Some thoughts following Georgetown 's 27-7 win over Marist this past
weekend.
1. A Win, In Perspective:
A good win at a good time for the Hoyas,
but let's not add too much, or take away too little, about the opponent.
Much like Davidson a season ago, Marist is struggling
through a quarterback change and is not going be very good this season. From an
8-3 season last year under senior Chucky Looney, the 2014 Red Foxes might win
one game the rest of the season unless its quarterback situation significantly
improves. At 1.6 yards per carry, the Red
Foxes aren't likely to go very far on the ground, and a pre-game injury to WR Armani
Martin neutralized any consistent passing threat in the game.
The Hoyas won every phase of the game Saturday night: the offense
did what it had to do, the defense kept Marist in check throughout, and special
teams were effective with the exception of that punt return which led to Marist's
only points of the game. Overall, 20 of Georgetown 's
27 points were generated by turnover, which says two things: 1) the defense
remains the best hope Georgetown
has down the road this season, and 2) the offense remains a liability to
generate points on its own.
Marist is not Brown, Colgate, or Harvard. And that should be
the focus of the Hoyas over the next three weeks.
2. More To Follow:
Last week's column cited the fact that Dayton
could not return its game to Washington
until the 2020 season because the schedules could not identify a common opening
date.
Future schedules from the Ivy league appear to lock in the Hoyas
to three games annually through 2018, but assuming there are no major changes
in the Patriot League, the Hoyas need
five non-conference opponents a year. Davidson and Marist would seem obvious given
its competitive level (and Georgetown 's),
but remember it was Davidson that passed on a game with the Hoyas to earn an
easy win. (Since then: losses of 35-7 and 52-24.)
Scheduling is an inexact science made years in advance. Bob Benson
scheduled Richmond
because he expected the Hoyas to be ready for them by 2008 and they were not.
Kevin Kelly scheduled the Ivies in hopes the Hoyas would be ready for them and
the jury is out, especially with a Brown team that has not scored fewer than 34
points on the Hoyas in any of its last four games in the series.
As long as the Georgetown
programs slogs along in the competitive mindset (or is it minefield) it's in,
there will always be a home for the Marists and Davidsons of the world on the
schedules. Trouble is, there aren't very many of the Marists and Davidsons of
the world around anymore.
3. Media Coverage:
Maybe, just maybe things will change, but the idea of paying $9.95 for a Georgetown sport on video
continues to be a nonstarter for 99.9% of alumni, especially with the glut of
free football elsewhere. Not to be outdone, of course, Marist also charged
$9.95, an old business model that needs to be shelved. If only 1,823 showed up
at Tenney Stadium, how many paid to watch it at home?
On the radio, the WKIP announcers were easy to follow and
entertaining, although after 20 years, one would think the announcers knew what
the word "Hoya" means. Play by play announcer Geoff Brault said he
heard it was from Latin, meaning "'fight on." USC references aside,
if you don't know, don't guess.
And this quote from analyst Ed Weir, after noting that
As for the Georgetown
radio broadcast, I couldn't get it because it too was behind the paywall.
" No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket,"
wrote St. Matthew. Neither should Georgetown.
4. Opening Week: Brown University
arrives at Georgetown Saturday for its first
game of the season, while Georgetown
(and most Division I teams) are on the third week of the calendar. Why is this?
"The Ivy League begins its regular season three weeks
after everyone else for the simple reason that it doesn’t see itself like
everyone else," wrote Stephen Tydings at the Daily Pennsylvanian. But Tydings makes
an important point that has been picked up in the Ivy collegiate press.
"Facing teams with more game experience provides more
injury risk," he wrote. " Furthermore, playing teams like Villanova
that are at a higher level can present more than a reasonable challenge and simply
not give you usable experience moving forward."
Tydings argues to move the Ivy calendar closer to the late
August opening of other schools. "It would allow for Ivy schools to have
more flexibility in their schedules, either by adding a game or — the more
likely possibility — creating a bye week.", he said.
The Harvard Crimson agreed
"Starting the season a week earlier would ensure warmer
weather for the first night game, capitalize on back-to-school fan enthusiasm,
and allow students to go to more games before their workloads reach cruising
altitude," it argued. "Shifting the schedule would also mean
inserting a bye week in the middle of the slate, as most other college and
professional teams do. Adding a week off would fit perfectly with the
conference’s stated priority regarding safety and health."
Brown returns just four starters, and none on offense. Would
an extra game help their development? We'll find out more this week.
5. Win Or Learn.
I hope that Georgetown football fans (and any other readers to the blog) are paying
attention to the important work head coach Rob Sgarlata has been doing in
linking the educational and athletic goals of the football program, bringing a
number of speakers to the team to put their four years of football into larger
perspective. It's important, and it's timely.
This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the modern era of
football at Georgetown ,
and as any alumnus since 1964 will tell you, the time moves by all too quickly.
The ability to learn from a variety of individuals and put those efforts into
practice and game time situations is an added benefit that distinguishes the Georgetown program.
Since training camp, the team has heard from former NFL
commissioner Paul Tagliabue (C'62), former Secretary of Transportation Rodney
Slater, brigadier general San Nichols, and community leader (and former Georgetown defensive back
Marques Lucas.
Coach Sgarlata has called it "Win or Learn":
With this firm footing, the time will surely come when Georgetown can do both
with equal fervor.
