Oct. 13, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Bucknell tries to make it a five-way tie at the top of the Patriot League football standings, as the Bison play their Patriot League opener on the road at Georgetown on Saturday. The remaining teams play a non-League contest, with four games against Ivy League opponents and Lafayette visiting No. 14/15 Liberty. Fordham is the only squad to host a game as it takes on Yale.
Patriot League Football Release - 10.13.08 
Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week
Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross Sr., QB, 6'3, 223, Amelia, Ohio/St. Xavier
Randolph earns the eighth Offensive Player of the Week honor of his career, and his first this season, after an outstanding effort in a 41-34 Crusader victory over Brown. Randolph completed 41-of-54 passes for a season-high 430 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Crusaders to the win. He tossed three touchdown passes in the first half, with the final scoring pass late in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. He tied his own school record, set last week at Yale, with 41 completions. Randolph also rushed for 11 yards to finish with 441 yards of total offense. The passing and total offense totals were both the fourth-highest single-game efforts in Holy Cross history. Randolph become the first player in Holy Cross history to have three career games with at least 400 yards passing, and his 12 career 300-yard efforts are one off the Patriot League record.
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week
Andy Romans, Lafayette Sr., LB, 5'11, 215, Allendale, N.J./St. Joseph Regional
Romans receives Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row, and fifth time in his career, after recording 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss to lead a stout Lafayette defense in a 13-3 win at Columbia. Romans stepped up to help limit Columbia to 30 rushing yards even with four defensive starters out of the lineup for the Leopards. The Leopards are now ranked first nationally with 11.8 points allowed per game.
Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week
Jacob Stein, Colgate Sr., K, 5'10, 168, St. Petersburg, Fla./Shorecrest Prep
Stein earns his second Special Teams Player of the Week honor in the last three weeks after connecting on 2-of-2 field goals and 3-of-3 extra points in Colgate's 27-24 win over Princeton. He hit the game-winning field goal, a career-high tying 33-yarder, with just two seconds to play.
Patriot League Rookie of the Week
Vinnie Nicosia, Colgate Fr., DB, 6'0, 189, Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam
Nicosia made seven tackles, including four solo stops, in Colgate's 27-24 win over Princeton. He receives his first Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor.
Patriot League Notebook
Lehigh Makes It a Four-Way Tie For Patriot League Lead....
An outstanding performance from quarterback J.B. Clark and a strong second half lifted Lehigh to a 45-24 victory over Fordham in Patriot League action on Saturday. It was the League opener for the Mountain Hawks, who pull into a tie for first place in the Patriot League at 1-0 along with Lafayette, Colgate and Holy Cross. Fordham dropped to 0-2 in the Patriot League. Three Patriot League teams earned victories over Ivy League opponents, with Holy Cross topping Brown, 41-34, Lafayette knocking off Columbia, 13-3 and Colgate defeating Princeton, 27-24, on a field goal with two seconds remaining. Bucknell and Georgetown fell in non-League action.
....And Bucknell Has A Chance to Make It Five
Bucknell can add its name to the logjam at the top of the Patriot League standings when it plays its Patriot League opener at Georgetown on Saturday. The Bison completed their non-League schedule with a 3-2 record, and play their six League games consecutively to close the year. Four of the five teams in non-League action on Saturday will have to win on the road, including Lafayette which travels to No. 14/15 Liberty. Holy Cross, Colgate, Lehigh and Fordham play Ivy League opponents, with only the Rams playing at home.
Georgetown/Colgate Matchup Will Not Be Rescheduled
The Patriot League office, in consultation with the League's football athletic directors, determined that the Georgetown at Colgate football game that was postponed on Oct. 4 due to a norovirus outbreak on Georgetown's campus will not be rescheduled this season. It was agreed that the game will be listed as an un-played game in the League standings and overall school records for the 2008 season. A tie in the season-ending standings will exist if teams have the same number of losses. The decision was endorsed by a 7-0 vote of the football athletic directors. Tiebreaker formulas can be found at www.patriotleague.com.
