Oct. 24, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - The logjam at the top of the Patriot League standings will be broken this weekend, with three contests involving all five of the schools currently tied for first place in the League with a 1-0 record. Two games will feature those squads facing off against each other, as Lehigh and Holy Cross both try to move to 2-0 in Patriot League action when they meet in Worcester and Colgate and Bucknell do the same in Lewisburg. No. 24 Lafayette will try to make it a three-way tie for the League lead with the winners of those contests. The Leopards put their 1-0 mark on the line against defending champion Fordham, which is 0-2 in League action. Georgetown plays at No. 9/8 Richmond in non-League action.
Patriot League Football Release - 10.20.08 
There will also be meaning beyond the football field, as Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown and Lehigh all join with the American Football Coaches Association on its newest charitable project, the Coach to Cure Muscular Dystrophy. In partnership with Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), it is the only organization in the country dedicated solely to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Coaches will be wearing Coach to Cure MD armbands during their games. Football fans will be able to donate to muscular dystrophy research either online at CoachToCureMD.org or by texting the word "CURE" to 90999 to automatically donate $5 from their mobile phones.
The games will come after another week of national accolades for strong performances by Patriot League student-athletes. All three Patriot League Players of the Week were honored with another award, with Holy Cross senior running back Mike Kielt selected as the ECAC Offensive Player of the Week while Lafayette senior linebacker Andy Romans and Colgate freshman running back Nate Eachus were named National All-Stars by College Sporting News. For his 241-yard, three-touchdown performance at Cornell that also included three tackles and a sack, Eachus is expected to be featured on CBS College Football Today at about 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, before the Georgia-LSU game.
The record chase also continues for Colgate senior running back Jordan Scott and Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph. Scott, who is questionable for the Bucknell game after suffering an injury last week, is 27 carries away from becoming the all-time Division I leader, and just 29 yards short of being the eighth FCS player and first Patriot Leaguer to record four 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his career. Randolph has tied the Patriot League and Holy Cross record with 13 career 300-yard passing games.
For a look at all of Saturday's action, including game notes from each of the Patriot League institutions, please read the previews below.
This Week in the Patriot League
Colgate (5-2, 1-0) at Bucknell (4-2, 1-0)
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium; Lewisburg, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Colgate, 40-16
Streak Colgate, One Win Last Meeting Colgate 28-24 (10.6.07)
Last Bucknell Win 31-28 (11.18.06) Last Five Meetings Colgate, 3-2
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 100-48 (13th Season) Overall/Colgate; 58-16 Patriot League
Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis, Randolph Macon, 1986
Career Record 80-87-1 (16th Season) Overall/27-35 (6th Season) at Bucknell; 13-19 PL
Colgate and Bucknell meet in a Patriot League matchup in Lewisburg...Both teams are part of a five-way tie for the top spot in the standings with a 1-0 League mark....The home team has won the last five contests in the series, with Colgate scoring a 28-24 win in Hamilton last season...Jordan Scott ran for 270 yards and three touchdowns in the game, notching the game-winning score from four yards out with 31 seconds to go...Bucknell earned a 31-28 victory in the last matchup between the teams in Lewisburg in the 2006 season finale...Colgate's last victory in Lewisburg was a 13-10 overtime triumph in 2002...The last three and seven of the last nine matchups have been decided by six points or less...Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle has an 8-4 mark against Bucknell, with a 3-2 record while Tim Landis has been head coach of the Bison...Colgate has a 40-16 edge in the all-time series, and a 16-8 advantage in games played in Lewisburg...The Raiders also hold a 14-8 advantage in games played as Patriot League members...Colgate is in search of a 2-0 Patriot League record for the fifth time in the last six years, while Bucknell goes for its first 2-0 start since 2003.
