Oct. 23, 2009
Center Valley, Pa. - The race for the 2009 Patriot League Football Championship goes to a whole new level on Saturday, with separation in the standings inevitable as every team that is still in contention plays a League contest. No. 17 Colgate is at No. 22 Holy Cross in the first meeting of ranked Patriot League teams since 2004, while Lehigh goes to Bucknell and Fordham travels to Lafayette. Each game kicks off at 1 p.m., and every team except Fordham comes in with a perfect League record.
Patriot League Football Release - 10.19.09 
Colgate comes into the day with a small leg up in the Patriot League title chase, as the Raiders hold a 2-0 League mark to go along with their 7-0 record overall. Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh have all won their only League outing, while Fordham dropped its League opener to the Raiders. Georgetown, which has an 0-5 mark in League action, is off on Saturday.
The Colgate/Holy Cross game carries as much hype and subplots as any recent Patriot League contest. It is the first time in five years that a pair of ranked Patriot League teams have squared off, with No. 12 Lehigh winning at home against No. 18 Colgate, 21-14, on Oct. 30, 2004 in the last such game. The game also holds significance beyond the Patriot League standings for both teams. Colgate is one of only four remaining undefeated teams in the nation, and is at 7-0 for the fifth time in school history. Colgate's 15-game regular-season winning streak is the longest in the Football Championship Subdivision, and the Raiders are the only FCS team with seven wins already this year. The Raiders have won seven consecutive Patriot League games, including a 28-27 win over the Crusaders on the final day of the season in Hamilton to claim last year's Patriot League title. That is Holy Cross' only loss in its last eight League contests. Holy Cross looks to build on its 5-1 overall record, and senior quarterback Dominic Randolph has a great chance to set an FCS record in the game. Randolph enters the day with 36 consecutive games with a touchdown pass, tied with the late Steve McNair for the most all-time.
The matchup in Easton features two teams that are getting hot at the right time. Lafayette completed a four-game sweep of Ivy League opponents with a 35-18 win at Harvard on Saturday, and the Leopards hold the four-game winning streak and 5-1 overall record coming into the game against Fordham. The Rams have won three in a row since an 0-3 start and lead the nation with 484.5 yards of total offense per game. The winning streaks are both among the 15 longest in the nation.
Lehigh and Bucknell have both endured up-and-down seasons, but the winner on Saturday will be in the thick of the League title chase with a 2-0 record. Patriot League history is also on the line, as Lehigh's current 11-game win streak over the Bison is tied for the longest in any series in League annals. Bucknell's last win over Lehigh came in 1997.
The Patriot League enters the weekend after teams and individuals both received national plaudits last week. Colgate and Holy Cross rose in the two major FCS polls to No. 17 and No. 22, respectively, while Lafayette moved up in the receiving votes category in The Sports Network and FCS Coaches top 25. All three teams are also ranked in the top nine in the ECAC FCS top 10, with Colgate at No. 5, Holy Cross at No. 8 and Lafayette at No. 9. A pair of Fordham stars were honored as senior quarterback John Skelton was named a National All-Star by College Sporting News and the Offensive Player of the Week by the ECAC, while junior defensive back Isa Abdul El-Quddus claimed Defensive Player of the Week recognition from The Sports Network and the ECAC.
For more coverage of Patriot League Football throughout the weekend, follow the League's Gameday Blog and Twitter page. Look for updates from each of the Patriot League contests on Saturday. Also, view the Patriot League composite schedule for all video, audio and live stat links for the weekend's games, and the new interactive scoreboard, which provides in-game score updates for any contest with Gametracker coverage, including the games from Lafayette and Bucknell on Saturday.
Read the capsules below for a synopsis of each Patriot League contest this weekend, including game notes and any media links for each matchup.
