Looking Back, Looking Ahead

After consecutive 2-9 seasons and the loss of 14 starters from last season, pre-season hopes for the 2023 Georgetown Hoyas were dim.

At the start of the season, Georgetown was picked last in the PL pre-season poll, a common starting spot for many prior Georgetown teams. What was uncommon was a team which developed and grew every week: a first win at home versus Fordham in 12 years, a near upset at Penn, a first ever road win at Lehigh, tough but competitive losses to Lafayette and Colgate, an overtime thriller at Bucknell. For a program with fewer resources than nearly every opponent they faced, the Hoyas were no longer the easy win some might have thought.

A 5-6 record is not, on its own, a success. But the drive to 2024 begins with a word not often heard around these parts, but welcome nonetheless: hope.

No, not that Hope--that's actress Hannah Kuykendall, part of the repertory company that makes SEC Shorts must-see viewing every week of the college football season. When this Hope appears to a fan base, it's a sign of dread, because she brings a sense of unrequited expectations that a team or fan base can ever ascend the mountaintop that is the SEC. (SEC Shorts canon: Alabama never needs Hope, by the way, and Vanderbilt doesn't even bother to ask.) 

What Georgetown has, or more likely could have, is something it has lacked for years, probably going back to the beginning Rob Sgarlata's tenure, when alumni and fans saw the synergies Sgarlata could provide that Kevin Kelly did not. In reality, Sgarlata deals with the same issues Kelly did, but 2024 offers different outcomes.

If it's not outright hope, it's the next best thing: possibilities.

1. Recruiting. A 5-6 season isn't the FCS playoffs but it's a movement in the right direction. Georgetown loses more than it wins against scholarship programs but it can make a statement in the early  signing period that it can aim beyond the NEPSAC kids and the "all-county" entrants that have defined recent recruiting cycles.

2. Transfer Portal: As far as we know, the transfer portal is not against the ethos and culture and thus an opportunity for the Hoyas to make some rapid improvement in selected positions--this made a big difference with WR Nicholas Dunneman coming in from Division III Union, and to a lesser extent with OL Hampton Tanner from Wake Forest and Kolubah Pewee from Maine. Georgetown has targeted needs at running back, linebacker, and kicker that a graduate transfer would be of immediate benefit. The transfer portal swings open wide in the next two weeks and Georgetown has a better argument after this season than it has in the last three. 

3. Coaching: New assistants for 2023 made a noticeable difference in quarterback and O-line play, thanks to up and coming coaches like Jack McDaniels and Joey Partin. The coaching game can be a transitory one but Georgetown needs to be competitive in retaining coaches while they can, while elevating those up the ladder who could take over when a Rob Spence or Kevin Doherty retire. The Hoyas have hired 10 assistants since 2018 who stayed only one season, and that's not a long term model for success. Of the ten, just four remain in coaching today.

4.  NIL. Don't think this is something for men's basketball and nothing else. It's coming to the Patriot League whether the league wants it or not (look to Fordham and then Colgate)  and Georgetown should at least have a strategy to address it, rather than merely ignore it.

5. Fundraising. Let's look beyond merely summer camp and nutrition - there are some opportunities out here to enlist the small donor, the mid-market donor, and the benefactors out there to take steps forward.  

Look no further than Georgetown baseball, a program that has no home field of its own,  had no winning seasons for 35 consecutive years and once lost 47 games in a single season. Baseball has momentum and they have support. From a March 2023 announcement:

"The Georgetown Baseball Campaign received a program-defining challenge gift of $4.8 million to support and enhance scholarship and coaching endowments. This gift will make significant progress towards the overall campaign goal to support three areas of need including coaching, scholarship and facilities.

The impact of enhanced scholarship endowments allows Georgetown to recruit the best and brightest student-athletes to continue their formation and development during their time on the Hilltop. The addition of these scholarships is a transformative shift allowing Hoya baseball to compete with the top programs in the nation...

Coaching endowments are a commitment to coaches now and in the future to provide the vital resources needed to recruit and retain the best staff in an increasingly competitive environment. Supporting and investing in the stability of coaches directly impacts the consistent development of a student-athlete."

What would $4.8 million do for football coaching, recruiting, and player development?   As Lee Reed might say, why not us?

Now is the time for the football community to not just pack it in until August, but seize the opportunity to have some conversations and take new steps forward in 2024. We can argue and quibble about the little things but there is progress in FCS football if only we seek it out. "Be not afraid of moving forward," says the adage. " Be afraid of standing still." 

And be hopeful.

