Nov. 17, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - The Patriot League Football Championship is on the line in Hamilton, where Holy Cross and No. 21/22 Colgate face off in a matchup of undefeated squads on Saturday. The winner will earn the outright League title and automatic berth to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, while also completing the first undefeated League campaign since 2003. In other action, Lehigh is at Lafayette in the 144th meeting of the most-played rivalry in college football, and Fordham and Bucknell finish their seasons when they match up Lewisburg.
Patriot League Football Release - 11.17.08 
Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week
Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross Sr., QB, 6'3, 223, Amelia, Ohio/St. Xavier
Randolph earns his fourth consecutive Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award, and fifth in the last six weeks. It is his 12th career honor, and the second time in his storied tenure that he receives the award for the fourth consecutive week. Randolph receives the honor after completing 28-of-49 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns in Holy Cross' 27-26 victory at Lafayette. Randolph threw for 400 yards for the second consecutive week, and went over 400 yards of total offense for the third straight outing. His last play was the biggest, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Rob Koster with six seconds left to provide the winning margin for the Crusaders. Randolph helped Holy Cross rally from a 20-7 halftime deficit. He became the League's all-time leader with 80 passing touchdowns in his career, and extended his League record with his 17th 300-yard game. Randolph also set a Patriot League single-season mark with 35 touchdowns responsible for this year.
Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week
Matt Cohen, Lehigh Jr., LB, 6'0, 225, Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic
Cohen earns his first career Defensive Player of the Week honor after a big effort in Lehigh's 31-15 win over Bucknell on Saturday. He scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 38-yard fumble recovery to give Lehigh a 14-0 lead early in the game, and finished the day with five tackles, one interception and 0.5 sacks. The interception set up a Lehigh touchdown. Cohen leads the Patriot League in sacks and tackles for loss, and is tied for the League lead in interceptions.
Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week
Matt Partain, Holy Cross Sr., PK, 5'10, 176, Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville
Partain played a significant role in Holy Cross' 27-26 victory over Lafayette on Saturday. He made both of his field goals of 23 and 32 yards in the second half to help the Crusaders rally from a 20-7 deficit, then hit the game-winning extra point with six seconds remaining. It is his second Special Teams honor this season, and fourth in his career.
Patriot League Rookie of the Week
C.J. Hopson, Bucknell Fr., QB, 6'0, 182, Lusby, Md./Patuxent
Hopson receives his first Rookie of the Week award after completing 17-of-32 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 76 yards and a score in his first career start in a 31-15 loss at Lehigh on Saturday. He attempted more passes than any Bucknell quarterback since 2002.
Patriot League Notebook
Holy Cross and Colgate Meet For Patriot League Title
The Patriot League Football Championship and automatic berth to the FCS postseason comes down to one game, as Holy Cross and No. 21/22 Colgate meet in a battle of undefeated squads on Saturday in Hamilton. The Crusaders are 7-3 overall and 5-0 in the Patriot League after defeating Lafayette, 27-26, on Saturday, while the Raiders are 8-2 overall and 4-0 in League play. Colgate played one fewer game
because its Oct. 4 contest at home against Georgetown was cancelled due to the
outbreak of norovirus on the Georgetown campus.
An Uncommon Matchup
Saturday's game between Holy Cross and Colgate will mark just the second time in League history that undefeated teams meet for the League title and automatic playoff berth on the final weekend of the regular season. And it comes 11 years to the day and in the same location as the only other time that it has happened. On Nov. 22, 1997, 5-0 Colgate defeated 5-0 Bucknell, 48-14, in Hamilton to claim the Patriot League title.
First Undefeated Champion in Five Years
The winner of the showdown in Hamilton will be the first undefeated Patriot League champion since Colgate in 2003, and just the second outright champion since that season. The Raiders went 7-0 in the Patriot League in 2003, and won their first 15 games overall before falling in the FCS Championship game to Delaware. The Patriot League has prodcued 14 undefeated champions in its 22 seasons, but only one of the last six finished with a perfect mark.
It's Been A while For the Crusaders......
Holy Cross is playing for its first Patriot League title since 1991. The Crusaders won five crowns from 1986-1991, finishing with a perfect record in each of the championship seasons. The only year they didn't win the title in that stretch was 1988. Holy Cross is trying to win six League contests for the first time in its history. A win would also give the Crusaders their first FCS postseason berth as a Patriot League member, and second overall after making the field in 1983.
