Oct. 8, 2007

Fordham tries to move to 3-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2002 when it travels to Georgetown on Saturday. Four other teams are in action in the last weekend of games against Ivy League foes. Colgate visits Cornell, No. 24 Lafayette is at Harvard, Lehigh goes to No. 16 Yale and Holy Cross hosts Dartmouth.

Patriot League Football Release 10.8.07
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Offensive Player of the Week

Jordan Scott, Colgate Jr., RB, 5'11, 205, Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha

Scott ran for a career-high 270 yards, the third-highest single-game total in Patriot League history, and scored three touchdowns on 45 carries to lead Colgate past Bucknell, 28-24. He ran for the game-winning touchdown from four yards out with 31 seconds to play. Scott was 12 yards off the Patriot League record of 282 set by Bucknell's Jabu Powell in 2000, and one carry away from the League mark of 46 set by Lafayette's Erik Marsh in 1992. Scott notched the second-highest single-game total in Colgate history, and went over 200 yards for the fifth time in his career. It was his seventh straight effort of more than 100 yards rushing and the 18th of his career. Scott earns his second Offensive Player of the Week nod of the season.

Defensive Player of the Week

Andy Romans, Lafayette Jr., LB, 5'11, 215, Allendale, N.J./St. Joseph Regional

Romans recorded a season-high 13 tackles, three tackles for a loss, two sacks and a forced fumble to help Lafayette to a 29-0 shut out of Columbia. He led a defense that limited Columbia to -13 rushing yards and 180 yards of total offense. He leads the team with 47 tackles and three sacks for the season.

Special Teams Player of the Week

A.J. Kizekai, Bucknell So., RB, 5'9, 184, Pawtucket, R.I./Blair (N.J.) Academy

Kizekai returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown for one of his three scores on the day in Bucknell's 28-24 loss to Colgate. He also scored rushing and receiving for a career-high three touchdowns, and recorded 251 all-purpose yards. Kizekai earns his second Special Teams Player of the Week honor of the year.

Rookie of the Week

Tyler McFarlane, Bucknell Fr., DB, 6'1, 195, Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Brunswick School (Conn.)

Making his second career start at safety, McFarlane notched eight tackles and his first-career interception in a 28-24 loss to Colgate. The interception came in the endzone in the fourth quarter, preserving Bucknell's 24-21 lead at the time.

Honorable Mention

Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross Jr., QB, 6'3, 211, Amelia, Ohio/St. Xavier

Set career highs with 404 passing yards and six touchdowns in 48-37 victory over Brown...Threw two touchdown passes in final nine minues after Brown tied score at 34...Completed 29-of-37 passes with no interceptions...Second-highest touchdown total and fifth-highest yardage total in Holy Cross history.

John Skelton, Fordham So., QB, 6'5, 220, El Paso, Texas/Burges

Completed career-high 26 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in 28-18 win over Lehigh...Threw for three scores for second straight game, and went over 200 passing yards for the fifth time in six games this year.

Pat Nolan, Colgate Sr., DT, 6'4, 258, Exeter, N.H./Exeter

Notched seven tackles, 3.5 sacks, four tackles for a loss, two fumbles forced and one fumble recovery in win over Bucknell. Came up with sack that forced fumble which he recovered on Bucknell's final drive.

Patriot League Notebook

Rams Go For 3-0

Fresh off a 28-18 victory over Lehigh and with first place already in their possession, the Fordham Rams will try to extend their half-game advantage over Holy Cross and Lafayette in the League standings when they travel to Georgetown in the only Patriot League game of the weekend. The Rams will try to start 3-0 in the League for the first time since their co-championship season of 2002. Fordham has won its last three Patriot League games dating back to last season. Holy Cross and Lafayette also have undefeated League marks (1-0), while everyone else has at least one loss. Georgetown needs a victory Saturday to avoid an 0-3 start in the Patriot League.

One More Round with the Ivies

Patriot League teams have already washed away the bad taste of last year's 4-14 record against the Ivy League, and now they'll try to secure the season series against their regional rivals with the final four matchups of the season on Saturday. The Patriot League has an 8-6 advantage against the Ivy League thus far, with wins by Holy Cross and Lafayette helping the cause last week. Two wins will secure the season series for the Patriot Leaguers, but it won't come easy with three teams going on the road. Lafayette visits Harvard, Colgate is at Cornell and Lehigh goes to Yale, while Holy Cross stays at home to face Dartmouth. With only three non-League games remaining after Saturday's action, the results will also play a big role in the quest for a winning record in non-League games. Patriot League teams are dead even at 14-14 in non-League play entering the weekend. The Patriot League has posted a winning non-League mark in six of the past eight seasons.

