Football
Season Preview
Colgate is coming off another very successful season that saw only one regular season loss in an off game against Bucknell. Colgate was awesome on offense, and overpowering on defense. Colgate scored more than 30 points in 7 of its regular season games and held the other team to less than 20 on 5 occasions.
Ryan Vena, who led the offense last year at quarterback last season, graduated, leaving behind question marks as to how the team will fare without him and who will fill his place. For now, it looks like the man to step into the starting role at QB will be Tom McCune. Last season, he completed 4 of 8 regular season passes with 1 interception. He also took over in the second quarter at ISU in the playoffs last season. He completed just over half his passes and scored 1 touchdown against the superior Red Birds. He might be inexpereinced, but I think he will do well. He is a no nonsense quarterback who will probally look to complete short, hard passes without a lot of the scrambling that Vena was so good at.
The teams major area for concern looks to be the offensive line. 4 out of 5 have graduated. Filling these slots will be important to Colgate if they want to give thier QB more time and to greatly assist the running game.
Elsewhere on offense, the number 1 running back from the league is returning for Colgate. Last year Randall Joseph rushed for 160 yards per game and many times just looked untouchable. There were several times I saw him get hit, mugged by three guys, then push ahead for another 10 yards. Fumbling has been a problem for him in the past, this should be another record breaking year for him. Tim Lavoie will also be behind the line to add some power to the rushing game. He is known for opening up some big holes with a tough hit, or getting that extra yard when the pressure is on. All in all, Colgate's rushing game looks to be in good shape.
Colgate's passing game also looks strong. Joe Parker, who led the team in yards last year before his injury at the Harvard game, will be returning, as well as the return of super-senior Jason Mattes. Ryan Ojeda, will be adding good speed to the recievers, he averaged over 10 yards per reception as well last season.
Defense was a major strong point for the Red Raiders last season, and looks like it will be again. Super-Senior, and all league player, Brandon Tinson will be returning at cornerback. Keith Brooks is also back, and will be moving to the free safety position. The secondary will be one of the keys to Colgate's success next year.
The linebackers from last season are all returning to wreck havoc on whoever gets in thier way. John Costantino was second team all league last year, he was second in the team in tackles, first in tackles for losses, two sacks and two interceptions. Mark Herman was also a force on the inside last season. He tied for second on the team in tackles. At outside linebacker, the man opposing quarterbacks hate to see, which is good cause they usually can't, it's Ahmad Russell. Russell was second team all league last year while leading Colgate in QB sacks.
The Defensive line looks to be in good shape with Alex Houston starting at nose tackle and Duevorn Harris joining him at defensive tackle. Both are likey to make first team all league this season. The rest of the defensive line looks to be in good condition again.
And finally, Erich Kutschke has graduated, meaning we're going to need another kicker. Brendon Biddle will most likey be the teams punter, while the placekicker position is still up in the air.
Everything looks like its in place for another strong run at the Patriot Leauge title. The defense will be number 1 in the league. Hopefully this will give the quarterback and offensive line the room they need to mature and put together enough points to take home another title and redeem themselves at the NCAA tournament.
In the preseason coaches poll, 4 teams got first place votes in the PL, but Colgate pulled out ahead by 1 point over Lehigh, and 2 points over Towson. Lehigh is ranked slightly higher than Colgate in the Division 1-AA poll, where the Red Raiders finished 25th. Joseph was named the leagues preseason player of the year.
September 9th - At Connecticut
Game Preview
The season starts off with what might be considered the toughest game. UConn is trying to prove they can make the transition to league 1-A, while Colgate wants to prove itself against tougher teams. Colgate has a 4-2 record against the Huskies, but UConn holds the last win 2 years ago, a 45-35 defeat at Andy Kerr Stadium. Last season the Huskies were 4-7 including a common opponent victory over Maine. UConn looks to be known as "a ball controling team that makes few mistakes" this year. They are returning a young squad, but with some experience. From thier website, they indicated that this should be an easy win for them. How will Colgate respond? It will also be UConn's second game of the season. Will Eastern Michigan take something out of them? Will Colgate show first game rust? Are the Huskies going to take Colgate to too lightly? All these questions will be answered when the 2000 Red Raider's football season begins!