Colgate's Scott Adds Three Records With More to Come
Colgate senior running back Jordan Scott did his usual thing on Saturday against Princeton: go over 100 yards, get in the endzone and set records. Scott had 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the game, and became the Patriot League's all-time leading scorer (334 points) and career leader in consecutive (18) and overall (29) 100-yard rushing games. Scott had 27 carries in the game, and now needs 36 carries to break the all-time Division I record of 1,215 (Steve Bartalo, Colorado State 1983-86). He is in sight of the all Divisions carries mark of 1,271. Scott also upped his season rushing total to 930, and is very close to becoming the eighth player in FCS history and first Patriot Leaguer to record four 1,000-yard campaigns in his career. Scott has 5,403 career rushing yards, and the all-time Patriot League and Colgate rushing leader moved from 14th to eighth on the FCS career rushing list. He was featured in both the New York Times and Washington Times last week.
Holy Cross' Randolph Making Headlines, Too
Not to be outdone, Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph has a nice standing in the Patriot League and NCAA record book. Randolph is in the top five among all active FCS quarterbacks in career passing yards, total offense, completions, attempts and passing touchdowns, and is up to the top six in Patriot League history in every category. He rose up the lists with a 430-yard, four-touchdown effort against Brown on Saturday, which earned him Sports Network Offensive Player of the Week recognition in addition to Patriot League honors.
Another Set Of Close Calls
Two more non-League games were decided by seven points or less over the weekend, with the Patriot League coming out on top both times with Holy Cross' 41-34 win over Brown and Colgate's 27-24 victory over Princeton. Sixteen of the 28 non-League matchups have been decided by seven points or less, and Patriot League teams are 9-7 in those close non-League games, with all of the losses by three points or less. Patriot League teams have a hard-luck 2-7 record in games decided by three points or less. The contests with the Ivy League have been especially close, with the Patriot League at 4-5 in games decided by seven or less, but just 1-5 in contests at three points or less against the Ancient Eight.
Biddle, Tavani In Search of Milestone Wins
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle and Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani are each going for a significant number in the win column this weekend. Biddle, the Patriot League all-time leader in wins and League wins, goes in search of his 100th career victory when the Raiders visit Cornell. Tavani tries for win No. 50 when the Leopards go to No. 14/15 Liberty. Biddle is 99-48 in his 13th season at Colgate, while Tavani has a 49-47 mark in his ninth year at Lafayette.
Lafayette and Colgate in First ECAC Lambert FCS Poll
Lafayette and Colgate represent the Patriot League in the first ECAC Lambert Meadowlands FCS poll of the season released on Monday, with the Leopards at No. 8 overall with 16 points and the Raiders at No. 9 with 15 points. Both teams are also in the receiving votes category in The Sports Network and FCS Coaches top 25 polls.
Scott, Randolph, Lafayette Continue to Place High in FCS Stats
Colgate's Jordan Scott, Holy Cross' Dominic Randolph and the Lafayette defense all have top spots in an NCAA ranking category for the second week in a row. Scott continues to lead the nation in rushing with 186 yards per game, while also placing in the top three in all-purpose yardage and scoring. Randolph leads the FCS in completions per game (32.4) and is in the top three in passing and total offense per contest. Lafayette paces all FCS teams with 11.8 points allowed per contest after holding Columbia to just three on Saturday, while also placing in the top 10 in rushing and total defense.
Patriot Leaguers Claiming National Honors
Another week, another national honor for an outstanding performance by a Patriot Leaguer. Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph claimed The Sports Network's Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday, adding to a nice list of earlier awards by Colgate running back Jordan Scott and Georgetown linebacker Nick Parrish. Scott was twice named a player of the week by the ECAC and College Sporting News, and also received a pair of running back of the week honors from SME Network. He also earned 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. 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.