But the Raiders are More Familiar with Recent Success
Colgate is playing for its first Patriot League title and FCS playoff berth since 2005. The Raiders' five previous titles came in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005, with undefeated campaigns in 1997 and 2002. The Raiders are in search of their eighth all-time trip to the postseason, with five of the previous seven coming as a member of the Patriot League.
Six Would be Second
The winner of the Holy Cross/Colgate contest will earn its sixth Patriot League Championship, which will tie Lafayette for the second-most in League history. Lehigh has the most League titles with eight.
Crusaders, Raiders Rolling Into Hamilton
Colgate and Holy Cross aren't just the two top teams in the Patriot League, they are two of the hottest in the country. Colgate has won seven games in a row heading into Saturday's contest, tied for the third-longest streak in the country behind only No. 1-ranked James Madison and three-time defending champion Appalachian State. It is the longest win streak for the Raiders since their 15 straight wins in 2003. Holy Cross is just one behind with a six-game winning streak, its longest since 1991.
Destiny's Darlings?
If Saturday's Championship tilt comes down to the final minutes, or even seconds, both Holy Cross and Colgate will be very comfortable. The Crusaders rallied from a 20-7 deficit and scored the winning points with six seconds left in their 27-26 victory at Lafayette on Saturday. The Raiders have survived a pair of nailbiters in the Patriot League schedule. Colgate rallied from an early 14-0 deficit and scored the winning points with nine seconds left in a 31-24 triumph at Fordham on Sept. 27, and came back from a 33-21 second-half deficit for a 34-33 victory at Lehigh on Nov. 8. Those games account for three of the four Patriot League contests that have been decided by seven points or less this season.
Individual Records on the Line in Hamilton
Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph and Colgate senior running back Jordan Scott are the most well-known players for their teams, and both will have records on the line in Saturday's showdown. Randolph, who has set the Patriot League record with 80 career touchdown passes, needs just 16 completions to break the Patriot League career record of 820 held by Lafayette's Marko Glavic (2000-03). Randolph is within 390 yards of Glavic's League record for total offense, and 456 from his passing yardage mark. Scott, who has already set the Patriot League record for career rushing yardage, carries, rushing touchdowns, scoring and 100-yard rushing games, has two more marks in his sight if he can return from an injury that has kept him out of all or most of each of the past four games. He needs 25 carries to break the all-time Division I record of 1,215 (Steve Bartalo, Colorado State 1983-86). Scott is also just 28 yards away from becoming the eighth player in FCS history and first Patriot Leaguer to record four 1,000-yard campaigns in his career.
Colgate, Holy Cross Close in the Rankings, Too
Colgate came in at No. 21 in the most recent Sports Network top 25, with Holy Cross as the top vote-getter of teams outside of the rankings. Colgate is No. 22 in the FCS Coaches Top 25. Colgate is at No. 8 in the ECAC Football Championship Subdivision top 10, while Holy Cross is No. 9.
Top Offenses On Display
Colgate and Holy Cross feature two of the best offenses in the entire country, and its clear how each team wants to win its games. Colgate is fourth in the nation with 272.4 rushing yards per game, while Holy Cross ranks third nationally with 352.2 passing yards per game. The Crusaders are fourth in total offense, while the Raiders are 13th. Both teams also tend to hold on to the ball, with Holy Cross fifth and Colgate eighth nationally in time of possession. The Crusaders are first in the nation and the Raiders seventh at converting first downs.
Playing for Pride, Position in Other League Contests
The remaining Patriot League games will decide the final standings, as the League is guaranteed not to have a tie for any position in the standings for the first time since 2001. Lehigh and Lafayette face off in the 144th edition of the most-played rivalry in college football, with third-place going to the winner and the loser falling to fourth. Fordham and Bucknell will square off in Lewisburg, with the winner of that contest capturing fifth place and the loser to sixth. Georgetown, which completed its season on Saturday, is guaranteed to finish in seventh place.
Single-Season Records on The Line
Dominic Randolph will get the most attention in the search for Patriot League single-season records this weekend, as the senior signal-caller has already set the mark for completions (324) as well as touchdowns (35) and points (210) responsible for in a season. He is three touchdown passes away from tying the single-season record of 34, and also has a chance to become the first Patriot Leaguer to notch eight 300-yard passing games in a season. Randolph has already recorded his second consecutive season with seven 300-yard passing days. Bucknell's A.J. Kizekai has a chance to break his own single-season Patriot League record, as he is 140 yards away from equaling the mark of 1,113 kickoff return yards that he set last year.