This Week in the Patriot League
No. 17/17 Colgate (7-0, 2-0) at No. 22/22 Holy Cross (5-1, 1-0)
Fitton Field; Worcester, Mass. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Holy Cross, 37-29-5 TV WCTR-TV 3
Streak Colgate, One Win Last Meeting Colgate, 28-27 (11.22.2008)
Last Holy Cross Win 27-20 (11.17.2007) Last Five Games Colgate, 4-1
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 111-49 (14th Season) Overall/Colgate; 64-16 Patriot League
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore, Penn, 1986
Career Record 35-26 (Sixth Season) Overall/Holy Cross; 18-13 Patriot League
No. 17/17 Colgate travels to Worcester to face off with No. 22/22 Holy Cross in a key Patriot League matchup on Saturday...It is the first Patriot League matchup of ranked teams since No. 12 Lehigh defeated No. 18 Colgate, 21-14, on Oct. 30, 2004...The teams were picked in the top two spots in the Patriot League preseason poll, with Holy Cross coming in just ahead of the defending champion Raiders...Both teams swept through the rest of their Patriot League schedule last year, with Colgate claiming a 28-27 win over the Crusaders on the final day of the season in Hamilton to win the Patriot League title...Colgate has won seven of the last eight and 10 of the last 12 in the series, though Holy Cross did rally for a 27-20 win in the last meeting in Worcester in the 2007 season finale...Holy Cross leads the all-time series, 37-29-5, with a 13-10 advantage in Patriot League play...The Crusaders won the first 11 Patriot League matchups from 1986-96, still tied for the longest series streak in League history...Colgate is trying to go 3-0 in League play for the second year in a row, while Holy Cross shoots for a 2-0 mark for the fifth straight season.
Colgate Colgate remained unbeaten on the season and took over sole possession of first place in the Patriot League with a 31-14 win at Georgetown on Saturday...The Raiders are 7-0 overall for just the fifth time in school history, and first since winning their first 15 games in 2003...They are one of just four undefeated teams left in the country...They have opened Patriot League play with two wins for the second season in a row and sixth time in the last seven years...Colgate improved to 7-0 all-time against Georgetown, all coming in Patriot League games...The Raiders have won seven consecutive Patriot League games dating back to last season...Their 15-game regular-season winning streak is the longest in the FCS...Pat Simonds hauled in a career-high 12 receptions for 111 yards in the game, including the game-winning touchdown with 4:48 left in the third quarter...He caught 12 of the 13 completions from quarterback Greg Sullivan...Colgate ran for 313 yards in the game, increasing its FCS-leading rushing average to 273.7 yards per contest...Nate Eachus had 158 yards on the ground, while Jordan McCord tallied 94 and Sullivan had 62 and each of the three players reached the endzone...Colgate held a 40:36 to 19:24 edge in time of possesion, and continues to lead the nation in time of possession and third-down conversion percentage (50.0)...The Raiders are also in the top 20 nationally in total offense, total defense and scoring defense...Colgate returns home after its three-game road swing to take on Lehigh on Oct. 31.
Holy Cross The Crusaders got back on the winning track with a 34-14 win over Dartmouth on Saturday, their sixth straight triumph over the Big Green....Holy Cross closes its non-League schedule with a 4-1 record, including a 2-1 mark against the Ivy League...The Crusaders record a winning non-League record for the fourth time in the last five years, and the 4-1 mark was their best since going 6-0 against non-League foes during a perfect 11-0 season in 1991...The Crusaders also grabbed the all-time lead in the series with Dartmouth for the first time, jumping ahead, 35-34-4...It was the ninth straight win for a Patriot League team against the Big Green...Holy Cross scored the first 34 points of the game and never looked back...Dominic Randolph completed 26-of-36 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns in the game, tying an FCS record by throwing for a score in his 36th consecutive game...He became only the ninth player in FCS history with 100 touchdown passes, and now has 101 in his career...Randolph already holds an FCS mark with an active streak of 35 consecutive 200-yard passing efforts...He leads the nation in passing yards and total offense per game this season, just ahead of Fordham's John Skelton in both categories...Matt Bellomo had 91 rushing yards on only 11 carries and caught seven passes for 46 yards...Michael Wright had an interception and four pass breakups, and now leads the nation with 2.0 passes defended per game (2 INT, 10 PBU)...Holy Cross begins a two-game Patriot League road trip next week when it visits Fordham.