This Week in the Patriot League
Bucknell (3-2, 0-0) at Georgetown (1-4, 0-2)
Multi-Sport Field; Washington, D.C. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Bucknell, 10-9-1
Streak Georgetown, One Win Last Meeting Georgetown 20-17 (OT) (10.20.07)
Last Bucknell Win 17-7 (10.16.06) Last Five Meetings Bucknell, 3-2
Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis, Randolph Macon, 1986
Career Record 79-87-1 (16th Season) Overall/26-35 (6th Season) at Bucknell; 12-19 PL
Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Kelly, Springfield, 1982
Career Record 4-23 (3rd Season) Overall/Georgetown; 1-13 Patriot League
Bucknell and Georgetown meet in Washington, D.C., in a series where the road team has won the last four contests...Georgetown won at Bucknell in overtime in 2005 and 2007, while the Bison won in Washington in 2004 and 2006...The Hoyas earned a 20-17 overtime win in Lewisburg last year...Bucknell has a 4-3 advantage in Patriot League matchups between the schools...Bucknell is trying to win its Patriot League opener for the first time since winning at Georgetown in 2004...The Bison are also trying to claim their first three road games in a season for the first time since 1997, when they won their first six road contests in a 10-1 year...Bucknell plays all six of its Patriot League games consecutively to close out the year...The Hoyas play their third consecutive home game, dropping the previous two to Holy Cross and Penn.
Bucknell Notebook Bucknell fell to Hofstra, 45-31, on Saturday...It was the first meeting between the schools since 1994, with the Bison slipping to 0-5 against the Pride as a Patriot League member...It was the final non-League game of the year for the Bison, who conclude that portion of the schedule with a 3-2 mark...Sam Nana-Sinkam posted a game-high 15 tackles in the loss, his third straight double-figure tackle game...He leads the Patriot League and ranks 10th nationally with 11.4 tackles per game...A.J. Kizekai had 175 yards on kickoff returns, increasing his career total to 1,466 kickoff return yards...Kizekai's 3,289 career all-purpose yards are sixth in Bucknell history...Freshman Drew Orth made the first field goal attempt of his career, a 38-yarder...Andrew Lair ran for a career-high 78 yards and two touchdowns...The Bison are averaging 33 points in their first three home games this year.
Georgetown Notebook Georgetown fell for the fourth consecutive time, losing to Penn, 27-7, on Saturday...The Hoyas have dropped their first two of three consecutive home contests...Quarterback Keerome Lawrence had a career-high 23 carries for 98 yards, and also completed 10-of-19 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown...Chris Rau had a team-high nine tackles with a fumble recovery and pass breakup...The Hoyas accumulated 168 rushing yards...They were playing their first game in two weeks after after last week's cancellation at Colgate due to the outbreak of norovirus on the Georgetown campus.
Holy Cross (2-3, 1-0) at Dartmouth (0-4, 0-2 Ivy)
Memorial Field; Hanover, N.H. - Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Series Dartmouth, 34-33-4
Streak Holy Cross, Four Wins Last Meeting Holy Cross, 41-15 (10.13.07)
Last Dartmouth Win 24-20 (10.18.03) Last Five Meetings Holy Cross, 4-1
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore, Penn, 1986
Career Record 25-24 (5th Season) Overall/Holy Cross; 13-12 Patriot League
Dartmouth Head Coach Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth, 1979
Career Record 67-126-2 (19th Season) Overall/33-49-2 (9th Season) at Dartmouth
Holy Cross goes for its fifth consecutive win against Dartmouth...The Crusaders have also won the last two meetings in Hanover, including a 24-21, overtime victory in 2006...That streak has brought Holy Cross to within one game of Dartmouth in the all-time series, with the Big Green holding a slim 34-33-4 edge...It is the fourth and final Ivy League opponent this year for the Crusaders, who lost to Harvard and Yale before defeating Brown last week...Patriot League teams are 28-21 all-time against the Big Green, including a 34-20 win for Colgate on Sept. 20...Holy Cross plays its final non-League game of the year.