Colgate Notebook Colgate earned its fourth consecutive victory with a 38-22 triumph at Cornell on Saturday...The Raiders ended a two-game slide against the Big Red...Head Coach Dick Biddle earned his 100th career win, and improved to 10-2 in his tenure against Cornell...Colgate has won 11 of the last 13 against Cornell overall...The Raiders finished with a perfect 3-0 record against Ivy League competition, beating Dartmouth, Princeton and Cornell...Freshman Nate Eachus subbed for an injured Jordan Scott in the second quarter and carried 37 times for 241 yards and three touchdowns...He scored on runs of 4, 51, and one yard...The 241-yard performance was the eighth-highest in Colgate history, and 16th-best in Patriot League annals...Eachus also had three tackles and a sack...Greg Sullivan ran for 71 yards and a score, and also completed 8-of-17 passes for a career-high 255 yards and a touchdown of 78 yards, the ninth-longest in Colgate history..Pat Simonds hauled in the touchdown reception, and caught five passes for a career-high 196 yards in the game...The 196 yards is the fourth-best performance in school annals...Colgate's 600 yards of total offense was the ninth-highest in school history, and first time over 600 yards since racking up 621 against Buffalo in 2003...Chris Ekpo had a career-high 12 tackles, and also recorded an interception...Scott had nine carries for 41 yards before exiting, moving to sixth in FCS annals with 5,444 career rushing yards.
Colgate game notes
Bucknell Notebook Bucknell won its Patriot League opener at Georgetown, 27-24, on Saturday...It was the first victory in a League opener for the Bison since defeating the Hoyas in 2004...The road team won for the fifth consecutive time in the series...Bucknell won for the fifth time in eight League matchups against the Hoyas...The Bison have won their first three road games of the year for the first time since 1997, when they won their first six road contests...It is the eighth time in program history that the Bison have started 3-0 on the road...Bucknell has started a season 4-2 for the first time since opening the 2001 campaign at 5-1...The Bison rallied from a 17-7 deficit for the second time this season (Marist)...Marcello Trigg completed 13-of-20 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score while playing on an injured ankle...Trigg moved into 10th place on Bucknell's career passing yards list (2,859), and is currently fifth in the nation in passing efficiency (172.2)....A.J. Kizekai moved into fifth place on Bucknell's career all-purpose yardage list (3,479), and sits 18th nationally in all-purpose yardage per game this season...Shaun Pasternak's 36 catches this year are the most by a receiver under Tim Landis...Pasternak is 15th in the country with 95 receiving yards per game.
Bucknell game notes
Lehigh (2-4, 1-0) at Holy Cross (3-3, 1-0)
Fitton Field; Worcester, Mass. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Lehigh, 12-10-1 TV WCTR, WFMZ, FSNP, FCS
Streak Holy Cross, One Win Last Meeting Holy Cross, 59-10 (10.20.07)
Last Lehigh Win 28-14 (10.28.06) Last Five Meetings Lehigh, 3-2
Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen, Gettysburg, 1986
Career Record 13-15 (3rd Season) Overall/Lehigh; 8-5 Patriot League
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore, Penn, 1986
Career Record 26-24 (5th Season) Overall/Holy Cross; 13-12 Patriot League
Lehigh and Holy Cross face off in Worcester with a share of the Patriot League lead on the line...Both teams are 1-0 coming into the game, leading the League along with Bucknell, Colgate and Lafayette...The Mountain Hawks have won seven consecutive meetings in Worcester, and have a 7-4 record at Holy Cross in Patriot League play...Holy Cross earned its second-biggest win in series history with a 59-10 triumph in Bethlehem last season...That was the fourth consecutive victory for the road team in the series...Lehigh has won eight of the last 10 meetings, but Holy Cross has taken two of the last three since snapping a seven-game Mountain Hawk series win streak in 2005...Both teams have a seven-game winning streak in the series, with Lehigh's coming from 1998-04 and Holy Cross winning the first seven Patriot League contests from 1986-92...Lehigh has a 12-10 advantage in Patriot League games...Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore is 2-2 against Lehigh, while counterpart Andy Coen has a 1-1 mark against the Crusaders...Lehigh is going for a 2-0 League mark for the fourth time in the last six years, while Holy Cross tries to start 2-0 in the League for the fourth year in a row...The Crusaders open up a three-game League homestand, while Lehigh plays the second of a three-game road trip.
