Some delayed thoughts (thanks to a computer crash) following Georgetown's 29-21 win over Bucknell Saturday.
1. Three Numbers, Revisited: Last week, we looked at three statistics which hovered over the Hoyas in midst of a four game losing streak. But against Bucknell, these numbers proved not only favorable, but pivotal for the Hoyas to earn the win.
The first figure was 33.8 is the average number of points allowed to date this season. It was unlikely Georgetown could surrender 33 points and win this game, but they held the Bison to just 21, second lowest this season and the fewest points in a PL game since these teams met in 2019. It was also just the seventh game since 2012 that Georgetown won after an opponents scored 15 or more points. For Georgetown to have won, took a stronger offensive effort and a defensive stop or two, each of which was in evidence on Saturday.
The second number was 1.17, or Georgetown's yards per attempt on the ground to date in 2021, last in Division I. Instead, GU rushed for 225 yards, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Even of one removes Herman Moultrie's late game 34 yard run from the total, that's still a healthy number, because it opened up the offense and led GU to a 251 to 162 advantage in the air as well. Bucknell's defense isn't that good and Georgetown's next two opponents are considerably better, but a revitalized run game is good news for the Hoyas' ability to contend.
The third number was 1, as in one interception for the season to date and zero in the previous four games. The Hoyas picked off two interceptions versus the Bison, each coming at a critical time. One ended a Bucknell drive that reached the Georgetown 12 in the third quarter, while the second pick ended the Bison comeback hopes late in the game. For a defense that has had its struggles this season, Saturday was a step in the right direction.
And if you didn't catch this on the game recaps, some deserved recognition for punter Conor Hunt and the special teams: " Bucknell did not a start a single drive past its own 36, and its last four drives had an average starting position of its 18 yard line. Even with its three touchdown passes, BU did not have a single possession in the Georgetown red zone. Georgetown's last four drives had an average starting position of its 41 yard line, two of which netted the determinative scores of the game."
Well done all around.
2. Polar Power: Last week's marquee game in the PL was not at Bucknell nor at Fordham, but a minor-league baseball park in Worcester, where Holy Cross routed the Red Raiders of Colgate, 42-10 before a sellout of 9,508. The site was no accident.
(Photo credit; Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
While Holy Cross could certainly have hosted Colgate and brought in something close to 9,000, the game was a partnership with the City of Worcester and its new baseball stadium, Polar Park, home of the Red Sox' AAA franchise. For a city which once loyally supported the Crusaders in its major college days, the Worcester fan support has ebbed as Holy Cross migrated to the Patriot League. Fitton Field, seating 23,500, hasn't had a sellout since HC left for Division I-AA, when it hosted Boston College in 1986, below.
The Eagles haven't come back, and at least until the numbers from last week, neither had the community.
The sight lines of a baseball stadium hosting football games are usually poor, whether you're in a minor league park or a Wrigley Field, where the end zone is a tight fit against a outfield wall. But fans seemed to enjoy it and it's likely this will become an annual event in October, for a game named in honor the late Edward Bennett Williams, a 1941 Holy Cross grad and a 1944 Georgetown law grad. Perhaps GU will figure into the rotation in future years.
The game and the turnout also has opportunities for Georgetown as well. The University's effort in scheduling a larger venue for Harvard in 2017 was well meaning but the decrepit nature of RFK Stadium did not draw attendees. As I wrote on this site in 2017, "While traveling on the Metro to the game, a couple interrupted me and asked if I was going to the game. They were tourists from Toronto who had never seen a football game in person and were intrigued. The Blue Line car emptied out after Eastern Market and the couple asked why. Someone added that there are a lot of restaurants there. The couple politely got off at Potomac Avenue for a trip back to Eastern Market, and told me they might stop by the game after lunch. Whether they did, I cannot say, but there were people out there that Georgetown couldn't close the deal on."
The opportunity for Georgetown to take Holy Cross' lead and secure a future game at 20,000 seat Audi Field has been in speculation for years, but without an opponent that could really draw Washingtonians to go to a game. No offense, but a Patriot League or Ivy League team isn't getting 10,000 or 15,000 people to a Georgetown game. But the amenities are there, at least in 2017, described as "31 luxury suites, 500,000 square feet of mixed use residential and commercial space, and parking for 447 bicycles for the sustainability-sensible crowd."
"An aging RFK might have been too much for the upscale Washingtonians out there, but [Audi Field] will fit right in."
Neutral site games are not new to the PL (Fordham drew 21,000 at Yankee Stadium versus Holy Cross, for example) but they are new to Georgetown, especially in a city that hasn't supported them since the Griffith Stadium days, and maybe not even then. Holy Cross' experiment for 2021 proved a success, and offers a healthy conversation at Georgetown for ways to grow the program.
3. Watch the CAA: When last we discussed this, there has been a lot of movement in the western half of Division I-A/FBS: Conference USA teams heading to the American Athletic Conference, others heading to the Sun Belt. One that seems to be heading in that direction is James Madison, with potential changes to Eastern football.
"Our whole lives changed,” said Mickey Matthews, the former JMU coach who was at Coastal Carolina when that program upgraded to FBS. “And James Madison’s life will change immediately.
Matthews spoke to the Harisonburg News-Record about the secret in full view: James Madison is preparing to leave the Colonial Athletic Association and chase the dreams of big-time football.
"Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern and Georgia State already reside in the conference while Old Dominion and Marshall are expected leave Conference USA to join the Sun Belt at the same time as the Dukes," says the paper.
"So, there’s going to be some transition, there’s no doubt, because believe me, you’re not going to be playing Richmond anymore," Matthews said. "You’re going to be playing some good teams. I watched Coastal Carolina and Appalachian play the other night, and I thought, ‘Man, those programs have better players than James Madison right now.’ But as time goes along, you’re going to get your share of football players."
The most formidable conference in I-AA, the CAA hasn't had to add a team in quite a while. But do they, and if so, whom?
Monmouth is a willing suitor but they really don't fit the CAA blueprint--successful private schools to the south and a collection of state schools up north. Any changes at the seven team Patriot League or six team MEAC put those conferences in serious jeopardy of folding. But if you're Richmond, if you're Villanova, or William & Mary, you're now in the game of musical chairs. Go searching for a replacement team, or start looking yourself? Hunt, or be hunted?
As Big East basketball fans learned a decade ago, there's always collateral damage when teams move, even if it's not your team. The Patriot League may be among the slowest conferences to react, but they need to be paying attention. And so do their fans.