Pregame
Connecticut lost its season opener against Eastern Michigan last week, 32-25. They beat us on Opening Day 2 seasons ago, and we both beat common opponent Maine last season, though UConn by a larger margin. To win this game on Saturday, the Red Raider defense will need to perform as well as expected (perhaps even in mid-season form), and the offense will need to find a way to stay a step ahead of UConn. As one of the only Div. I-AA schools on their schedule, UConn sees us as one of their weakest opponents, and perhaps is looking forward to the game as a confidence builder. On the other hand, Colgate is looking at Connecticut as perhaps its toughest game of the year--UConn is Colgate's only Division I-A opponent.
Prediction: Before last seasons 28-21 victory over Maine on opening day, Colgate had lost 8 season openers in a row, their last win being in 1990 over Boston U. Due to the return of most of our defense, we think that Colgate can hold UConn close. Unfortunately, we have some uncertainty on offense with the beginning of the Tom McCune era. Not that we don't have confidence in our new QB, but it takes time for the players to adjust to a new offensive system. Since it's our first game, and we are facing a Div. I-A opponent, our prediction is Uconn 24, Colgate 20.
Results
We came out very strong. Right on the opening drive, Colgate proved that there was nothing second rate about our offensive line. Colgate's Nate Thomas, who was our top running back today after our two starters were injured, was able to run up the middle all night. Tom McCune completed 12 out of 27 with two interceptions. He also ran for 19 yards. Nate Thomas ran for 139 yards during the game, and Colgate got over 400 yards on the night but just 1 touchdown. Lots of first game mistakes were made, but what really cost the team was thier inablity to defend against the pass. We weren't getting any pressure on the QB, and on any short pass, the recievers were wide open. The toughest team is out of the way, it only gets better from here! 37-7 UConn.
Spetember 16th - At Dartmouth
Game Preview
Last year, Colgate pounded Dartmouth to a 35-3 victory to expand the series record to 10-4-1 in favor of the Red Raiders. Dartmouth had a rebuilding year, but they had vast improvments since the game against Colgate, we could be seeing a tougher team. Dartmouth's strongpoint will be thier offense. More specifically, thier passing game. They passed for over 200 yards agaisnt us last year, with three interceptions and only 1 QB sack allowed. This year, Dartmouth's weakness is their defense. This makes for a good match up for Colgate, who is rebuilding parts of their offense this season. If Colgate's expereinced defense, can hold Dartmouth's expereinced offense again, then the game could go our way. Colgate needs to control the ball and the pace of the game. Dartmouth went 2-8 last year and was 2-5 in the Ivy league. They lost to Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh of the Patriot League.
Pregame
Jospeh and Lavoie are listed as questionable. Colgate's defense might not be up to par yet, but we are predictiong a blowout. Prediction: Colgate 41-17
Results
The first Dartmouth drive had me and Mike rethinking our prediction. Dartmouth drove 76 yards, only to have the ball slip out of a recievers hands on the 1 yardline as he was reaching for the endzone. After that, things started going better for Colgate, they capitalized on mistakes, and played well to get up 21-0. The game was far from over, Dartmouth would score two unanswered touchdowns before the half. The Red Raiders adjusted well to finish on top, but the stats tell an interesting story. Tom McCune tied a Colgate record with 4 touchdown passes, he was able to make a wide variety of passes, that offensive line was giving him a lot of breathing room most of the time. He passed for almost 300 yards and with no interceptions. Once again without the top two running backs, Colgate tried a bunch of different offensive weapons, they paid off, Colgate rushed for about 250 yards. The defense was not quite up to where they were last year. They allowed 207 yards for both rushing and passing. They did a better job at hitting recievers quicker, but they were still catching the short pass. We also did not put much pressure on the QB, he was not sacked once. Colgate was also penalized 3 times more than the Big Green. So, it was a victory, but we are not where we need to be just yet. 42-24 Red Raiders.