Colgate Game Notes
Holy Cross Game Notes
Live Stats
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Lehigh (1-5, 1-0) at Bucknell (3-3, 1-0)
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium; Lewisburg, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Lehigh, 40-29-3
Streak Lehigh, 11 Wins Last Meeting Lehigh, 31-15 (11.15.2008)
Last Bucknell Win 21-14 (11.1.1997) Last Five Meetings Lehigh, 5-0
Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen, Gettysburg, 1986
Career Record 17-22 (Fourth Season) Overall/Lehigh; 12-7 Patriot League
Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis, Randolph-Macon, 1986
Career Record 84-94-1 (17th Season) Overall/31-42 (Seventh Season) at Bucknell; 15-23 PL
Lehigh and Bucknell each try to stay in the thick of the Patriot League race when they meet in Lewisburg on Saturday...Each squad has a 1-0 League mark and is tied in the loss column with three other teams...Lehigh has dominated the series, with an 11-game win streak over Bucknell that is tied for the longest in a series in Patriot League history...It is only matched by Holy Cross' 11-game streak over Colgate from 1986-96...The Mountain Hawks have scored at least 30 points in each of the last six meetings, and have tallied 21 or more in each of the 11 consecutive wins...None of those games was closer than seven points, which was the difference in 2000 and 2001...Bucknell's last triumph over Lehigh was a 21-14 win in Lewisburg in 1997...Lehigh leads the all-time series, 40-29-1, with a 16-6-1 edge in League games...Lehigh is trying to open Patriot League play at 2-0 for the first time since 2006, while Bucknell is attempting to pull it off for the first time since 2003.
Lehigh Lehigh fell to 1-5 on the season with a 7-0 loss at home against Yale on Saturday...The Mountain Hawks dropped all five of their non-League games for the first time as a Patriot League member...They were also shutout for the first time since 1986, a span of 263 games...The Mountain Hawks dropped all three of their games against Ivy League opponents...Lehigh has lost its last three meetings with Yale...A fake punt in the third quarter accounted for the only scoring...Lehigh limited Yale to 189 yards of total offense, and the Mountain Hawk defense did not allow a point for the second week in a row...The last touchdown allowed by the Lehigh defense was with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter against Harvard on Oct. 3, a span of more than 143 minutes...Devin Greene led the unit with 13 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one of Lehigh's three interceptions...The tackle and tackle for loss marks were career highs and the interception was his first...Lehigh ran for 137 yards in the game...The Mountain Hawks complete their two-game League road trip at Colgate on Oct. 31.
Bucknell The Bison are coming off their bye week with a 3-3 record and a 1-0 mark in the Patriot League...Bucknell completed its non-League schedule with a 21-3 loss at Penn on Oct. 10...The Bucknell defense recorded three interceptions in that game, and is fourth in the country with 12 INTs for the year...Bucknell has won all three of its home games this season, and has a four-game home winning streak dating back to last year...The four-game home win streak is the longest for the Bison since 2001...Bucknell will play its next three Patriot League games on the road, beginning with a trip to Lafayette on Oct. 31.
