Week 9 Thoughts

 

A bye week can dull, but not the dim the opportunity lost in Georgetown's 43-6 loss to Lehigh.  It wasn't so much that they lost but how they did, and the recurring theme in the world that is Georgetown football.

Lehigh was a five point favorite entering the game, and that lasted about 15 minutes and 12 seconds. With Danny Lauter's interception on the first play of the second quarter, the progress of the 2024 season began to unravel before a crowd at Cooper Field who, if they have been to enough games, has seen this before.

One play, 7-0.

Three plays, zero yards, Georgetown punt to Lehigh. Three plays, 14-0.

Three plays, six yards, punt to Lehigh, 57 yards on second down, 21-0. 

A late field goal with 22 seconds to halftime and it's all over. Oh, there was still 30 minutes and two more interceptions to follow, but this has never been a comeback program and PL teams know it. When a Patriot League team has scored 24 points on Georgetown since 2001, their record is 85-4. When that team is not named Bucknell, it's 78-2.

As has been said for many years, the defense can't do it all. Danny Layer has thrown two or more interceptions four times this season. The run game, always a victim of underrecruiting, grinds down in November and can't threaten a defense which knows the Hoyas run short of options thereafter. Georgetown ranks last in the PL in points scored in conference games despite leading the league in first downs. When the Bucknell video announcer saw the score later that day, her remarked on ESPN+ that it seems that when the "bright lights" of PL play dawn every year, Georgetown just isn't ready. Looking in the mirror notwithstanding, that's the perception in other schools.

Two games remain on the schedule. If the Hoyas can't beat a 1-9 Fordham team, there's little chance against Holy Cross. A 6-5 mark versus 5-6 is a big deal, especially at a school which hasn't enjoyed a real football "moment"  among students or alumni in, well, when? 

Until then, it's more of the same.

A Letter To Students

 Dear Georgetown Students:

As you are no doubt aware, your University is always busy with acronyms and slogans. For every ICC, SFS, or GUASFCU out there, so too the slogans: cura personalis, interreligious understanding, community in diversity. As to the latter, I would suggest that a community is not defined simply by being diverse, however one defines it, but a true community is that where people gather and celebrate each other's accomplishments.

The next few days offer two opportunities to do just that, and it's something that has been frankly missing around the place in recent years.

Being a student in 2024 isn't what it was in your parents years, and that's not your fault. While an 18 or 19 year old of days gone by could celebrate the Hoyas winning an NCAA championship or marching en masse to Wisconsin and M when the Redskins won a Super Bowl, that's not the Georgetown you've been a part of. The COVID years and its aftermath have made large group gatherings less common, not as much for health reasons but that it isn't what people do as much now. 

If your candidate happens to win the general election next week, well, you have every right to march triumphantly to the White House as countless other eras of Hoyas have done, back when political parties respected each other and being a D or an R was simply how you voted, not your tribe. But many will keep to themselves and trade thoughts over their phones.

As this is a sports column, let me draw your attention to two upcoming activities worth your collective time and interest.

Saturday, Georgetown hosts Lehigh for a football game with some consequence. A win puts Georgetown two games from its first NCAA "tournament" appearance in football (otherwise called the playoffs) in school history, and marks its first winning season in 13 years. Yes, here are a lot of students who look down on football for not being good, when most don't know why that's the case. Without a history lesson, Georgetown University doesn't want to spend the money on football other schools do, and as such the team can struggle against schools with more resources. That doesn't make those players, your fellow students, any less committed to playing and winning--not for a scholarship or NIL money, but simply for being a team that wears the blue and gray, as students have done, more or less, for 150 years. 

Some students will tell you that football is not for "smart" schools. Ask your friends at Duke what it was like beating Clemson at home on national television. Ask your friends at Vanderbilt what it was like beating Alabama and carrying goalposts down Broadway en route to tossing them in the Cumberland River. These were not only great moments for the teams, but seminal moments for the student body, memories for a lifetime. 

No one is suggesting you to take the goalposts and deposit them in the Potomac, inasmuch as there is still one more home game. What is suggested is that you take the opportunity for you, your dorm floor, your housemates, to show up at Cooper Field at 12:30 Saturday and give them sixty minutes of support en route to a successful season against a team that has more resources than Georgetown and usually wins as a result. You can cheer, shout, sing, bang your shoes on the bleachers, do whatever, but your fellow students could use the support.

Four days later, another group of students welcomes your support as the men's and women's basketball team play in the first on-campus doubleheader in 20 years. Much has changed, unfortunately, in the intervening years, and while you are at Georgetown at the low point of college basketball on this campus, it doesn't mean you can't give these students the support needed to take the next step forward.

Yes, we get it. You won't have any memories of going to a Final Four, or that the President and Vice President shows up for a game one afternoon. Students are not going to march across downtown in the snow to defeat the #2 team in the nation. This is not the Georgetown of 10, 20, or more years ago. The steps forward begin this week, and playing on campus is a rare opportunity to skip the buses and the Ubers to soulless Capital One Arena for a walk down the hill to where basketball once meant a lot in the life of a Georgetown student. 

Support is lacking for these teams because there's a lot going on and, well, losing basketball games isn't fun. It's no fun for those that compete, either. It's no secret why a lot of names and faces from the last couple years aren't around campus anymore, but those that remain and 12 newcomers are less interested in past history and eager to begin some new history. Your support, for the men and women's, helps Georgetown begin the process of getting out of a ditch and take the steps necessary to remind people why Georgetown plays the game.

In the end, going to a game should be about fun. The world is a serious place and none moreso than Georgetown, where half the student body expects to solve the world's problems and the other half are worried they won't get the right job in New York. It won't hurt you to enjoy a sunny, 60 degree day at Cooper Field for a few hours, tell a few stories, and maybe see some really good football. Neither will these vagaries hold it against you if you put the cell phone down and see a basketball game from up close up, and leave the electoral minutiae for a couple of hours. 

Years from now, you won't remember how many hours you spend in the library or how often you checked your Instagram. Sometimes, it's as simple as remembering where you were and who you were with, and this week is a great time to do both. 

Together.

Week 8 Thoughts

 

Some thoughts following Georgetown's 21-20 win over Bucknell last week:

1. Five Plays: Yes, Georgetown-Bucknell games tend to be close outcomes (four of the last five by three points each) but this was an extremely tight game that legitimately could have gone either way, and nearly did.

The teams combined for 135 plays but five bear a second look:

Second Quarter: With 4:45 remaining and a 14-0 lead, Bucknell was on the verge of taking the game over. Following a Bucknell Punt and a 27 yard first down run by Savion Hart, the Hoyas ran Hart two carries for a combined two yards. On a third and eight at the Bucknell 40, the safe play was to have Danny Lauter scramble around for a short pass to Jimmy Kibble or Nick Dunneman, and certainly not to give it to Hart a fourth consecutive time. Surprisingly, this is what Georgetown did, and hart tore through the Bucknell line for 40 yards and the score. It awakened the Hoyas offensively and four minutes later they tied the score.

Third Quarter: With 1:16 remaining, the Bison had awoke from its third quarter slumber and drove into Georgetown territory. One a third and five from the Georgetown 46, Cooper Blomstrom broke up a pass at the Georgetown 35, and the Bison were forced to punt.  This was a drive that had points written all over it, and keeping them off the board bought the Hoyas some time.

Fourth Quarter: With 9:25 to play, Bucknell had drove to Georgetown five and a touchdown from QB Ralph Rucker had just been overturned by an offensive holding penalty. Still, the Bison had momentum, and Rucker's pass to WR Josh Gary in the end zone would have given Bucknell the lead. Gary dropped it, and the Bison had to settle for a field goal.

Fourth Quarter: 3:38 remaining: yes, the missed  Bucknell field goal was big, but perhaps an even more consequential play happened for the Hoyas on a third and two at the Georgetown 28. Fall short here, and the Bison get the ball back somewhere near midfield with three minutes (and two time outs) to get that winning score. Savion Hart rushes for two yards, and instead of kicking with 3:35 to play, the Hoyas get a first down and squeeze nearly two minutes off the clock for the Bison's last hope.

Fourth Quarter: With 24 seconds remaining, the Georgetown defense had withstood a pair of long incomplete passes, each of which could have conceivably won the game. On a  fourth and 10 inside the Georgetown 45, the defense simply did not allow Rucker to dial up a third pass play, and so saved the win.

Any of those four, any of them, go the other way, and it's a different game, and likely a loss. It's why coaches preach the need to focus on every play as the most important play of the game, because sometimes it's just that.

2. Good News On Attendance: With no fanfare, and even less promotion, home attendance through four games at Cooper Field bears some support. 

Through those four games, average home attendance is  3,262 per game. At many schools, this would be cause for widespread panic, but given the state of affairs at Georgetown, where parking is scarce, seating few, amenities lacking, and a student body that, post-COVID, doesn't experience a culture of athletic support, it's a good number; in fact, it's trending for the largest attendance since 1978, when games were held on the baseball field as Kehoe Field awaited the air rights under Yates Field House.

Two games remain, and there' s always room for more.

More on this Thursday.