September 23rd - Fordham
Game Preview
Last years game was a memorable one. Colgate trails at the half, when they decide to put in Randall Joseph for the first time of the season after he was put on the bench at the end of the previous year for too many fumbles. Joseph would enter the game and put on a show. He broke a Colgate record for touchdowns in a game with 4, but he did it in just half a game. Colgate made 8 sacks while Fordham would make 6 fumbles. The Red Raiders went on to win the game 49-24, while Fordham went on to lose the rest of the games that season. But the reason for that is, they had a very young team, and almost all of them will be back. Almost thier entire defense will be back, as well as about half thier offense including two expereinced quarterbacks, but not including some of thier wide recievers, who were probally the best players on thier team last year. Last season, Fordham went 0-11.
Pregame
This is Colgate's last chance to tune up thier game before we start facing other teams that got first place votes in the league. Colgate's pass defense is still questionable, and Colgate is still taking over 100 yards in penalties a game. Fordham is better than when we faced them last year. They returned almost all of thier starters. They are currently 1-2, with defense being thier weakness. The offesnse so far has started well, but lost steam in the second half. Theyhave had problems with throwing interceptions, if Colgate can start making interceptions, then they will be in a very good position. Colgate's offense, which has been averaging over 450 yards a game, should easily put up the numbers, especially with Randall Jospeh returning to the lineup. Prediction: Colgate should win this game, they should score a lot of points. The defense is questionable, but they should really come together for this game, especially in the second half. I've also regained my confidence in our placekicker, so Colgate wins 49-14.
Results
This was a game of surprises. Fordham actually out rushed Colgate 47-28. Randall Joseph made a limited return to action and made ten rushing attempts, but did not get anywhere on the rain soaked field. Colgate got all it's scoring done in the first half, off two touchdown passes and one run by McHune. Colgates 313 passing yards earns a spot in the colgate record books as the 21st best passing game by total yardage. He also caught a punt, but he was on the sideline talking to coach, so that doesn't count. The Red Raider's were still making too many mistakes. There were a good 3 or 4 easy intereceptions we missed, but at least our pass defense was haveing a good game. We had 2 fumbles and lost them both, plus we ammased 80 yards in penalties. The defense was playing a lot tighter, forcing the QB into plays and sacking him on a number of occasions. Fordham had success running up the middle for short gains, but couldn't sustain a drive. Colgate had trouble maintaining drives as well when the running game wasn't working and the Fordham defenders were getting through the line. Colgate's defense kept the Red Raider's ahead by a lot, but there are still problems to be solved before Colgate's first tough league game next week.
September 30th - At Towson
Game Preview
Many people are predicting Towson to be the Patriot League's most improved team. Last season, the Tigers went 7-4 overall and 4-2 in the league. Colgate has won all 4 of the teams meetings including a 38-14 win last season. Towson boasted the divisions top passing game, but Colgate was able to figure it out and made three interceptions, plus several key defletcions. Most of Towsons defense will be returning, as well as most of the wide recievers. They will need to fill a spot at running back, and need a new quarterback. Towson will still be a force in the league, this could be one of the teams big games.
