I Believe 3 In a Row Means We're On a Roll

23-0. Very nice game by the Raiders to say the least. They look like they are getting better every week, which is just what we all like to see. I was at the game today, so here are some of my thoughts:

• First off, the field condition was excellent. Not playing last weekend probably saved Andy Kerr for the season. It was also kind of funny to see the groundscrew break out the John Deere Gators and roll the field at half time - like a Zamboni in hockey! I've never seen that before.
• Good defense makes all the difference. We had plenty of three and outs, big tackles, sacks, etc. It was great to watch.
• It is my opinion that right now we're winning games with skill positions on offense along with our defense. Saraceno is most definitely coming into his own. The way he was playing pass and catch so well today made me think I was watching Air Lehigh not Ground It Out Colgate. He is also making good decisions about when to pull the ball down and run it. Our offensive line play was adequate today, but definitely not dominating. We will need to rectify this if we are to win the league. A better defense is going to give us fits if our running game is not there. That said, Jordan Scott is going to be a good one. Nice balance of size and speed.
• Colgate got to the red zone several times and came up empty. That worries me. It could have easily been 28-0 going into the half, not 10-0. Still, we are making improvements every down. In fact, the way we punched in the final touchdown was growth from the first quarter. We'll get there. I just hope it is soon enough.
• We did some interesting things flexing Brent Dillingham at the tight end position and he even saw a play that had him end up at fullback. The more I watch him, the more I think he is going to be a big player in this league and a great advantage to us. He is a huge mismatch problem down the road.
• We used DeWayne Long a lot. Long still looks like a man amongst boys sometimes.
• Jeff Galletly played phenomenally. He was nursing a pulled hamstring last game, so it looked like it was better today. He led a very solid defensive front today. He plays like that for the rest of the season and he should be first team all Patriot League.
• Our defensive continue to impress me. The are a solid group and on the young side to boot. Both Lucius Johnson and Raymon Taft saw some action today and if they're our second teamers, we're doing A O-K. I think our D backs can pretty much play with anyone. The biggest benefit being that it frees up our line to get a good rush and get a chance at a sack.
• Stat wise it was an outstanding performance on defense. The biggest thing I wanted to know leaving the game was how much offense Fordham had. Turns out we held Fordham to 111 yards total offense, 57 rushing and 54 passing. The rushing came on 33 attempts so we held them to an average of 1.7 yards per rush. That's frankly outstanding.
• The next biggest stat I wanted to know was Saraceno's rushing. He ended up leading the team with 92 yards. He made some very smart decisions out there and showed that he is a multiple threat.
• There were a few more penalties then I am used to seeing Colgate have. We got nailed for a hit out of bounds that I thought was very questionable. The biggest penalty mistake was on a punt return that brought back another outstanding Geoff Bean return. Otherwise, they kicked away from him most of the time and Andrew Moore saw some time as Bean was hurt for a bit.
• Kenny Parker was also out with a sprain but should play next week. Even still, Long, Erik Burke and David Morgan looked solid. Throw in Dillingham and Ben Evans, along with Scott even getting something from the backfield, and we've got a lot of weapons coming of age. Seeing Scott catch a pass out of the backfield is something I haven't seen Colgate do much lately.

So pretty much, I'm stoked. Great game by all facets of the team. Next up, Holy Cross, but we'll worry about that on Monday.

Scores around I-AA

Once again this season, plenty of interesting results to note. Within the Patriot League, it was somewhat a rough day. Lehigh was able to beat Yale in overtime and Holy Cross demolished Dartmouth, but Lafayette fell to Harvard, Georgetown was slaughtered by Cornell and Bucknell continues to have major problems, this week at the hands of Villanova.

Outside the Patriot League:

• App. State takes it to Georgia Southern. That is huge for playoff and Southern Conference purposes. GSU might be done for this year. I have to wonder if the hounds will get a bit louder for their head coach's job.
• Delaware drops its 3rd straight, all in the A-10. This time it was Richmond. You can pretty much kiss the postseason goodbye for the Hens. I would not count them out though from having something to say about who does win the A-10 this year. They are young and as the season goes on might get back on track.
• UMass puts themselves in the drivers seat with a close win over JMU. God, I love that we have their own loss to our credit!
• William & Mary comes back to score 21 in the fourth quarter to eventually win it in overtime against Northeastern. Impressive.
• Furman needs double overtime to beat The Citadel.
• Eastern Washington takes down Montana by two touchdowns.
• Coastal Carolina saves their playoff hopes in an overtime win over Gardner Webb.
• Youngstown State squeaks by Western Illinois to go to 6-1.

That's all for today. Now I need to recover from that amazing Notre Dame/USC ending!