Some thoughts following Georgetown's 31-24 win over Bucknell:
1. There's Something About Bucknell: What is it about these two teams that always seem to lead to a close finish? Players come and go over the years but Georgetown continues to do well with Bucknell in ways they do not, for example, with Lehigh or Holy Cross. What is a possible explanation?
It's not finances or scholarships. Bucknell is no longer the seventh of eight in the category of best funded program in the PL (that's actually Lehigh) .It offers close to, if not right at, the 63 FCS ceiling. It gets solid recruits on both sides of the ball, and competes well out of conference. One feature about the Bison opens itself up to competitive games with a Georgetown offense that is limited in firepower: pass defense.
Through nine games Bucknell is giving up 35 points a game. In the five full seasons prior, the numbers are 30.3, 33.7, 28.8, 37.9 and 32.4. This keeps teams competitive with Bucknell and prevents the Bison, even when they had Ralph Rucker at QB, from running away with games. The Hoyas play well with teams that mix it up in the air (Bucknell, this year's Colgate squad, Lafayette), and less so with teams that pound it with the rush game (older Colgate teams, Lehigh, Holy Cross).
Last week, Georgetown didn't outgain Bucknell in the air but had better yards per catch than the Bison did (9.0 to 7.4) , and were more efficient with the defensive sets they were given. This game was literally a coin-flip at the end, but no quarterback can throw a sideline pick with 18 seconds left in a game, they just can't.
Georgetown's 27.7 points per game allowed in PL play won't win many games, except if you're playing a team in Bucknell that is giving up, on average 40.5. Georgetown didn't get 40, but they only needed 31 in what has become a series that must be confounding to Bison fans. However, as long as Bucknell's defensive sets allow this level of points, they'll need to keep games high scoring to stay with opponents. For Georgetown, at least, it's worked out for them.
2. Revisiting The "Rule Of 22": From time to time, I've noted an informal statistical trend on the Hoyas which speaks to its limited offensive throughout over the years. It's called the "Rule of 22", which, simply put, is the record that Georgetown has in the Patriot League when allowing opponents 22 or more points in a game.
It's a startling number.
Entering the 2025 season, Georgetown has played 154 games where it allowed 22 or more points to any opponent. It has won seven of them.
Seven. That's 7-147, or 0.045. GU once lost 68 consecutive games allowing 22 or more from 2010 through 2023. Here are the seven:
10/13/2001: Georgetown 26, Davidson 24
10/26/2002: Georgetown 32, Bucknell 31
9/11/2010: Georgetown 28, Lafayette 24
9/18/2010: Georgetown 28, Fordham 24
9/24/2011: Georgetown 52, Marist 28
11/11/2023: Georgetown 50, Bucknell 47
8/31/2024: Georgetown 46, Davidson 24
The good news, sort of, is that in 2025 the Hoyas are a 2-2 in such games, with losses to Lafayette and Brown and wins over Morgan State and Bucknell, two in the past three weeks. (The Bison now account for three of the nine wins to date.)
Practically speaking, Georgetown's lack of program budget prevents it from maintaining the depth to compete in high scoring games. Saturday's game with Lehigh is illustrative. The Engineers have played the Hoyas in 24 games since 2001, and have surpassed 22 in 19 of them, and are 19-0.
When Lehigh was held to 21 or fewer, Georgetown is a more than respectable 2-2.
This may be a meaningless statistical anomaly, but as a pair of strong offensive teams arrive to the PL in 2026, depth will become an even bigger concern for teams like Georgetown going forward. This season's offensive effort shows that, given opportunity and experience, the Hoyas can compete, whic h is a hopeful sign.
3. About Lehigh: Some thoughts from this week's Pre-Game Report on what Lehigh has accomplished under third year coach Kevin Cahill:
"After a downturn in the four years under Tom Gilmore, Kevin Cahill has the Engineers back on track to sustained excellence in the Patriot League, and setting up Lehigh among the upper tier to which Richmond, Villanova, and William & Mary aspire to join. In his second year, Cahill took Lehigh to a 9-2 regular season mark and an upset of then-CAA entrant Richmond in the first round of the NCAA playoffs before losing at #8 Idaho a week later. In 2025, Lehigh is one of three undefeated teams in the subdivision and faces Georgetown and Holy Cross at home before road games at Colgate and Lafayette. The Engineers could be undefeated entering Fisher Stadium for the first time in 25 seasons on November 22, but only if they do the work in the next three weeks.
Lehigh enters the game first in the PL in offense, thanks to steady play from sophomore QB Hayden Johnson, who threw for a career best 267 yards last week at Fordham. More valuable than mere yards has been an accurate arm (62 percent completions) a paucity of turnovers (just three interceptions, none in the last six games), and a means of composure in difficult situations. Johnson is ably assisted by two of the PL's most productive backs in junior Luke Yoder (126-840-7 TD), ninth nationally in yardage, and sophomore Jaden Green (95-583-6), who combined for 132 yards against the Hoyas last season in Washington. Lehigh has gained 100 of more yards in each of its last 28 games dating to the 2023 season, so it's no surprise where Lehigh will get to work Saturday."
The weather outlook for Saturday's game features windy conditions (10-20 mph westerly winds, which would blow across the stadium) and 57 degrees. Look for the run to be front and center for Lehigh to move on.
4. Around the PL: A quiet week with only three games, two outside Georgetown and Bucknell:
Lehigh 27, Fordham 6: Hayden Johnson passed for 267 yards as the Engineers won with relative ease before 4,893 at Moglia Stadium. Lehigh scored the first 24 points before the Rams got on the board with a field goal late in the third quarter. Fordham fifth year LB James Conway had 16 tackles in the game, setting a new career mark for tackles in the FCS subdivision with 555.
Colgate 29, Holy Cross 28: Another tough defeat for the Crusaders, as Colgate rallied from 18 down in the third period to score the game winner with 2:35 to play before 9,725 at Fitton Field. Colgate QB Jake Stearney threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns, the latter a nine yard pass after Holy Cross missed a field goal six minutes earlier that would have increased HC's lead to eight, 31-23. At 1-7, the Crusaders have now lost four games by a combined 14 points and have clinched its first losing season since 2018, which was Bob Chesney's first season at Mt. St. James. Chesney is currently 7-1 at James Madison and could hear his name mentioned in those end-of-season carousel of coaching moves at major colleges.
This week's games:
Georgetown at Lehigh, 12 noon
Lafayette at Holy Cross, 1:00 pm
Merrimack at Colgate, 1:00
Fordham at Richmond, 2:00