Pregame
Towson comes into this game with a 3-1 record, 2-1 in the league, with wins over Fordham and Lafayette, and a loss last week against Holy Cross. Their numbers have been good so far, but they lost last week to a mediocre team, and the stats have been padded by weak opponents. Last season Towson relied heavily on their passing game, but having lost their QB and #1 reciever, the running game takes precedence now. Colgate will follow the strong outings of Tom McCune, and hope that the Randall Joseph of last season shows up, bolstering an already decent running game. Th Red Raiders FB Tim Lavoie is probable for the game, and will most likely see limited action. When it comes down to it, the teams are fairly close, but Colgate is stronger. Prediction: 28-17 Red Raiders
Results
Towson needed to win this game a lot more than Colgate did, and they played it that way. Early on, it looked like Colgate had the potential to walk all over the Tigers, the first few Towson drives were all stopped quickly. Colgate was not capitalizing as much as they should have though, and that let Towson stay in the game and get going in the second half. Randall Joseph's ankle is doing a little better, he got 85 yards, but Colgate needs to improve it's rushing game, opoosing defenses are getting too good at containing us. Next week, Joseph should be at 100% and Lavoie will be able to see limited action. Our defense is still not as consistant as we need to be. The penalties were down a bit, but most of the ones we did have could have been avoided, we had 0 quarterback sacks, and from what I saw, we could have had a few more interceptions. The second half was very exciting, with Towson building up an 8 point lead, Colgate getting a TD and a 2 point conversion with 5 minutes left to tie. As regulation ended, Colgate tried a 47 yard field goal, it hit the crossbar! Sean McCune proved talent runs in the family by making the interception that stopped the Tigers drive in OT. Joseph worked the ball into scoring position, where a field goal was successfully made, to give Colgate a win, snapping Towsons 8 game home wining streak, and ending thier championships hopes. Special teams killed them. Colgate blocked 3 punts, then blocked one of their extra points, and ran it all the way upfield to give us two points and the momentum. That was the big difference in the game
October 7th - Princeton
Game Preview
The Tigers hold a sizable series lead over Colgate, this could be a year to even things out a little. Princeton went 3-7 last year, including a 2-4 record agaisnt common opponents, all of which we beat. They are returing 13 starters and have lost 10. A new coach will be leading the Tigers this year. He welcomes back an experienced quarterback, but has lost thier star wide recievers. Princetons defense could also be a important weakness. Thier secondary needs work and they have lost thier leader in sacks. If Colgate plays thier cards right, they should be able to pick apart the defense and pick up some big playspicked up thier first win of the season after beating Columbia last weekend by a narrow margin. They have been defeated by Lafayette and Lehigh this year, but by somewhat close margins. Thier rushing game has been thier high .
Pregame
The Tigers point, averaging almost 200 yards a game. However, their starting QB is injured, and will not play. This leaves them with a QB that the teams fans do not seem to have a lot of confidence in. Thier defense has been giving up about 400 yards and a little over three touchdowns a game. If there is a general trend, they get a little better a the game goes on. Colgate is currently 38th in the Div 1-aa poll. They need a big win to move up. The Tigers have won the last 4 games against the Red Raiders. Randall Joseph is expected to be at 100%, while Tim Lavoie will probally only see limited action. Colgate is going to need to rattle the new quarterback, and should be able to intercept a few passes to slow the Tigers down. This is a winnable game for Colgate, and hopefully we can win big. Our prediction, taking into account the bad weather predicted for Saturday is a 28-13 Colgate victory.
Results
"Beat the Ivy's" Thats what it comes down to. Princeton had the numbers everywhere except on the scoreboard. Colgate took advantage of any Tiger mistake, and made very few of their own. Colgate only had about 85 more yards of offense than the Tigers, but it always seemed like Colgate was in total control of the game. For the first time, we played very solidly, no interceptions, no fumbles, under 50 yards in penalties, solid recieving, and a running game that could keep the defense on it's heels and out of McCunes face. The defense is still not all there. We've got to get in on their QB a little more and pick up some interceptions. In the first quarter, Princeton was able to run up the middle quite well. The difference came in teh second quarter, Colgate was already up 7-0, when they marched the ball 40 yards down field for a score. Princeton botched the kickoff return, and Colgate immediatly got the ball back, they capitalized this time, and scored again just minutes later. That was it for the Tiger's, after that point, they did not play like they were in the game again until the 4th quarter, when we were up by 5 touchdowns, 3 by passing, 2 run in by McCune himself. The final score was Colgate 34, Princeton 6.
October 14th - At Cornell
Game Preview
Ahh, our old buddies Cornell. Cornell holds a 46-33-3 series lead, but the Red Raider's racked up a 55-16 win last season at homecoming. Just when it looked like they were going to mount one of their famous comebacks...they didn't. Colgate used it's rushing game to get the points on the board, while slowing down Cornell's passing game enough to pull off the win. The Big Red, 7-3 last year, 5-2 Ivy league, also went 2-1 against common opponents. They return one all league selection, and a quarterback that recieved an honorable mention. Should be another good game.