3. Around The PL:

Holy Cross 34, Lafayette 28: The Crusaders have staked its claim to the driver's seat for the league's one (and likely, only) playoff berth, jumping to a  21-0 lead and fighting off two fourth quarter drives from the Leopards, the last one ending 16 yards short of the goal line. Crusader QB Joe Pesansky continues to be the most efficient signal caller in the conference: just 183 yards in the air, but eight of 12 on third down and no sacks surrendered. It's a tough loss for the defending PL champions, who are down two games to Holy Cross with three to play, traveling to Bucknell this weekend.

Merrimack 51, Colgate 17: No one saw this coming--the Warriors ran up 535  yards total offense on a Colgate team coming off its win over Georgetown. Colgate QB Jake Stearney was held to 155 passing yards and two interceptions as the Red Raiders were outscored  34-7 after halftime. The loss clinches a fifth losing season for the Red Raiders over the past six seasons.

Lehigh  33, Fordham 19: The Engineers are trending upward as they meet the Hoyas Saturday, taking a 31-3 halftime lead en route to the win. Fordham, winless at 0-8, was held to 98 yards rushing and allowed 246 while Lehigh scored on five consecutive possessions to end the first half. More on the Engineers Friday, but its rushing game was clicking Saturday. As for Fordham, they will host Colgate.

Week 7 Thoughts

 

Some thoughts following Colgate's 38-28 win over Georgetown Saturday:

1. Follow The Trend: It was disappointing, but not altogether surprising in perhaps the most one-sided rivalry in FCS.. It's not about trickery or even the Colgate "hoodoo" (that's a reference to its old rivalry with Syracuse), but a consistent theme Georgetown has faced over the years. Excepting Davidson, the Hoyas' defense can struggle with teams that run the football.

In 2024, Georgetown is 3-0 when opponents rush under 40 times a game and 0-3 when they go over 40. In the prior three seasons, it's 1-12 when teams loads up on the run like this.  For a Colgate team with mixed results in the passing game is this season, it was a smart move and one which set the course for the second half. Colgate got a lead and Georgetown had to play from behind. More often than not, that's a winning formula for the Red Raiders, and not for the Hoyas.

Apologies to those who saw the Pre-Game Report page and asked "where's Michael Brescia, the scheduled starting QB?" Brescia was apparently injured but that didn't stop the media notes from selling this start, much as Georgetown's media notes keep listing Naieem Kearney starting at running back when he hasn't played in the last two games. If he maintains the starting role, Jake Stearney will have his hands full to maintain a ground game, given that Colgate finishes the season with four road games in its next five against some solid rushing defense teams. 

Offensively, the Hoyas did not play poorly: 415 total yards, 5-11 on third down, 3-4 in the red zone. Danny Lauter's two interceptions could have been impactful had they succeeded, but neither were the cause for the loss. Simply put, very few teams can give up 24 points in a half and that's what Georgetown did. It's a cautionary note as they Bucknell, as the Bison got behind 24-0 in the first half of its game with Cornell and never contended thereafter.

First half or second half, Georgetown has traditionally allowed Colgate a lot of points. Over the past 20 seasons the Red Raiders average  32.0 points per game against the Hoyas, most of any PL opponent. This marks the fourth consecutive season GU has lost by 10 points to Colgate, but four losses nonetheless.

2. The Road Ahead: All that said, if someone told you in August (it wasn't me) that Georgetown would hit the home stretch of its schedule at 4-3 without major injuries, many fans would look upon that with no small amount of hope. And heading down the stretch, that's where the Hoyas are.

Four games remain over five weeks, there at home and one at Fordham where the Rams are enduring a winless season, though they can't be taken for granted. Five scenarios are on the table:

Win four, and Georgetown wins its first Patriot League title. Barring a crazy run by Colgate on the road, the Hoyas would own the tiebreaker on every other teams and earn a NCAA playoff invitation. Historic.

Win three, and Georgetown is in the mix for a PL co-championship. The league is unlikely to see an at-large invitation to the playoffs, but 7-4 would be an extraordinary accomplishment.

Win two, and Georgetown is out of the PL race but earns a long-awaited winning season, something it has done once in the last quarter century.

Win one, and it's another frustrating 5-6 finish.

Win none, and  that's even more frustrating.

Three opportunities at home are a rare one this late in the season. No one confuses Cooper Field with Sanford Stadium, but these are three games where the team won't be on a bus to Lewisburg, to Bethlehem, or to Worcester. 

It is, again, an opportunity. Let's start that journey on Saturday

3. Around The PL:

Lafayette 35, Sacred Heart 17: The Leopards returned to form in this non-conference game, rushing 56 times for 297 yards (after just 69 yards against Georgetown the week before) and thoroughly dominating the Pioneers. A key PL game with Holy Cross Saturday is likely to determine the front runner for the PL crown thereafter.

Harvard 35, Holy Cross 34: This one could fill up a couple of pages--with three touchdowns in the final 1:44, the Crusaders battled back from 27-14 down to tie the score with no time remaining, only to fall short on a two point conversion. Writes the Harvard Crimson of the late game heroics:

"Holy Cross refused to give up, quickly making its way down the field. As Holy Cross receiver Byron Shipman jumped up in the air and collected a throw from Pesansky in the end zone, shock initially filled the air in Harvard Stadium. However, a massive offensive pass interference call reversed the touchdown and left little opportunity for Holy Cross to tie the game. 

One play later, Pesansky threw up the ball for another Hail Mary attempt and watched as both teams juggled it. The pass was initially ruled incomplete but officials sought a replay review.

Harvard fans looked on anxiously as the decision came. The ruling on the field stood, but one second was put back on the game clock — just enough for one more Hail Mary attempt.  On his third try, Pesansky finally struck gold as the Crusaders found the end zone as the clock expired. But [Harvard] ensured that Holy Cross’ crusade ended one point short."

A mere 3-5, Holy Cross is still the team to beat in the PL, and its game Saturday will be memorable.

Yale 38, Lehigh 23: It's been a productive year for Ivy League teams versus the Patriot League, and was the case in this one, as the Bulldogs picked up two touchdowns in the final 3:07 of the first half and never looked back. Lehigh actually outgained Yale in this one but four turnovers proved monumental. At 3-3, the Engineers host Fordham this Saturday.

Cornell 34, Bucknell 21: An upset of sorts in this one, where the Bison went to backup quarterback Michael Hardyway following an injury to Ralph Rucker the week prior. Three fumbles proved Bucknell's undoing, as the Big Red led 27-7 in the second quarter and never looked back.

H. Daniel Droze Jr. (1936-2024)

(Archived from the front page, Oct. 22, 2024.)

From the Georgetown Gridiron Club account on Facebook, news of the passing of former Georgetown assistant football coach Dan Droze at the age of 88.

To Georgetown players and alumni, Droze was the defensive coach for 25 seasons from 1968 through 1992, a tenure on the Georgetown football sidelines matched by only one other man in school history, current head coach Rob Sgarlata. Droze's place in Washington sports predates Georgetown by over a decade, however.

Following the Supreme Court decision in Bolling v. Sharpe, 1954 was the last season of segregated schools in the District, which featured a "Division I" of seven all-white schools (Anacostia, Coolidge, Eastern, McKinley, Roosevelt, Western, and Wilson) and a "Division II" of the city's five black schools (Armstrong, Cardozo, Dunbar, Phelps, Spingarn). Despite the administration of all 12 schools under the Interhigh banner, games were not scheduled between the divisions until the following season.

Droze grew up in Southeast Washington and was an all-Met halfback at Anacostia HS. Anacostia won the 1954 Division I Interhigh championship, but it was what happened after the season that earned Droze a place in local sports history.

Droze was invited to a first-ever exhibition game featuring an all-Interhigh team to face St. John's, the all-white private school champion, at Griffith Stadium. With a team of 22 white players and 11 black players chosen across eight of the 12 high schools, it was the first integrated football game in DC history. Before a crowd of 8,800 at Griffith Stadium, it was Droze who threw a halfback pass late in the game to Cardozo's Dave Harris (a future football star at Kansas) for a 12-7 win. In stark contrast to the 1962 race riot at DC Stadium that ended public-private championship football games in Washington, the outcome of this game and Harris' game-winning catch did not lead to any violence at the outcome.

Following high school, Droze earned a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, playing three seasons for the Tar Heels. Following military service, he became an investment advisor in the Washington area and played semi-pro football with the Virginia Sailors, which introduced him to Georgetown coach Mike Agee and later, a fellow DC high school star who had also played in the ACC: Scott Glacken.

Droze and Glacken joined the Georgetown staff in 1968 as assistant coaches under Maurice Dubofsky, who succeded Agee when his job took him out of the area. Glacken became head coach two years later following Dubofsky's death at the age of 60. Droze's 25 years as an assistant coach was largely selfless, given that Glacken couldn't pay his assistants enough for the hours they devoted to the team. He retired after Glacken's dismissal as head coach in early 1993.

"Guys who played for Droze said he was tough, instilling them with integrity, discipline and strength," writes the Gridiron Club notice. "As a member of former head coach Scotty Glacken's staff, coach Droze worked with the defensive backfield, including all-America selections of Jim Chesley, Alex Poulos, and Jim Corcoran...Twice in those years, the Hoyas finished in the top ten of the best small college teams in the East. The 1978 team finished 7-1, the best showing by a Georgetown team since 1939-1940, and came within a single point of finishing the season undefeated and qualifying for the Div. III playoffs.

