More Than Just A Game

 

A week ago, a student columnist at The HOYA posed a question worth examining. Here's a link to his article.

"Each time a Georgetown student goes to watch a game, they trade away four hours of their time," writes Michael Hassner. "This tradeoff is one thing for those who would watch anyway: students who have ties to players, an appreciation for the game of football or are part of the in-game experience, such as members of cheer or band. But what about the other 95% of the student population?"

It's a problem that Georgetown sees at every home football game: a disarming lack of turnout and sustained interest from its primary source of support: students. Causes are multiple, but effects are singular: a lack of interest brings down the atmosphere and the lack of support is felt as much on the field as in the stands.  Say what you will about "educated" students not showing interest in sports (those  students at Notre Dame, Duke, or Villanova do just fine), the sad fact is that  if you are a student at Georgetown, or even an alumnus, a football game at Cooper Field isn't very much fun. That's not just a team problem, it's a University problem.

Two generations ago, Homecoming games at Georgetown drew upwards of 9,000 fans on campus, most of whom were students or recent graduates. 

"The fanbase has changed quite a bit, because [in] that day it was 99.9 percent students and dates, and now it is, I would guess, 65 percent alumni and parents and 35 percent undergrads,” said former Georgetown quarterback Bruce Simmons (B'69) in a 2018 Georgetown Voice article. By contrast, last week's game versus Columbia may not have seen 10 percent students, band and cheerleaders included.

Times were admittedly different and Jesuits looked the other way when it came to alcohol over-consumption and various stunts, such as the time a group of  cheery (and perhaps beery) students bought their way upon the WMAL traffic helicopter and got them to land it on the 50 yard line at Kehoe Field minutes before kickoff. Try that today, and those students are likely to get a call from the Office Of Student Conduct and the FAA.

The Hoyas won a lot more games then, even against shoestring programs like Seton Hall, NYU, or Hartford, all since gone. Today's team enjoys no such cupcakes, and losing has consequences. Try as it might, students don't see much rah-rah spirit around a game with Columbia or Lehigh. However, even if Georgetown was 4-0 heading into its game with Cornell this week, a lot of students would not give it a second thought. Simply put, athletics is not part of an increasingly singular culture that values clicks over conversation, and relaxation over recreation.

"Simply, the trick to drawing students to football games lies in the quality of the experience," Hassner writes. 

Georgetown has lacked it for years, perhaps decades, because of one fact it can't ignore: no one is responsible for the fan experience: Athletics doesn't want it, Advancement doesn't want it, GUSA doesn't want it. No responsibility leads to little or no effort as a result.

When I attended high school in Dallas that regularly drew upwards of 6,000 a game, the game was just part of the package. We had an official student spirit group that handled in-game promotion and a very unofficial group that handled what was colloquially called the P-H-P: "pregame, halftime, and post-game". Alumni, parents, and friends showed up not just for the 60 minutes on the field but the camaraderie, the music, and dare I say it, the fun of being around people and enjoying a shared experience. None of this is in evidence at Cooper Field.

There is no pregame activity. Alumni and parents have one tailgate adjacent to Regents Hall, the opposing team may or may not have one at the McDonouigh bus turnaround. Students have neither: no music, no food choices, no socializing.  People wander in to unmarked seats, and that's about it. The band is tucked in the far corner of the one-sided field and can be inaudible at points of the game. Last week, the cheerleaders never strayed beyond the points in front of the band, and thus they were invisible to 80 percent of the crowd.

Georgetown's lack of parking and green space does it no favors, a given. However, the campus has enough room where people could gather alongside the field, whether adjacent to the Southwest Quad, along the road that passes by Harbin, or even the overlook from Hariri before games. Without effort, of course, no one is going to show up.

There is no halftime activity. Georgetown's band is undersized and makes no effort to compete at a level where it could march and provide a passable halftime show. Opponents don't send their band to perform. Fifteen years ago, despite being three miles from the Hilltop, Howard did not even send its band across town to play. Even third party bands could be part of the discussion (think: the Eastern High School Band or the NFL's Commanders marching band) but these come with planning and with a cost. There's no cost because no one presents them as an option.

If the single file line to the only concession stand on the grounds doesn't do much for halftime socializing, 20 minutes of an empty field does even less. The lack of a video board, a pet peeve of mine for years, gives guests nothing to see and even less to stay attuned to the sport. In-stand concession sales ("Hot dogs! Cold drinks here!") do not exist, much less 50.50 raffles or some of the promotional activities seen at Washington Nationals games. A Presidents Race, anyone?

There is no post-game activity. Many students hear from their fans about the "fifth quarter" at schools, where a game winds down and there are post-game gatherings and tailgates, often as the band serenades them with a show after the game. Not everyone has to get back home or catch a flight immediately thereafter; yet, people just wander away.

Georgetown doesn't have to be Notre Dame to enjoy a football game, and a little school spirit will not turn it suddenly into Auburn on the Potomac, either. "More pressingly, Georgetown’s 152-year football pedigree is tragically devoid of fan traditions," Hassner said. "At the start of the game, a live Jack the Bulldog could eat a cardboard cutout of the opposing mascot. Or, the Healy Hall bells could ring like crazy right before the game, as they do at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. “Hoya Saxa” was coined at a football game, but it isn’t part of the fabric of game day. And heaven forbid we have a halftime show."

He continues: 

"The fun police might argue that the athletics department has little incentive to add to the experience, since students don’t pay for tickets. But Georgetown football exists for a number of reasons,  paramount among those is to bring together the Hoya community. This investment can pay dividends, driving outsider attendance to games and creating students who will be fans for life."