Patriot League Records 20 Non-League Wins
With the regular-season non-League schedule complete with a 20-16 record, Patriot League teams have clinched the League's first winning mark in non-League games since 2004, when they combined for a 21-16 record. The 20 wins are the most since that campaign.
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. The decision was endorsed by a 7-0 vote of the football athletic directors.
This Week in the Patriot League
Holy Cross (7-3, 5-0) at No. 21/22 Colgate (8-2, 4-0)
Andy Kerr Stadium; Hamilton, N.Y. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Holy Cross, 37-28-5 TV Time Warner Sports
Streak Holy Cross, One Win Last Meeting Holy Cross, 27-20 (11.17.07)
Last Colgate Win 29-28 (11.11.06) Last Five Meetings Colgate, 4-1
Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore, Penn, 1986
Career Record 30-24 (5th Season) Overall/Holy Cross; 17-12 Patriot League
Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle, Duke, 1971
Career Record 103-48 (13th Season) Overall/Colgate; 61-16 Patriot League
Holy Cross and Colgate meet in Hamilton with the outright Patriot League Championship and automatic berth to the FCS playoffs on the line...The home team has won the last two meetings in the series, with both games decided in the final minutes...Holy Cross rallied from 20-10 down to defeat Colgate, 27-20, in Worcester in last year's season finale...That outcome kept Colgate from sharing the Patriot League title...In the last meeting in Hamilton, Colgate scored the final 14 points of the game to beat Holy Cross, 29-28, on Nov. 11, 2006...That was the season finale for the Crusaders, and kept them from a share of the Patriot League title...Despite last year's loss, Colgate has won six of the last seven and nine of the last 11 in the series...Holy Cross has not won in Hamilton since 2000...Holy Cross won the first 11 meetings as Patriot League members from 1986-96...That streak is tied for the longest in League history in any series...The Crusaders won 14 games in a row overall against the Raiders from 1983-96...Holy Cross holds a 13-9 advantage in Patriot League contests...The Crusaders are trying to win six League games for the first time.
Holy Cross Notebook Holy Cross improved to 5-0 in the Patriot League and set up the showdown with Colgate for the League title with a 27-26 victory at Lafayette on Saturday...The Crusaders scored the winning touchdown on a 37-yard pass from Dominic Randolph to Rob Koster with six seconds remaining...For the first time since 1991, Holy Cross is 5-0 in the League and has won six consecutive games...That was also the last year that the Crusaders won the Patriot League title, as they finished with a perfect 11-0 mark...Holy Cross beat Lafayette in Easton for the second consecutive time... Randolph completed 28-of-49 passes for 422 yards with three touchdowns in the win...He became the Patriot League career leader with 80 touchdown passes, breaking the mark of 78 held by Lehigh's Phil Stambaugh (1996-99)...Randolph has 805 career completions, just 15 short of the Patriot League record of 820 held by Lafayette's Marko Glavic (2000-03)...Randolph is within 390 yards of Glavic's total offense record, and 456 from his passing yardage mark...Randolph threw for 300 yards for the seventh consecutive time...It extended his League record to 17 career 300-yard games, and tied the single-season mark with seven 300-yard efforts this season...Randolph also tied that mark last year...He set a Patriot League single-season mark with 35 touchdowns responsible for (31 passing/4 rushing) in 2008...He also set a single-season mark with 324 completions...Anthony Campbell's two sacks and three tackles for loss against Lafayette were the highest for a Crusader this season...Holy Cross held a 490-330 edge in total offense.
Colgate Notebook No. 21/22 Colgate was off last week, and hosts Holy Cross with the Patriot League Championship on the line on Saturday...The Raiders are 4-0 in the League for the first time since 2003, and have also won seven consecutive contests for the first time since claiming their first 15 and making the national title game that season...Colgate will play one fewer game in League play because its Oct. 4 contest against Georgetown was cancelled due to the outbreak of norovirus on Georgetown's campus...This is the sixth time under Head Coach Dick Biddle that Colgate has won eight or more games in a season...The seven-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest in the FCS...Colgate is ranked fourth in the FCS with 272.4 rushing yards per game this season...Senior running back Jordan Scott needs 28 yards to become the first Patriot Leaguer and eighth player in FCS history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and 25 carries to become the all-time Division I leader in that category...The Raiders will be trying to win their first Patriot League title since 2005, and earn their first outright title and undefeated League season since 2003.
