Nov. 12, 2009
Center Valley, Pa. - Either No. 20 Lafayette or No. 13/14 Holy Cross will finish Saturday as the Patriot League Football champion and an automatic qualifier in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, as the teams meet for all the marbles in Worcester at 12:30 p.m.
Patriot League Football Release - 11.9.09 
Both teams are 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League coming into the day, two games ahead of the closest League competitor. Holy Cross comes into the game at No. 13 in the Sports Network top 25 and No. 14 in the FCS Coaches poll, while Lafayette is No. 20 in each ranking.
Lafayette will go in search of its seventh Patriot League title, as the Leopards previously won the crown in 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Holy Cross plays for its sixth Patriot League crown, but the first in 18 years as the Crusaders won League titles in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Each squad has been in this setting in recent seasons, but with different results. Holy Cross played in a November game between teams with perfect Patriot League marks in each of the past two seasons, but fell last year at Colgate (28-27) and in 2007 at Fordham (24-21). The victories sealed the League title and automatic playoff berth for the Raiders and Rams. Lafayette played for a share of the Patriot League title on the final Saturday of each season from 2004-06, and defeated rival Lehigh for the League crown all three times. The Leopards shared the title with Lehigh in 2004 and 2006, and with Colgate in 2005. Lafayette earned the automatic bid in 2004 and 2006, and also made the playoffs as an at-large entrant in 2005.
Holy Cross hopes home field is the difference in winning its first title since 1991 and making the postseason for the first time since 1983. The Crusaders are 5-0 at Fitton Field this season and have won nine straight at home overall. However, the road team has won the last four games in the Lafayette/Holy Cross series. The Crusaders earned a 27-26 win in Easton last year on a 37-yard touchdown pass with six seconds to go from Dominic Randolph to Rob Koster, while the Leopards notched a 31-21 win in Worcester in 2007. Each of those games were also played with two weeks to go in the season. Lafayette has won the last three meetings in Worcester.
It is the third top 25 meeting between Patriot League teams in the past four weeks, after none were contested since the 2004 season. In the previous two instances, both Holy Cross and Lafayette defeated Colgate at home. The then No. 22 Crusaders beat the No. 17 Raiders 42-28, on Oct. 24, while the No. 25/24 Leopards knocked off No. 18/20 Colgate, 56-49, in Easton on Saturday.
Both teams are putting up historically strong seasons. Lafayette has its best start through nine games since a 9-0 year in 1940, and its seven-game winning streak is the longest in a single season since that year. Lafayette will try to win nine games in a season for the first time since a 9-2 campaign in 1981. Holy Cross' 8-1 record is its best since a perfect 11-0 season in 1991, its last Patriot League title campaign.
The game will also feature two of the best quarterbacks in the nation, Holy Cross senior Dominic Randolph and Lafayette senior Rob Curley. Randolph holds FCS records for consecutive games with a touchdown pass (39) and consecutive 200-yard efforts (38), and will try to extend both marks on Saturday. He is also 30 attempts away from the FCS record of 1,680. Randolph is in fifth place in FCS history in total offense (13,220) and passing yardage (12,489), and sixth in touchdown passes (111). He leads the Patriot League in nine different career categories, and is at the top of the FCS leaderboard in total offense and points responsible for per game this season. Curley has been coming on strong lately, tying a Patriot League record with seven touchdown passes in the Leopards' win over Colgate on Saturday. He also set a personal best with 373 passing yards, the third straight week he has notched a career high. For his efforts, Curley was named a national player of the week by The Sports Network and College Sporting News, as well as the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week. He is second in the nation in pass efficiency rating.
There is plenty of television coverage for the game, which will be shown by RCN-4 & 8 throughout the east coast and WCTR-TV 3 in Central Massachusetts, and also picked up on ESPN360.com. The game will also be on ESPN Game Plan, ESPN's pay per view service, on DirecTV 792 and Dish Network 462.
The loser of the Lafayette/Holy Cross showdown will still be in the thick of the race for an at-large berth into the postseason, and No. 24 Colgate hopes to remain in that mix as well when it hosts Bucknell on Saturday. The Raiders enter their season finale with an overall record of 8-2 and a Patriot League mark of 3-2. Lehigh is at Fordham in the remaining League contest, while Georgetown hosts No. 4 Richmond in non-League action.
