on NCAA Rankings
Colgate's Jordan Scott, Holy Cross' Dominic Randolph and the Lafayette defense all have top spots in an NCAA ranking category. Scott leads all players in rushing yardage (203.5 yards per game), Randolph is tops in completions per game (30.5), and Lafayette's defense is tied for first in the country in scoring (14.0 ppg). Scott leads all active players in six career categories, while Randolph is in the top two in three categories.
This Week in the Patriot League
Fordham (2-2, 0-1) at Lehigh (1-3, 0-0)
Goodman Stadium; Bethlehem, Pa. - Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Series Lehigh, 18-2 TV SE2, FCS
Streak Fordham, One Win Last Meeting Fordham, 28-18 (10.6.07)
Last Lehigh Win 45-14 (11.11.06) Last Five Meetings Lehigh, 4-1
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 30-40 (7th Season) Overall/13-14 (3rd Season) at Fordham; 6-7 PL
Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen, Gettysburg, 1986
Career Record 12-14 (3rd Season) Overall/Lehigh; 7-5 Patriot League
Fordham goes for its second win in a row in a series that has been dominated by the Mountain Hawks...Lehigh holds an 18-2 all-time advantage in the series even after Fordham's 28-18 victory at home last season...That Ram victory broke a nine-game Lehigh winning streak in the series...Lehigh has won nine consecutive games in the series on two occasions...Lehigh has a 9-0 record at home in Patriot League matchups against the Rams...The Mountain Hawks earned a 45-14 victory in the last matchup in Bethlehem in 2006...Fordham is trying to avoid starting 0-2 in Patriot League play for the third time in four seasons...Lehigh has lost two of its last three League openers, but won seven opening contests before that stretch.
Fordham Notebook Fordham had a bye week after falling in its Patriot League opener, 31-24, at home against Colgate on Sept. 27...Fordham became the second consecutive defending Patriot League champion to lose its League opener, after Lehigh (a co-champion in 2006) fell to the Rams last year...Fordham is in the top 20 nationally in scoring, total and passing defense...Quarterback John Skelton is in the top 20 in the nation in passing yards and total offense per game, while running back Xavier Martin has a top 20 spot in rushing yards per contest and wide receiver Asa Lucas is No. 20 in receptions per game...Fordham goes in search of its first road win against Lehigh.
Lehigh Notebook Lehigh suffered a last-play loss for the second game in a row, falling to Cornell, 25-24, on a 20-yard touchdown pass as time expired...The Mountain Hawks lost to Princeton on Sept. 27 on a field goal on the game's final play...Lehigh has a 1-3 record for the second time in the last three seasons, but has not started a season 1-4 since 1992...Quarterback J.B. Clark completed 24-of-35 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for his first career rushing touchdown against the Big Red...Brendan Van Ackeren notched the first interception of his career in the contest..Jarard Cribbs' 84-yard punt return for a touchdown was just one yard shy of the Goodman Stadium record, set in 1988 by Pete Sczerbinski and again in 2001 by Jermaine Pugh...Lehigh is still in the top 15 in the country in rushing and scoring defense.
Lafayette (3-1, 1-0) at Columbia (0-3, 0-1 Ivy)
Lawrence A. Wein Stadium; New York, N.Y. - Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Series Lafayette, 26-11-2 TV Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4 and WBPH-60), MASN
Streak Lafayette, Six Wins Last Meeting Lafayette, 29-0 (10.6.07)
Last Columbia Win 47-22 (10.7.00) Last Five Meetings Lafayette, 5-0
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani, Lebanon Valley, 1976
Career Record 48-47 (9th Season) Overall/Lafayette; 29-23 Patriot League
Columbia Head Coach Norries Wilson, Minnesota, 1989
Career Record 6-17 (3rd Season) Overall/Columbia
Lafayette tries to continue its success against Columbia on Saturday...The Leopards have won the last six meetings in the series, including a 29-0 blanking last year in Easton...Lafayette has a 19-3-1 advantage in games played since 1981...The series is closer in games played at Columbia, where the Leopards still hold a 13-11-1 edge...The teams have not met in New York since 2004, a game the Leopards won, 35-14...The Leopards are facing an Ivy League opponent for the third consecutive week after beating Penn on Sept. 27 and losing at home against Harvard last week...Columbia plays its second Patriot League opponent of the year after losing to Fordham on Sept. 20...Patriot League teams are 41-17-2 all-time against Columbia.