Dividends don't appear overnight, but they only appear at all when someone is investing. The Athletic Department is invested in its constituents-- the players. They see the lack of fan turnout across all sports but do not see a need to deplete its budget for promotions that students won't take advantage of it. Cooper Field is a prime example--it's half the size (or less) of every other stadium in its conference but people don't show up anyway. That stretch of space behind the visitors bench once held 1,500 seats as late as 2019, but was torn down--no one is going to use it. The green space behind the north end zone is considered "lawn seating" for capacity purposes but its rarely considered by students as a place to sit.

What will it take for students to show support? In another era, entire freshman dorms showed up for game in no small part that we knew the people on the team, and there were five players on the team from my 2nd Darnall floor alone. The fraternity down the street arrived to games dressed in matching sweatshirts and led cheers from the stands, at least after the drinks kicked in. We weren't that excited to see the likes of St. Francis, St. John's, or Washington & Lee, but we were there because it was fun, and fun is in short supply at Georgetown. Waiting for the University to supply that fun may be a lost cause. Students have to step up and make it "football for fun" an experience in 2026 just as it was in 1966 or 1996.

As for 2026, it's too little, too late. Following Homecoming this weekend, just two home game remain on a football schedule: a Columbus Day Weekend game with Bucknell that is likely to draw few students and a Nov. 7 game with Holy Cross that may conflict with the GU-Maryland basketball game downtown. Basketball has many of the same "no fun" attributes that football has, but it's perceived as a "big game" and the small-c casual fan will give it a try. 

Next season's schedule will feature three games with three opponents that are less than two hours from the Hilltop: Richmond, William & Mary, and Villanova. (Yes, that Villanova.) All three have a legitimate football tradition and all three have fan bases that would fill Cooper Field with its own fans  in numbers that that Holy Cross or Colgate never could. They will come--will Georgetown be ready?

If students like Michael Hassner, The HOYA, and GUSA want to start planning for 2027, now is the time to do so, to figure out what will attract students to football games next fall and, more importantly, what will keep them invested in it: food trucks, bands, contests, you name it. 

But it starts with dialogue, and it must start with students. 

Week 4 Thoughts

 

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

1. Inexperience Is Lethal: It's been nearly a decade since Rob Sgarlata and his staff has fielded an offense with so little game experience. With inexperience comes ineffectiveness, and this can be measured across a number of statistics to which, after just four weeks, Georgetown has settled among the bottom of Division I.

• Among schools outside the Ivy League, Georgetown is last in scoring offense, with no rushing touchdowns to date.
• After three games, the Hoyas average just 113.3 rushing yards per game. Among schools outside the Ivy League playing more than two games to date, only one school (Central Connecticut State) has fewer.
• For passing yards, Georgetown's 145.6 yards per game ranks 106th out of 124 schools. Only two non-Ivy schools (Central Connecticut and The Citadel) have fewer passing yards than Georgetown at this point of the season.
• Georgetown's third down conversion ranks 115th nationally, and only one school has a lower number of first downs from that conversion rate: Cornell, Saturday's opponent.
• The Hoyas' 34 first downs are the fewest of any FCS school outside the Ivy League.

Yes, Georgetown has fewer games under its belt than most FCS teams, but it's just not an offensive output that is making its case in September. The offense has generated just five touchdowns in three games, and that's putting a lot of pressure on its defense to keep the Hoyas close. 

To its credit, Georgetown stayed close to Richmond and Columbia, but GU's fourth quarter offense was resolutely weak Saturday, managing just 13 total yards. Chunk plays have their place in the game, but the short yardage game is vital, too, and to date Georgetown cannot move the sticks, as befits is 22:24 average time of possession. Despite the poor results, there is a lot of promise on this roster. It will take time, a precious commodity as it turns the corner to a more competitive October schedule.

2. Sgarlata At 125: Saturday's game marks a coaching milestone for Rob Sgarlata: his 125th game as head coach. Among Georgetown coaches, just two others (Scott Glacken, 194 games; Bob Benson, 136 games) have ever reached it. 

With 36 years within the program as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, no one knows more about the state of Hoya Football as does Sgarlata--in 2015 he told the Georgetown Voice that "I knew the score when I took this job." Everyone connected to the Georgetown program knows that Sgarlata's record would be much improved if the program was better funded, and everyone connected to an opponent knows that Georgetown is a tougher out because he's on the sideline.

3. Homecoming 2026: Georgetown's 101st Homecoming game arrives Saturday versus Cornell, which has not played in Washington since 2007--also a Homecoming game. With an overall record of  51-29-3 (.632) and 19-12-0 (.612) since 1993, it should be better attended and better supported, but that's another topic for discussion. 

Saturday's game will also honor members of the 1981, 1987, and 1988 teams, with the latter two teams combining for a two-year record of 12-4-1 (.735) and a 6-1-1 record at home atop the wind-tunnel that was Kehoe Field.

In an an editorial preceding the 1987 Homecoming game, The HOYA asked: "Georgetown’s most pressing need as it approaches its bicentennial has nothing to do with science libraries, new student centers or finding a small forward to replace Reggie [Williams]. The university is faced with a glaring void that cries out to be filled. We need a legitimate rival.

"Anyone who has ever seen a Nebraska-Oklahoma or an Army-Navy football game can see what a real blood feud between universities does for school spirit. A healthy rivalry between comparable colleges unites the student bodies in a contagious way, and certainly lends importance and excitement to otherwise mundane campus athletic events. More importantly, a rival should breed competition at all levels of college life. As much as the traditional Harvard-Yale rivalry is manifest in their annual gridiron clash, the schools compete intellectually as well. A real rival should breed ill will from college bowl teams as well as football squads."