Lehigh Game Notes
Bucknell Game Notes
GameTracker
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Fordham (3-3, 0-1) at Lafayette (5-1, 1-0)
Fisher Stadium; Easton, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Lafayette, 19-7-1 TV Lafayette Sports Network
Streak Lafayette, One Win Last Meeting Lafayette, 48-13 (10.25.2008)
Last Fordham Win 36-27 (10.20.2007) Last Five Games Lafayette, 4-1
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 36-47 (Eighth Season) Overall/19-21 (Fourth Season) at Fordham; 7-12 PL
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani, Lebanon Valley, 1976
Career Record 57-51 (10th Season) Overall/Lafayette; 32-26 Patriot League
Lafayette and Fordham meet in a key Patriot League matchup in Easton on Saturday, with the 1-0 Leopards trying to keep pace at the top of the standings and the 0-1 Rams attempting to climb into the race...The road team has won the last three meetings, including Lafayette's 48-13 win at Fordham last year...The Rams scored a 36-27 victory in Easton on their way to the 2007 Patriot League title...Lafayette has won four of the last five meetings overall, defeating Fordham in three straight years from 2004-06...The winning team has scored at least 27 points in 11 consecutive meetings, with Lafayette holding a 6-5 mark in that stretch...Fordham won four straight from 2000-03 before Lafayette's current stretch of four wins in five games...Lafayette has a 19-7-1 lead in the all-time series and a 12-6 edge in Patriot League games...Lafayette is trying to open 2-0 in the Patriot League for the second year in a row, while Fordham attempts to avoid a second straight 0-2 start in the League.
Fordham Fordham got its third straight win with an offensive explosion, beating Cornell, 39-27...It is the longest winning streak for the Rams since 2007...Quarterback John Skelton went 20-for-27 with a school-record 420 passing yards and five touchdowns, four of which went for 50 yards or more...He also ran for another score...He threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone...Skelton threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to Asa Lucas in the second quarter, which tied for the longest scoring pass in League history with a play by Lafayette in 1988...Jason Caldwell caught nine passes for 245 yards and the other four touchdowns in the game...The four receiving touchdowns tied six other players for the top single-game mark in Patriot League history, and was the highest mark since 2003...Caldwell caught touchdown passes of 50, 58 and 71 yards, and the 245 yards were one shy of the school record...Skelton is now in the top seven in Patriot League history in career completions, yards, touchdowns, attempts, total offense and touchdowns responsible for...He trails only Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph in passing yards per game and total offense in the FCS this season...Isa Abdul El-Quddus had three interceptions in the game, and returned them for a total of 81 yards...Fordham had five interceptions in the game...The Rams built a 39-13 lead before Cornell scored the last two touchdowns...Fordham earned its first win over Cornell since 1927, as the teams were meeting for just the seventh time and first since 1999...The Rams closed the non-League portion of their schedule with a 3-2 record, posting a winning non-League mark for the third year in a row....The win improved Patriot League teams to 31-31-1 all-time against Cornell, and 2-1 this season...Fordham plays its three Patriot League home games in consecutive weeks, beginning with a matchup against Holy Cross on Oct. 31.
Lafayette The Leopards completed a four-game sweep of Ivy League opponents by winning at Harvard, 35-18, on Saturday...Lafayette has won four consecutive games for the first time since claiming its last four contests to win the 2006 Patriot League title...Lafayette finishes with four wins in a season against Ivy League foes for the first time in program history...The Leopards completed their non-League schedule with a 4-1 mark for the second season in a row...They finish with a winning non-League record for the third straight year...Lafayette snapped an eight-game losing streak against Harvard, beating the Crimson for the first time since 1996...The Leopards became the first Patriot League team to win at Harvard since Lehigh did it in 2005...Lafayette opened up a 28-3 lead by halftime behind a pair of rushing touchdowns from DeAndre Morrow...Harvard did not close to 28-10 until 6:05 remained in the game, and Rob Curley provided insurance with a six-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Cumming with 2:32 left in the game before Harvard scored a late TD...It was Lafayette's highest scoring output this season...Morrow ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also caught four passes for 54 yards...Curley was 21-of-31 for 210 yards and two scores...Michael Schmidlein led the Lafayette defense with 10 tackles and his first career interception...He led a defense that stopped Harvard on 14-of-16 third-down plays...Lafayette is in the top 15 nationally in rushing and scoring defense, and sixth in the country in time of possession...The Leopards continue their three-game League homestand against Bucknell on Oct. 31.
Fordham Game Notes
Lafayette Game Notes
GameTracker
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