Nov. 23, 2008

Center Valley, Pa. - After winning the Patriot League Championship with a 28-27 victory over Holy Cross on Saturday, the No. 16 Colgate Raiders found out Sunday night that they will travel to No. 6 Villanova University in first-round action of the NCAA Division I Football Championship this coming Saturday.

The winner of the Colgate/Villanova contest will face the winner of the matchup between Wofford and No. 1 seed James Madison in the quarterfinals.

Colgate (9-2, 5-0 Patriot League) completed a perfect Patriot League season by rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Holy Cross at home on Saturday. The Raiders enter the postseason on an eight-game winning streak, behind only James Madison and No. 2 seed Appalachian State for the longest stretch in the nation. Colgate was the first team to finish with an undefeated mark in League play since 2003, when the Raiders went 7-0 in the Patriot League and won their first 15 games overall on their way to an appearance in the national championship game against Delaware.

Colgate is in the postseason for the first time since 2005, and for the eighth time overall. The Raiders made the field as a Patriot League member in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005, while they also went in 1982 and 1983 before the formation of the League. Colgate's six playoff appearances as a Patriot League member are more than any other program in the League. The Raiders captured their sixth Patriot League title this season, with all of the crowns coming under 13th-year Head Coach Dick Biddle.

Colgate will travel to Villanova for a playoff contest for the second time. The first matchup came in the first postseason appearance for a Patriot League team, as No. 1 Villanova scored 22 consecutive fourth-quarter points to defeat the Raiders, 49-28, in a first-round matchup on Nov. 29, 1997. Villanova holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.

Colgate has a 3-5 record in postseason games as a Patriot League member, with all of the wins coming in its march to the national championship game in 2003. In addition to the contest with Villanova in 1997, the Raiders also faced a team from the Colonial Athletic Association in the first round in 2003 and 2005. Colgate knocked off Massachusetts, 19-7, in the first round in 2003, and fell to New Hampshire, 55-21, in its last appearance in the first round in 2005. The Raiders are 1-3 as a Patriot League member against CAA opponents in the postseason, a mark that also includes the loss to Delaware in the 2003 national title game.

Patriot League teams are 0-2 all-time against Villanova in the postseason. Fordham lost at Villanova, 24-10, in the quarterfinals in 2002. The Wildcats will join Delaware with the second-most matchups against Patriot League teams in the postseason with three, behind only the four with Massachusetts.

Patriot League teams have a 7-15 all-time record in the postseason, and a 5-10 mark in first-round action. Saturday's game will add another chapter in the long playoff history against the Colonial Athletic Association. The Patriot League has a 4-11 record against CAA teams, and has faced at least one CAA opponent in every season since first entering the playoffs in 1997. The League's success against the CAA has all come in the first round, with a 4-7 all-time record in opening matchups.

Villanova (9-2, 7-1 CAA) earns an at-large berth in the field, and is in the postseason for the first time since 2002. The Wildcats only losses this season were to FBS West Virginia and on a last-second play to James Madison.

Colgate's half of the bracket also includes Texas State playing at No. 4 seed Montana and Weber State visiting Cal Poly. The bottom half of the bracket features South Carolina State at No. 2 seed Appalachian State, Eastern Kentucky at Richmond, Maine at No. 3 seed Northern Iowa and New Hampshire at Southern Illinois.

For the full release and bracket from the NCAA, click here.