Pregame
This is it, the big Ivy game. Both teams quarterbacks were named their league's offensive player of the week for the week leading into this collision. Cornell is 2-2 this season, but they are in the hunt for an Ivy league title. Thier two losses have come to Lehigh and Bucknell. Cornell's stength will directly oppose our weakness. They are a short passing team, with a strong offensive line, and more than a few good recievers. Colgate has improved every game, and they are going to need to improve even more on defense to hold off Cornell, that has once against lived up to thier reputaiton as being a comeback team, winning against Harvard last week after trailing 28-0 late in the game. Colgate's offense should do ok against the Big Red D, but they are going to need to keep putting the points on the board to finish off the Big Red. This is going to be an exciting game, as usual, check out the tale of the tape on the message board.
Prediction: Colgate should win, but not by as much as last year. Cornell has the benifit of playing in front of thier home crowd and on thier turf. Excepct Colgate to be up for this game, but they can't keep Cornell off the board. Colgate sweeps the Ivy's this season, with a 38-14 win..
Results
You can't predict a quarterback injury on the first drive of the game, but unfortunatly, thats what happened. Tom McCune will be out the rest of the season with a hand or wrist injury according to early reports. Josh Kirklin stepped in for the rest of the game, doing a average job on short notice, and running for nearly 100 yards. We did not throw any interections. Colgate had to scrounge for offense where they could find it, and they found it in thier running game. The Red Raider's rushed for almost 300 yards. The game was not the offensive shootout many people predicted due to McCunes injury, and the fact that the Colgate defense was amazing! Cornell was getting some short passes, but they were also getting thumped right after catching them. The defensive line was getting great penetration, especially on the ends, to limit the Cornell quarterbacks chances for a scramble. Colgate still can't seem to intercept the ball. We were in the right places, just dropping the ball. The Cornell rushing game was useless, they ran for a net yardage of -2. The game was still very close. Colgate was not capitalizing early, and two field goals in the second quarter briefly made the score 6-0. Colgate would score right at the end of the half on a 76 yard drive. Another Cornell field goal in the 3rd gave them the lead again. Colgate would find some offense to quickly move the ball downfield and reclaim the lead with a touchdown. After some intense back and forth, Colgate would down a punt at thier own 40 yardline. One the first play, Randall Joseph disapeared down the far sideline outrunning everybody. It was his longest touchdown of the year, and it put the game away for the Red Raider's. Cornell would score with 15 seconds left, but Colgate recovered the onsides kick, eliminating the chance for a comeback and giving Colgate the 23-16 win
October 21st - St Mary's
Game Preview
Colgate scored on the opening kickoff and didn't look back once to win the first meeting between these two teams last season. Saint Mary's did gain a relativly high 350 yards en route to the 43-13 loss. They went 2-9 last season, with a win over Holy Cross. With a new head coach, they hope to turn thier win loss record around, and just might be capable of it at some point. Colgate will be one of the strongest teams on the schedule for them and they will look to challenge themselves.
Pregame
Just when the post Vena era was about to be renamed the McCune era, that gets pushed back to next season, and Josh Kirklin steps in after a year at Texas A&M to fill the quarterback role. Lavoie is still out at fullback, and tailback Randall Joseph is now in top form. Colgate will need to adjust on offense. Meanwhile, the teams defense is really starting to come together. St. Mary's is known as a rushing team, but last week Cornell ran for negative two yards against us. They were still able to complete the pass, but they were getting some good thumps after the ball entered their hands. Colgate will need to keep the Gaels off the scoreboard until thier offense can get a few scores in. St. Mary's is also fairly good against the run, so Colgate may want to spend this game to work on thier air assault. If the ends can seal off the sides and keep pressure on the QB, and if we shut them down first, it should be a very good day. Our defense needs to continue to be strong against the run. St. Mary's is a fumble prone team, we need to continue to hit hard and we should get the turovers, since we haven't been getting many interceptions. Our offense can't rely on Joseph. Joe Parker was our only reciever against Cornell, we're going to need to complete some other passes, if only for a few yards, to spread out the defense. So far, in St. Mary's only game against an opponent ranked similarly to Colgate, the Gaels suffered a 24-21 loss to Sacramento State.
