Some thoughts following Stonehill's 23-20 win over Georgetown Saturday:
1. Back to Reality: Two weeks of relative ease over the likes of Marist and Sacred Heart (a combined 0-5) were tested in a young and unfamiliar Stonehill team, and Georgetown did not pass this test.
The score was close, and the game was as well, but this should not have been close. A defense that was admittedly a starter down on the line was largely ineffective, giving up four drives of ten or more plays, accounting for all 23 Stonehill points. The Skyhawks were 9-16 on third downs, out-toughed the Hoyas in a number of key sequences, and were not seriously contained after halftime, punting the ball just once after the break. Any illusion about Georgetown as the top ranked defense in FCS, though statistically accurate, 2 was unfounded, and as the Hoyas take the clubhouse turn of the 2023 schedule , its defense must be more attuned to limiting the run and forcing opponents into turnovers.
Last season's matchup with Columbia was an especially frustrating one as the defense goes. The Lions were 14 of 18 on third down conversions an 4-5 in the red zone en route to a 42-6 win. The awkward rushing numbers from that day (Columbia 201, Georgetown 0) are not to be repeated if GU wants to stay close in this one.
Offensively, the Hoyas made no progress against the Skyhawks after the opening drive of the second half, and collected two first downs in the final 17 minutes of the game against a Stonehill defense giving up 260 yards a game on passing defense, but the Hoyas finished with just 175. The Hoyas have just two pass plays in 2023 of more than 20 yards, and it can't merely rely on short passes to make progress in late game drives.
There were some positive signs in the game, particularly on the ground, where the offensive line is giving Joshua Stakely and Naieem Kearney opportunities. Tyler Knoop is efficient in the short passing game, and was 13 of 14 by halftime. Columbia is not Stonehill, however, and the offense must take another step forward, as 20 points will likely not win this week's game.
2. Can The Special Teams Be Fixed? Of Georgetown's concerns heading into the Columbia and Penn games, the early returns on the special teams are not promising. Patrick Ryan's kickoff game has struggled, averaging just 52 yards a kick with no touchbacks. Richard Abood has not made a field goal outside 25 yards. The Hoyas are 90th of 122 schools in kickoff returns--not unexpected after losing Joshua Tomas, but a point of concern regardless.
Field possession is an output of special teams and this must be a priority heading into the Columbia game. Six of the Lions drives last week versus Lafayette did not pass midfield, and there of its drives resulted in negative yardage. By contrast, Lafayette started seven of its 11 drives in CU territory. Georgetown only pinned back the Skyhawks twice last week, and while Stonehill deserves credit for executing on its four long drives, shorter fields always work to the benefit of an offense.
3. What Would I Do? Reposting a conversation from the HoyaTalk board this weekend I argued that the 20 years of Georgetown facing Ivy League opponents has been, at best, unproductive:
This is the 20th anniversary of Georgetown's first Ivy opponent. Since then, two trends are apparent:
Georgetown is not competitive with these teams: a combined 6-32 (.157), or 4-8 versus Columbia and Cornell and 2-24 vs. everyone else, including an 0-fer vs Harvard and Yale (0-11). If Georgetown is "modeling" the Ivies they have largely failed to do so. After 2024, just one Ivy remains on published future schedules and a number Ivy schools simply don't want to play GU because the games are not competitive and Cooper Field is not a draw for their fans. No one considers Georgetown as a rival with any of these schools.
Nearly every Ivy school can now offer a no-loan, no-parent contribution offer to applicants with a household income under $100K. Georgetown cannot, and shows no institutional mandate to do so. In that sense, there is a disincentive for Ivy level athletes to attend Georgetown because it does not match offers received elsewhere (including six other PL schools), and I would suspect that Ivies lose comparatively few top athletes to Georgetown as a result.
I'm not arguing for 60 scholarships, and never really have. A Georgetown program with 60 scholarships is merely Bucknell without meaningful admissions reform by the Patriot League, and GU's place in the current PL may be a bigger hindrance to winning than being an Ivy League tagalong. But if Georgetown sees that it can aspire to be no more than Brown and Columbia for some sort of academic purity test in one sport (but curiously, no other), or that scheduling opponents outside three conferences are against the ethos and culture, it will not improve."
A reader asked: "What would you do if you had reasonable control of things like scholarship amounts within reasonable financial limits? Leave the Patriot League if they don’t even want to consider admissions changes? Where would we go?"
This blog has offered its share of ideas, thoughts and suggestions over the years to address this imbalance, most of them understandably ignored. Georgetown accepts a lot of losing out of football in the context that they do not fund it to the standards of other FCS schools, even Ivy League schools. Patriot League schools outside Georgetown spend between $6.3 and $7.8 million on football, and Georgetown stands at $2.7 million. Even among Ivy schools, Georgetown trails all eight.
So what would it take to change a 20 year equation? Check back here tomorrow for just such a proposal.
4. Around The PL: Some good returns for the PL teams in week 3:
Holy Cross 49, Yale 24: After nearly upsetting Boston College the week before, Holy Cross was back on track towards an 10 win season. QB Matthew Sluka completed 76 percent of his passes for 275 yards and punted just once in the 25 point win before 4,968 at the Yale Bowl. The 2-1 Crusaders take on winless Colgate (0-3) in the league opener Saturday.
Lehigh 23, Cornell 20: The Big Red dropped their opener in a game where the Engineers scored two touchdowns in the final 4:02 for the win before 4,087 at Goodman Stadium. Despite outgaining Lehigh 401 to 239, Cornell settled for second half field goals where they needed touchdowns, and credit goes to Lehigh for staying the course for the win. The Engineers travel to Dartmouth (0-1) this weekend.
Lafayette 24, Columbia 3: An early field goal was all the Lions could muster as the Leopards got 145 rushing yards from Jamar Curtis and Lafayette outgained Columbia 392-157, without a punt after halftime en route to the three touchdown win before 4,523 at Fisher Stadium. Early returns are promising for the young 2-1 Leopards, who host Monmouth this week.
Pennsylvania 20, Colgate 3: With an opening schedule that included Villanova, Syracuse, and Penn, an 0-3 start wasn't out of the question at Colgate, and the Red Raiders are right there now. Colgate managed just 60 yards on the ground and missed on thee fourth down conversions in the second half, never challenging thereafter before 3,628 at Andy Kerr Stadium. Another loss start seems all but likely at Holy Cross, which would be Colgate's first 0-4 start since the 2019 season, where it finished 3-8.