Lafayette Notebook Lafayette lost to Harvard, 27-13, for its first defeat of the season on Saturday...The loss snapped a six-game winning streak that was the second-longest in the FCS, and kept Lafayette from its first 4-0 start since 1988...It was Harvard's eighth straight win in the series...Shaun Adair caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown in the game, and moved up three spots to fifth on Lafayette's career receiving yards list with 1,688...He also ranks seventh in career receptions at Lafayette with 114...Punter Tom Kondash placed four of his five kicks inside the 20, with a career-long 53-yard punt and another for 49 yards...The Leopards are still tied for the top spot in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing an even 14 points per game.
Hofstra (2-3, 1-1 CAA) at Bucknell (3-1, 0-0)
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium; Lewisburg, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Hofstra, 4-2
Streak Hofstra, Four Wins Last Meeting Hofstra, 45-21 (9.10.94)
Last Bucknell Win 24-19 (9.20.69) Last Five Meetings Hofstra, 4-1
Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis, Randolph Macon, 1986
Career Record 79-86-1 (16th Season) Overall/26-34 (6th Season) at Bucknell; 12-19 PL
Hofstra Head Coach Dave Cohen, C.W. Post, 1988
Career Record 11-16 (3rd Season) Overall/Hofstra
Bucknell takes on a Hofstra team that it has not faced since 1994, and that no Patriot League squad has opposed since Lehigh in the 2001 postseason...The Mountain Hawks defeated Hofstra in that playoff contest, 27-24, in overtime, but Patriot League teams are just 3-16-1 against the Pride all-time...Bucknell is 0-4 against the Pride as a Patriot League member, with the games taking place from 1990-94...The Bison's series victories came in 1965 and 1969...Bucknell is in search of its first 4-1 start since 2001.
Bucknell Notebook Bucknell beat Marist for the fouth time in as many meetings, 21-17, on Saturday...Bucknell has started the season 3-1 for the first time since 2004, equaling its win total from last season...The Bison have won their first two road games for the first time since 1999...Marcello Trigg has now thrown for a career-high two touchdowns on six different occasions...Shaun Pasternak had six receptions for 100 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 1:03 left in the win...Pasternak has three 100-yard receiving games, the highest total for a Bison since Lester Erb recorded four 100-yard games in 1989...Sam Nana-Sinkam leads the Patriot League with 41 tackles...Bucknell plays its final non-League game before closing the year with its entire League schedule.
Brown (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) at Holy Cross (1-3, 1-0)
Fitton Field; Worcester, Mass. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Holy Cross, 30-20-3
Streak Holy Cross, Two Wins Last Meeting Holy Cross, 48-37 (10.6.07)
Last Brown Win 37-14 (9.30.95) Last Five Meetings Holy Cross, 3-2
Brown Head Coach Phil Estes, New Hampshire, 1980
Career Record 61-41 (11th Season) Overall/Brown
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore, Penn, 1986
Career Record 24-24 (5th Season) Overall/Holy Cross; 13-12 Patriot League
Holy Cross goes for its third consecutive win over Brown after the teams started the series back up in 2006...The last meeting before then was a Brown victory in 1995...Dominic Randolph is 59-for-76 for 733 yards with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions in two career starts against Brown...The Crusaders play the third of their four Ivy League opponents this year, falling to Harvard and Yale and facing Dartmouth next week...Brown faces its only Patriot League opponent of the year...Patriot League teams are 20-17 all-time against the Bears.