Owing to its Division III orbit at the time, the newspaper nominated Johns Hopkins as the suggested rival, but that would not be appropriate in 2026. With a nine game PL schedule, maybe a future game each year with Richmond or William & Mary would be appropriate. Maybe it's Cornell. Maybe it's someone we wouldn't even think of. 

The case from the editorial in 1987 bears repeating today: "Georgetown must try to find a worthy rival, both athletically and intellectually. A well-hyped Homecoming game against our arch-enemy would draw the kind of student enthusiasm worthy of the event."

4. Around The PL:

Colgate 28, Villanova 21: In an early test for the 2026 Patriot League race, the Red Raiders stepped up in a 28-21 win before 6,753 at Villanova Stadium. A pair of touchdown passes form Jake Stearney gave Colgate a third quarter lead, but it was the Colgate defense that shut down the Wildcats in their final drive of the game--a 14 play drive that netted just 25 yards and preserved the Colgate win. Both teams go out of league play this week, with Colgate traveling to Harvard and Villanova hosting Morgan State.

Holy Cross 38, Lafayette 30: A season of near-misses finally went the Crusaders' way, as the Purple picked up its first win of the 2026 season before 3,394 at Fisher Stadium. Just 15 total yards separated both teams on the afternoon but Holy Cross controlled time of possession and three first quarter touchdowns gave it momentum that carried it to the win. The Crusader win came despite a season's best 152 yards and three touchdowns from Lafayette WR Mason Kuehner. HC moves on to play at William & Mary while Lafayette hosts Richmond.

Lehigh 20, Pennsylvania 7: A pair of third quarter drives opened up a 3-0 halftime lead as the Engineers won convincingly before just 1,839 at a windy Franklin Field. Weather conditions limited Lehigh to just 217 yards on the afternoon but they converted on three red zone possessions and limited Penn to just one drive inside the 20. Lehigh returns home to host Fordham oin Saturday, with Penn traveling to face Dartmouth.

Richmond 13, Furman 9: Aziz-Foster -Powell rushed for 125 yards as the Spiders held off the Paladins before 6,558 at Robins Stadium. The teams combined for six turnovers and neither team scored in the final 20 minutes of play as the defenses took over. Furman advanced to the Richmond 31 in the final 11 seconds of play but two passes to the end zone fell incomplete. The Spiders travel to Lafayette this week while Furman hosts Wofford.

Stony Brook 31, Fordham 16: C.J. Hester ran for three touchdowns as the visiting Seahawks traveled to the Bronx and picked up its third straight win over the Rams before 2,237 at Moglia Stadium. The Rams trailed 21-13 at halftime but struggled to put together drives, managing just 32 yards in its first seven dries of the second half.  Fordham travels to Lehigh on Saturday, while Stony Brook travels to Towson.

Pittsburgh 59, Bucknell 0: The Bison entered its bye week from a mauling before 43,920 at Acrisure Stadium, allowing the Panthers 377 yards in the first half and touchdowns on each of its five drives before the break. Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel set a career record with 403 yards and six touchdowns, as the Panthers put up 766 yards total offense and held the Bison to just 31 yards rushing and 166 yards overall. The win marked the Panthers' first shutout win since the opening game of the 2020 season. Pitt travels to Virginia Tech next week.

Duke 62, William & Mary 7: The last "guarantee game" on the consolidated PL calendar met its expected outcome, as the Blue Devils walked out of  Wallace Wade Stadium with a 62-7 win before 23,003 in attendance. Duke held W&M to a net of 17 yards on 29 carries on the afternoon. The Tribe had closed the score to 14-7 late in the first quarter but Duke scored on its next nine possessions before taking its only punt of the afternoon with two minutes to play. Duke returns to ACC play Saturday at Georgia Tech, while William & Mary returns to PL play to host Holy Cross.

Week 3 Thoughts

 

Some thoughts following Richmond's 24-21 win over Georgetown this past Saturday:

1. Lessons Learn-ing: There are no moral victories out there and you can't help but credit kicker Kyle Bitsko for stepping up for the game winner, but this was a loss that Georgetown showed improvement in. Entering two weeks of nonconference play, there will be opportunities to focus on three areas of growth Georgetown will need to maximize into October.

This begins with the first half. Georgetown has managed one offensive touchdown in the first half over its last two games, and has allowed 45 points in return. Lehigh and Richmond combined for one punt between them over these two games by halftime, and the Hoya defense is just getting beaten up and ground down too early.  

With only 110 first half yards versus the Spiders and 104 the week earlier versus Lehigh, Georgetown does not generate enough offense to give its defense a fighting chance. To its credit, the Hoyas did just that in the second half of this game, as UR's rushing game was contained and the Spiders earned just one red zone penetration after the break. All that said, Georgetown is simply not strong enough offensively to erase a 21-7 mark at the halftime against most teams.

A second area of growth must the the run. The Jack McDaniels offense is well suited to maximizing RPO opportunities but Georgetown doesn't have enough of the "R" and its quarterbacks can't run the "O".  With opponents limiting touches for Clay Ash, the development of additional run options for Jayden Sumpter and, when he gets the opportunity, Bryce Cox, has merit. It may not be fashionable in modern college football to run two-back sets, but until such time as the offense can give Jack Johnson suitable time in the pocket, a rushing attack with two choices is a good first step. It's also an intriguing option for this week given that Columbia allowed 232 yards on the ground to Lafayette, where the Leopards earned 4.4 yards per carry. 