"If not for the selfless contributions of Dan Droze, Georgetown football would not have survived and prospered as it did. Rest in Peace, Coach. Hoya Saxa."

Week 6 Thoughts

 Some thoughts following Georgetown's 17-0 win over Lafayette:

1. The Power of Turnovers: Georgetown's first shutout ever against a PL opponent and its first shutout on the road since 2004 was fueled by defensive intensity and four key turnovers. 

It's been said that a turnover is a net 4 points in possible scoring and Lafayette gave up four of them with two offering serious scoring potential of its own:

1. First quarter: a pass picked off by Zeraun Daniel at the Georgetown 20;

2. Third quarter: A midfield INT from Cooper Blomstrom (with the assist from Kolubah Pewee) that set up a Georgetown touchdown;

3. Fourth quarter: an alert play from Zeraun Daniel picked off the pass in the Georgetown end zone;

4. Fourth quarter: a midfield pick that ended Lafayette's hopes to get this closer.

If Lafayette gets those two scores instead, a 17-14 score in the fourth quarter is a completely different ball game. 

While the Lafayette TV announcers were a little down on QB Dean Dinobile for the throws, only the last one was particularly errant--the Georgetown run defense sufficiently closed the door on RB Jamar Curtis (14-53) and held a quarterback  averaging 70 percent completions after five games a mere 10 for 38: outstanding.

Keeping the Leopards on zero also had a cumulative effect.  When the scores are to and fro, such as they are in the SEC of late, no lead seems too large and nearly anyone can mount a comeback in the final five minutes. This never seemed to be the case with the Leopards, who seemed to wane early in the fourth quarter, having never entered the Georgetown red zone..

We are unlikely to see a repeat as such (Colgate's last shutout at home was to Villanova in 2001) but  if the Hoyas can control the Red Raiders on the ground (where they are second in the PL to date), the secondary can go to work while the GU offense can test a Colgate secondary currently ranked last in the PL.

The prospects are encouraging.

2. Learning To Win: One of the meaningful by-products from a game such as this is the ability for a young team (and yes, it's young) to learn the time-tested adage in sports: one has to learn how to win before they can be a winner. For too long at 37th and O , that hasn't been possible.

The upperclassmen on this team didn't get that. The Hoyas lost more than a season when the University  passed on the 2020 season, it lost continuity with the  2018 and 2019 teams that were making headway with the standings. Yes, many players returned in 2021, but it wasn't the same.

The 2024 Hoyas are learning the lessons: protecting the quarterback, third down conversions, defensive agility. It's allowed the team to play looser and not go into a box when behind, as was successful with Columbia, and to play with confidence with a lead, as was successful with Lafayette. It takes a certain confidence to have just one first down in the last 21 minutes of the game not go into a panic, because they know what they needed to do, and just as importantly, what not to.

Georgetown's not running the table, but the ability to put itself in a position to win late in the season where it traditionally does not (we spoke of this before) can be transformative.

3. The Reverse Curse Of Fisher Stadium: There's no good answer for why Georgetown plays as well as it does at Lafayette's Fisher Stadium, and I'm sure there are a few Leopard fans who ask themselves the same question. 

Of the six Patriot League road locations, Lafayette is the only one where Georgetown has a winning record: 6-5, three consecutive, and five of the last seven. There's no magic there, inasmuch as the games are usually played in mid-October (where the Hoyas are stronger than at end of year), the games are almost always in good weather, and for the most part, the teams have been more competitive than, say, Georgetown and Holy Cross.

Still, it's a noticeable difference between a  game in Easton (or Lewisburg, where GU is  5-7 versus Bucknell) versus Colgate, where colder weather and the long bus rode north tend to take their toll, as Georgetown is 0-9 versus the Red Raiders at Andy Kerr Stadium. Much as Georgetown finally broke through at Lehigh's Goodman Stadium, a win Saturday in Hamilton would be another significant step forward for this program.

4. Around The PL:

Holy Cross 19, Fordham 15: One of only three games in the Patriot League last week, Holy Cross' eighth consecutive win in the Ram-Crusader Cup series said a lot about both teams.

A Homecoming crowd of 10,223 at Fitton Field saw a much better game than those eyeing Fordham's winless record might suspect. The Rams (0-7, 0-2) had three first half possessions ending in Holy Cross territory but managed only a pair of field goals, controlling the first half with a 6-3 lead. The Rams led 13-6 midway in the third when Holy Cross quarterback Joe Pesansky led the Crusaders (3-4, 2-0) on drives of 65 and 75 yards to gain the lead with 6:14 to play, and close the Rams down in the final 1:03 for the win. The win elevates HC to the team with the momentum for the top of the league standings, while Fordham, off to its worst start since 2005, is seeking answers with an otherwise talented lineup. While Holy Cross travels to Harvard, Fordham enters the bye week.

Pennsylvania 31, Bucknell 21: Ralph Rucker continues to make his case as the top quarterback in the PL, going 13-13 to open the game and 26-34 overall, but the Quakers (2-2) put this game away after halftime with 21 unanswered on the Bison (3-3, 1-0) . Penn got  146 yards from RB Malachi Hosley while holding the Bison to just 115 yard on the ground. A crowd of just 2,054 ranks among the smallest in memory at stately Franklin Field for this one. Bucknell returns home to host Cornell this weekend,

Unrealized Promise

 

An article in the September 28 issue of the Georgetown Voice confirmed what many of us at a distance probably knew all along: Cooper Field is not a very good place to watch a college football game.

Oh, it is far better than its predecessor: the wayward Kehoe Field reconstruction was a 1970s workaround that was  never going to last. And for those of us who followed the two decades of University over-promises and chronic under-deliveries of all that was the Multi-Sport Facility, today's Cooper Field will never meet those initial expectations, and is a monument of sorts to the administrative Tweed ring that didn't want the project on its permanent record. All that aside, it is what is, and serves its purpose, though as it was once suggested, it is more valuable to Georgetown for what is underneath the stands (locker rooms) than what is above it (seating).

The article pointed out three issues that will lead to some more commentary on this moving forward.

1. You can't get students to attend a game if they are unaware of it. Promotion of home football games is largely nonexistent. There is no signage, no banners in the Leavey Center, nothing. It's like going to a concert: you're unlikely to go on your own and even less likely to go if you don't know when it is. Add in the general malaise of Georgetown sports teams (read=men's basketball) over the collegiate life span of today's students, and absent awareness of the product, they will not wander over to see it.

A root cause for promotion also leads to a Tweed ring of sorts. In earlier times you could count on, at least, an article in the Voice or The HOYA, but the former prints an issue only monthly and the latter's issue seems to come out when they get around to it. You could look to Hoya Blue, but their last Twitter post as April 4 and its Instagram feed this fall is largely reposts from the soccer team. 

The staff? Well, this would presume as to which staff you're talking about. The athletic department has no promotions staff per se, at least not one without men's basketball or a paid promotion. The Alumni Association staff works for the Office of Advancement, which isn't promoting athletic events beyond Homecoming. The Student Association? Forget it.

2. Once students get there, what is there to do? In many cases, very little. The band and cheerleaders, which formerly assumed seating as fans walked inside the stands (temporary or otherwise) have now been sent north to the far reaches of the stands adjacent to the Hariri Building-- inaudible under the needless PA system blasting out "Crazy Train" on second down and out of sight to students walking up and wondering where everyone is. 

Are there promotions for student attendance: a free t-shirt, a field goal try for free books, that sort of stuff? No.  Is GUGS there? No. How about a tailgate for students? No.

And then there's the fact that Cooper Field is visually unfriendly to Generation Z, being the only stadium in the Patriot League without so much as a basic video board, one which was promoted in Multi-Sport Facility plans as early as 2003. Millions for basketball, but no money for a video board, and thus fans are left to rely on that soccer scoreboard  built in 1992 to follow the game.

Concessions are, well, underwhelming. At the Columbia game, I stood in line to order a hot dog which, I kid you not, looked like a two inch sausage link you would see at breakfast.  Pre-game promotions, food trucks, songs that were written after, say, 1985, and basic Fan Interaction 101 all seem lost at these games, and that won't attract a generation to which group activities are still a little foreign having spent their formative years sitting alone in their room and staying away from people.

3. The most visible lack of interaction is community. Cooper Field was built with "sections" but no assigned seating, and that goes for students. Once they go there, where will their friends be?

Way back when, our freshman dorm floor had four or five players on the team, and we made it a point to sit as a group and cheer them on if any of them got into the game. I noted this in the Columbia game when nine or ten students filled up the row where I was sitting and seemed interested in getting up some spirit, or maybe they had some spirits of their own beforehand.

One of them started a cheer for Giancarlo Rufo. "Rufo!" he said. "Ruuuufo! "RUUUFFFO!" and the nearby fans seem to enjoy it.  Spontaneous? Sure. Silly? Perhaps. But fun.  

Georgetown University clams to be a lot of things, but fun generally isn't high on that list. There aren't going to be many memories for the Class of 2025 staring at Instagram or in the Pierce Reading Room.  Three hours on a Saturday afternoon couldn't hurt. Getting outside and having a little fun at a game like this might be a welcome Saturday diversion from saving the environment and exploring the impact of health equity on indigenous populations in Oklahoma.