Prediction: St. Mary's has been having a good season, but they have not run into a team as good as Colgate yet. They will be in for a rude awakening, but Colgate will need to re-establish itself on offense. 28-6, Colgate
Results
Colgate was playing against a highly motivated team that did not travel 3000 miles just to lose. Colgate was unable to stop the first Gaels drive, nor the 2 point conversion. The Colgate offense just did not click on the first few drives, but Colgate did keep things close for most of the day. Kirklin would go 11-20 on the night, adding about 80 yards in runs, and a few sacks, interceptions and turnovers. Colgate was just outplayed. Our offensive line wasn't giving an inexperienced QB much time. And Kirklin was more prone to trying to run instead of just staying put and throwing. The defense did ok, but the Gaels were able to pick up on the defensive rush and was able to screen pass and option to the side all game. We were able to get in 5 sacks, mostly from the blind side. We were just 3 points back going into the 4th quarter, where we made 4 turnovers in a 6 minute span to blow the game. We also shot ourselves in the foot by racking up 144 yards in penalties, and touching a punt return, but not covering it to give the Gales the ball at our 15. Running the ball up the middle just did not work for us. This was a very dissapointing game, and the Gaels were really hungry for a win, while Alex Houston seemed like the only fired up Colgate player. The crowd was also a bit out of it, Colgate students just don't seem to make it out to the games like they used to. Colgate has a lot they have to work on to be taken seriously in the league from now on. The final score was 37-20 St. Mary's
October 28th - Lafayette
Game Preview
Colgate took it upon themselves to celebrate family day at Fisher field by lighting up the hometown Leopards to the tune of 56-14. This time, its family day at Colgate and the Leopards would love to play spoiler. Lafayette ended up 2-4 in the league and 4-7 overall. They will be returning 2 out of 5 all league first or second teamers. Lafayette is looking to rebuild and has aquired a top wide reciever. Lafayette is hoping a new coach and a new attitude will turn the team around and move them up in the standings. Whether this is the year for them to move up remains to be seen. Colgate boasts a 30-9-4 overall record against them...
Pregame
Colgate is coming off it's worst game of the season, while Lafayette had thier best. They surprised Holy Cross to pick up their first league win of the season. Prior to that, they have lost to Towson, Bucknell, Columbia and Harvard, pausing only to beat Princeton by a narrow margin in week two. Thier offense is currently ranked 6th in the league, while thier defense is in last. We can expect a lot of passes, especially with thier star reciever listed as probable for the game coming off a elbow injury. Colgate needs to take back thier momentum and gain some confidence. The team is hoping to impress the home crowd after last weeks game.Prediction: Person per person, Colgate has the better team. It's going to come down to holding off the Leopards though. Last year, our defense was our best offensem if we can do that again, we can win. Otherwise we need to find a way to work the ball down field. We started taking penalties again last week, and still aren't getting the Int's, but I think we can win 28-14.
Results
The Red Raider's were motivated for this game, which makes me nervous that we won by so little. It was a defensive battle, with Colgate's prevailing, holding the Leopards to just 228 yards. Colgate would also pick off three passes, including the game saver with 33 seconds left. The Red Raiders still were unable to find thier offense, passing for just 100 yards and taking 253 total, with only 11 first downs. It was two big plays that would make the difference, the first, a brillently called reverse in the first quarter, that was carried 30 yards for a score. The second, a Randall Joseph breakaway, that saw him go 65 yards in the 3rd. They found the opening, and went for it. Wind hurt our passing game, but there really wans't a lot of it, there is some potential for us to run some longer plays though when the opposing defense is banking on a run and the line gives Kirklin enough time to set up. He was only intercepted once, and sacked twice today. There were numerous hurries though, Josh is not comfortable with the pocket just yet. Colgate fumbled 5 times and recovered 1 Lafayette loose ball. The defense was brutal as usual. 6 sacks for 51 yards, and some big hits we have come to expect from the Red Raiders. The three interections nearly doubled our yearly total to date. Colgate utilized some trickery to brighten up an otherwise predictable offense. The reverse is one example. But how about this? Early in the game, we tried a fake punt from the Lafayette 23! What a bold call. The game was tied as time was winding down. With about 5 minutes left, the kicker was called in to attempt a 40 yard field goal, keep in mind, he has never made a kick of this length in a game in his career. But with the wind at his back, he was able to get it through the uprights. Colgate is up by 3, with the game comeing to a close, but it is not over yet. After trading turnovers, Lafayette began to drive the ball towards the endzone. Brandon Tinson intercepted a pass in the enzone with 33 seconds left to secure a 17-14 victory for Colgate.