The third area is in defensive stops. Georgetown ranks last in the nation in defensive third down conversion, allowing opponents 63 percent efficiency over two games. That's just too easy for teams to exploit. Numbers like this extend drives and push the Hoyas further to the bottom of FCS in time of possession, where only Houston Christian has fewer minutes on the field offensively than does Georgetown. A week's work of preparation does not add up when its defense is on the field 41 minutes a game.

Columbia put 40 points on the board versus Lafayette last week--sending a message to those in D.C. that Georgetown has to turn the clock around to its advantage, or it simply won't have enough possessions to contend.

2. About Those Ivies: These are changing times in the Patriot League, a given. While opponents such as Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, and Duke appear on other PL opponent schedules, Georgetown looks to the old verities. Some of it is necessity, and some of it may be a institutional ceiling.

With nine PL games now on the calendar, teams had to cut its non-conference schedules from five to three moving forward. Georgetown cut back even more, opting to play just two games, both against Ivy League opponents: Columbia and Cornell, neither of which are competing for the Ivy's playoff bid in 2026. The necessity is obvious, perhaps: Pitt is not calling Georgetown for a game and Coach Sgarlata is not signing up for a 73-0 blowout and a $400,000 check to do so. 

For a university which seems institutionally uncomfortable to seek name opponents in football, an association with Ivy League teams appeals to its better angels, and no one is calling the virtual switchboard at 37th and O to complain to the athletic director or the president if Georgetown loses to an Ivy school. While Georgetown remains less competitive with the Ivies as a whole (a combined 8-36 since 2003), six of those eight wins come versus either Columbia or Cornell. Those schools see Georgetown as a game they can win, and vice versa. A native of Nyack, NY, Sgarlata has an affinity for New York schools given how the program positions NYC as a second home for the program. 

However, it's no longer the days when Georgetown had as many as four road games a year to the Tri-State area, or when 48 players on the 1996 roster came either from New York or New Jersey alone. Today there are almost as many members of the Hoyas from Texas (nine) as the 10 currently coming from New York and New Jersey combined, and neither state is close to the 15 players coming from California. Yes, fans know that Sgarlata isn't calling Cal Poly or Tarleton State for a game to drive regional recruiting, but it's a question for this week's tailgate: is Columbia and Cornell the ceiling as far as Georgetown's non-league aspirations can go, or should it look beyond the Empire State, and to whom?

Holy Cross travels to play Northwestern next season. If Georgetown were to get such a call, would fans be excited, terrified, bewildered, or simply concerned that the University's image for football doesn't belong with such schools?

3. Around The PL:

Columbia 40, Lafayette 34 (OT): Despite being picked last in the Ivy League and coming off a 2-8 season with wins over Cornell and Georgetown, the Lions stung the Leopards before 3,728 at Wien Stadium. Chase Goodwin made his season debut for Columbia throwing for 369 yards and two touchdowns, including a wild finish where the Lions intercepted Lafayette QB Daniel Lipovsky on the first play of the overtime and Goodwin throwing a 25 yard touchdown pass to close the game on the next play. With CU headed to Washington, Lafayette hosts Holy Cross.

Lehigh 24, Dartmouth 20: The #7-ranked Engineers were tested all afternoon in a closely fought game with the Big Green, needing a D.J. Brown interception at its five yard line to preserve the win before 8,902 at Goodman Stadium. Luke Yoder rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns but Dartmouth's pass defense held the Engineers to just  73 yards after Lehigh had passed for 271 yards against Georgetown two weeks earlier. Lehigh will travel to Penn in its bid to remain undefeated.

Yale 38, Holy Cross 28: Dante Reno passed for 454 yards as the Bulldogs shredded the Crusaders ' defense before 17,623 at Fitton Field. After HC took the lead early in the fourth, Yale scored the final 17 points of the game for the win. A 0-4 record does not tell the story about these Crusaders, and Saturday's game at Fisher Stadium could be a real test for the Leopards as Holy Cross looks for a mid-season turnaround.

Pennsylvania 20, Bucknell 7: Penn scored on back to back touchdowns in the first quarter and kept its distance in a 20-7 win before 3,360 at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium. The Bison combined for just 124 yards of total offense and crossed midfield just twice all afternoon. Now, they must travel to 3-0 Pittsburgh next week.

Colgate 20, Cornell 7: The Red Raiders won going away before 5,287 at Andy Kerr Stadium. Colgate scored on each of its first four drives, including drives of 62, 78, and 90 yards, owing a 40:11 time of possession forcing three Cornell interceptions. The Red Raiders will be tested in a key early season matchup Saturday at Villanova.

Villanova 20, LIU 16: The near-upset-of-the-week needed an 85 yard Wildcat drive in the final two minutes for Villanova to prevail, 20-16, before 3,086 at Shark Stadium. LIU overcame three turnovers and stayed close all afternoon, holding Villanova to 1 of 8 on third down conversions. 

Fordham 52, William & Mary 27: No one saw this coming--the winless Rams routed the #21-ranked Tribe before a home crowd of 11,784 at Zable Stadium. After an opening punt, Fordham scored on eight consecutive possessions, led by a career high 203 yards from RB Yohan Li-Louis and 569 yards overall. The Rams led 28-7 at halftime and never looked back, ending an 18 game road losing streak dating to the 2023 season. Fordham returns home for Homecoming versus Stony Brook, while W&M goes out of conference to face the 3-0 Duke Blue Devils in Durham.