Week 10 Thoughts

 

Some thoughts after Georgetown's 50-47 win over Bucknell:

1. (Whew.) I've watched and/or listened to nearly every Georgetown football game over the past 25 or 26 seasons and this game was one of a kind--not only in the score, but in the sheer number of ways this team held it together, As such, the outcome was more a relief than of exultation, because it was a little like getting out of the dentist's chair after four hours. 

Don't kid yourself--after a slow start, Bucknell came to play. Ralph Rucker may be the best quarterback in the league once Matthew Sluka graduates, and while the Bison can struggle as much as the Hoyas do, they may be one of the best  three-win teams anywhere. But in a game that featured 13 touchdowns, a field goal, and one safety (almost two) between the teams, four plays stand out as absolute game changers:

1. 13:08, 3rd quarter: The beginning of Bucknell's offensive momentum had just begin, with Rucker leading the Bison on a five play, 65 yard drive to close to 23-15. A Bucknell stop and this gets real tight, real quick. Instead, Naiteitei Mose makes the special teams play of the decade by alertly picking up a wayward onside kick and returning it untouched. 23-15 becomes 30-15 and the Bison's climb back is a little steeper as a result.

2. 5:00, 3rd quarter: Bucknell stands with a first down on the Georgetown two. David Ealey forces a fumble that, one Georgetown play later, results in a 95 yard touchdown pass. A potential 30-23 jumps back to 37-15.

3. 1:25, 4th quarter: After an epic drive that ties the score at 44, Bucknell advances to midfield, but the Hoyas break up consecutive passes that forces a punt into the final minute of regulation.

4. Overtime: Tyler Knoop's run to the end zone was fraught with peril--a fumble while stretching out the ball for the score would have been worth years of anguish--but an earlier play helped set it all up: an 11 yard run by Naieem Kearney that put GU in position to win, not merely tie.

There will be plenty to review on the 2023 season after next week but Saturday's game was a master class by the coaching staff in not letting the team get too high or too low following the rapid turn of events. Losing a 22 point second half lead would have sank many Georgetown teams of the past, and did, but the 2023 team has a sense of grit and determination that has held together the first 10 games of the season. 

Earning a winning season on Fitton Field may be elusive, but the fact that the Hoyas are even this close is a momentum builder heading into the off-season.

2. Around the PL: Saturday's game appear to have stabilized the PL title possibilities and the playoff race.

If Lafayette wins over Lehigh, they win the title. A win by Holy Cross, despite a stellar season, would be a coin-flip for an at-large bid A loss to Georgetown, and they are out of both scenarios. 

A Lafayette loss and a Holy Cross win sends a fifth PL title to Holy Cross, while a three way tie between Lafayette (losing to Lehigh), Colgate (defeating Fordham), and Georgetown (defeating Holy Cross) at 4-2 sends the title to Colgate, as the Red Raiders defeated both Lafayette and Georgetown.

Last week's results:

Lafayette 24, Fordham 16: Jamar Curtis and the Lafayette running game solidified the Leopards' hold on the PL lead before 4,256 at Fisher Stadium, ending any post-season options for the Rams. Lafayette QB Dean Denobile was a quiet 16 of 21 for 137 yards but Curtis' 204 yards on the ground was all the difference. A trip to South Mountain and the 159th game with Lehigh is next for the Leopards, while Fordham travels to Colgate.

Army 17, Holy Cross 14: A solid game for the Crusaders despite the score, as Holy Cross battled back from a 14-0 fourth quarter score to fall short before 30,602 at Michie Stadium. HC quarte4rback Matthews Sluka passed for 156 yards and ran for 171 in the loss.

Colgate 37, Lehigh 21: The early game struggles continue for the Engineers as the Red Raiders continued their late season run before 2,-031 at Andy Kerr Stadium. Colgate led this game 30-0 in the third before the Lehigh comeback, closing to 16 but no further. It's the fifth win in the last six games for Colgate, the seventh loss in the last eight for Lehigh.

Week 9 Thoughts

 Some thoughts following Lafayette's 35-25 win over Georgetown last week:

1. Opportunities Lost: Much like the Colgate game a week earlier, the Hoyas let this game get away from them early and did not sufficiently recover. The first quarter drives of Lafayette netted 14 points and a field goal opportunity, all of which began in Georgetown's side of the field. Little can be done at this point of the season regarding special teams, but it needs to be addressed in the off-season. 

Injuries are common across many teams in October,  but they are hitting Georgetown harder than most, primarily in the offensive line. It's neutralized the running game and giving defenses better success in stopping third down conversions. Scholarships provide depth and that's verboten on the Hilltop, so the depth that they have is going to fall behind the curve from the start. 

