Nov. 19, 2007
Fordham makes its second trip to the NCAA Division I Football Championship, traveling to Massachusetts in a game that will be televised live on ESPNU at Noon on Saturday. The Rams won their first-ever outright Patriot League title, and the first for any team since 2003. Fordham last went to the postseason in 2002, when it knocked off Northeastern in the first round before falling to Villanova in the quarterfinals.
Patriot League Football Release - 11.19.07 
No. 25 Fordham Rams (8-3, 5-1) at No. 7 Massachusetts Minutemen (9-2, 7-1 CAA), First Round, NCAA Division I Football Championship
McGuirk Stadium, Amherst, Mass: Noon
Series: First Meeting
Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella, Wagner, 1981
Career Record 28-37 (6th season) overall/11-11/6-6 (2nd season) at Fordham
Massachusetts Head Coach Don Brown, Norwich, 1977
Career Record 87-35 (11th season) overall/35-13 (4th season) at Massachusetts
Fordham meets Massachusetts for the first time in school history in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship...The game will be nationally televised live on ESPNU beginning at Noon...Fordham and Massachusetts faced three common opponents: Colgate, Holy Cross and Rhode Island...The Rams were 3-0 against those teams, while Massachusetts went 2-1...Fordham won at Colgate and Rhode Island and at home against Holy Cross, while Massachusetts won at Colgate and at home against Holy Cross, but lost at Rhode Island in overtime...This will be the fourth postseason game for a Patriot League team against Massachusetts, making them the most-played opponent in Patriot League postseason history...The Patriot League has a 1-2 mark against Massachusetts, with a win by Colgate in the first round in 2003 on its way to the national title game...Patriot League champion Lafayette fell, 35-14, at Massachusetts a year ago as the Minutemen advanced to the national title game....Patriot League teams have a 7-14 all-time mark in the postseason, with a 5-9 record in the first round...The League is 4-10 all-time against the CAA (formerly Atlantic 10) in the postseason, but does have a 4-6 mark in the first round...The Patriot League has faced at least one CAA opponent in every season since first entering the playoffs in 1997...Massachusetts earned the CAA automatic bid to the playoffs after sharing the title with Richmond...The winner of the game faces the winner of the Eastern Illinois/Southern Illinois game in the quarterfinals
Fordham Notebook Fordham won its second all-time Patriot League Championship, and first outright title....The Rams sealed their playoff spot when they knocked off Holy Cross, 24-21, to claim the Patriot League's automatic postseason spot on Nov. 3...It was the first outright crown for any Patriot League team since 2003...Fordham had its six-game winning streak snapped in the 38-24 loss to Bucknell Saturday...Fordham was picked to finish sixth in this year's Patriot League preseason poll...Fordham played in the postseason once before, in 2002, and has a 1-1 record...Both games were against teams from the CAA, with the Rams beating No. 4 seed Northeastern in the first round and losing at Villanova in the quarterfinals...Head Coach Tom Masella is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Patriot League Notebook
Fordham Claims First Outright Patriot League Title
It didn't happen in the most conventional or predictable manner, but the Fordham Rams can celebrate their first-ever outright Patriot League Football Championship on Saturday. Fordham wasn't able to take care of business at home against Bucknell, as the Bison scored their first Patriot League win of the year with a 38-24 triumph. But before that game had concluded, the Rams learned that they would claim sole possession of the Patriot League crown as Holy Cross rallied from a 20-10 deficit to top Colgate, 27-20. The Rams (8-3, 5-1) are the first Patriot League team to claim the title outright since Colgate in 2003
Depth in the Standings
Three teams finished just one game behind Fordham in the Patriot League standings, and it gave the Patriot League one of its deepest pools of quality teams in its 22-year history. Holy Cross' victory over Colgate gave both teams identical 4-2 marks in the League, and Lafayette joined them for a three-way tie after a 21-17 victory over archrival Lehigh. All three teams also finished with 7-4 overall marks, and combined with Fordham's final record gave the Patriot League a strong group at the top. It was just the second time in the League history that four teams finished at 4-2 or better in League play, and only the sixth time that four teams closed the year with seven overall wins or more. Both feats were most recently accomplished in 2004.
All-League, Major Award Winners Coming Soon
The 2007 Patriot League Football All-League Team and major awards winners will be announced on Tuesday afternoon. The top honors of Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year will be awarded along with 54 players comprising the First and Second-Team All-Patriot League.
Patriot Leaguers Await National Awards, Too
While the All-League and major awards come out tomorrow, four Patriot League representatives turn their attention to the voting for national Football Championship Subdivision honors. The Patriot League has four finalists on the 16-person ballots for the top individual honors presented by The Sports Network. Colgate running back Jordan Scott and Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph are up for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the most outstanding player in the FCS. Colgate linebacker Mike Gallihugh is a candidate for the top defensive honor, the Buck Buchanan Award. And Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella can hope the turnaround and Patriot League Championship for his team will result in an Eddie Robinson Award as the top coach in the FCS.
Still to Come
After the concluson of Fordham's playoff run, remember to come back to www.patriotleague.com for a final football release detailing the major awards, All-League team, 2007 record-setters and League and team recaps of the 2007 Patriot League football campaign.