Week Two Thoughts

 

Some thoughts coming off Georgetown's early bye week:

1. Relax, Recover, or Reboot? As one of only four FCS schools without an opponent last week, Georgetown was in an unusual position of sitting out the second week of September. The previous week's loss to Lehigh was neither unusual or unexpected, but highlighted three areas of longer-term concern with the trajectory of the 2026 Hoyas. 

As any cook would say, you can only go as far as the ingredients will take you, and such is the case with the coaches. The depth of this team is less than any other Patriot League team, and to "do more with less" is a concept baked within the program, so to speak. The challenge facing the staff, both last week and in the weeks to come, is what they can do to reverse some of the trends. 

1. Total Offense: Through two weeks, Georgetown ranks 107th among 116 schools in total offense, with just 239 yards offense in the Lehigh loss. Seven punts, an interception, and a turnover on downs marked Georgetown's first nine complete series of the game until it managed a touchdown against Lehigh's reserves to close the game. The running game wasn't there, nor the passing game. Much of this was a reflection of a superior Lehigh defense, of course, but the Hoyas need better execution. Its 3 for 12 on third down ranks 104th nationally; its 4.9 yards per passing attempt is 109th.

2. Progress At Quarterback: Whether it's one game (or a game and half, depending on your view), the quarterback situation represents an area of focus. Neither Jacob Holtschlag nor Jack Johnson has made a case to push the Hoyas forward. Holtschlag's passing efficiency of 73.0 is just 105th of 107 quarterbacks tracked by the NCAA. The play calling has been conservative and the offensive line isn't giving either man enough time to set up for extended pass plays. Saturday's game against a Richmond defense that has allowed 385 yards a game over its first three opponents offers at least an opportunity to gain some offensive momentum.

3. Time Of Possession: One game does not mark a trend, but to have run 11 drives which consume just 19:41 off the clock is a bad way to start off the season. Georgetown needs to build drive and convert them in order to place any fear into the hearts of a Richmond team which beat Bucknell by three touchdowns and sailed past Howard before an epic 73-0 wipeout at North Carolina State.

In a moment of trivia, it was noted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Friday's loss was the most points surrendered by a Richmond team since an 84-0 loss on October 31, 1900. 

The opponent in 1900? Georgetown University.

2. News From the Ivies: Saturday marks the opening of the Ivy League season, which always starts three weeks later than everyone else. Some surprising news today opens the door to some changes in that regard. Per an Ivy release:

"For the 2027 season, the league games originally scheduled for Oct. 23 -- the first weekend featuring exclusively Ivy vs. Ivy competition -- will instead be played in Week 1 on Sept. 11. The league-wide bye week will take place the weekend of Oct. 23... Options for the implementation of the bye week beyond the 2027 season will continue to be discussed throughout the upcoming year."

The short answer to the news above is that the Ivies will open their schedule a week earlier, which may open the doors to its non-conference schedule. It's no secret that the Ivies' access to Patriot opponents has been constricted, following the PL's move to a nine game league schedule. By Week 3, a number of Northeastern conferences are already into their league schedules. 

In 2026, the Ivy and Patriot will play just 11 games between them. Four PL schools (Fordham, Richmond, W&M, Villanova) have no Ivy opponents, while two Ivies (Dartmouth, Princeton) have no Patriot opponents. Whether these leagues necessarily need to play more games is a topic of its own, which we'll discuss next week. 

3. Around The PL: Some great games last week. Let's start with one that got lost among the FBS blowouts.

Central Michigan 13, Colgate 10: The Red Raiders put together a great game plan on the road and led  with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter, but succumbed late, 13-10, before 19,005 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Colgate forced three turnovers on the homestanding Chippewas but gave up two interceptions of its own in CMU territory for its final two drives of the game.  "I am so happy and proud of our kids for battling and battling in all three phases, and I am so, so thankful for our fans," said CMU coach Matt Drinkall. "We had an incredible crowd today and it made a huge difference, especially in the second half when we started playing better in all three phases." Even in defeat, Colgate sent a message that it is ready co compete at the highest levels of the PL, and the Red Raiders return home this weekend to play Cornell.

Lehigh 44, William & Mary 20: The #9-ranked Engineers opened with a 30-0 run and never looked back before a home crowd of 5,240 at Goodman Stadium. W&M is going to be a contender this season but were no match for Lehigh, which rang up 366 rushing yards, led by 169 yards from RB Luke Yoder. Lehigh scored on four of its first five possessions with drives of 58, 65, 69,  and 85 yards and hosts Dartmouth this weekend, while the Tribe hosts Fordham.

Bucknell 14, VMI 3: This was all of a 3-0 game entering the final eight minutes before the Bison scored on a 66 yard drive and converted on a midfield interception on the next series for the second touchdown. Chris Dietrich was 22 of 30 for 221 yards to lead the Bison, who host Penn this weekend.

Lafayette 13, Marist 9: A struggle win for the Leopards at Fisher Stadium averted its first loss to Marist since the series began in 1999. An underrated Marist team was halted on four drives inside Lafayette territory, including a pair of fourth quarter opportunities at the Lafayette 20 and its 13. Neither team committed a turnover on the afternoon, but Lafayette's defensive intensity proved the difference. Lafayette concludes its non-conference slate Saturday at Columbia.

Louisville 59, Villanova 13: The first of four FBS blowouts thumped the Wildcats before 46,385 at L&N Stadium. Villanova trailed 31-10 at the half and never contended, giving up 635 total yards and spotted the Cardinals points on five of their first six drives of the evening. A return to FCS awaits the Wildcats in a road game at LIU.