Holy Cross Notebook Holy Cross fell to Yale, 31-28, in double overtime on Saturday...The Crusaders missed a field goal with a chance to send the game to a third overtime...Holy Cross' three losses this season have come by a combined total of seven points, with losses to both Massachusetts and Yale on the final play of the game...The Crusaders concluded their three-game road trip with a 1-2 record...They rallied from 21-7 down in the final four minutes to send the game to overtime, with Dominic Randolph hitting Ryan McGuire with the game-tying touchdown with six seconds left...Randolph completed 41-of-63 passes for 376 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in the loss...The 41 completions broke his own school record of 34...He leads the FCS in completions per game (30.3) in 2008...Holy Cross plays four of its next five games at home.
Princeton (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) at Colgate (3-2, 1-0)
Andy Kerr Stadium; Hamilton, N.Y. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Princeton, 26-22-1 TV Time Warner Sports
Streak Princeton, One Win Last Meeting Princeton, 27-26 (OT) (10.7.06)
Last Colgate Win 16-10 (10.8.05) Last Five Meetings Colgate, 3-2
Princeton Head Coach Roger Hughes, Doane, 1982
Career Record 41-41 (9th Season) Overall/Princeton
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 98-48 (13th Season) Overall/Colgate; 58-16 Patriot League
Colgate has won three of its last four meetings against the Tigers, but looks for revenge after losing at home, 27-26, in overtime in the last matchup in 2006...The teams played every year from 2000-06, with Colgate holding a 5-2 advantage in those matchups...The road team has won the last two and three of the last four meetings, with Colgate winning at Princeton, 16-10, in 2005...The last three matchups have been decided by six points or less...The teams have split their six meetings in Hamilton...Colgate plays the second of its three Ivy League opponents, beating Dartmouth on Sept. 20 and going to Cornell next week...Princeton faces its second Patriot League foe, knocking off Lehigh on Sept. 27...Patriot League teams are 24-34 all-time against Princeton.
Colgate Notebook Colgate had its Patriot League game against Georgetown cancelled due to the outbreak of norovirus on Georgetown's campus...The Raiders will now play a pair of Ivy League opponents, Princeton and Cornell, then finish the year with their Patriot League schedule...Running back Jordan Scott needs 186 yards to reach 1,000 yards for the season...He would be the third player in FCS history to reach the feat in five games if he does it against Princeton, and the eighth with four 1,000-yard seasons.
Penn (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) at Georgetown (1-3, 0-2)
Multi-Sport Field; Washington, D.C. - Saturday, 2 p.m.
Series Penn, 4-0-1
Streak Penn, One Win Last Meeting Penn, 42-13 (10.6.07)
Penn Head Coach Al Bagnoli, Central Connecticut State, 1975
Career Record 195-71 (27th Season) Overall/108-52 (17th Season) at Penn
Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Kelly, Springfield, 1982
Career Record 4-22 (3rd Season) Overall/Georgetown; 1-13 Patriot League
Georgetown and Penn face off for the second year in a row...The Hoyas fell at Penn, 42-13, last year in the first series matchup since the teams tied in 1937...The first two meetings in the series were played in the 19th century...Georgetown faces its second Ivy League opponent, previously falling to Yale on Sept. 20...Penn lost at Lafayette, 24-17, on Sept. 27 in its previous action against the Patriot League...Patriot League squads have a 16-35 all-time record against Penn..
Georgetown Notebook Georgetown had its game at Colgate cancelled last week due to the outbreak of norovirus on Georgetown's campus...The Hoyas return to action with consecutive home games, facing Penn on Saturday and then taking on Bucknell in a Patriot League game on Oct. 18...Nick Parrish earned Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors from the ECAC for his two interception returns for touchdowns on Sept. 27 against Holy Cross....The Hoyas are in the top 20 nationally in fumbles recovered.