Lehigh Notebook Lehigh lost a heartbreaker, 27-24, at Harvard...It was the third Mountain Hawk defeat this season by three points or less, all against Ivy League competiton...Lehigh has still won five of the last seven in the series...It was the first contest on a three-game Lehigh road trip...The Mountain Hawks nearly rallied from deficits of 17-3 and 24-10, but fumbled deep in Harvard territory with a minute to go with a chance to tie or take the lead...Four players had standout performances on offense...J.B. Clark threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns, Sekou Yansane pulled in 11 receptions for 132 yards and a score, Mike Fitzgerald had four receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns, and Matt McGowan ran for 105 yards...Yansane's numbers were both career highs, and the most by a Mountain Hawk since Adam Bergen had 14 catches for 156 yards in 2003...McGowan was the first 100-rusher against Harvard in three years and 32 games...He had a carer-long 37-yard run in the third quarter...Lehigh racked up 393 yards of total offense...Matt Cohen tied his career high with three tackles for loss, and registered his third career effort with more than one sack, finishing with 1.5...Cohen leads the Patriot League in tackles for loss and sacks per game, placing in the FCS top 10 in both categories.
Lehigh game notes
Holy Cross Notebook Holy Cross earned its second consecutive victory, a 44-26 triumph at Dartmouth on Saturday...It was also the second straight week that the Crusaders went over 40 points after beating Brown, 41-34, on Oct. 11...It was the fifth straight Holy Cross victory in the series against Dartmouth, and third straight on the road against the Big Green...The Crusaders evened the all-time series with the Big Green at 34-34-4...Holy Cross finished with a 2-2 mark against Ivy League teams, and a 2-3 non-League record...Dominic Randolph completed 33-of-45 passes for 391 yards with two touchdowns, and also ran for a score...It was Randolph's 13th 300-yard passing game, tying the Patriot League and Holy Cross record set by Jeff Wiley (1986-88)...Mike Kielt had 120 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and also caught five passes for 75 yards and a score...The four touchdowns were a career high...He became the first Crusader with three rushing touchdowns in a game since Steve Silva in 2005...Holy Cross held a 531-345 advantage in total yardage, and was only forced to punt once...Anthony DiMichele led the defense with his first two career interceptions...Holy Cross leads the Patriot League in passing, total and scoring offense, and is in the top 15 of the FCS in every category...It is third in the nation in passing offense.
Holy Cross game notes
No. 24 Lafayette (5-1, 1-0) at Fordham (3-3, 0-2)
Jack Coffey Field; Bronx, N.Y. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Lafayette, 18-7-1 TV LSN, MASN
Streak Fordham, One Win Last Meeting Fordham 34-23 (10.20.07)
Last Lafayette Win 31-24 (11.4.06) Last Five Meetings Lafayette, 3-2
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani, Lebanon Valley, 1976
Career Record 50-47 (9th Season) Overall/Lafayette; 29-23 Patriot League
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 31-41 (7th Season) Overall/14-15 (3rd Season) at Fordham; 6-8 PL
Lafayette tries to maintain its position at the top of the Patriot League standings when it visits Fordham, which is still in search of its first League victory after opening with an 0-2 mark...The Leopards are tied for first place with Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh and Holy Cross, with the Bison facing the Raiders and Mountain Hawks playing the Crusaders on Saturday...Fordham earned a 34-23 victory at Lafayette a year ago...The road team has won the last two meetings in the series, with Lafayette claiming a 31-24 win in its last trip to the Bronx in 2006...The road team has also won five of the last seven matchups in the series, with Lafayette winning in its last two trips to Fordham...The Leopards have won three of the last four meetings since Fordham claimed four in a row from 2000-03...Lafayette had a nine-game series winning streak that included Patriot League games from 1990-95...Lafayette is 11-6 against the Rams in League matchups...Lafayette is trying to start 2-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2005, and 6-1 overall for the first time since 1988...Fordham is attempting to avoid going 0-3 in League play for the third time in the last four years, and break a three-game League losing streak.