North Carolina State 73, Richmond 0: "We’re down. We’re banged up, man. I understand that,” said Richmond coach Russ Huesman after the Spiders were routed before 56,919 at Carter-Finley Stadium . “They were just going through us so easily, making plays... [but] 73-0, I mean, that’s ridiculous." The Wolfpack averaged 10.6 yards per play and 734 yards total offense en route to its largest margin of victory since an 90-7 win over Wofford in 1920, when State was known as the North Carolina A&M Aggies.

Miami (OH) 45, Holy Cross 7: The struggles continue for the Crusaders with its third consecutive blowout, this one a 45-7 loss before 11,126 at Yager Stadium. The Red Hawks scored on each of its first six drives of the game and led 42-0 at halftime, holding Holy Cross to a net of 16 yards in its first five drives. Miami quarterback David McComb was 13 for 13 for 234 yards and three touchdowns. The Crusaders host Yale Saturday before beginning a run on the road that won't have them back to Fitton Field until October 24.

Coastal Carolina 45, Fordham 7: The Chanticleers broke open an early 7-7 deadlock and scored 38 unanswered points before 18,113 at Brooks Stadium. The Rams were held to just 210 yards and six of its drives netted three of fewer yards. Winless in its first three games, the Rams travel to #21-ranked William & Mary on Saturday.

Week One Thoughts

 

Some thoughts following Lehigh's 45-14 win over Georgetown Saturday:

1. Disappointing: There wasn't much of an expectation Georgetown would be able to go toe-to-toe with Lehigh when it counted, but the performance of its offense raised more questions than it should for an opening game.

Of course, that opening game should have been Lafayette, where the Hoyas showed early promise on offense and held its own in the first half, now since negated. None of this was on display Saturday. Georgetown combined for three first downs on each of its first four drives, all ending with a punt.  It crossed the 50 yard line just twice all afternoon, and held the ball for just 19:41. No defense is going to survive long versus Lehigh by being on the field for 41 minutes as a result.

Lehigh made the adjustments and Georgetown did not. Clay Ash rushed for 15 yards on the opening two series and a combined seven yards thereafter. Excepting Jack Johnson's unexpected run of 38 yards and some late carries by Bryce Cox in the final two minutes, the Hoyas had no ground game to speak of. Its inexperienced offensive line cannot open up holes for the backs and must assume a defensive position for its equally inexperienced quarterbacks. 

Jacob Holtschlag and Jack Johnson completed 12 passes for just 124 yards. The Engineers held senior Hassan Mahasin in check (one catch. -1 yards)  and while  relative newcomers Jayvin Pyle-Thompson and Jonathan Alexander picked up some good catches, there was no real game film on them before... but  there is now. With Nick Dunneman sidelined, the Hoyas just don't have many options offensively, and opponents will take advantage.

Defensively, well, Lehigh did what good teams do. It speaks for the velocity of the Engineers that Georgetown forced three red zone fumbles and still gave up 45 points. This isn't the high-octane offenses of the Pete Lembo era than once rang up 49 points on the 2002 Hoyas by halftime, but if Lehigh can address its defensive gaps they figure to be the favorite this season over a still-erratic Villanova team.

Overall, Lehigh had 11 drives in the game, Take away the three fumbles, and they were:

Touchdown

Touchdown

Touchdown

Field goal

Touchdown

Missed field goal

Touchdown

Touchdown

Such results dropped the Hoyas to 113th of 116 FCS schools in total defense and 115th or 116 in pass efficiency defense--an early sample, of course, but two areas to watch as the season progresses.

The Hoyas didn't help themselves with some inopportune penalties, but penalties didn't lose this game. The better Lehigh team won, again, and now Georgetown must adapt and adjust for the games to come.

2. Past As Prologue: The loss was Georgetown's 23rd in the past 25 meeting dating to 2001, and the 13th by three touchdowns or more, including three straight. Look no further than the offensive line. 

A total of 33 different Lehigh players have received first team All-PL commendation on its offensive line; by contrast, Georgetown has not earned a single first team All-PL selection since joining the league and just nine second team selections.

Granted, the PL tends to hand out lots of first team awards to the top teams, and Lehigh has had its share in that category. But as an army marches on its stomach, and offense marches on its O-line and Georgetown's  record in this category has been incomplete. It's a narrow door when a school is trying to recruit impact lineman without football scholarships, a given. Going forward, a healthy and experienced line opens opportunity for the right QB and the right backs to excel.

3. Why A Bye? How many FCS schools have a bye after one week? There's only one.

Georgetown is notoriously close-mouthed about its scheduling habits but the changes in the 2026 PL schedule to accommodate a nine game rotation turned this week into a anomaly--Georgetown is the only FCS school nationwide without a game this week. It's not known if any of the usual non-conference, non-Ivy opponents sought a game with the Hoyas but each of them was previously booked for September 12: Marist at Lafayette, Davidson hosting Division III Dickinson,  Wagner and Sacred Heart picking up guarantee games at James Madison and UMass, respectively. With Georgetown as one of just six FCS schools in a FCS scholarship conference that has no guarantee game this season, filling that schedule is no easy task, especially this season, and the NC with Lafayette has reduced it to a 10 game schedule.

Bye weeks are a chance to recover from the schedule and set a course for the remaining games, and both are limited with a break so early. With Georgetown due for games over the next six Saturdays thereafter, it will be interesting to see if it produce something productive out of the early schedule mess.

And about next season's schedule? No comment, of course, but those two non-conference Ivy games, if they continue, will both be on the road and put pressure on GU to schedule a 12th game. Who and when, stay tuned.

