The 2025 season has arrived.
A veteran team of 28 seniors and fifth year grads makes this one of the deepest Georgetown teams in years, but time is not on the seniors' side. For Georgetown to show progress, it has to win on the road. The Hoyas' Ivy League struggles are described below, but excepting Bucknell and Lafayette, GU has won just one road game in league play in the past six seasons. With four of its even PL games at home this season, there's a legitimate opportunity to build equity against the like of Lafayette and Fordham and steal a win from Colgate. However, without a better road record, it won't get far in a league which is suddenly getting good, and even better next season.
Here's a brief look at Georgetown's 2025 opponents.
Davidson (6-5 in 2024)
August 30, Davidson Stadium
A new look Davidson club welcomes Georgetown to its first visit to the college's spacious new stadium completed in 2024. It's also a new era following the departure of Scott Abell to Rice at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
In seven seasons, Abell had seven winning records, including Davidson's first post season appearances since the 1969 Tangerine Bowl with FCS playoff appearances from 2020 through 2022. Abell's run-heavy option offense will give way to a more traditional look under new coach Saj Thakkar, arriving after two seasons at Division II Bentley.
As such, it's a major rebuild at Davidson and one which Georgetown should be able to control, particularly on offense, where the Hoyas put up a season high 46 points on the Wildcats in last season's opener. The Wildcats had no defensive players named to the pre-season All-Pioneer team and is picked for an eight place finish.
Despite a combined record of 47-28 under Abell, Davidson defeated only one Division I opponent out of conference: Georgetown, in 2019.
Wagner (4-8)
September 6, Cooper Field
For only the third time in 19 years, Marist is not on the Georgetown schedule, a possible casualty of the addition of Richmond to the schedules going forward. In its place is Wagner, a Northeast Conference team last seen at the Hilltop in Rob Sgarlata's debut as head coach, a 21-3 Wagner win.
The Seahawks were picked fifth in the 2025 NEC poll, but that's faint praise given that one team below them is dropping to Division III after this season (St. Francis) and two are not yet eligible for the FCS playoffs (Mercyhurst, Stonehill). Seven of its nine pre-season All-NEC offensive and defensive selections were on defense, where Wagner was second in the conference in total defense, with senior LB Jordan Johnson (51 tackles, two sacks) as its on-field leader.
The Seahawks carry an astounding 11 quarterbacks on its 2025 roster, one of which will have the unenviable task of opening the season at Kansas.
Lafayette (6-6)
September 20, Cooper Field
Georgetown's first major test of the season follows a week later versus Lafayette.
Unlike most PL opponents, the Hoyas have played even with Lafayette in the Rob Sgarlata era, splitting 10 games with Georgetown winning two of the last three, though Lafayette has won the last two at Cooper Field.
Lafayette lost a large number of players in the transfer portal, including two time All-Patriot RB Jamar Curtis, but return eight starters on offense, including QB Dean DeNobile and WR Elijah Steward. DeNobile averaged just 170 passing yards per game last season and the Leopards need more points to allow for a defense that will be growing into its role early in the season, with just one returning starter from 2024.
Lafayette will play three consecutive road games to open the season, arriving at Cooper Field after games at Bowling Green and Stonehill.
The "Ivy Swing"
Brown (3-7)
September 20, Brown Stadium
Columbia (7-3)
September 27, Wien Stadium
Rob Sgarlata has (or had) a decision to make: with more games on the schedule going to league matchups going forward, he must either drop the more likely early wins on the schedule (Davidson, Marist) or scale back on Ivy League games. Neither has been announced, but 2025 may be the among the last years where Georgetown is scheduling multiple Ivy League opponents.
It's been two decades since the Ivy scheduling model was initiated, with poor results. Georgetown is a combined 7-34 against Ivy teams, with four of the seven wins coming with Columbia (4-5 overall) and one with Brown (1-5).
The Bears are picked for last in the Ivy this season, but are not the veteran Brown teams of years past. In its thee prior home games versus Georgetown, Brown averaged 38 points per game in comfortable wins, but the 2025 Bears must replace a graduating quarterback and will pivot to more run options as befits a stout offensive line. All-Ivy DB Nick Hudson leads a defense that was last in the Ivy allowing 33.6 points per game, but its season's best was allowing just 14 points against the Hoyas.
If Georgetown is going to take a step forward in 2025, or not, chances are this two week stretch will be evidence if they can. A week later, Georgetown's tenth (and presumably, final) appearance in the current Lou Little Cup series takes place in the home opener at Baker Field, where Columbia will celebrate its first shared Ivy championship in 64 years.
The Lions were a sterling 7-3 last year, but dropped a game to Georgetown last season at Cooper Field, driven by strong performances from the GU defense and a combined 275 receiving yards from Nicholas Dunneman and Jimmy Kibble. The Lions won't be as accommodating on defense, where it has made significant steps to bolster its secondary.
This game will be an especially difficult test for Georgetown's defense, where Columbia returns an effective run game and will test a younger Georgetown secondary.
Morgan State (6-6)
83rd Homecoming Game
October 4, Cooper Field
Not a traditional opponent by any means, this game is the return match from a 2021 game in Baltimore that drew an embarrassingly low 576 to see the Bears, Georgetown's smallest road crowd in the FCS era.