Holy Cross Notebook Holy Cross earned its first home win of the year with a 41-34 triumph over Brown...It was the Crusaders' third consecutive win over the Bears...Senior quarterback Dominic Randolph went 41-of-54 for 430 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in the game...Randolph finished with an amazing stat line of 100-of-130 passing for 1,163 yards with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions in three games, all victories, in his career against Brown...It was his 12th career 300-yard game, one off the Patriot League record...Randolph became the first player in Holy Cross history with three career 400-yard passing days, while the 41 completions tied his own school record...Randolph completed passes to eight different receivers, with each of those players notching at least four receptions...Jon Brock had six catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns...Matt Partain hit both of his field goals, from 46 and 43 yards out, and made all five of his extra points in the win...The 46-yard field goal tied for the second-longest in Holy Cross history.
Yale (3-1, 1-1 Ivy) at Fordham (2-3, 0-2)
Jack Coffey Field; Bronx, N.Y. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Yale, 4-0
Streak Yale, Four Wins Last Meeting Yale, 36-27 (10.13.01)
Yale Head Coach Jack Siedlecki, Union, 1974
Career Record 123-68-2 (21st Season) Overall/67-46 (11th Season) at Yale
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 30-41 (7th Season) Overall/13-15 (3rd Season) at Fordham; 6-8 PL
Fordham goes in search of its first win in the series against Yale...The Rams have dropped all four meetings between the schools, with the last matchup coming in 2001...Yale earned a 24-17 victory in 2000 in the only previous contest played in the Bronx...The Rams are playing their second Ivy League opponent of the year, claiming a 29-22 win at Columbia on Sept. 29...Yale has already knocked off Georgetown and Holy Cross in its action against Patriot League teams...Patriot League teams have a 10-29 all-time mark against the Bulldogs.
Fordham Notebook Fordham fell to 0-2 in the Patriot League with a 45-24 loss at Lehigh on Saturday...It is the third 0-2 start in League play in the last four seasons for the Rams...They dropped to 0-10 in Patriot League matchups against the Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, and 2-19 overall against Lehigh....Fordham has dropped its last three Patriot League games dating back to last season after winning its first five on the way to last year's title...The Rams are 0-2 on the road this season...John Skelton completed 22-of-32 passes for 265 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions...Andre Delaire led the defense with 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Colgate (4-2, 1-0) at Cornell (3-1, 1-1 Ivy)
Schoellkopf Field; Ithaca, N.Y. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Cornell, 48-39-3
Streak Cornell, Two Wins Last Meeting Cornell, 17-14 (10.13.07)
Last Colgate Win 34-20 (2005) Last Five Meetings Colgate, 3-2
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 99-48 (13th Season) Overall/Colgate; 58-16 Patriot League
Cornell Head Coach Jim Knowles, Cornell, 1987
Career Record 23-21 (5th Season) Overall/Cornell
Colgate will try to win its fourth consecutive game when it visits Cornell on Saturday...The Big Red have won the last two meetings and hold a 48-39-3 series edge, but Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle has a 9-2 record in the series...The Raiders had won 10 consecutive matchups before the current two-game slide, and have won 19 of 24 meetings since 1980...Both teams try to remain perfect against the other League, with Colgate knocking off Dartmouth and Princeton from the Ivy League and Cornell winning at Bucknell and Lehigh in matchups against the Patriot League...Patriot League teams are 28-30-1 versus the Big Red.
Colgate Notebook Colgate knocked off Princeton, 27-24, on Saturday on a 33-yard field goal by Jacob Stein with two seconds left in the game to win its third game in a row...Colgate won for the fourth time in the last five meetings against the Tigers, and is 6-2 in matchups played since 2000...The last four matchups between Colgate and Princeton have been decided by six points or less...Jordan Scott had 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and became the Patriot League all-time leader in points scored (334) as well as consecutive (18) and overall (29) 100-yard rushing games...Greg Sullivan completed 17-of-20 passes for 206 yards and one touchdown, and gained 70 yards on the ground...Pat Simonds had career highs with 11 receptions for 152 yards.