4. Last Week's Results:

Colgate 35, Holy Cross 10. The Red Raiders are off to a good start, one which the Crusaders were unable to match before 3,059 at Andy Kerr Stadium. Colgate scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions and never looked back. Both schools head to the Mid-American Conference for guarantee games this Saturday: Colgate at Central Michigan, Holy Cross at Miami (OH).

Connecticut 56, Lafayette 7: The Leopards' re-opener was a rough one, giving up three touchdowns in the first 11 minutes and trailing 35-0 at the half before 31,381 at Rentschler Field. The Huskies rang up 671 yards in total offense en route to their season opening win. Lafayette returns to Easton for its home opener versus Marist.

Villanova 17, Bucknell 14: An unexpectedly close game for the Wildcats, which needed a blocked field goal in the final two minutes to escape Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium with the win. Both teams finished with 305 yards apiece, with Bucknell WR Sam Milligan catching 13 passes for 135 yards. Villanova travels to Louisville for a Friday night game, while Bucknell will be at VMI on Saturday.

William & Mary 22, Delaware State 15: Six Del State turnovers powered the Tribe to the win before 8,410 at Zable Stadium. W&M led comfortably in this game, 22-0, but survived a late fourth quarter run.  A final drive by the Hornets was halted at midfield as time expired. W&M travels Saturday to Lehigh in a key early season PL matchup.

Richmond 28, Howard 21: The Spiders led 20-0 at halftime before battling past the homestanding Bison before 3,674 at Greene Stadium. Down seven in the fourth quarter, the Bison were held in each of their three drives of the quarter without crossing midfield. UR travels Friday to North Carolina State.

North Dakota State 38, Fordham 0: All gas, no brakes for the Bison, now playing in the Mountain West Conference, who shut down the Rams before 15,212 at the Fargodome. The Rams were held to 19 yards rushing and crossed midfield just twice, turning the ball over each time. Fordham returns to action Saturday with a guarantee game at Coastal Carolina.

25 Years Of Patriot Football

On this date in 2001: Georgetown's first game in the Patriot League.

Before a sellout crowd of 2,512 at Kehoe Field, Georgetown opened the 2001 season with a 41-14 loss to Lehigh in its Patriot League debut.

"We realize what kind of team we were playing today," said head coach Bob Benson to the Allentown Morning Call, as Lehigh paid its first and only visit to the windswept Kehoe Field for a game. "If you're going to start something, you might as well as start at the top and that's where Lehigh is right now."

The game was a harbinger of things to come. Lehigh went undefeated in the regular season, was ranked as high as #5 nationally,  and lost in the NCAA quarterfinals, finishing 11-1. Georgetown was winless in the PL and finished 3-7.

Here's the HoyaSaxa.com game recap:

"The size and depth of #11-ranked Lehigh powered the Engineers past Georgetown, 41-14, in the Patriot League debut for the Hoyas. Despite the loss, and more tough competition around the corner, the game gave Hoyas fans a glimpse of some exciting times to come.

Lehigh made its statement early, returning the opening kickoff 50 yards to the Georgetown 41, and scoring three plays later. The Hoyas made a nice comeback, advancing to the Lehigh 19, but QB Sean Peterson's pass was intercepted in the end zone. Lehigh answered with a field goal to lead 10-0, and held Georgetown to frequent punts in the first half, extending the lead to 24-0 in the second.

A fourth TD in the half was narrowly was avoided when DB Byron Anderson stripped the ball from Lehigh's Josh Snyder at the one yard line, following a 62 yard pass completion headed straight to the end zone. However, the Hoyas offense stalled, and Lehigh took the punt and drove for a 35 yard field goal, which sailed wide.

With 3:35 to play, Peterson took the Hoyas on a 82 yard drive, culminating in an exciting TD pass from Peterson to Craig Agnello with no time outs and :02 remaining in the half.

The two teams traded field position in the the third quarter, with Dave Wilson scoring on a one yard run to increase the lead to 31-7 with 3:46 in the third. Following a field goal to lead 34-7, Lehigh took advantage of Georgetown's special teams to block a Dave Paulus punt at the Georgetown 18. Despite holding the Engineers in a goal line stand, Lehigh pushed through on fourth and goal to lead 41-7.

The Hoyas completed the last score, with Peterson finding sophomore Luke McArdle on a 38 yard touchdown strike with 5:28 to play. Overall, Peterson finished the game 23-33 for 288 yards.<br><br>

"There was still a positive attitude on the sideline and on the offensive side of the ball," Peterson said in the Washington Post. "It was good to score late in the game. That shows we still had a lot of pride."

To no one's surprise, Lehigh's size and depth dominated the statistics. Georgetown had an edge in time of possession, but Lehigh's passing tended to restrict its time of possession."

Here's a review of the statistics from the game:"

                LEHIGH GEORGETOWN

 First downs         18       16
 Rushes-yards        37-139   29-31
 Passing             306      288 
 Comp-Att-Int        17-30-0  23-33-1
 Return Yards        61       5
 Punts-Avg.          3-45     10-30
 Fumbles-Lost        2-1      2-0 
 Penalties-Yards     4-32     9-47 
 Time of Possession  26:32    33:28 
  

Week 0: Sounds Of Silence

 

1. Like It Never Even Happened: Georgetown's opener was... all wet. Well, not quite.

Thirty minutes of mostly promising football to open the 2026 season went for naught as two hours from lightning in suburban Maryland never amounted to a storm in the District, and a hastily called "no-contest" consigned this game to the round file in the Patriot League offices.

For those who missed it, a lightning delay was called at halftime of the season opener, with Georgetown leading Lafayette 13-7. Two hours later, with no updates in the interim, the game is called--not postponed, not rescheduled. Like it never even happened.

