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.
An e-mail to Georgetown was not returned. An e-mail to the Patriot League offices also met with no reply. No one has said a word. Why?
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.
Here is the text of the e-mails I sent:
Will a statement be issued about the game, including the following:
What were the criteria employed to this decision and who made the decision?
Why did the 13-7 score not stand as the final?
Can the schedule accommodate a makeup game?
Is a refund policy in place for tickets?
There was, and there is, no statement from Georgetown, Lafayette, or the PL 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.