Morgan State finished 6-6 last season but won three of its final four, and is picked for third in the six team MEAC this season. Sophomore RB Jason Collins was named the MEAC pre-season offensive player of the year following a 634 yard freshman season, while LB Erick Hunter was named the defensive player of the year despite playing only two games last season due to injury. A pre-season first team All-America selection prior to the injury, Hunter had 149 tackles over his first two seasons.
The Bears to be a challenge on defense, where it posted five all-MEAC recipients, but for Georgetown, they must control Collins and win time of possession against a Morgan offense that will chew up yardage on the ground.
With Howard University just three miles east, a series with Georgetown has never been a priority for MEAC schools. This game figures to be the final game with the conference for a while.
Colgate (2-10)
October 18, Cooper Field
Following a bye week, the Hoyas return to Cooper Field to meet Colgate, and don't let the record from 2024 fool you. Despite its poor finish, the Red Raiders were second in the PL in offense overall and fourth in PL play, but were last in both categories on defense. Rushing has long been a hallmark of Colgate's offense and it was in evidence last season, where the Red Raiders averaged nearly eight yards a carry in a 38-28 win over Georgetown at Hamilton, NY. Two key turnovers stalled the Hoyas' hope for a first ever win at Colgate, but, as before, this game comes down to its ability to defend.
Colgate returns its entire starting corps at receiver, with Treyvhon Saunders and Brady Hutchison combining for 1,371 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. Its defense remains a question mark at the start under new coach Curt Fitzpatrick but, as is common, the Red Raiders will start slow and build as the season progresses.
Its schedule will include road games at Villanova and Syracuse, as well as a first look at Richmond before traveling to Washington. They will be prepared.
Bucknell (6-6)
October 25, Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium
Ralph Rucker enters his senior season at Bucknell as the PL Offensive Player of the Year, and figures to be the center of attention as these two teams close October with a competitive record between the two.
The Bison are picked fourth in the PL this season on Rucker's shoulders, while returning its entire offensive line gives him the time to build on a 2024 season of over 2,800 passing yards. RB Tariq Thomas (166-783, 4 TD) will give Rucker options on the ground, where the Bison were last in the league in rushing.
Bucknell is replacing out its entire defensive line from lat season, as graduations and transfers promise a new look for a defense that allowed a PL-worst 424 yards per game in league play. Without mode significant strides on defense, Rucker is racing for honors but the Bison cannot reach a top three finish, and a setback to Georgetown in week 9 could be fatal.
"The Grind"
Lehigh (9-4)
November 1, Goodman Stadium
Richmond (10-3)
November 8, Cooper Field
Fordham (2-10)
November 15, Cooper Field
Holy Cross (6-6)
November 22, Fenway Park
Attrition takes its annual toll on the PL's lone nonscholarship team, and the numbers entering November are grim: since 2014, Georgetown is a combined 3-24 in the month of November, with two of the thee wins coming over Bucknell. Georgetown won't be favored in any of its final four games, playing the top three teams in the league during this stretch.
Lehigh returned to the top of the PL standings for the first time since 2017 last season, and returns a veteran offensive line giving quarterbacks Hayden Johnson and Matt Machalik ample opportunities to drive an offense that was second in the PL behind Bucknell and led the league in rushing. Rush defense is a weak point for Georgetown teams in November, no more evident in 2024 where it allowed the Engineers 310 yards in a 43-6 loss.
The arrival of Richmond to the PL is an early herald to what the league will expect when two other CAA schools, Villanova and William and Mary, follow in 2026. The Spiders will open the season with Lehigh in an early test of the top two PL teams, but the Spiders' ability to replace key offensive losses form the transfer portal may determine whether they enter week 10 as the hunted, or the hunters, for the PL title.
Either way, Richmond has too much firepower for the Hoyas. This is a CAA-level recruiting class which has won 68 percent of its games since 2021, and where opponents like Virginia and North Carolina give the Spiders valuable experience for late season games like this. Georgetown was outscored by a combined 97-10 in a pair of games versus Richmond during its FCS championship run in 2008 and 2009, and while this is not a championship team in 2025, UR is going to be a difficult 60 minutes at Cooper Field.
The home finale on November 15 features a Fordham team that won only two games last season, yet routed the Hoyas 31-3 late last season in New York. Georgetown ran out of gas in the possession game: collecting three points in five possessions inside the Fordham 30 while the Rams collected 24 points in five drives inside the Georgetown 30.
The Rams have some major holes to fill on offense, as QB C.J. Montes left for Kent State and OL Ryan Joyce headed to Old Dominion, with new names across the offensive line. Inexperience in August will lead to experience in November, and that's a tall order for a Georgetown team which is often on its third two-deep by week 11.
The season concludes not in Worcester, but Boston, where Georgetown makes its return to Fenway Park for the first time in 85 years --a showplace game versus a supremely confident Holy Cross squad. The Crusaders have won nine straight in the series, with its last three by an average margin of 30 points. Each of those there were the last weekend of the season, where HC was playing for a playoff berth and Georgetown was just trying to finish up.
If the Hoyas can build depth during the first half of the season and not fall prey to injuries and the season-long attrition game, it can make a game of it by week 13 at Fenway--if the old trends prevail, it will be a fun game to watch with a predictable outcome.