Results
Colgate really stepped it up a notch, to face some tougher competition, unfortunatly, it would prove not to be enough, and Lehigh is the only team remaining undefeated in the Patriot League. The visitors started off with a lot of promise. Taking thier first two drives over 70 yards each and for touchdowns. Colgate was mixing up thier offense, and playing with a high level of intensity. After that, things leveled out. A Colgate interception helped to change the momentum, and led to a Lehigh field goal. There were other mistakes throughout the day. A blocked punt, slipping on a key run near the end of the game. Slipping while chasing down the QB, and then the play goes for a touchdown. Colgate had trouble holding the Mountain Hawks back, who would steadly push the ball foward a few yards at a time. Colgate showed more diversity on offense, but still was relying on the run up the middle. The Red Raider lead was slowly whittled away, until Cogate found themselves playing catch up in the 4th quarter. Numerous attempts just did not work, and Colgate found themselves running out of time with a score of 20-14. We played very good, but did make more mistakes than Lehigh. There was no shortage of stuff to be proud of though, and if Colgate can play out the rest of the season at this level, they will have nothing to be ashamed of, even though they will be taking a year off from the playoffs this year.
November 4th - At Lehigh
Game Preview
This game was for the title last year, and could be again. Last year, Lehigh had an early lead, but Colgate came back to take a close one. In what Lehigh announcers called "A classless win", Colgate broke a near 20 game regular season winning streak for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks will need to replace a star quarterback. Could defense be a key for Lehigh this season? A heavily touted recruiting class might have some impact on the game as well. The similarities between these two programs is huge, if you can make it to one away game this season, here's where to go!
Pregame
Now we really have our backs up against a wall, because person per person, Lehigh wins hands down. Both teams are 3-0 in the league, but Lehigh has made it through some of the tougher teams, last week getting by Holy Cross in a close game that might ahve gone either way. Lehigh tops the league in points per game and for least amout of points for the other team. They are more of a rushing than passing team, and unfortunatly for us, thier specialty is protection against the run. That means we absolutly need to find some sort of a passing game to even have a chance. The defense will need to keep Colgate in the game, Lehigh is number 1 in third down conversions. To win, we need a solid game from start to finish, plus a run or two that breaks for long yardage, and if we can complete some long passes, which seems to be what we've been trying to do, we may have a shot.
Prediction: While Colgate could win this game, Lehigh is in a much better position to do so. They are ahead of us in about every stats catergory, especially since McCune went out. I would not count us out yet, but for the sake of accuracy, we predict a 21-10 loss.
November 11th - Holy Cross
Game Preview
This game marked the end of the regular season last year. The Crusaders were able to hold off Colgate briefly until Colgate rallied for a 45-26 win. Holy Cross would finish at 2-4 in the league and 3-8 overall. Holy Cross is returning a rookie of the year quarterback, who threw for over 300 yards against us, 2 all league selections and a all league second team selection. They improved each game and were showing the signs of being able to improve even more. Odds are they will be moving up in the league this year. Defense could also be a strong point for the Crusaders.