Lehigh (4-6, 3-2) at Lafayette (7-3, 3-2)
Fisher Stadium; Easton, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Lafayette, 76-62-5 TV LSN, MASN, WFMZ, FCS
Streak Lafayette, Four Wins Last Meeting Lafayette, 21-17 (11.17.07)
Last Lehigh Win 30-10 (11.22.03) Last Five Meetings Lafayette, 4-1
Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen, Gettysburg, 1986
Career Record 15-17 (3rd Season) Overall/Lehigh; 10-7 Patriot League
Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani, Lebanon Valley, 1976
Career Record 52-49 (9th Season) Overall/Lafayette; 31-25 Patriot League
Lehigh and Lafayette meet in Easton in the 144th meeting of the most-played rivalry in college football...The winner will claim third place in the Patriot League with a 4-2 record, while the loser will fall to fourth with a 3-3 mark...Lehigh is trying to secure a winning record in League play for the 10th time in the last 11 years, while Lafayette goes for its fifth consecutive winning Patriot League record...Lafayette has won the last four and five of the last six meetings in the series, and holds a 76-62-5 advantage in the all-time matchups...The four-game winning steak is the longest for Lafayette in the series since since it claimed nine in a row from 1943-1949...Lafayette's longest series win streak was a 10-game stretch from 1919-1928...The Leopards pulled out a 21-17 victory at Lehigh last season when Rob Curley threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Roeder with 2:53 remaining in the game...Lafayette earned a share of the League title in 2004, 2005 and 2006 by beating Lehigh in the season finale...The Leopards earned the Patriot League's automatic berth to the FCS playoffs with the victories in 2004 and 2006, and garnered an at-large berth in 2005...Lehigh's last victory in the series was a 30-10 win at home in 2003...The Mountain Hawks' last win in Easton came in 2000...Prior to losing five of the last six, Lehigh posted seven consecutive victories from 1995-2001...That is the longest winning streak in series history for the Mountain Hawks...Lehigh holds a 12-10 advantage in Patriot League contests...The Mountain Hawks need a victory to win five games or more for the 11th consecutive season.
Lehigh Notebook Lehigh defeated Bucknell for the 11th consecutive time, earning a 31-15 victory in Bethlehem on Saturday...It is the longest active winning streak in any Patriot League series, and ties the Patriot League record for the longest winning streak against one school (Holy Cross over Colgate, 1986-1996)...Six of those 11 victories came at Goodman Stadium...Lehigh will finish at .500 or better in the Patriot League for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons...The Mountain Hawks finished their home schedule with a 3-2 record, giving them their 11th consecutive season with at least three wins at home...Matt Cohen had a fumble recovery for a touchdown, interception to set up a score and a half-sack in the game...Cohen leads the Patriot League in sacks (6.0) and tackles for loss (15.5), while tying for the League lead with three interceptions...Jason Leo punted three times for a 55.3 average in the game, including a career-long 75-yard boot...Leo's 43.0 average ranks eighth nationally, and Lehigh is fourth in the nation with a 36.6 net punting average.
Lafayette Notebook Lafayette saw its chance for a Patriot League title end with a heartbreaking, 27-26, loss at home against Holy Cross on Saturday...The Leopards gave up the winning touchdown with just six seconds remaining...It was the fourth consecutive victory for the road team in the series...The Leopards opened up a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, and took a 26-20 lead with 2:45 left before falling...DeAndre' Morrow carried 15 times for 111 yards and two second-half touchdowns...Marc Quilling completed 17-of-24 passes for 184 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions...Shaun Adair had four receptions for 97 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown...Adair moved into third place in Lafayette annals with 2,148 receiving yards...His career totals of 144 catches and 2,148 yards both rank in the FCS top 20 among active players...Tom Kondash had a career-long 79-yard punt, the longest for a Lafayette player since 1996...He punted six times for a 43.8 average, and pinned Holy Cross inside the 20 on four occasions...Lafayette suffered its first loss when wearing black jerseys...Before Saturday's game, Lafayette held a 4-0 record when dressed in black jerseys.
Fordham (5-5, 1-4) at Bucknell (4-6, 1-4)
Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium; Lewisburg, Pa. - Saturday, 1 p.m.