Credit must be paid to the line for protecting QB Danny Lauter en route to a career afternoon in his first collegiate start of any kind, but should Lauter play in any capacity the remainder of the season the combination of a weaker line and opponent access to game films of Lauter will take its toll.

Yes, the turnovers hurt; so too, the fourth down conversions that fell short at critical moments of the game: one early that led to the second Lafayette touchdown, and one late that kept the margin too far to make a serious run. As much as many, the cumulative opportunities ran into a chronic issue hat has dogged the Hoyas for 20 years -- the lack of a go-to player on offense who can drive the play no matter what.  Whether at quarterback or running back (think Holy Cross' Matthew Sluka and Jacob Dobbs) Georgetown hasn't been able to recruit that go-to leader in the backfield, and as much as anything it's why the Hoyas are 4-5 this season and not 6-3.

And yet, the Hoyas are still mathematically eligible for the PL title with a win over Bucknell on Saturday and a significant upset of Holy Cross in the regular season finale. The former appears more realistic than the latter, but the fact that GU is even in this scenario speaks to the team and the staff's ability to stay in games and compete until the end. It worked with Fordham and at Lehigh (imagine that) but its last two home games fell short. 

On to Bucknell.

2. Whatever Happened To... While wandering across the Internet trying to find out what will happen to NEC football after it is losing Merrimack and Sacred Heart, I located an article about an unfamiliar name in college football with a familiar name leading it forward.

The school is New England College, which, unless you were at Georgetown in the 1970s and saw their one and only basketball game against the Hoyas in 1978 (final score: 80-30), it's probably unknown to most, and certainly in football. NEC (no relation to the conference) is a Division III school in central New Hampshire which is adding football next year. At the helm of the effort is former Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly.

As someone who grew up in New England, played collegiately at Springfield College, and returned there after his coaching career had ended circa 2020, it's full circle for Kelly, now 64. Since leaving Georgetown in 2014, he was an assistant at Bal State for two seasons, a high school coach for two seasons, a defensive coordinator at Bryant for two seasons and less than a year with the New York Guardians of the XFL before the onset of COVID. In a career that goes back over 40 years, Georgetown was the only stop where Kelly stayed more than three seasons. 

A new opportunity at New England starts from scratch: no equipment, no stadium, and, as for now, no players. 

"Starting any endeavor from the ground up is an enormous challenge," Kelly said in August of this year. "But working within the visions of President Lesperance and Athletic Director DeCew makes this challenge a very exciting one—as we build a program that NEC, the NEC Alumni and the Henniker community will be proud of."

Schools of NEC's size don't add football for fun, so to speak. Per D3Fooball.com, "The sport is being touted as "a strategic investment, that we have high confidence will pay dividends in enrollment, in enhancing campus culture, and in expanding the college's football in New Hampshire and beyond," said a college trustee. Enrollment has declined from about 1,700 to just 1,163, so this is an enrollment play.

The Pilgrims don't have a conference affiliation in football (It recently joined the GNAC but that league does not play football), but a number of Division III programs are available in that area. Whatever the configuration, coach Kelly will have the players ready for the challenge.

3. Around The PL: From last weekend, three key scores set the table for the pivotal weekend to come:

Colgate 37, Lafayette 34 (OT): The Leopards' path to its first PL title since 2013 hit turbulence Saturday, as the resurgent Red Raiders battled back from 17 down at halftime to force overtime, hold LC to a field goal, and score on a 13 yard touchdown pass for the win before 4,418 at Fisher Stadium. The teams were a combined 10 for 11 in the red zone but Colgate had the advantage late and cashed in. The Leopards need to defeat Fordham and Lehigh to close out the season as champions.

Holy Cross 28, Lehigh 24: Despite injuries to Matthew Sluka and Jacob Dobbs, the Crusaders took a step back into the PL title race behind  228 yards from RB Jordan Fuller, before 3,528 at Murray Goodman Stadium. The Engineers held a 14-0 lead after but were not able to maintain the lead, falling to 2-7 and ensuring its  seventh consecutive losing season. Following a game at Army this week, the Crusaders could claim the title with a win over Georgetown and losses by Lafayette to  Fordham and Lehigh.

Fordham 27, Bucknell 21: Despite a personal record 358 yards passing from Bucknell QB Ralph Rucker, the Rams held on late before just 1,950 at Moglia Stadium. Fordham QB C.J. Montes was 18 of 33 for 328 yards and there touchdowns, including passes of 64 and 91 yards.