For more coverage of Patriot League Football throughout the weekend, follow the League's Gameday Blog, which will provide live in-person coverage from the Lafayette/Holy Cross game and score updates from other League contests. Brief updates will also be available on the League's Twitter page. Also, view the Patriot League composite schedule for all video, audio and live stat links for the weekend's games.
Read the synopsis for each of Saturday's matchups below, including any live stat, video and audio links for each contest.
This Week in the Patriot League
No. 20/20 Lafayette (8-1, 4-0) at No. 13/14 Holy Cross (8-1, 4-0)
Fitton Field; Worcester, Mass. - Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Series Lafayette, 14-9 TV WCTR-TV 3, RCN-4 & 8, WBPH-60, ESPN360.com, ESPN Game Plan
Streak Holy Cross, One Win Last Meeting Holy Cross, 27-26 (11.15.2008)
Last Lafayette Win 31-21 (11.10.2005) Last Five Games Lafayette, 3-2
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani, Lebanon Valley, 1976
Career Record 60-51 (10th Season) Overall/Lafayette; 35-26 Patriot League
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore, Penn, 1986
Career Record 38-26 (Sixth Season) Overall/Holy Cross; 21-13 Patriot League
No. 20 Lafayette and No. 13/14 Holy Cross square off with the Patriot League title and automatic FCS playoff berth on the line...The teams are no strangers to the big-game stage...Holy Cross fell in a November matchup of undefeated Patriot League teams in 2007 (Fordham) and 2008 (Colgate), while Lafayette defeated Lehigh on the final day of the season from 2004-06 to capture a share of the League title...Lafayette goes for its seventh Patriot League title and first since 2006, while Holy Cross looks for its sixth overall crown and its first since 1991...The Leopards made the FCS postseason from 2004-06, while Holy Cross has not appeared in the FCS playoffs since 1983, and never as a Patriot League member...Lafayette is trying to win nine games in a season for the first time since going 9-2 in 1981, while Holy Cross has not done it since a perfect 11-0 season in 1991...The Crusaders look to get to 5-0 in the League for the second year in a row, a feat the Leopards have not pulled off since finishing with that mark in 1994...Lafayette also goes for an eighth consecutive win, trying to extend its longest in-season streak since a 9-0 season in 1940...The Leopards did win eight straight games spanning the 1992 and 1993 seasons...The road team has dominated the series of late, with four straight wins for the visitors...Holy Cross won at Lafayette, 27-26, last season on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Dominic Randolph to Rob Koster with six seconds to play...Lafayette earned a 31-21 win in the last meeting in Worcester in 2007...The last three mettings have been decided by 10 points or less...Lafayette has won the last three meetings in Worcester, with Holy Cross last triumphing in a 63-53 game in 2001, the highest-scoring in League history...The Leopards have won five of the last seven matchups overall, and hold a 14-9 edge in the overall and League series...Lafayette has a 13-4 record in the series since Holy Cross won five of the first six meetings...The Leopards dealt Holy Cross its only League loss in 1988 and 1992, finishing undefeated and beating out the Crusaders for the title.
