Some thoughts following Monmouth's 45-6 win over Georgetown last week:
1. No Surprises. Monmouth is the third toughest opponent on the 2022 schedule, so any frustrations posted last week in a loss to Lehigh aren't as applicable. The Hawks have one of the best offenses to date in the FCS entering this game and played to form. Monmouth scored on three of the first four possessions of the game and did not punt after halftime. A total of 466 yards in 33:23 of time of possession are good numbers for a team that will likely finish near the bottom of the Colonial Athletic Association this fall in their move up from the Big South, but it's still a few yards ahead of anything the PL has to offer, with the possible exception of Holy Cross.
The Monmouth defense, which had give up 52 points to Fordham the week prior, did its part. The Hoyas were held to three first downs in the second half, which is more about Monmouth's adjustments than any poor play by the Hoyas on offense. A case could be made for offensive coordinator Rob Spence to be more aggressive when playing from behind, but for what the Hawks did on defense, the Georgetown offense did what it was expected to do.
Defensively, the Hoyas have issues and we'll be seeing more of these rise to the surface as the season progresses. The Hawks had seven drives of six plays or more and converted five of them into touchdowns. Just four tackles were credited to members of the Hoyas' defensive line. Two weeks removed from Tim DeMorat and Fordham, the defense needs to come together.
2. FloSports, We Hardly Knew Ye. An admitted fan of the PL on Stadium in prior years, the move to ESPN+ comes with a cost but it is still a good product. However, a quote of $29.99 to watch this game on FloSports wasn't flying, and since I'm far removed from the cable networks of the Delaware Valley showing the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia, I caught it on Monmouth's college radio station.
An alumnus of college radio myself, I'm tolerant of college broadcasters as a rule, mindful that there's no rehearsal and no spotters. While the facilities at Kessler Stadium are light years ahead of the days when we ran a 500 foot telephone cord from the Yates lobby up to Kehoe Field to broadcast games, it's still walking a tightrope. But, in hindsight, the WMCX announcers had their issues.
Years from now, I hope they keep a tape of the games they did, if not to enjoy the calls but the little things that seemed professional at the time that will be amusing in later years, such as the outro where the announcer would pause after each score and say "This is WMCX, 88.9 FM, Monmouth University's (pause for effect...) COLLEGE RADIO STATION!"
One issue was knowing exactly who and where their opponent was. In introducing Monmouth offensive OL Will Argo, the play by play announcer (who I won't mention specifically) noted to the audience that "he's from Georgetown," later suggesting that the Hoyas were from Argo's hometown of Georgetown, Delaware. His analyst, when asked in the second quarter what a "Hoya" was, suggested it was "a coyote or something."
Describing Georgetown to the audience was also interesting. "Georgetown? It's partially a law school, you know," said the lead announcer. "It's called a baby Ivy." He then added that next week's opponent, Villanova, "is an actual law school."
The more you know...
3. First Quarter Stats: We're three weeks intro a 12 week season, so it's a good time to see where the Hoyas fare nationally. It's better than you might think:
Points Per Game: 64th nationally (3rd in the PL)
Points Allowed: 26th (3rd)
Rushing Offense: 67th (3rd)
Passing Offense: 45th (3rd)
Total Offense: 54th (3rd)
Rushing Defense: 43rd (3rd)
Passing Defense: 34th (1st)
Total Defense: 26th (1st)
Net Turnovers: 41st (3rd)
A 2-1 mark heading into this next quartile of games would have been optimal, but it's 1-2. Earning a 2-1 mark over the next three weeks takes the Hoyas into some rare air, at least for this program: a .500 record at the break. That climb starts Saturday.
3. Around the Patriot League: Another good week for PL teams in week three.
Central Michigan 41, Bucknell 0: The Bison get the bye this week after a game that was close at the half. Trailing 7-0 at the break, Bucknell gave up five consecutive touchdown drives to open the second half.
Richmond 30, Lehigh 6: Any era of good feeling for Tom Gilmore following the Georgetown win was short lived, as the Spiders went ahead 20-0 and never looked back. Lehigh was outgained 423-203 and mounted only one red zone penetration for the afternoon. This week: at Princeton (1-0)
Penn 26, Colgate 14: A crowd of only 4,678 at Franklin Field saw the Penn defense lock down the red Raiders, holding Colgate to 43 yards on the ground and 192 yards overall. Penn QB Aidan Sayin was 31 of 44 for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the game. A tall defensive order awaits Saturday in Peter Sluka. This week: hosts Holy Cross (3-0)
Holy Cross 38, Yale 14: A season's best 13,847 at Fitton Field saw the Crusaders continue to march forward. Sluka passed for 249 yards while HC put up 571 yards on the Elis. Saturday's game is one of two games remaining where the Crusaders could trip up en route to the PL title, but are favored to get past Colgate in this one,. Next game: at Colgate (1-2)
William & Mary 34, Lafayette 7: Another rough afternoon on the ground for the Leopards, netting 47 yards on 37 attempts as the Tribe scored the final 27 points of the game for the win. Next week: at Penn (1-0)
Fordham 48, Albany 45: The Rams are nothing if not exciting, as Tim DeMorat threw for 464 yards and still needed a fourth quarter defensive stop with 2:11 to play. Next week: at Ohio (1-2)