Tiara Haggins, the author of the Voice piece, ended her story as follows:

"Although football isn’t our main sport, these changes would be a good start to building a real student section—even if we aren’t good. You can have school spirit and never win—just think of our men’s basketball team, they only won nine of the 32 games they played last year, yet my seniors say the stands are always radiating with energy. 

I believe Hoya Blue and Athletics have a responsibility to make games more enjoyable so more students will come. But more than that, I hope that students make an effort to show up and show out at our games. Football is only as much fun as you get out of it. We can revitalize the student section of our football games. It will be difficult, but think of how much fun they could be! Almost as fun, I imagine, as our basketball games. 

We may not be good at football, but we’ll never know if our team could’ve been better with just a little bit of crowd support."

That journey begins with a first step. Let's start.

Week 5 Thoughts

 

Some thoughts following Georgetown's 20-17 win over Columbia:

1. Mr. Little Has Returned To The Building: We'll talk about the key points of the game below, but it's no small accomplishment that Georgetown was able to get a win against an opponent, and a conference, where it has been noncompetitive in recent years. Sometimes fans hear that if Georgetown is non-scholarship and the Ivy League is non-scholarship, there must be some sort of competitive parity at play. Such is not the case.

For any number of reasons, from admissions to financial aid to program support, Georgetown trails every Ivy League school and the results are on the field. At 8-34, that's not competitive, and it's a future discussion to what end Georgetown seeks in playing these teams versus others. What was a solid takeaway from Saturday's game is that while Columbia isn't Harvard, it was an opponent that Georgetown could play at a competitive level and prevail in. 

The series itself, well, that's to be determined. Nether side said as much, but the Lou Little Trophy appears to be suspended for a while. Georgetown's schedule gets tighter with the addition of Richmond to the Patriot League and with new leadership at Columbia, they may seek other opponents as well. When these teams return to the gridiron, this can be a series worth considering, but it needs to be one which Georgetown can compete in.

As for Georgetown's Ivy League opponent going forward, Brown, the Hoyas are 1-6. There's more work to be done.

2. Three Keys: In the Pre-Game Report for this game, we identified three areas where the Hoyas needed to excel to maker this game, and they did all three:

Turnovers: Columbia beat Lafayette on the strength of a  +2 margin on turnovers. Georgetown won this game on the turnover line: two interceptions in the Columbia red zone, a fumble driving for a score late in the first half,  and the key interception late in the fourth. Any +4 mark on turnovers is a big, big deal in close games like this, and it's both a credit to the Georgetown defensive effort in this game as well as the ball control exhibited by an offense that had given up four interceptions in the last two games an none Saturday versus Columbia. Well done.

Defensive Penetration: One of the underrated stories of 2024 has been the ability of Georgetown's offensive line to protect its quarterback. It did not allow a sack on Danny Lauter in Saturday's game. Georgetown is ranked 13th in the nation in this statistic. To its credit, Columbia is right alongside Georgetown.  With a less productive rushing game, the Hoyas go as far as its passing game will take them, and this protection is essential for Georgetown moving forward.

Field Position: Georgetown's average field position was at its 32, and no possession inside its 20. Columbia started, on average from its 20, but with five possessions inside its 20 and two inside its 10.  The field position gave Georgetown a chance to compete, and it delivered.

And can we salute the Georgetown secondary? Columbia's All-Ivy receiver Bryson Canty had 39 yards in the air on the Lions' opening possession, and 21 in the opening possession of the second half. The rest of the game? None.

3. Goals For The Bye Week: There are three: 1) rest. 2) revisit the run game, and 3) drill down on special teams. More on each in next week's column.

4. Around The PL: 

Bucknell 38, Lehigh 35 (OT). Did anyone have this upset on their calendar? In a game that had a little of everything, including a 100 yard kickoff reception and a  79 yard interception returned for a touchdown, the Bison (3-2, 1-0) gave up 500 total yards on the road and nearly 37 minutes of time of possession but battled back to force overtime on the Engineers (3-2, 0-1) and picked up the game winning fumble in the second. It's arguably one of the biggest Bucknell wins over the last decade and even though this is not the Lehigh team of old, it's done something that relatively few Bucknell teams have had entering October: they're in the conversation. Both schools have the week ahead off.

Syracuse 42, Holy Cross 14: No surprise here as the Orangemen at home were too much for HC to overcome.  However, Holy Cross (1-4) is improving every week and, despite so much loss from last season's team,  is going to contend. Its game at Colgate next week is a must-win for both teams.

Pennsylvania  27, Colgate 14: lat week, I said that Colgate might be one of the best 1-3 teams in the nation, and now that they're 1-4, it still applies. Penn was strong throughout but Colgate was never pout of action, thanks to a PL record-tying 16 catches from WR Treyvhon Saunders. The Red Raiders ' game tying drive fell short by one yard with 2:43 to play, and the Quakers ran out the clock. Saturday's game with Holy Cross will be telling for both teams.

Monmouth 63, Fordham 21: If the wheels aren't off the bus on the  2024 Rams (0-5), they're wobbling. Injuries have decimated its offense, but the Hawks (3-2) hung 49 points on the Kessler Stadium scoreboard by halftime and never looked back.  Fordham was outgained 571-278 and allowed 407 yards on the ground and 14.5 yards per completion. A home matchup with Lafayette, coming off its bye week at 2-2,  is make or break for the Rams.

Week 4 Thoughts

 

Some thoughts following Brown's 26-14 win over Georgetown Saturday:

1. The Cook vs. The Baker: We can discuss specific plays and what-ifs, but Saturday's game was an example of the contrast of a head coach in basketball and a had coach in football. A basketball coach (think Ed Cooley) is a little like a short order cook: he can substitute ingredients on the fly and turn up the heat when it's required to get the meal just right. As last year made clear, a good cook can't make chicken salad out of.. less than that, but he can make changes in rapid fashion.

By contrast, a college football coach (think Rob Sgarlata) is more of a baker. The off-season and pre-season collected the ingredients and the season cooks it. He knows how far the ingredients will take him and whether the dough will rise or fall. He can't easily change ingredients on the fly: Savion Hart will not come off the bench and rush for 150 yards a game, for example, and Chris Martin is not going to lead the team in tackles. Sgarlata knows what he has, and what he does not.

Losses like Brown are discouraging not solely because of the opponent but that history suggests this is a course that Georgetown cannot easily self-correct. Since  2005, Georgetown went 1-4 after five games seven times and finished with just one additional  victory for the rest of the season in five of these.  A 2-3 mark after five games has been seen a net +1.67 wins thereafter, but a 3-+2 start builds an average of  +2.5 additional wins the remainder of the season. With two exceptions, most recently in 2018, Georgetown does not catch momentum in the second half of the season. What's in the oven comes out as expected.

Since 2014, Georgetown's cumulative record through September 30 is 19-23 .452). In the month of October, 10-26 (.277). In November, 3-21 (.125). We can't do much about November right now but Saturday's game is a window into how far this team can reach  past its track record of declining returns as the schedule picks up and the injuries mount.

2. The Ivy Experiment: I hope to speak more about this next week, but a provocative question: does Georgetown need to rethink scheduling Ivy League schools in the future?

With the exception of a 0-0 tie at Penn in 1937,  Georgetown had seen comparatively little of the Ivies after the 1920s. It had never scheduled Brown, Cornell, Harvard or Yale, met Dartmouth once, and was a combined 0-9-1 versus Columbia, Penn and Princeton.

In the 21 years since Georgetown upset Cornell on a windy October afternoon at Schoellkopf Field, the dreams of the Ninth Ivy have been fleeting.

In games versus Cornell and Columbia, the two lesser lights of the Ancient Eight over the last few decades, Georgetown is a combined 5-7. Against everyone else, 2-26, including a woeful 0-15 versus Harvard, Penn, and Yale. Yes, the argument has persisted since the Bob Benson days that these are the peer schools with which we compete, scholarship-free, the love of the game, the last amateurs, etc. 

What are they doing that Georgetown is not? 

Some of this may already have been answered. Saturday marks the end of the 10-year Lou Little Cup. Brown is the only publicly identified Ivy opponent going forward. Harvard signed deals with Pioneer teams like Stetson and St. Thomas for wins (Stetson obliged last week, 35-0).  So where does Georgetown go from here?

3. Around the PL:

Lehigh 35, Princeton 20: Some good signs on South Mountain, as the Engineers (3-1) won its first game over an Ivy League opponent in eight years.  Lehigh led  21-7 at the half and put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 34 yard TD run before 6,217 at Murray Goodman Stadium. This week,  Lehigh hosts Bucknell (2-2).

Bucknell 34, Marist 18:  The three week non-conference sojourn by the new look Red Foxes was another loss, this time in Lewisburg.  Ralph Rucker completed 21 of 27 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns as Bucknell led 27-7 at halftime and was not seriously challenged in a home game before 2,474. Saturday's game with Lehigh could be an early test to see if the Bison can escape the second tier of PL play on Rucker's shoulders.