Lehigh (2-3, 1-0) at Harvard (3-1, 1-1 Ivy)
Harvard Stadium; Cambridge, Mass. - Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Series Lehigh, 7-6 TV WFMZ, NESN
Streak Lehigh, One Win Last Meeting Lehigh, 20-13 (9.29.07)
Last Harvard Win 35-33 (9.30.06) Last Five Meetings Lehigh, 4-1
Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen, Gettysburg, 1986
Career Record 13-14 (3rd Season) Overall/Lehigh; 8-5 Patriot League
Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy, Springfield, 1978
Career Record 123-97-1 (22nd Season) Overall/91-52 (15th Season) at Harvard
Lehigh and Harvard meet in Cambridge in a series that has been dominated by the Mountain Hawks recently...Lehigh earned a 20-13 victory at home last season, and has won five of the last six meetings dating back to 1998...Harvard did notch a 35-33 win at Lehigh in 2006...Lehigh is 0-2 against Ivy League teams this year, falling on the final play against Princeton and Cornell...Harvard has wins over Holy Cross and Lafayette...Patriot League teams are 24-29-1 all-time against the Crimson.
Lehigh Notebook Lehigh won its Patriot League opener, 45-24, at home against Fordham...The Mountain Hawks have won nine of their last 11 League openers...They improved to a perfect 10-0 at home against the Rams in Patriot League matchups, and moved to 19-2 in the all-time series...J.B. Clark threw for a career-high 296 yards and four touchdowns, and also scored a rushing touchdown...It was the most touchdown passes for a Lehigh quarterback since Sedale Threatt had four in 2005...Clark also became the first Lehigh signal-caller since Mark Borda in 2005 with consecutive 250-yard passing games...BJ Benning had a career-high three sacks in the game...Lehigh had five sacks overall, its most since notching eight against Fordham in 2005.
Lafayette (4-1, 1-0) at No. 14/15 Liberty (6-0, 2-0 Big South)
Williams Stadium; Lynchburg, Va. - Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Series First Meeting TV Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4 and WBPH-60), MASN
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani, Lebanon Valley, 1976
Career Record 49-47 (9th Season) Overall/Lafayette; 29-23 Patriot League
Liberty Head Coach Danny Rocco, Wake Forest, 1982
Career Record 20-8 (3rd Season) Overall/Liberty
Lafayette travels to No. 14/15 Liberty for the first meeting between the schools...It is the second contest on a five-game road trip for the Leopards...Lafayette is trying to end Liberty's 11-game winning streak, the longest in the FCS...The Leopards are the second Patriot League school to face the Flames, with Lehigh earning a win in a 2004 matchup...Patriot League teams are 1-1 against opponents from the Big South Conference, with Colgate wining at Coastal Carolina and losing at Stony Brook earlier in the year...Lafayette will also try to give the Patriot League its first win against a ranked opponent...The League is 0-3 against top 25 teams this year.
Lafayette Notebook After seeing its six-game winning streak come to an end on Oct. 4 against Harvard, Lafayette got back on track with a 13-3 win at Columbia on Saturday...It was the seventh straight victory in the series for the Leopards, who now have a 20-3-1 advantage against the Lions since 1981...Lafayette finished with a 2-1 mark against Ivy League opponents, and won its first contest of a five-game road trip...The Leopards dropped their points allowed average to 11.8 for the season, the top mark in the FCS...Andy Romans has 54 tackles on the year, good for a 10.8 average that is second in the Patriot League and 13th in the country...Davis Rodriguez hit a career-long 46-yard field goal and also connected from 42 yards out...Rodriguez is 6-for-7 on the season...The five-game road trip is Lafayette's longest since 1986, the first year of Patriot League play.
