Week 6 Thoughts

Some brief thoughts following Georgetown's 23-11 win over Fordham Saturday:

What Changed?  Some coaches are fond of saying that three or four plays can alter the outcome of a competitive game. Now, this presumes a competitive game, because four plays' aren't beating Alabama or any such opponent, but Georgetown did its part by not making the mistakes that all too inevitably lead to its demise . So here are four plays worth mentioning, and worth learning from:

1. With under two minutes in the first quarter, Georgetown gets a 27 yard pass from Gunther Johnson to Jay Tolliver to advance to the Fordham 18. While Georgetown could have pursued a running approach inside the 20, they went right back to the air and found Cameron Crayton in the end zone. It set a tone for the game that Georgetown was in to won.

2 With eight minutes to halftime, Georgetown held an 8-6 lead when a bad snap deep in its own territory put the Hoyas in trouble. Punter Brad Hurst quickly got the ball out of the end zone and took a safety when a punt attempt would have been risky and a simply falling on the ball gives the Rams an opportunity to take the lead before halftime, which almost always spells trouble for Georgetown in the second half. Instead, the Georgetown defense reasserted itself at midfield and the Hoyas were no worse than tied at intermission.

3. With 4:17  in the third quarter, Fordham was in the midst of an 18 play drive that could have zapped the will of the GU defense. A key stop by Wes Bowers at the Fordham forced a third and nine which fell short. As a result, Georgetown held Fordham to a field goal and took the lead for good on the next series.

4. With 2:16 in the fourth quarter, a stop at the goal line may have been enough to rally Fordham if they could get yards early in the two minute drill. Instead, with the defense on its toes and taking advantage of a change in quarterbacks, the efforts in the film room on Luke Medlock paid off. Jethro Francois was right where he need to be and Georgetown shut down the Rams for good.

These were four of any number of plays that contributed to Georgetown's biggest win in five seasons.  And while Fordham isn't North Dakota State or even Central Connecticut State, it was a win for a team and a program that badly needed one.

It needs another one, too.