Columbia 31, Lafayette 20: A warning for Georgetown in this one, where the Lions, in their first game of the season, rung up 447 yards on the #19 ranked Leopards, for its first win over a ranked team since 2005 before 3,592 at Wien Stadium. Columbia quarterback Chase Goodwin was 16 of 19 for  180 yards, while the Lions averaged  5.5 yards per carry on the ground. For Lafayette, they will have a bye week and regroup.

Colgate  41, Cornell 24: As predicted, the Red Raiders have ended their regular September slumber and are making moves. Colgate scored on its first five possessions of the game and stopped the Big Red on two latte drives to seal the win before 2,984 at Andy Kerr Stadium. The Red Raiders (1-3) travel to Penn (0-1) this weekend.

Yale 38, Holy Cross 31: the Crusaders may be among the best 1-3 teams in the nation, losing another late battle, this time via a nine play drive in the final 3:30 that ended on a three yard touchdown run with 12 seconds remaining before a season high 15,113 at Fitton Field.  HC outgained the Elis 426-394 but Yale was 9-18 on third downs and owned a 3:30 advantage on time pf possession, which was just about the time of that last drive. The Crusaders' hope for a return to form must wait another week, however, as they travel to meet the Orangemen of Syracuse for a payday game on Saturday. The Crusaders have dropped 10 straight in what was once a more regular series, with its last win coming at Fitton Field  in 1958. In its last game in 2019, Syracuse won going away, 41-3.

Dartmouth 45, Fordham 13: Another rough week for the Rams, as they were  down 24-7 to the Indians by halftime and gave up 6.5 yards per carry en route to Dartmouth's game high 233 rushing yards and three touchdowns before 3,573 at Memorial Field in Hanover. Reserve Jack Capaldi was 23-43 for just 187 yards for Fordham, now 0-4 and traveling to Monmouth (2-2) in what should be a must-win opportunity.

Week 3 Thoughts

 

 

Some thoughts from Sacred Heart's 40-14 win over Georgetown this past Saturday... while wondering if Georgetown is the only Division I school without a video board in 2024: 

1. What We Learned. This was a surprise in all phases of the game: an offense that ground to a halt after two productive weeks, a defense that could not contain the run against an opponent that was held to 10 points by a winless Division II school, the most turnovers in any game in eight years. It had all the trappings of week three of the 2023 season, where the Hoyas stumbled against Division I newcomer Stonehill, 23-20.

Except this game wasn't as close.

Saturday's game was less a "trap" game than a "window" game, because it opened a window to the three issues that Georgetown must address, and soon, for it to make a serious run at that elusive winning season. 

First, the run defense remains a concern. Sacred Heart had just 146 yards against Division II St. Anselm the week before, and went for 264 yards, 125 yards more than Georgetown. Yes, it was warm. Yes, it was on the road. Yes, the early injury to VeRon Garrison hurt, but this was a team effort regardless. The next two Ivy opponents finished near the bottom of the Ivy League in rushing last season (Brown, 96.0 yards per game, Columbia 128.7), so any repeat of Saturday's ground game would be alarming heading into Patriot League play.  

Second, the Georgetown run game has a natural ceiling, and it arrived Saturday. Marist and Davidson are not I-AA quality rush defenses, and  Sacred Heart shone a light as to what other teams will due to what is a limited GU backfield. Again, Mason Gudger's injury didn't help, but the Hoyas need more out of its backfield to give the passing game time to develop. And while we're at it:

Third, this was a concerning game for QB Danny Lauter. He started 10 for 10, but  struggled down the stretch, with one of the Sacred Heart announcers openly wondering if he was playing through an injury. Brief appearances by Dez Thomas and Jacob Holtschlag in the fourth quarter did not give the early appearance that there is a Gunther Johnson ready to succeed Clay Norris out there (pardon the 2017-era reference), but Lauter needs to be ready for Brown on Saturday.

2. What They Learned: From two so-so games to open the season, Sacred Heart played their best football at the right time--before a season high crowd at a Homecoming game that looked more like Georgetown of the 18-drinking age 1980s. Sacred Heart will never be confused with Syracuse, but the beer garden, a busy marching band, and a general school spirit not always seen in Northwest Washington helped carry the Pioneers to the win.

These are uncertain times for the Pioneers in football. Moving to the MAAC consigned its football team to, for now, a nomadic existence as an independent--in fact, along with fellow NEC outcast Merrimack, they're the only two independents in the subdivision, making future scheduling, especially later in the season, a nightmare. The 2025 schedule, at least publicly, has only four schools on the Pioneers' platter: at Norfolk State, at Montana, a home game with Lafayette, and a likely game with Merrimack. The game this past week with Georgetown was the return game from last season and is not likely to return soon with the addition of Richmond to PL schedules next fall. 

3. Why Sacred Heart? It's probably a good time to remind readers why Georgetown was playing Sacred Heart in the first place. Simply put, supply and demand.

Let's start at the top. There are 262 Division I teams, of which roughly half (130) are FBS, the "B" standing for "bowl". A win over Georgetown does not count for bowl eligibility, so the big schools won't be calling. Of the 132 schools remaining,  as many as 115 of them are playing guarantee games in the first three weeks of the season against those FBS schools for a guarantee fee, so Georgetown isn't a choice when these schools can take a check from TCU (as LIU did) or Central Florida (as New Hampshire did) or even Rutgers (as Howard took advantage of.)  

Add to this that the Ivy League doesn't play in the first two weeks of the season, Georgetown doesn't travel beyond a 6-8 hour bus trip to schedule opponents, and wants a home and away series in lieu of a one-way road trip to Chesterton IL or Beaumont, TX. 

So who's left out of those constraints?  You guessed it: Marist, Davidson, the occasional NEC or MEAC schools without a guarantee opponent that week, or the independents. As much as some of us would like to see a Villanova, a Howard, a Towson, or even some distant opponent which could raise the collective eyebrow of the local sports community, it won't come unless and until Georgetown is an opponent worth scheduling, which they are not and in some ways chooses not to be.

4. New England Is Not Hoya Country: Saturday's game was the eighth game (and only the eighth) Georgetown has played in Connecticut: GU's record is 1-7. It's not much better in New Hampshire (0-1) or Rhode Island (0-3). Massachusetts has more wins (12-25-1) but many of those wins predate the modern era. Why is this? The short answer is distance. A 5-8 hour bus trip takes its toll. While there are FCS teams Georgetown have not played (Bryant, Central Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Merrimack), these seem like long shots in what will be a four game non-conference slate going forward. Remember, those first three weeks figure to be the majority of open dates and teams will be looking elsewhere. 

5. Around the Patriot League: A competitive week for the Soon-To-Be-Eight, with one exception. Let's start there.

Stony Brook 27, Fordham 21:  A half-empty Homecoming crowd of 3,112 at the former Jack Coffey Field saw the Rams drop its third straight, losing a fourth quarter lead with a pair of interceptions that led to the winning margin.  Starting quarterback C.J. Montes was lost to injury in the game and his status remains uncertain heading into what is likely a must win scenario at Dartmouth, where the Big Green were tri-champions in the Ivy last season.

Holy Cross 43, Bryant 22: A strong second half piloted the Crusaders (1-2) past Bryant (1-2) for its first win of the season.  Quarterback Joe Pesansky was an efficient 11 for 14 for 100 yards but the HC defense stepped up, holding the Bulldogs to 94 yards on the ground. Holy Cross hosts Yale in the Elis' season opener but without leading running back Jordan Fuller, who is out for the season following an injury in the Bryant game.

Lehigh 20, LIU 17: Another PL team that needed a win, the Engineers (1-2) held off the homestanding Sharks (0-3) before just 1,643 at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. A key third quarter interception by Lehigh resulted in a 27 yard touchdown pass and the winning points in a game that could provide some momentum for Lehigh as they host Princeton.

Merrimack 31, Bucknell 21: Much like Georgetown, the Bison (1-2) were tripped up by an FCS independent, as the Warriors (1-2) scored 17 unanswered points in the second and third quarters for the win in Lewisburg,  Quarterback Ralph Rucker was held to just 141 yards for Bucknell and gave up two interceptions. A more reasonable opponent awaits as the Bison host Marist (0-2), who have been outscored 87-24 in two games versus PL opponents.

Lafayette 56, Marist 18: Smooth sailing for the Leopards in week three, putting up 528 yards in total offense and holding the Red Foxes to 43 yards on the ground. Lafayette travels to Columbia this Saturday.

Akron 31, Colgate 20:  A closer score than the final might indicate, the Red Raiders (0-3)  held a 17-0 first quarter lead before the Zips (1-2)( took control before 8,932 at  InfoCision Stadium. The teams traded turnovers late in the fourth quarter but Colgate could not pull closer at game's end. Winless after three weeks, this is usually the time the Raiders start to come together, and it might come this weekend hosting Cornell in its season opener.

Week 2 Thoughts

  Some thoughts following Georgetown's 31-10 win at Marist:

1. Expectations Met: A post at a FCS (I-AA) message board I visit asked this question: "When will we know if [the Hoyas] are really any good? It wasn't going to be answered Saturday at Marist, but we did pick up come clues.