Great Scott!

Colgate running back Jordan Scott had a historic day with 45 carries for 270 yards against Bucknell, just missing Patriot League records in both categories. But the success goes well beyond one game for the outstanding junior from Hyattsville, Maryland. Scott's three-game rushing total of 655 (211 vs. Dartmouth, 174 vs. Fordham and 270 vs. Bucknell) is the best in Colgate history, breaking the old record of 626. He now has 939 rushing yards for the season, and his 187.6 yards per game average leads the nation. He is third in the country with 206.2 all-purpose yards per game, and tied for seventh with 10.8 points per game. Scott has moved his way into seventh place in Patriot League annals with 3,536 career rushing yards, and is just three points away (202) from cracking the top 20 scoring list. Scott is the only player with two of the top 10 single-game rushing performances.

The "Dom" inator

While Scott is having a great season, there is clearly room for more than one "dom" inating offensive player in the League. Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph had an outstanding day against Brown with 29-of-37 passing for 404 yards and six touchdowns without an interception in a 48-37 victory. The effort moved Randolph even higher in the national rankings, where he is now fourth in total offense (329.6 ypg), sixth in passing (314.2 ypg), second in completions (26.8) and fifth in points responsible for (20.4) in per game averages. Randolph has 3,808 yards, 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his 14 career games, and he figures to land near the top of the career leaders list in completions, attempts and yards per game when he becomes eligible for the rankings after one more game played.

The Featured Attraction

Lafayette moved back into the top 25 with the No. 24 ranking in this week's FCS Coaches Poll, and will get to show off that ranking and its FCS top-ranked total and scoring defense to a national audience on Saturday. Lafayette's game at Harvard will be shown on CSTV (Direct TV Channel 610/Dish Network Channel 152) beginning in-progress at 1 p.m. The game kicks off at Noon. CSTV will re-play the game in its entirety beginning at 11 p.m. Saturday.

This Week in Patriot League

Fordham Rams (4-2, 2-0) at Georgetown Hoyas (0-6, 0-2)

Fordham has won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Hoyas...The Rams won 10 matchups in a row before Georgetown's 24-21 victory in 2005...Fordham has a 5-1 mark in Patriot League matchups against the Hoyas...The Rams have scored at least 31 points in all five of those victories...The series began in 1889, and the teams have played at least once in every decade except the 1930s (did not play from 1929-1945).

Fordham Notebook Fordham is off to a 2-0 start in the Patriot League for the first time since its co-championship season of 2002, when it started 3-0...The Rams beat Lehigh for the first time since 1997 and the second time in 20 all-time matchups...Fordham has now beaten Colgate and Lehigh in the same season for the first time in school history...Quarterback John Skelton threw for three touchdowns for the second consecutive game in the win over Lehigh, and completed a career-high 26 passes..He has also thrown for 200 yards or more in five of six games this sesaon...Linebacker Earl Hudnell notched his third interception of the season, and had Fordham's first interception return for a touchdown since 2004.

Georgetown Notebook Senior Kyle Van Fleet notched both of the Hoyas' touchdown receptions in Saturday's loss to Penn...Junior Kenny Mitchell had six kickoff returns for 90 yards in the game, and sits second among active FCS players with 1,786 kickoff return yards...Freshman Nick Parrish notched six tackles, including one for a loss...Georgetown plays its next three games against Patriot League opponents.

No. 24 Lafayette Leopards (4-1, 1-0) at Harvard Crimson (2-2, 2-0 Ivy)

Lafayette tries to break a six-game losing streak against Harvard and beat the Crimson for the first time since winning in Cambridge in 1996...The teams are meeting for the fifth year in a row and seventh time in the last eight years...The game will be shown nationally on CSTV, with coverage picked up in-progress at 1 p.m...The Leopards have a 2-1 mark against Ivy League competition this year, and are in search of their first winning season against the Ivies since 2003...Lafayette has won all four of its regular-season road contests since losing at Harvard on Oct. 14 last year...Harvard is 0-2 against Patriot League teams this year, with losses to Holy Cross and Lehigh.