Lafayette The 2009 season is now among the most successful in Lafayette history after the Leopards beat Colgate, 56-49, at home on Saturday...The Leopards set up a matchup for the Patriot League title and automatic playoff berth with the victory...Lafayette moved to 4-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 1994, and has won eight games in a season for the first time since 1995...Lafayette's seven-game winning streak is its longest in a single season since 1940, and the 8-1 start is also the best since the 9-0 campaign in 1940...Lafayette's only other eight-win seasons since that year came in 1981, 1988, 1992, 2004 and 2005...Lafayette beat Colgate at home for the first time since 1995, and beat the Raiders for just the second time overall in 14 seasons...Rob Curley tied a Patriot League record and set a school mark with seven touchdown passes...The only other Patriot Leaguer to pull off the feat was Holy Cross' Jeff Wiley against Lehigh on Sept. 26, 1987...Curley became one of three from the League with seven touchdowns responsible for in a game, joining Wiley and Fordham's Kevin Eakin (2003)...Lafayette's previous mark of five touchdowns had been held by three players...Curley completed 18-of-31 passes for a career-high 373 yards...It was his third straight week with a career high in passing yardage, following 305 against Fordham and 333 versus Bucknell...Curley threw touchdown passes to five different receivers, including two to Michael Bolton and Mark Layton...With the score tied at 42-42, he hit Bolton with a touchdown to go ahead and Layton for a score with 2:21 left to seal the win...Layton and Bolton also combined on a key play before those scores, with Layton stripping the ball and Bolton recovering after an interception just two plays before the go-ahead touchdown...Lafayette notched 373 yards through the air and 102 on the ground for 475 yards of total offense...Five Leopard defenders finished with double-digit tackles, led by Brandon Ellis with 14 and Andrew Poulson, Mark Leggiero and Michael Schmidlein with 12 apiece...Ian Dell had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced and recovered fumble...The Leopards topped 50 points for the first time since 2004....The teams combined for 105 points, 11 off the League record for total points in a game....Lafayette is up to second nationally in pass efficiency, where Curley is No. 2 in the country at 162.8...The senior quarterback is in the NCAA FCS top 20 in yards, completions, total offense and points responsible for per game....Lafayette is also seventh nationally in time of possession, and 10th in third-down conversion percentage...The Leopards play their remaining games on the road, with the rivalry matchup at Lehigh next week.
Holy Cross The Crusaders are at 4-0 in the Patriot League for the second year in a row after winning at Lehigh, 24-20, on Saturday...Dominic Randolph threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Freddie Santana with just 1:02 to play in the game to bring Holy Cross back...Holy Cross set up the matchup for the League title and automatic playoff berth with the win...They have now won eight games in a season for the first time since a perfect 11-0 campaign in 1991...It was their third straight win over Lehigh, and also the third in a row in Bethlehem...Holy Cross evened up the all-time series with the Mountain Hawks at 12-12-1, including 12-12 in League games...The Crusaders had to rally twice in the game...After falling behind 7-0, they took a 10-7 lead on Eddie Houghton's 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter...Holy Cross led by 17-10 on Randolph's first touchdown pass to Santana...That duo has connected for a touchdown five times in the last two games...Holy Cross' game-winning drive included 32-yard completions to Santana and Rob Koster, and the touchdown came on a third-and-goal play...Randolph completed 23-of-37 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns for the Crusaders, extending his FCS records to 38 consecutive games with at least 200 yards passing and 39 straight games with a touchdown pass...He went over 13,000 career yards of total offense (13, 220) in the game, fifth in FCS history...Bill Edger had five receptions for 61 yards, and Santana had four for 50 yards and the two touchdowns...Matt Bellomo led the Crusader rushing game with 59 yards. Andrew Cialino led the Crusader defense with 15 tackles, while Marcus Rodriguez had 12...Holy Cross ranks in the top 10 in the FCS in passing, total and scoring offense, with Randolph leading the nation in total offense and points responsible for per game...The Crusaders end their regular-season next week at Bucknell.
Lafayette Game Notes
Holy Cross Game Notes
Live Stats
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Bucknell (3-6, 1-3) at No. 24/24 Colgate (8-2, 3-2)
Andy Kerr Stadium; Hamilton, N.Y. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Colgate, 41-16 TV Time Warner Sports
Streak Colgate, Two Wins Last Meeting Colgate, 52-28 (10.25.2008)
Last Bucknell Win 31-28 (11.18.2006) Last Five Games Colgate, 3-2
Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis, Randolph-Macon, 1986
Career Record 84-97-1 (17th Season) Overall/31-45 (Seventh Season) at Bucknell; 15-26 PL
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 112-51 (14th Season) Overall/Colgate; 65-18 Patriot League
No. 24 Colgate completes its 2009 regular season at home against Bucknell on Saturday, with the Raiders needing a win to keep alive their hopes of an at-large berth into the NCAA Division I Football Championship...The Raiders have enjoyed good success against Bucknell, winning seven of the last nine meetings including the past two matchups...Colgate scored a 52-28 win at Bucknell last year, and a 28-24 triumph in Hamilton in 2007...Bucknell's last win in the series came by a 31-28 score at home in 2006...Colgate has won the last four games in Hamilton, with Bucknell's last road win coming in 1999...The Raiders are trying to win nine games in a season for the second year in a row and fifth time in Head Coach Dick Biddle's 14-year tenure...They are also going for a 4-2 Patriot League finish or better for the third year in a row and 12th time in the past 13 years...Bucknell plays its last road game of the year...Colgate has a 15-8 advantage in Patriot League matchups between the schools.