Offensively, the line is doing great work in opening up holes for the backs and closing them on the rush. Through two games, Georgetown is averaging a healthy six yards per carry while QB Danny Lauter has not surrendered a sack. Entering Week Three, Georgetown is 26th nationally in rushing offense, an unusual place for the Hoyas to be when compared with prior years. By contrast, its 160 yards per game in passing is down from where it was at the end of the 2023 season, but that's a reflection of needs and opportunities. The defenses against the run among Ivy and Patriot teams will be a significant step up from what Pioneer teams offer, so Georgetown will be transitioning to more in the air as the season progresses.

Defensively, Georgetown settled down after the first Marist possession and held the Red Foxes to nine punts and a field goal thereafter, and four for 15 on third down possession. The rushing defense will be tested over the next three weeks, but they grade out well this far.

The return game have been very strong. The Hoyas started its first three drives of the second half at midfield, and that set the tone for a game which was still close at the half. In face, the last drive of the game, with the outcome certain, is the first drive all season where Georgetown started within its 20 yard line.

Yes, Georgetown was favored to win, and did, BUT let's give some well deserved credit to Marist. The Red Foxes opened its season Saturday with a new head coach, a new staff, and a largely new team, including 53 freshmen. Coach Mike Willis has the ingredients for a significantly improved Marist team in the Pioneer, and there were some encouraging signs in that first half. For forty minutes, the Red Foxes played the Hoyas close-- and with experience, will be a more formidable opponent going forward.

No rest for the weary, however-- Marist's next two games are at Lafayette and at Bucknell.  The Red Foxes won't be favored in either but its defensive line pressure against  LC's Dean DeNobile and BU's Ralph Rucker could makes these games reasonably competitive.

Georgetown met its expectations for Week Two, and take another step upward Saturday at Sacred Heart.

2. Getting It Right: When Georgetown next returns its game at Davidson, likely next year, it will do so at Davidson's new $54 million football facility, the 5,500 seat Davidson College Stadium on the northwest corner of that college's grounds. It's a world removed from the 100 year old Richardson Field, which was showing its age and wasn't going to last much longer.

 Davidson College Stadium is more than a football field, however, but the kind of true multi-sport facility that Georgetown once sought, but ultimately did not deliver on. Cooper Field is a monument of sorts to misplaced priorities and lost opportunities. At a glance, this facility puts Davidson right where it wants to be, and where it wants to be moving forward.

As its athletic director told the Charlotte Post, "We orient everything we do with facilities around the scholar athlete. This really was the culmination of looking at our previous facilities and create more enhancement and capacity around their wellness. This transforms everything we do; this transforms everything our scholar athletes are looking for and puts us on par with other bigger institutions in terms of the facilities they’re able to provide... There’s a lot of great things this space can do and accommodate. The concessions are fantastic, the food service we can provide. Beyond athletics, provides a really cool space for events and different opportunities. We wanted to create a space where we could bring people [together].”

If this harkens back to some of the hopes for the Multi-Sport Facility and its ill-fated partner, the McDonough Convocation Center, it does. But to its credit, Davidson got it right.

3. Around The Patriot League: After a rough open week for the other six schools, three schools picked up its first win of the season, while three others will seek that win this weekend.

Bucknell 35, VMI 28: Quarterback Ralph Rucker threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns as the Bison won on the road in Lexington. The Bison are making some real progress with Rucker at the helm and if the defense can hold its own, Bucknell will make a move up the standings. At 1-1 following the win, Bucknell hosts 0-2 Merrimack  following the Warriors' 63-14 loss at UConn.

Lehigh 49, Wagner 13: Good times returned to South Mountain, as the Engineers (1-1) routed the Seahawks 42-0 at the half en route to the five touchdown win. The halftime score was its most since 2001 (49-0 versus Georgetown) and the final score is largest since 2007. Wagner was held to just 22 yards at the break. Lehigh travels to LIU (0-2) following the Sharks' 45-0 loss at TCU,

Lafayette 40, Monmouth 35: The pre-season favorite for the Patriot League title continues to impress, as the Leopards (1-1) pulled off an improbable win at Kessler Stadium. As written at Monmouth's web site, "Monmouth took the lead with under two minutes remaining... to make it 35-28. Lafayette quickly answered by taking the ball 89 yards on four plays to pull within one. The Leopards opted to go for two and the lead, but Dean DeNobile's pass was knocked away by Deuce Lee at the goal line to keep Monmouth in front. With 53 seconds remaining, Lafayette needed an onside kick to keep its hopes alive and the Leopards were able to recover. A 42-yard connection from DeNobile to Elijah Steward with 36 seconds on the clock put the visitors ahead for good and capped a high-scoring fourth quarter." It's the kind of game that will pay dividends for the Leopards as they move forward. First up: 0-2 Marist.

New Hampshire 21, Holy Cross 20: No such luck for the Crusaders (0-2), who gave up a sack and an interception in the final minute to lose the upset bid versus the 2-1 Wildcats. Of particular pain: HC was 1 of 13 on third down. Next up for Holy Cross, a road game at Bryant (1-1).

Central Connecticut State 33, Fordham 3: This was a surprise: CCSU dominated this game, taking advantage of a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a safety en roure to a  19-0 halftime lead and the Blue Devils never looked back. The Rams (0-2) fumbled on three of its first five possessions and five turnovers overall in a rain-soaked game. Fordham hosts Stony Brook (1-1) in its Homecoming and home opener Saturday in the Bronx.

Villanova 28, Colgate 3: The Wildcats were too big and too fast, end of story. The usually strong rushing game of the Red Raiders (0-2) managed just 86 yards. Another tough assignment awaits Saturday as Colgate meets Akron (0-2), with the Zips coming off losses at Ohio State and at Rutgers.

Week 1 Thoughts

Some thoughts following Georgetown's 46-24 win over Davidson Saturday:

1. Controlling Davidson. To paraphrase its head coach, controllables were controlled in the Hoyas' opening week win.

The Wildcats are a unique team in FCS, and sufficiently difficult to prepare for in a meeting, that to the players, was its first ever, though Sgarlata and his staff had seen them in 2019. Much like Army, the ground game of Davidson is the best in its subdivision; but, also, like Army, it's not always enough to win, and Georgetown took advantage of this.  Yes, Davidson which led the nation in 2023 at over 300 yards a game and was ranked fifth in total offense. Yes, they were 5-4 versus Division I opponents last year because the ground game isn't always enough.

In the game, Davidson carried the ball 57 times for 245 yards, but it was not enough. Georgetown was able to control four of five key statistical trends in the game:

1. Total Yards: Georgetown. 369 to 345

2. Yards Per Play: Georgetown, 8.4 to 4.6

3. Red Zone Efficiency:  Georgetown  200% to Davidson's 75%

4. Net Turnovers Gained: Georgetown +2

5. Net Time of Possession: Davidson,  +17:52

That last statistic is an anomaly given Davidson's ruin game, and it's fair to say in all the Georgetown games I've followed over the years I'm hard pressed to remember any of them where the Hoyas gave up nearly 39 minutes of time of possession and won handily: it's not a common occurrence with any other common opponent.

Georgetown also took advantage of any number of potential turning points in this game and swung it to its collective advantage: the interception to end the second half with Davidson marching to a halftime lead, the first drive of the third quarter,  even the muffed punt that the defense was able to hold the Wildcats without a first down at midfield. Throughout the game, the Georgetown staff took note of a trend seen in Davidson's game all last season: its secondary is porous, and can give up big plays, and the Hoyas took full advantage.

Yes, it's Davidson and no one is confusing this opener with the opponents met by other Patriot League schools, which we'll discuss below. The Wildcats have a ceiling in the Pioneer and while this is the weakest of Georgetown's opponents at Cooper Field, it's a win a team needs to build its record. For a Georgetown teams which now needs to go .500 the rest of 2024 for that elusive winning season, it's one game at a time and this challenge can now be put on the shelf as Marist awaits.

2. Danny Lauter: The debut of junior quarterback Danny Lauter seemed a mixed one, given his record setting performance in his only game to date, namely, his 427 yards against Lafayette last season.

Lauter finished the afternoon 9 of 16 for 107 yards, with passes to six receivers. Seven of the nine receptions were eight yards or more, but none more than 20. No sacks, no interceptions, but no touchdowns either.

Call this a conservative game plan to open the season. Lauter was not given many long ball opportunities and given the success of the ground game, it wasn't needed. Fans could see much the same in the upcoming game at Marist, but the run game will grind down as the opponent level increases and Lauter needs the confidence upstairs in the coaching booth as well as on the field of apply to exert a more active passing attack. The need is obvious: Georgetown does not have a running game that can take over games.

It's one of the unfortunate byproducts of Georgetown's nonscholarship status: its backfield wears down as the season progresses. The stat sheets of the last two decades are filled with names which dominated its the early games of the season and struggled by November: Charlie Houghton, Nick Campanella, Joel Kimpela. It's not a knock on the current crew, but that the Hoyas tend to struggle as injuries mount and teams know that Georgetown is not deep in the backfield. This is where veteran quarterbacks step up and while Lauter is not there yet, his ability to get there is a story to watch in this first month of the season.

Georgetown has the talent to compete in the air game. We may not see it this week, but we'll need to see it soon.

3. Special Teams:  The goal of any opener for the special teams start with "do no harm" and the Hoyas met that standard Saturday. However, the issue with kickoffs still has some work ahead of it.

Two kickers were brought in to challenge for a role where punter Patrick Ryan has been less than effective: kickoffs. 