Lafayette Notebook The Leopards held Columbia to -13 rushing yards and 180 yards of total offense in Saturday's 29-0 shutout...They remained at No. 1 in the nation in total defense (210.2 ypg allowed) and improved to No. 1 in scoring defense (8.8 ppg allowed) with the performance...They also rank No. 3 nationally in rushing defense (63.2 ypg) and tackles for loss (9.6 per game)...Four different running backs scored in the game, and quarterback Mike DiPaola completed passes to 11 different players...Shaun Adair had five punts returns for 80 yards against Columbia to remain third in the nation with a 16.0 punt return average for the year.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (3-2, 0-1) at No. 16 Yale Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Ivy)

Lehigh has won five of the last six meetings against Yale, with last year's Bulldog win breaking a five-game Lehigh win streak in the series...Yale won the first 11 meetings in the series before Lehigh broke through in 1994 to start the five-game win streak...The teams are meeting for the fourth consecutive season...The last two matchups have gone to overtime, with each team winning once, and the last four meetings have ben decided by seven points or less....Lehigh tries to move to 4-2 or better through six games for the ninth time in the last 10 years...Yale is 2-0 against Patriot League teams in 2007.

Lehigh Notebook The Mountain Hawks dropped their Patriot League opener for just the second time in the past 10 seasons, and lost to Fordham for the first time since 1997 on Saturday...Wide receiver Sekou Yansane caught six passes for a career-high 107 yards and a touchdown in the game...Tim Diamond led all Patriot League players in tackles for the second week in a row with a 15-tackle day at Fordham...He has 37 tackles in the last two weeks and 50 for the season...Lehigh remains first in the nation with a 40.65 net punting average, and Jason Leo is in the top 20 in punting average and field goals made per game.

Colgate Raiders (3-2, 1-1) at Cornell Big Red (2-2, 0-2 Ivy)

Colgate has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Big Red, with Cornell's 38-14 victory a year ago breaking a 10-game Colgate streak...The Raiders have won 19 of the last 23 matchups overall, and 12 of the last 14 contests played at Cornell...The teams meet for the ninth year in a row...Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle has a 9-1 all-time mark against Cornell...Cornell has a 2-0 mark against Patriot League teams this year, with wins over Bucknell and Georgetown...Patriot League teams have a 28-27-1 record against Cornell.

Colgate Notebook The Raiders defeated Bucknell for the sixth time in the last eight meetings, and held the Bison, who came in averaging 214 rushing yards per game, to 93 on Saturday...Colgate has still never started 0-2 in the Patriot League in Head Coach Dick Biddle's 12-year tenure...Wide receiver Erik Burke equaled a career-high with nine receptions and had 114 receiving yards against the Bison...Burke is in the top 20 nationally in receptions and receiving yards per game.

Dartmouth Big Green (1-3, 1-1 Ivy) at Holy Cross Crusaders (3-2, 1-0)

Holy Cross goes for its fourth consecutive win against Dartmouth, as the teams meet for the eighth year in a row...The road team has won three of the last four meetings, including Holy Cross' 24-21 victory in overtime last year...The Crusaders have scored at least 20 points in the last six meetings...Dartmouth won the first 10 meetings between the schools from 1903-1931, but Holy Cross' 14-game winning streak from 1978-91 is the longest in series history...Patriot League teams are 26-21 against Dartmouth.

Holy Cross Notebook The Crusaders scored 30 points or more for the fourth time in five games this season in a 48-37 win over Brown...They topped the 40-point barrier for the second time...The Holy Cross offense ranks fourth in the nation in passing (325.0 ypg), seventh in total yardage (465.2 ypg) and 16th in scoring (36.2 ppg)...Kicker Matt Partain is perfect on the season, connecting on 6-of-6 field goals and 22-of-22 extra points.

Bucknell Bison (2-4, 0-1) - IDLE

Bucknell Notebook A.J. Kizekai scored three touchdowns in the 28-24 loss to Colgate, with one rushing, one receiving and one on a 92-yard kickoff return...Kizekai had 251 all-purpose yards, and improved to 10th nationally with 190.67 all-purpose yards per game for the season...Bucknell gets back in action when it hosts Georgetown on Oct. 20.