Some thoughts following Georgetown's 28027 win over William &
Mary:
1. Resilience: This was the word which led off the game
recap, and it says a lot about where this team was to begin the season and
where it is today.
Georgetown saw a 13-6 opener cancelled at halftime, it lost
two games on walk-off field goals, and were routed in its two other games,
rotating through three quarterbacks. A slow start is a hole that some teams
never recover from, and recent Georgetown
teams knew it all to well: 2017 (1-10) , 2021 (2-8), 2022 (2-9).
That the Hoyas picked themselves up at the halfway point of the season
and ride into the bye week winners of three straight says a lot about the grit
and toughness of this team. You might even call it Sisu.
Georgetown
enters November seventh of 10 PL schools in total offense and seventh in
defense. its 159.8 yards of rushing per game ranks third and is a pleasant
surprise after years of struggles along the line, while its passing game, with
a freshman QB and inexperience among a number of its receivers, is more
expected. Five interceptions and five fumbles recovered by the defense have
been timely, though personal foul penalties continue to be unwanted and
unnecessary.
There may have been some concern, given a road schedule which
saw Georgetown facing Richmond, Colgate, and William & Mary,
with Fordham and Villanova to follow, that a young team like GU was going to
get mauled against these veteran full-scholarship teams, and that has not
happened. Not so long ago, the idea of Georgetown stepping out on a football
field with CAA powers like UR or W&M might have been seen as farcical, and
yet, there they were, celebrating a win on Homecoming at Zable Stadium. The
growth in this team in October is one worth acknowledging, and November awaits.
2. Time Was Tight: W&M fans online were not pleased
about Mike London's use of time outs in the game and I can't blame them. One time
out that was not in his control proved critical--the W&M injury time out
with 1:40 to play which superseded Sgarlata's time out request and allowed GU
to stop the clock once more thereafter.
Had 40 seconds run off the clock after third down, Georgetown conceivably starts its final drive
with no time outs and 47 seconds instead of 1:27. The eventual touchdown pass
was snapped at 0:43, which may not have even been available had the clock run
down from 1:40.
London
called the Tribe's first time out on the fourth down play to set up the
defense, but the second, ostensibly to ice PK Thomas Anderson at the 0:38 mark,
never works and left W&M with one time out for its final drive. The former
Indians should have stood a much more plausible chance with two timeouts and 35
yards needed to set up for a game winning field goal (remember the scenario at
Richmond a month earlier), but they were up against the clock and Watkins' pass
was sniffed out by Damon Narcisse from the start. Given its run game, the Trine could have
picked up yardage that would have benefited form a second time out, but all
they had at that point was the pass.
Coming off the big win at Colgate, this has to rank as the
best back-to-back finishes in the Rob Sgarlata era and perhaps the modern era
as a whole. Consecutive PL
wins have come to GU just twice since 2013, and none were strictly road games.
The idea that Georgetown
could win these two on the road and do some from falling behind early is as
remarkable as the outcomes themselves. Congratulations to the coaches, the
players, and staff on a pair of games that will be long remembered and offer
them a chance to enjoy the bye week and focus on the task at hand with Holy
Cross next week.
3. Participation Charts: It's been a team effort heading
into the home stretch of the second bye week, with 77 of 99 players having seen
game action this season. Of the 22 remaining, 12 are freshmen, which can be
expected early in a career, and three seniors with injury issues.
As of week 8, 44 players have played in every game, and
another six have played in all but one game. Key contributions by freshmen
include seven games each from OL Julien Fishburne, OL Costa Kampas, WR Samir
Crosby, six games from LB Bear Cortes , and five games from DB Ryan McDonough.
There are 20 seniors and two grad students on the roster,
but the two-deep roster is unusually deep in the underclassmen ranks. The
offense for the W&M game started five seniors, two juniors, three
sophomores and freshman QB Gavin Beard, while the defense has one fifth year (Wedner Cadet), two seniors, two juniors
and six sophomores. The depth is building for the stretch run, and potentially
for next season as well.
4. Around The PL: Georgetown-William
& Mary was one of three PL games which turned in the final minutes:
Villanova 24, Lehigh 18: The road to the PL championship for
Lehigh took an unexpected swerve, as the Wildcats picked up a 24-18 upset
before 5,451 at Villanova Stadium. The Wildcats shocked the Engineers with a
first half in which it outgained the visitors 257-102 and led 21-0 at the half.
Lehigh closed to 24-18 and looked to take the win on the final play of the game
when Garrett Rogan sacked backup QB Derek Morgan for an eight yard loss on a
third and goal at the two yard line to end the game. Villanova travels to Lafayette on Saturday
while Lehigh hosts Bucknell having lost two straight.
Richmond 13, Colgate 6: Blake
Houser's interception with 1:09 preserved the Spiders' win before 5,519 at
Robins Stadium and gives UR
the inside track to the PL title if they win out. The Spiders' defense shut
down Colgate's running game to a season low four yards on 29 attempts, but
struggled on its own, going 2 for 13 on third down conversion. Richmond travels to Holy Cross this week,
with Colgate hosting William & Mary.
Holy Cross 34, Bucknell 3. The Bison drive 65 yards to the
Holy Cross 10 to open the game... and that was about it, crossing midfield just
twice thereafter and managing just 181 yards for the remainder of the game.
Joseph Williams ran for 144 yards as the Crusaders have won their third in its
last four games after starting the season 0-4.
Lafayette 31, Fordham 17: The Leopards shut out the Rams
after halftime to earn the win before 4,107 at Moglia Stadium. Trailing 21-17
at the break, the Leopards scored on each of its three second half possessions
before running out the final 1:09, forcing turnovers on downs in three of
Fordham's four second half possessions. The Leopards host the aforementioned
Villanova Wildcats on Saturday, while Fordham joins Georgetown on a bye week.