The Hoyas had nine kickoffs Saturday that resulted in no touchbacks, a trend seen last season as well.  Georgetown averaged 18.6 yards allowed on kickoff returns and an average starting field position at the opponent's 30 yard line. Much the same could be expected at Marist, where the Red Foxes aren't much better on kickoffs (the difference in last year's game was an average of one yard between them) but it's a point off concern as the season progresses. 

4. Around the Patriot League: Not a great week for the league, but to be fair, no one else was playing Davidson.

The PL was 1-6 overall in its opening week games, with Georgetown being the only win of the weekend. Much of this was expected with four schools (Bucknell, Fordham, Lafayette, Lehigh) playing FBS opponents. Overall, FCS was a combined  2-47 versus its major college opponents in week one, with wins form only Montana State and Villanova.

Perhaps the most interesting game came in Saturday's finale, where Holy Cross came back from 10 down in the fourth to take the lead at Rhode Island with 1:47 to play, only to see the Rams march 75 yards in 12 plays for the winning score. URI quarterback completed his final there passes of the evening for 61 yards for the win. There are going to be growing pains for a Holy Cross team which lost so many leaders following the 2023 season, but they sent a message that the Crusaders aren't going away. 

Other games for this week include the following:

Wagner (1-0) at Lehigh (0-1), 12:00 pm, ESPN+

Lafayette (0-1) at Monmouth (0-1), 1:00 pm, FloSports

Bucknell (0-1) at VMI (0-1), 1:30, ESPN+

New Hampshire (0-1) at Holy Cross (0-1), 2:00 pm, ESPN+

Villanova (1-0) at Colgate (0-1), 6:00 pm. ESPN+

Fordham (0-1) at Central Connecticut St. (0-1), 6:00 pm, NEC Front Row 

2024 Schedule

 

Here's a brief look at Georgetown's 2024 opponents.

Davidson (7-4 in 2023)

Aug. 31, Cooper Field

While fellow Patriot League schools travel to the likes of West Point, Annapolis, Buffalo, and Bowling Green, Georgetown does not get such opportunities for reasons long since discussed, and instead opens its 119th season versus Davidson, its first meeting with the Wildcats in five years and its first home game with Davidson since 2016.

There's little surprise as to what the Wildcats will do in week one: they will run. A lot. Davidson leads the FCS in rushing offense with 308 yards a game and ran the ball 75 times for 355 yards in their 27-20 win versus the Hoyas in 2019.  Junior RB Mari Adams rushed for 1,019 yards and was fifth nationally in rushing touchdowns with 15, while junior QB Coulter Cleland was fourth nationally in passing efficiency.

What Davidson takes in offense they give on defense, allowing 33.6 points per game in Pioneer play, 335 yards per game in yards allowed, and finished 114th or 122 FCS schools in pass efficiency defense. If a team can figure out the Davidson run schemes, they can control the game, but head coach Scott Abell's sets are sufficiently unique that it's no sure thing a week one opponents can shut them down.

Despite a combined record of 41-23 under Abell, Davidson has defeated only one Division I opponent out of conference: Georgetown, in 2019. 

Marist (4-7)

September 7, Tenney Stadium

The last time a Marist team met the Georgetown Hoyas without Jim Parady on the sidelines, Rob Sgarlata was a Georgetown freshman. 

After over three decades at the helm, Parady retired after the 2023 season, with former Princeton assistant Mike Willis arriving to  put some new life into a Marist program which is 40-58 since 2014.  Rob Sgarlata's 100th game as head coach comes across a team which has provided seven of his 30 career wins to date, but this is not necessarily the Marist teams of the past.

The Red Foxes open with three PL teams en route to the Pioneer schedule to follow: Georgetown, Bucknell, and Lafayette, with Georgetown its only home game of the three. Following the transfer of QB Brock Bagozzi to Missouri State, expect some major changes to an Red Fox offense that was ninth in the Pioneer in rushing. Matt O'Dowd, a transfer who walked on at LSU, may see time in the opener.

Georgetown has won four straight and seven of the last eight in the series, which dates to Marist's arrival in the MAAC in 1994. The series was built in large part on the friendship built over the years with Parady and the Georgetown staffs, so it remains to be seen if Willis wants to go in a different direction when the series comes up for renewal, likely after the 2025 season.

Sacred Heart (2-9)

September 14, Campus Field

This is the second of a two game series begun last season, when Georgetown prevailed 27-10 in a rain-shortened game at Cooper Field.

Having left the Northeast Conference for the MAAC in basketball, Sacred Heart plays as a football independent in 2024, with a variety of opponents including Delaware, Howard, and Lafayette. Graduate student Jalen Madison (139-645-4) leads a SHU team that slumped to 109th nationally in total offense in 2023 and was winless in non-conference play last season. 

The Pioneers will open with three consecutive home games and hope for a large Homecoming crowd versus the Hoyas at Campus Field, where it last defeated Georgetown 33-20 in its only prior meeting in Fairfield County in 2010.

Brown  (5-5)

September 21, Cooper Field

82nd Homecoming Game

The beginning of a four game series with Brown University marks the only Ivy League team to publicly continue on Georgetown's schedule past 2024, with its first meeting with the Hoyas since 2018, and its first visit to Cooper Field since 2014.

The Bears are picked sixth in the 2024 Ivy league race and despite strength on its offensive line and backfield, must improve on its rushing defense, which was last in the Ivy League and 101st of 122 schools overall. Defensive back Isaiah Reed is a pre-season All-America candidate, with 50 tackles and five interceptions in 2023.

Georgetown teams have traditionally fared poorly versus Ivy teams over the years, and are winless in the past three seasons versus Ivy schools. Brown is 5-1 all time versus the Hoyas, with a 35-7 win in its last meeting in Providence. Georgetown's last win over Brown came in its last Homecoming win over an Ivy school, on Sep. 20, 2014.

Columbia (3-7)

September 28, Cooper Field

The last meeting in the 10-year Lou Little Cup series has seen the Lions take command, winning five of the last six including a 30-0 shutout of the Hoyas atop Baker Field last season.

"The Lions have a lot of key returning players this season, including almost the entire secondary and linebacking starters from last year, four very talented and experienced wide receivers, their best pass rusher, and a lot of other 2023 starters back," writes veteran Columbia football blogger Jake Novak.  "The Lions will have to break in a new starting QB this year... The play of Northwestern transfer Cole Freeman and the development of very talented freshman Caleb Sanchez present a lot more upside to the equation compared to the generally disappointing play from the QB position last year. " 

Whoever gets the nod for the game will have a veteran WR crew to choose from, including senior Bryce Canty, who lost much of 2023 to injury but caught 53 passes for 733 yards as a sophomore.

Defensively, the Light Blue held Georgetown to 32 yards on the ground in last season's win, holding GU to 3 for 16 on third down conversions. Despite being picked last in the Ivy pre-season poll, Columbia has enough returning strength defensively to give the Hoyas another rough afternoon.

Lafayette (6-5)

October 12, Fisher Stadium

With its first PL title since 2003, Lafayette enters the 2024 season at #20 nationally and the target of six other schools seeking to wrest the title. Though there have relatively less  of a chance to do so, Georgetown included, games like this can be determinative in how Lafayette defends the crown. 

Fans of the Leopards take this game wearily. Despite Georgetown's traditional struggles with other PL teams, it has been fairly competitive with Lafayette, winning three of the last five and two straight at Fisher Stadium. Georgetown's 8-14 record in PL play versus Lafayette ties it with Bucknell as the most GU wins against any PL opponent.

Nine returning starters dominate the pre-season All-League team from College Hill, among them RB and pre-season offensive player of the year Jamar Curtis (235-1460-15 TD), sophomore QB Dean DeNobile (170-255, 20 TD, 5 INT), and WR Elijah Steward (52-738, 5TD).  A total of 27 seniors provide depth for the Leopards, who led the PL in rushing defense and were third in pass defense. Losses on defense, primarily in its linebacker corps, will test the Leopards early.

Following an Oct. 5 PL opener at Fordham, this game opens a three game homestand for Lafayette and one where it will need to run the table for it to have momentum heading into November.

Colgate (6-5)

October 19, Andy Kerr Stadium

With some consistency on offense, the Red Raiders are a dark horse to win it all in 2024. Consistency was not its calling card last season, however. Colgate lost its first four to open the season and won six of its final seven, but stumbled in a strange home loss to Bucknell that effectively ended their championship hopes.

Colgate operated the quarterback role by committee, sharing responsibilities across Michael Brescia (90-166-8, 837 yards), Jake Stearney (68-100-2, 743 yards) and Zach Osborne (56-85-3, 566 yards).  All three return this fall and it will be interesting to see which one is leading the charge when the Hoyas arrive on October 19.  Sophomore RB Chris Gee (73-427) leads a veteran backfield, but the Red Raiders figure to have the offensive line to support a more robust ground game.

Defensively, Colgate figures to give Georgetown trouble, as they always seem to do. 

Bucknell (4-7)

October 26, Cooper Field

No one will confuse this series with Lehigh-Lafayette but Georgetown-Bucknell has one oddity worth considering: six of the last eight games have been won by the road team, including Georgetown's overtime win in Lewisburg last season. For the Hoyas to earn only its second home win over Bucknell since 2012, they will look to limit transfer quarterback Ralph Rucker.