There was, and there is, no public statement as to the criteria used to call the game. The PL bylaws offer no great detail as to what triggers a "no-contest", and its bylaws suggest something else--it reads, in part, "if fewer than three quarters of the game have been completed, the game will be resumed as soon as possible on the same day, conditions permitting. Games postponed to another day will not start any later than the originally scheduled kickoff time, unless mutually agreed upon by both institutions." 

Also: "In the event that the game cannot be resumed on the next day, a decision to postpone the game to a weekday or cancel the game should be made by the Athletic Directors of both institutions and the Commissioner of the League. Every reasonable effort will be made to play the game on its scheduled day or the next day." These schools had no apparent conflict to play Friday or even Saturday, given their schedules. Yes, Easton is a three hour bus ride and there's a cost there, but D.C. isn't a trip to Montana, either.

If the decision was, per the bylaws, "made by the Athletic Directors of both institutions and the Commissioner of the League," why not say so? If not, did someone else make this decision? Did the  two hour delay trigger a decision of its own, given that it was announced just after the 2:00 mark?  Either way, a simple statement would have sufficed, and these schools chose not to address it. 

While, in the long run, the game isn't likely to change Georgetown's trajectory, the decision could conceivably cost Lafayette an at-large playoff bid if it were to finish 7-4 instead of 8-4.

As to rescheduling, this seemed to have been dismissed outright. Remember, these teams could have played Friday or Saturday, each under good weather conditions. FCS reporter Craig Haley reported on Twitter that "the Patriot League will look at options to try to conclude the Lafayette at Georgetown game", but after this past weekend, there really aren't any. Lafayette's only bye week is October 10, with Georgetown playing Cornell. Georgetown's first bye week is a week away (Lafayette is hosting Marist) and its second on October 31 (with Lafayette hosting Villanova). It's not giving up a home game to play for thirty more minutes on Cooper Field. 

Short of  a doubleheader following that game at Fisher Stadium, the Leopards and Hoyas won't see each other until 2027.  

2. Lessons From Halftime: Georgetown's 13-7 lead would have been a decision in a suspended baseball game, but this isn't baseball. So what did the Hoyas take out of this game?

Offensively, this team is going to struggle. Clay Ash had a nice opening series (four carries, 27 yards), as Lafayette had no real film on him as a walk-on at West Virginia., They adjusted somewhat thereafter and expect Lehigh to focus on him early this week. Jacob Holtschlag's 11 for 12 passing effort was encouraging, but it amounted for just 50 yards, or an average of 4.5 yards a catch. In the second quarter, Holtschlag was four for four... for eight yards. Yes, some of this is the product of a very new system and an equally new offensive line, but this is a recipe for trouble if Lehigh crowds the line and puts pressure early. Georgetown was just 2 of 8 on third down.

Defensively, Georgetown held its own, but Lafayette was not well positioned in this game, started tentatively, and did not attack the zone as some teams will. The Leopards had 202 total yards but just one red zone possession which ended in a fumble. Averaging 13.5 yards per reception, Lafayette had just seven points at the break and trailed due to a fumble deep in its possession and a special teams lapse off its only score of the evening. Had the game continued, the Leopards were the likely favorite if they adjusted at the break, but we'll never know to what extent those adjustments took place.

Neither team played convincingly in this one, and both figure to be in trouble this upcoming week, with Lafayette traveling to UConn and Georgetown hosting Lehigh.

3. This Week In The Patriot League: Opening the season with five league games was an innovative move and one which put the PL front and center to open the FCS race. Each of the other four games had its share of highlights:

William & Mary, Villanova 32: This game had all the excitement of an SEC court date in Baton Rouge, given the clouds of uncertainly around sixth year Villanova QB Patrick McQuaide , who was deemed eligible by a county judge in Cleveland, OH. (That's the state of college football, I guess.). Threatened with game forfeits by the PL, McQuaide started anyway, and this game had 60 minutes of action and intrigue, none more so than when the Tribe scored 13 points in the final 53 seconds, capped off by an interception of an errant McQuaide pass with 12 seconds left that set up W&M for the game winning field goal before 5,221 at Villanova Stadium. McQuaide is talented, no doubt, throwing 17 for 30 for 270 yards but with three interceptions. His status with the PL is by no means settled, and we'll see if the Saturday game at Bucknell rings up a forfeit from the league offices. As for the Tribe, they'll host Delaware State.

Colgate 23, Fordham 14: Traditionally a slow-starting group, the Red Raiders were up to the challenge in a convincing win at Fordham before 2,521 at Moglia Stadium. Colgate rushed 46 times for 275 yards and held the Rams to just 189 yards of offense all evening. The Red Raiders host Holy Cross on Saturday, while Fordham travels for a guarantee game at North Dakota State, now a member of the Mountain West Conference. 

Lehigh 35, Holy Cross 10: Scoring on the fourth play of the game, the Engineers served notice in the season opener before an announced 11,572 at Fitton Field, leading 21-0 early and never looking back. HC played better in this game and trailed by just seven yards in total offense when all was said and done (398-391) but failed to capitalize in key stretches of the game. It's the fifth consecutive loss at Fitton for the Crusaders dating to the 2025 season, who will travel to Colgate in another early test.

Richmond 35, Bucknell 14: A 21-0 start by the Spiders put this one away early before 5,717 at Robins Stadium, Freshman WR Bryce Allen made his UR debut with 108 yards on seven catches, while the Spiders' defense held the Bison to 32 yards on 29 carries. Richmond travels to Howard this weekend, while Bucknell hosts Villanova.