Some thoughts in the wake of Lehigh's 24-9 win over Georgetown this past week
and the 2021 season finale upon us:
Sputtering. If one word can encapsulate the 2021 season,
this may be it. While no one at Georgetown entered 2021 with plans for the FCS playoffs, an
expectation was that the season would show progress. Outside of the football
office, it's been difficult to see it.
Georgetown
started its first drive of the second half Saturday driving 57 yards in nine
plays, the longest drive of the first half. Next four possessions: punt, punt,
stopped on 4th down, fumble. Second half: 69 yards in 13 plays, followed by
punt, punt, punt, an 4th down. The last four drives consumed 12 plays and eight
yards. And the weather was improving in the second half. Saturday's game marked
the sixth game this season where Georgetown
could not muster 100 yards and the fifth where it could not gain 60.
The offensive line looks beaten up, the rushers look a step
slow on every play. Its only returning underclassman in the backfield has rushed the ball once in
the last seven games. The Hoyas eschewed the youth movement this and went all-in
on a lineup heavy on seniors, grad students, and fifth years. The results have
been underwhelming.
Even head coach Rob Sgarlata dispensed with the usual
optimism in last week's letter.
"I was proud of our overall effort and ability to adapt
to the challenging conditions," he said. "That being said, our
execution was inconsistent."
Execution should not be an issue in week 10. And it is. It's
only a tribute to the historic ebb that the Patriot League is in that Georgetown was not swept by
the entire league this year. Instead, with five PL teams in the bottom 30
nationally, the Hoyas can do no worse than a tiebreaker over 1-9 Bucknell for
last place. Given Bucknell's assignment versus PL titleist Holy Cross this
Saturday, that is highly unlikely. But if all Georgetown can do is hang its collective hats
on a fifth place finish, it speaks to a season that never led anywhere.
It also speaks to a schedule that was very linear--GU beat
two teams even further below them in the ratings (Delaware State,
Bucknell) and lost to everyone above them. If the Hoyas play to form, they are slight
favorites against a Morgan State
team that has one win all season--Delaware
State, by six--the same outcome as Georgetown.
No upsets, no surprises. No momentum.
National Rankings: Georgetown's
ranking out of 123 schools entering the final week of play:
Points Scored: 104th
Points Allowed: 88th
Rushing Offense: 122nd
Passing Offense: 27th
Total Offense: 91st
Rushing Defense: 108th
Passing Defense: 31st
Total Defense: 74th
Sacks Made: 110th
Sacks Allowed: 104th
This Week In The Patriot League: Three league games finish
the season, with only Holy Cross advancing to the playoffs. If you're old
enough to remember when a second place finish was a likely at-large bid for the
PL, well, you're getting older.
Lafayette
(3-7) at Lehigh (2-8), 12:30 pm. The 157th meeting of this rivalry is certainly
at a low point, probably not since 1966 when both teams were this low in the win-loss column. Head coaches John Garrett and Tom Gilmore are a combined 24-48 over
the past three seasons and there are probably more than a handful of fans in
maroon and/or brown hoping for a "loser leaves town" match, which isn't happening. As to the outcome, it's a coin
flip.
Fordham (6-4) at Colgate (4-6), 1:00 pm. The what-if game:
what if Fordham hadn't built a ridiculous non-conference schedule with Nebraska and Florida
Atlantic? What if they hadn't allowed a
100 yard kickoff return at home versus Monmouth, a game they lost by three? Is
this an eight or nine win team entering the last week of 2021? The Rams aren't Holy Cross
this season; otherwise, they were very good and a better team than a 6-4 record.
All four of Colgate's wins are inside the PL, but the defense can't stay with
Fordham.
Holy Cross (8-2) at Bucknell (1-9), 1:00 pm: Holy Cross
rolls into Lewisburg with five consecutive PL wins by an average margin of 27 points.
Bucknell has lost its last three games by a combined 134-26, and Georgetown was the only
opponent the Bison were even within three touchdowns in PL play. With the loss, Bucknell will post its first
winless season in PL play since 2005.