" Rucker put together arguably the top season by a Bucknell quarterback in program history, setting school records in single-season passing yards (2,537), single-season completions (211), single-season total yards (2,667), and tying the program’s single-season passing touchdowns mark (21)," writes a Bucknell pre-season profile. "He also set the single-game standard for passing yards with 387 in a win over Colgate, adding four touchdowns on 33 completions in the performance. Rucker ranked second in the Patriot League in both passing yards and passing touchdowns, and he added another 130 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown." 

Rucker passed for three touchdowns in the final 9:22 of the 4th quarter to rally the Bison from 22 down into overtime in Georgetown's 50-47 win.

Defensively, Bucknell may see a number of new faces to support 2023 all-PL linebacker Brad Jamison, but its pass defense must improve, allowing 255 yards a game last season. 

An opening week loss at Navy awaits, but the non-conference schedule for the Bison is not overwhelming, with games against VMI, Merrimack and Marist before a pair of Ivy League opponents in Penn and Cornell, and Bucknell could be 3-3 entering PL play.  The last four weeks of the slate are its toughest (Lafayette, Fordham, Holy Cross, Colgate) but its game with the Hoyas may be its most competitive. Three of the last four games have been decided by a field goal.

Lehigh (2-9)

November 2, Cooper Field

These have been lean years for the proud Lehigh program, coming off its worst two year run (4-18) since 1966-67 and 10 consecutive home losses since its win over Lafayette at the conclusion of the  2021 season.  The Engineers were last in the PL in offense and sixth in defense in 2023, numbers that must improve this season.

Lehigh did not garner a single all-PL pre-season selection on offense, and if that is to change, fifth year senior QB Dante Perri must take the lead. Perri was a backup in 2023 to Brayten Silbor, who transferred to New Mexico. Perri has thrown for 3,894 yards over four seasons but under 140 yards a game over that span. Sophomore Luke Yoder rushed for a modest 485 yards last fall but Lehigh needs a more consistent ground game given Perri's limited passing game to date.

The defense could be a youth movement with a number of talented players competing in August for starting opportunities. The lineups will be tested in a season opener against Army where the Cadets are early favorites. Lehigh must pick up wins against the likes of Merrimack and LIU before a pair of Ivy League tests with Princeton and Yale, with a backloaded schedule that will see the Engineers facing just one PL team before Oct. 26. Following the Georgetown game, Lehigh plays Holy Cross, Colgate, and Lafayette, and figures to be considerable underdogs in all three.

Lehigh is 10-1 versus the Hoyas at Georgetown, but this will be only the second game in DC between the teams dating to 2018 as the 2020 game was cancelled by COVID-19.

Fordham (6-5)

November 16, Joe Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field

With a football budget of $8 million, the only thing eluded the Rams in 2023 was offense, and Georgetown's 28-24 upset at the 2023 Homecoming game was a low point on the Fordham season where the Rams were averaging 43 points a game entering PL play and scored just half that versus PL teams.

The return of New Mexico transfer QB C.J. Montes offers the Rams another opportunity to contend for the playoffs. Montes threw for 3,000 yards in 2023, with 26 passing and three rushing touchdowns. Expect another big year from Montes in the air, but if the Rams can get line help for senior RB Julius Loughbridge (207-1146-10) it will keep defenses guessing.  With thee returnees on its line, the Rams could be solid by November.

Fordham returns all four starters on the defensive line and eight overall on defense, with pre-season all-PL selections in defensive lineman and pre-season defensive player of the year Matt Jaworski, linebacker James Conley, and defensive back Nahil Perkins. Keeping the points down on defense will give Montes the ability to outscore nearly anyone.

The Rams open with four of its first five on the road, beginning at Bowling Green St. on August 29. Key games with fellow PL challengers Lafayette and Colgate are in the Bronx, a significant advantage for the home team. So too in its PL finale versus the Hoyas, where the Rams have won 10 of 11 versus Georgetown in the PL era.

Holy Cross (7-4)

November 23, Cooper Field

Holy Cross' greatest football run in 30 years ended as Bob Chesney headed to James Madison and Matthew Sluka moved on to UNLV. After five consecutive PL titles, former Merrimack coach Dan Curran begins anew, and we'll know a lot more about the Crusaders by the season finale in Washington.

Offensively, there are a lot of new pieces. Just one starter returns on an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage for Sluka and WR Jalen Coker, a Sterling, VA native who passed by Georgetown and is now battling for a final roster spot with the Carolina Panthers. HC will move a number of its 300+ pound reserve linemen into the rotation. That rotation will need to protect senior QB Joe Pesansky, who threw for 499 yards last season in late game situations and rushed once for four yards versus GU last season. 

The Crusaders return all-PL running back Jordan Fuller, with 40 rushing touchdowns in his career, and WR Justin Shorter (34-443-3) is a legitimate threat downfield. But from an era where Holy Cross dominated the All-PL offensive team, these are the only two pre-season league selections.

The HC defense will be tested, coming off a season where it ranked fifth in the PL against the run and second against the pass. Despite its significant advantage on offense in 2023, Holy Cross allowed 25.7 points per game on defense, a mere one point better than  Georgetown, who finished 5-6 but did not the likes of Sluka or Coker to take over games.

Home games with New Hampshire and Yale and a road game at Syracuse highlight HC's non-conference schedule, but the Crusaders must travel to Lafayette and Colgate this season. A couple of upsets may have them in contention in Week 12, but it's more likely they are playing for a 6-5 or 7-4 record at Cooper Field to end the season.

Five Questions, Defense

 

Some questions on defense heading into the 2024 season:

1. How Good Is The Defensive Line?  For a school which normally has some good defensive talent, the 2025 could be one of Georgetown's best in years, and that's saying something.

The Hoyas finished as the best defensive team in the Patriot League in 2023, which may be a first, if ever. Georgetown led the league in total defense (324.1 yards allowed), passing (171.7) and passing efficiency (110.9), the latter of which was fourth nationally, a stat that got little or no attention in local or league media. To put this into perspective, Georgetown's passing defense finished just behind national champion South Dakota State and just ahead of perennial Top 20 entrant Montana.

The good... no, the great news, is that eight of 11 starters and 15 of its top 20 tacklers in 2023 return in 2024. The one area where the Hoyas were not as productive was run defense, finishing third in the Patriot League and 57th nationally. Two of the three non-returnees from 2023 were on the defensive line, including Ibri Harrell (40 tackles in 2023, 7.5 TFL), and Mateen Ibrigoba (29 tackles, 5.5 TFL), the latter of whom will play at Wake Forest via the transfer portal.  Adding in graduating senior Noah Gick (9 tackles, 0.5 TFL), there are some gaps to fill. 

There are some interesting names to watch for in these battles, and it is likely the same on the two-deep in Week 1 may not be the same at season's end. Juniors Matthew Plunkett (14 tackles) and John Caramanico (11.0 tackles)  have some experience up front in reserve capacity, while sophomore Mouhammed Sow was moved into the two deep at season's end despite just one tackle in five games. at 300 pounds, an uncommon size  for an FCS lineman, Sow could surprise up front as he gains experience, and could see action as early as the Davidson game against a team ranked first nationally in offense, averaging 308.7 yards on the ground per game.

Six freshman enter the discussion on the line, with Hilton Hebert as one to watch. The 6-3, 240 pound lineman from Morgan City, LA, led the Louisiana 4A rankings in sacks and tackles.

2.  How Do The Hoyas Address Defensive Pressure?  While Georgetown held its opponents in check for much of the season, it struggled in pass pressure. The Hoyas were last in the PL in sacks with 15, with just 10 of these in league play, five of which came against Bucknell.

This doesn't figure to be a concern as much early in the season as schools like Davidson and Marist will stay to the run. Mid-season games at Lafayette and at Colgate could test the Hoyas' ability to control  the line and exert pressure on now veteran passers to hurry up their throws. 

3. Can the Linebackers Dominate? Yes, they can. Georgetown's 4-2-5 lineup last summer placed  a premium on its linebackers, and they delivered. Fifth year graduate David Ealey led the team with 68 tackles and 7.5 TFL's while sophomore GianCarlo Rufo (38 tackles, 5.5 TFL) was not far behind. 

4. What Is One Area of Improvement for the Defense?  The red zone. Georgetown gave up 24 touchdowns in 2023 from 29 opponent red zone possessions, 19 of the 24 coming on the ground. By contrast, PL champion Lafayette gave up only 13 rushing touchdowns in the red zone. 

For a Georgetown team that was six points removed from a potential 7-4 record, trading a field goal instead of a touchdown can be crucial.

5. What Is One Area of Improvement for the Special Teams?  The kickoff. Georgetown was last in the league in net kickoff returns, allowing 30.9 yards per return and just one touchback all season.

Freshman Thomas Anderson, an Australian kicker by way of St. Ignatius HS in Chicago, figures to compete for kickoff duties with senior Patrick Ryan, whose leg strength was not as strong later in the season. At his signing, head coach Rob Sgarlata said that Anderson "will impact our special teams in all three phases of our place kicking, punting and especially our kick off coverage," and should have ample opportunity to do so.