Series Bucknell, 15-8
Streak Bucknell, Two Wins Last Meeting Bucknell, 38-24 (11.17.07)
Last Fordham Win 28-21 (11.5.05) Last Five Meetings Bucknell, 4-1
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 33-43 (7th Season) Overall/16-17 (3rd Season) at Fordham; 7-10 PL
Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis, Randolph Macon, 1986
Career Record 80-91-1 (16th Season) Overall/27-39 (6th Season) at Bucknell; 13-23 PL
Fordham and Bucknell conclude their seasons when they meet in Lewisburg on Saturday...The winner will earn fifth place in the final Patriot League standings, with the loser finishing in sixth...Fordham is also trying to finish with its second consecutive winning season, while Bucknell tries to finish with at least five wins for the fourth time in the last six years...Bucknell has won the last two and four of the last five in the series...Bucknell earned a 38-24 victory at Fordham in the regular season finale in 2007 to end the Rams' quest for a perfect Patriot League season...Bucknell won the last matchup in Lewisburg, 13-3, in 2006...Fordham's last win at Bucknell came in 2002...Bucknell has a 15-8 advatnage in the all-time series, and a 13-5 edge in Patriot League matchups.
Fordham Notebook Fordham earned its first Patriot League victory with a 17-0 shutout of Georgetown on Saturday...The Rams also improved to 5-5 overall...The Rams ended a five-game League losing skid that started with a home loss to Bucknell in the 2007 regular season finale...Fordham won its third consecutive game against Georgetown, and has still never lost to the Hoyas at home in Patriot League play...The Rams have won 13 of the last 14 overall against the Hoyas...The Rams became the fourth team in Patriot League history to record two shutouts in a season...Fordham also blanked Columbia, 16-0, to open the 2008 campaign...The Fordham defense held Georgetown to just 99 yards of total offense, the lowest total allowed by the Rams on the NCAA FCS level...Fordham completed its home schedule with a 4-2 record...Xavier Martin carried 40 times for 186 yards in the game...Martin has 1,090 rushing yards on the season...He becomes the sixth Fordham running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, and the first since James Prydatko in 2005...Adam Danko has now connected on nine of his ten field goal attempts on the year, including the past eight straight..John Skelton had 144 passing yards, and now has 6,074 in his career...That total is 39 yards shy of the Fordham record set by Kevin Eakin (2000-03)...Skelton's 19 completions bring his career total to 502, leaving him 16 short of Joe Moorhead's (1992-95) career mark while his two touchdown passes give him 43 for his career, two off of Eakin's career record.
Bucknell Notebook Bucknell concluded its road schedule with a 31-15 loss at Lehigh on Saturday...The Bison dropped their fourth consecutive game, all in Patriot League action...Bucknell finishes with a 3-2 record away from Lewisburg...It was the 11th straight loss against Lehigh for the Bison...C.J. Hopson completed 17-of-32 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a team-high 76 yards and a score in his first career start at quarterback...He attempted more passes than any Bucknell quarterback since 2002...Hopson was playing in his second career game...Shaun Pasternak caught nine passes for 97 yards and a touchdown...He broke the Bucknell single-season record with his 11th touchdown reception of the year...Pasternak moved up to third on Bucknell's season receptions list (63) and his 97 yards moved him into second on the Bison single-season yards list (927)...A.J. Kizekai needs 140 kickoff return yards to equal his own single-season Bucknell and Patriot League record in that category...Kizekai is 68 yards shy of equaling his own single-season all-purpose yards mark at Bucknell...He is fourth in the nation with 184 all-purpose yards per game, and 15th with a 26.3 kickoff return average.
Team Notebook
Georgetown (2-8, 0-5)
Season Complete
Georgetown Notebook Georgetown concluded its season with a 17-0 loss at Fordham on Saturday...The Hoyas finished 0-5 in Patriot League action, with their game against Colgate on Oct. 4 cancelled due to the outbreak of norovirus on the Georgetown campus...It is Georgetown's second winless Patriot League campaign in the last three seasons...Quarterback Keerome Lawrence led the Hoyas with 392 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season, and also threw for 481 yards and three scores in 2008...Freshman quarterback James Brady led the team with 690 passing yards and three touchdowns...Nick Parrish led the team in both tackles (73) and interceptions (2)...Both of his interceptions came against Holy Cross and were returned for touchdowns, which tied a Patriot League record for interception returns for a touchdown in a single game...Ataefiok Etukeren led the way with 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks on the season.