Pregame
Colgate has just one loss in the league, Holy Cross is up to two, losing to Lafayette and Lehigh. They narrowly defeated Bucknell last weekend. They should by all means be considered a comprable team. Most of their games have been defensice struggles, Holy Cross doesn't put up huge offensive numbers, but they hold thier opponents to just as few. The Crusader QB, Brian Hall, has to be considered thier most potent offensive weapon. It's going to be somewhat damp out there, so the score might be pretty low. Let's see if Colgate continues to improve.
Results
This game was nearly canceled due to the fatal accident that occured on campus just hours before the game. But the game did go on, even if it was an empty one. To be honest, I was in the stands, but ont really watching it. It was a fairly defensive game. Colgate scored first on a field goal in the first quarter. The Red Raider's even passed for more yards than did Holy Cross. Despite getting more total yards as well, Colgate just never had good field position, while the Crusaders did. Colgate was out punted, threw 3 interception, and lost one fumble. Holy Cross had possession for almost 10 more minutes than Colgate. The Red Raider's held thier own up till the 4th quarter, where they allowed 18 points on 3 touchdowns put nothing on the Point After Touchdown. The Red Raider's lose 32-3.
November 18th - At Bucknell
Game Preview
You know coach Biddle will be reminding the team pleanty of times about thier loss to the Bison last season. You know he'll have them fired up. By this point in the season, the team will be fighting to hold onto the League title, and you know Bucknell would love to play spoiler again. The Bison lost some important players, and are returning two all league seacond team members, including a very good running back. This one is going to be a real hard hitting battle. Bucknell garnered one first place vote in the leagues preseason poll and has proven they can be dangerous. Neither team will be holding back, this game could mean it all.
Pre Game
This will be the final game of the season, and both these teams are out of the league race, but this game is not without meaning. This has always been a big game for both teams, and winning or losing this game will strongly affect our place in the final standings. Bucknell has a little extra on the line. If they win, then it will be the 30th win for the senior class, the most for any one class in Bucknell football history. Bucknell started off looking really strong, but the offensive production has droped a little in the past few games. They lost thier last two games to Holy Cross and Towson, both were low scoring games. Bucknell is last in the league in passing, second to last in rushing, but first in rushing defense. With all these factors, you can expect a low scoring game. Colgate is going to need to pass the ball, and come up with a few big stops and turnovers. Turnovers will win this game for either team. Neither can afford to have the opponent score off a interception or fumble recovery. This is a good game for the end of the season, neither team has any reason to hold anything back and it could be a very exciting game.
Results
Whenever these two teams step out onto the field, everything else is put on the back burner, at least for a while. Colgate was down to it's third string QB, Rob Market. And Rob did everything he could to help the Red Raiders today. He played a very tough game, and ended up passing for 142 yards. Neither team threw any interceptions. Colgate took an early lead on a rare field goal. After Bucknell scored a touchdown, Randall Joseph came through in his final game as a Red Raider to break a 49 yard touch down run in the second quarter. He ended the game with 192 yards and his career with 3218, good for third on Colgate's all time career list. Colgate extended thier lead in the third quarter when Jason Mattes caught a 21 yard touchdown pass. The Bison were not done yet though, they scored 2 touchdowns to take the lead in the 4th quarter. With a little over 5 minutes left, Colgate took the ball from their own 23. They proceded to drive the ball all the way to the Bucknell Red Zone. Rob Market found often over looked tight end, Barry HoAire from 6 yards out to reclaim the lead for Colgate with just a minute left. On the ensuing kick off, Nate Thomas forced a fumble and Colgate recovered the ball. And the game would end that way, Colgate wins 24-21, and finishes the season in a second place tie.
NCAA Championships?
Last year Colgate made it to round 1 where they were quickly disposed of. Winning the league will guarantee a spot in them again this year. Finishing second will give the team a better than average shot of getting an at large bid if the Patriot League can prove that the level of competition is worthy of one. If Colgate does make it to the tournament, they will find teams far better than anyone you can find in the Patriot League or Ivy League. You're going against top teams who have been playing other top teams all season. The Red Raider's can make it to the tournament, and when they do, every battle will be one of will and determination. Mistake's cost the team twice as much and you can't count on the opposition to make any. To hold there own here is to rise to the highest level of accomplishment for any team.
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