Offensive Player of the Week
Dominic Randolph, Holy Cross Jr., QB, 6'3, 211, Amelia, Ohio/St. Xavier
Randolph completed 29-of-42 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions to lead Holy Cross past Colgate, 27-20. The 441 yards set a new career-high, and he also totaled a career-high 473 yards of total offense. Randolph placed second on Holy Cross single-game lists in both categories. He led a rally from a 20-13 deficit in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdown passes, including the game-winning strike with just over seven minutes to play. Randolph, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award given to the most outstanding player in the FCS, set single-season Holy Cross records for completions (297), attempts (482) and total offense (3,741), and finished second in passing yards (3,604) and touchdowns (30). Randolph earns his third Offensive Player of the Week nod of the year.
Defensive Player of the Week
Casey Gough, Holy Cross Sr.,DB, 6'1, 200, Hinsdale, Ill./Fenwick
Gough picked off two passes, both in the fourth quarter, and notched five tackles to lead Holy Cross past Colgate, 27-20. The first interception came in the endzone with Holy Cross trailing, 20-13, early in the fourth, and the second came late in the game with the Crusaders preserving a seven-point lead. Gough recorded multiple interceptions in a game for the first time in his final game.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Brett McDermott, Holy Cross Jr., WR, 6'1, 202, Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield
McDermott returned four kickoffs for 132 yards (33.0 avg) against Colgate, with a career-long of 72 in the first quarter. He finished the game with a career-high 220 all-purpose yards, including seven receptions for 88 yards.
Rookie of the Week
Shaun Pasternak, Bucknell Fr., WR, 6'2, 180, Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights
Pasternak hauled in a 58-yard reception in Bucknell's 38-24 victory over Fordham. The catch set up a third-quarter field goal that gave the Bison a seven-point cushion. He also drew a pass interference penalty in the endzone that set up a touchdown. Pasternak earns his second Rookie honor.
Team Notebooks
Bucknell The Bison knocked off Fordham, 38-24, on Saturday to avoid a winless record in Patriot League play...A.J. Kizekai had a pair of touchdowns, including one on a 82-yard reception....Kizekai became the first player in Bucknell history to record a TD run and reception greater than 80 yards in a season...He had an 80-yard touchdown run against Holy Cross....Kizekai also totaled 203 all-purpose yards against Fordham, and broke the Bucknell single-season mark for all-purpose yardage (1,908)...Linebacker Ryan Slater had seven tackles and an interception in his last collegiate action in the win...Bucknell finishes 3-8 overall and 1-5 in the Patriot League.
Colgate The Raiders fell to Holy Cross, 27-20, on Saturday to stop a four-game win streak...Running back Jordan Scott had 206 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and notched his 13th consecutive 100-yard effort overall, a Colgate record...Scott is one of three players in the history of the Patriot League to notch 11 consecutive 100-yard games in a season...He has 4,473 career rushing yards, one yard away from fourth place and 361 away from the Patriot League record going into his senior season...Erik Burke closed his career with 118 receptions and 1,874 yards, both in the Colgate top 10...Mike Gallihugh had six tackles in his last collegiate action...Colgate finishes in a three-way tie for second place in the Patriot League at 4-2, and with a 7-4 overall mark.
Georgetown The Hoyas wrapped up the 2007 campaign with a loss at home to Colgate on Nov.10...Charlie Houghton had 157 all-purpose yards in the loss...Darren Craft notched a career-high 12 tackles...Matt Bassuener completed his career with a 67.62 completion percentage, which is currenly fifth in the FCS among active players...It was the final game for 18 Georgetown seniors...Georgetown running back Kyle Van Fleet was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team
Holy Cross Quarterback Dominic Randolph finished the season with 3,604 yards, 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 297-of-482 passes...He set school single-season records for completions, attempts, and total offense (3,741), while finishing second in passing yards and touchdowns...Casey Gough had his first-career two-interception game in the win, and ends his career in eighth in Crusader history with 11 picks...It was Gough's first multiple interception game...Brett McDermott returned four kickoffs for 132 yards (33.0 avg) in the game....Holy Cross finished 7-4 overall and 4-2 in the League for the second year in a row, and came in a three-way tie for second-place in the Patriot League.
Lafayette The Leopards beat Lehigh for the fourth time in a row on Saturday, notching their longest win streak over the Mountain Hawks since claiming nine in a row from 1943-49...Quarterback Rob Curley earned game MVP honors after completing 15-of-25 passes for 257 yards and a game-winning touchdown pass with 3:30 to play...Andy Romans recorded 10 tackles in the win, and finishes the year with 113 total tackles...The Leopards finished 7-4 (4-2) and tied with Holy Cross and Colgate for second place in the league...Lafayette finished strong, going 3-0 in November. They are now 10-2 in the final month of the regular season (excluding postseason games) over the last four years.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks loss to Lafayette on Saturday ended a streak of nine consecutive winning seasons overall and nine straight seasons at .500 or better in Patriot League play....They were trying to become the second Patriot League team to post 10 consecutive winning seasons (Colgate, 1996-05)...Quarterback Sedale Threatt had 108 passing yards and 73 rushing yards in his last collegiate action...Jason Leo punted four times for 175 yards, good for a 43.8 average....Lehigh finishes 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League.