Bucknell The Bison dropped their fourth consecutive game and fell to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the Patriot League with a 21-7 loss to Fordham on Saturday...It snapped Bucknell's three-game win streak over the Rams...The Bison had the early lead on a six-yard touchdown run by Justin Pulgrano in the second quarter, but Fordham came back to tie it at halftime and won the game on two fourth-quarter touchdowns...Bucknell notched 186 rushing yards, with six players gaining 16 yards or more led by Ryan Smith with 70...Casey Williams had a career-high 15 tackles, while Greg Jones had 12 and Travis Nissley notched 11...A.J. Kizekai had 43 kickoff return yards, and is now within 27 yards of the Patriot League career record of 2,752...Bucknell closes its 2009 campaign at home against No. 13/14 Holy Cross next week.
Colgate The Raiders dropped out of contention for the Patriot League title with a 56-49 loss at Lafayette on Saturday...Colgate fell to 8-2 overall and 3-2 in the League with one game left, meaning it is still in the running for an at-large FCS playoff berth...It was only the second loss to Lafayette in Head Coach Dick Biddle's 14-year tenure, and first in Easton since 1995...Nate Eachus starred for the Raiders, carrying 45 times for 216 yards and a Patriot League and school record-tying five rushing touchdowns...He was the sixth Patriot Leaguer to rush for five touchdowns in a game, and the first since 2004...Colgate scored two consecutive touchdowns to even the score at 42-42 in the fourth quarter, but Lafayette notched the next two scores...Colgate made it 56-49 on Eachus' fifth TD with 42 seconds left, but the ensuing onside kick did not go 10 yards and Lafayette ran out the clock...Colgate's only leads were at 7-0 and 21-17...Eachus' 45 carries were one off the Patriot League single-game record...In addition to Eachus' effort, Greg Sullivan had a strong day for Colgate by going 16-for-21 for 279 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and also rushing for 48 yards...Colgate went for 279 yards on the ground and through the air for 558 total yards, while controlling the ball for 38:00...The Raiders converted 11-of-16 third-down attempts...The Raiders continue to lead the nation in time of possession, while trailing only Holy Cross in the FCS in third-down conversion percentage and also placing second nationally in first downs per game and third in rushing per game...Pat Simonds caught four passes for 89 yards and the touchdown...Simonds is fifth in Patriot League history with 26 career receiving touchdowns, and his 12 touchdowns this year are seventh in a single season in League annals...Colgate's 49 points were four away from the highest mark for a losing team in League history.
Bucknell Game Notes
Colgate Game Notes
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Video
Lehigh (2-7, 2-2) at Fordham (4-5, 1-3)
Jack Coffey Field; Bronx, N.Y. = Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Lehigh, 19-2
Streak Lehigh, One Win Last Meeting Lehigh, 45-24 (10.11.2008)
Last Fordham Win 28-18 (10.6.2007) Last Five Games Lehigh, 4-1
Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen, Gettysburg, 1986
Career Record 18-24 (Fourth Season) Overall/Lehigh; 13-9 Patriot League
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 37-49 (Eighth Season) Overall/20-23 (Fourth Season) at Fordham; 8-14 PL
Lehigh and Fordham meet in a Patriot League contest on Saturday in the Bronx...The Mountain Hawks can still finish above .500 in the Patriot League by winning their last two games, while the Rams are trying to get over .500 overall and to 3-3 in the League with two more wins...The series has been dominated by the Mountain Hawks, who have won 19 of the 21 all-time meetings and 17 of 19 Patriot League games...The Mountain Hawks have won 10 of the last 11 meetings, though Fordham did notch a 28-18 win in the last meeting in the Bronx in 2007...The Rams went on to win the Patriot League title that year...Lehigh gained payback with a 45-24 victory at home last season...The Mountain Hawks have scored 40 points or more in each of their last three wins over the Rams....Fordham is closing out its three-game homestand and overall home schedule, while Lehigh plays its last game on the road.