Lafayette Notebook Lafayette earned a 35-21 win on the road at No. 14/15 Liberty on Saturday...It was the first win for a Patriot League team over a non-League ranked opponent since 2005...The Leopards moved to 2-0 on their five-game road trip, and ended Liberty's FCS-best 11-game overall winning streak...The victory was Lafayette's first over a ranked opponent since beating No. 12 Lehigh, 23-19, in the season finale in 2005...Lafayette improved to 5-1 for the first time since that season...Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani earned his 50th career victory...Patriot League teams are now 1-3 against top 25 competition this season...Andy Romans had a huge day for the Leopards, recording a blocked punt and return for touchdown, 12 tackles and a fake punt run for 21 yards in the fourth quarter...The blocked punt and touchdown gave Lafayette a 35-14 lead early in the third quarter...Romans leads the Patriot League and is 11th in the nation with 11.0 tackles per game...Shaun Adair had 183 all-purpose yards in the game, including a 63-yard punt return to set up Lafayette's second touchdown for a 14-7 lead in the first quarter...Lafayette had a 28-14 halftime lead, equaling its highest point total in a game coming into the day...Lafayette is 2-0 on the first two games of its five-game road trip, the longest for the Leopards since 1986.
Lafayette game notes
Fordham Notebook Fordham earned a 12-10 victory at home against Yale on Saturday, with Adam Danko kicking the game-winning field goal from 20 yards out with 14 seconds left...It was Fordham's first-ever win against Yale in the fifth meeting between the schools...Fordham finished with a 2-0 mark against Ivy League teams, and has won three straight games against opponents from the Ancient Eight...Richard Rayborn set career highs with nine receptions for 120 yards, and caught three passes for 50 yards on the drive to set up Danko's game-winner...Xavier Martin had 109 yards on the ground, his fourth 100-yard game of the season and the sixth of his career...John Skelton threw for 291 yards, completing 31-of-45 passes, his sixth 200-yard passing day of the season and the 15th of his career...Skelton is second in Fordham history with 35 touchdown passes...Fordham held a 435-182 advantage in total yardage...The Fordham defense recorded four sacks and limited Yale to 53 rushing yards, and also recorded a safety to close the Ram deficit to 10-9 in the fourth quarter...Ryan Mehra had a sack and forced fumble and recovery, while Greg DeMarco had two sacks...DeMarco is 14th in the FCS with 1.6 tackles for loss per game.
Fordham game notes
Georgetown (1-5, 0-3) at No. 9/8 Richmond (5-3, 3-2 CAA)
Richmond Stadium; Richmond, Va. - Saturday, 3 p.m.
Series Georgetown, 5-1
Streak Georgetown, One Win Last Meeting Georgetown, 7-0 (1935)
Last Richmond Win 14-13 (1934) Last Five Meetings Georgetown, 4-1
Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Kelly, Springfield, 1982
Career Record 4-24 (3rd Season) Overall/Georgetown; 1-14 Patriot League
Richmond Head Coach Mike London, Richmond, 1983
Career Record 5-3 (1st Season) Overall/Richmond
Georgetown and Richmond meet for the first time in more than 70 years on Saturday...The Hoyas hold a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series, with the last matchup contested in 1935...Georgetown won the first four meetings by scores of 34-0 (1894), 84-0 (1900), 17-0 (1909) and 65-0 (1911)...The Hoyas face a top 25 opponent for the first time this season...Patriot League teams are 1-3 against ranked competition, and also have a 1-3 mark against the Colonial Athletic Association...Patriot League teams are 3-5-1 all-time against Richmond.
Georgetown Notebook Georgetown dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Patriot League with a tough 27-24 loss to Bucknell on Saturday...The Hoyas had a 17-7 lead in the first half, but allowed Bucknell to score three consecutive touchdowns...Georgetown rallied to cut the score to 27-24 on a touchdown with less than four minutes to play, but could not advance into Bucknell territory on its final possession...Keerome Lawrence had touchdown runs of 39 and 37 yards...His 87-yard rushing total was the highest for a Georgetown player this season...Chris Rau had a career-high 14 tackles, and notched 1.5 tackles for loss...Freshman quarterback James Brady threw for 155 yards and a touchdown, his fifth game this season with at least 100 yards through the air.