Lehigh Lehigh fell out of the Patriot League race in heartbreaking fashion, as Holy Cross scored a touchdown on a 3rd and goal play with 1:02 left for a 24-20 final in Bethlehem on Saturday...Lehigh dropped to 2-2 in League action, and 2-7 overall...It was the third straight loss to the Crusaders, and third consecutive time Lehigh has lost the matchup in Bethlehem...Jay Campbell went for a career-high 131 rushing yards on 21 carries, and also threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Alex Wojdowski to tie the score at 17-17 in the third quarter...Wojdowski caught a first-quarter TD pass from JB Clark for an early 7-0 lead...Clark went 16-of-31 for 186 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for 43 yards... Lehigh had 375 yards, with 171 on the ground and 204 through the air...Troy Taylor led the Lehigh defense with nine tackles and a sack, while John Veniero had seven stops and an interception...Lehigh is eighth in the nation in sacks per game and kickoff returns, and 12th in passing defense...The Mountain Hawks finish the season with the annual rivalry game against No. 20 Lafayette on Nov. 21.
Fordham Fordham got back on the winning track with a 21-7 victory at home against Bucknell on Saturday...The Rams got their first Patriot League victory and improved to 4-5 overall...They snapped a two-game losing streak overall, and a three-game skid against Bucknell...Fordham entered the fourth quarter tied at 7-7, but Darryl Whiting scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run with 9:08 left and John Skelton put the game away on a nine-yard touchdown pass to his brother, Stephen, with 5:20 to play in the contest...John Skelton finished 28-of-33 passing for 305 yards and a touchdown, and has not thrown an interception while attempting 100 passes in the last two games...Skelton leads the nation in passing yards per game, and is second in total offense and third in completions...Jason Caldwell had 12 receptions for 135 yards, while Stephen Skelton had six for 65 yards and the touchdown...Caldwell places third in the country with 104.2 receiving yards per game, and 12th in receptions per contest...He leads the Patriot League in each category...Whiting had 72 yards and the score on the ground, while Xavier Martin notched 42 and a touchdown...Nick Magiera led the Ram defense with 10 tackles, while Mike Martin had seven tackles and 1.5 sacks...Fordham is second in the nation in passing offense and third in total offense and first downs...The Rams will finish the season on the road against Georgetown next week.
Lehigh Game Notes
Fordham Game Notes
GameTracker
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Audio
No. 4/4 Richmond (8-1, 6-1 CAA) at Georgetown (0-9, 0-5)
Multi-Sport Field; Washington, D.C. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Georgetown, 5-2
Streak Richmond, One Win Last Meeting Richmond, 48-0 (10.25.2008)
Last Georgetown Win 7-0 (1935) Last Five Games Georgetown, 3-2
Richmond Head Coach Mike London, Richmond, 1983
Career Record 21-4 (Second Season) Overall/Richmond
Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Kelly, Springfield, 1982
Career Record 5-36 (Fourth Season) Overall/Georgetown; 1-21 Patriot League
Georgetown is still looking for its first win of the year, but it will be difficult with one of the best teams in the nation coming to town...No. 4/4 Richmond is the FCS defending champion, and just suffered its first loss of the season, 21-20, at home against Villanova on Saturday....The teams played for the first time since 1935 last year, with Richmond winning, 48-0, at home...The Hoyas face a top 25 opponent for the third time this season...Patriot League teams are 1-2 against non-League ranked competition, and also have a 1-2 mark against the Colonial Athletic Association...Patriot League teams are 3-6-1 all-time against Richmond.
Georgetown The Hoyas remained winless in heartbreaking fashion, as a late comeback attempt was spoiled when Marist hit the game-winning field goal with one second left for a 23-21 victory on Saturday...Georgetown had rallied from a 20-7 deficit behind two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Scott Darby, including a 68-yarder to Brandon Floyd with 54 seconds left in the game...Georgetown fell to 0-9 overall with two games left...Darby was 31-of-57 for 289 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and also ran for 79 yards... Georgetown had three big receivers, with Keerome Lawrence catching nine passes for 67 yards, Robert Lane hauling in eight for 56 and a touchdown, and Floyd catching four for 110 and the score...Chris Rau led the Georgetown defense with 11 tackles...The Hoyas will remain at home to finish the season next week against Fordham.
Georgetown Game Notes
GameTracker
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