BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Six of the Patriot League’s seven football teams opened the 2021 campaign on Saturday, highlighted by Holy Cross defeating UConn, 38-28. It was the first victory by a Patriot League team over an FBS opponent since Fordham defeated Army West Point on Sept. 4, 2015. It was the Crusaders' first FBS win since 2002.
Fordham senior linebacker Ryan Greenhagen, the League’s defending defensive player of the year, broke a League record and tied an NCAA Division I record with 30 tackles in a loss to Nebraska.
Colgate dropped its season opener to Boston College, 51-0, and Lafayette fell to Air Force, 35-14, in the other week one meetings against FBS opponents. Lehigh lost its home opener to No. 15/16 Villanova, 47-3, and Bucknell fell to NEC favorite Sacred Heart, 21-0.
NO. 15/16 VILLANOVA WILDCATS (1-0, CAA) 47, AT LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (0-1, 0-0 PL) 3
Goodman Stadium/Bethlehem, Pa. Noon (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh kept No. 15/16 Villanova out of the end zone through the first quarter but could not hold off the Wildcats in a 47-3 loss in the season opener at Goodman Stadium.
*Fifth-year linebacker Pete Haffner led the Lehigh defense with 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss (TFL) and a half-sack.
*Junior defensive lineman Mikhari Sibblis added five tackles and one sack, while sophomore linebacker Mike DeNucci posted five tackles, 1.0 TFL and an interception.
*Junior quarterback Cross Wilkinson completed 15-of-26 for 134 yards and three interceptions. Senior tight end Alex Snyder finished with a team-high five catches for 56 yards.
*The Mountain Hawks travel to Richmond for a 2 p.m. start next Saturday with live coverage on FloFootball.com and NBC Sports Washington.
RECAP:
LEHIGH
AT BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (1-0, ACC) 51, COLGATE RAIDERS (0-1, 0-0 PL) 0
Alumni Stadium/Chestnut Hill, Mass. Noon (ACC Network)
BOX SCORE
CHESNUT HILL, Mass. – Colgate could not hang with Boston College in a 51-0 season-opening loss at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
*Junior linebacker Tyler Flick led the Raiders with 11 tackles and 1.0 TFL while senior linebacker Trevor Thompson added seven tackles and 1.0 TFL.
*Senior quarterback Grant Breneman completed 9-of-16 passes for 77 yards and two interceptions. He also rushed for 25 yards on 11 carries.
*Sophomore running back Max Hurleman had three catches for 29 yards and carried 10 times for 27 yards.
*The Raiders open their home slate next Saturday against Stony Brook. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
RECAP:
COLGATE
HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (1-0, 0-0 PL) 38, AT CONNECTICUT HUSKIES (0-2, FBS Independent) 28
Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium/East Hartford, Conn. Noon (CBS Sports Network)
BOX SCORE
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore quarterback Matthew Sluka threw for 123 yards and two touchdown passes and rushed for 112 yards and another score to lead Holy Cross to a 38-28 victory over UConn. This was the Crusaders’ first win over an FBS opponent since 2002 and the first for a Patriot League team since 2015.
*Sluka, the 2020-21 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, helped Holy Cross outgain the Huskies on the ground, 226-88. Senior running back Peter Oliver added 79 yards on 18 carries, and junior running back Tyler Purdy had 42 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Purdy added a touchdown reception in the third quarter.
*The Crusaders’ defense played a crucial role in the victory, forcing four turnovers with three interceptions and a fumble, including a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior defensive lineman Jason Modak. Modak’s first collegiate touchdown tied the score at 14 apiece early in the second quarter.
*Junior wide receiver Ayir Asante put Holy Cross in front 21-14 on a 24-yard touchdown reception from Sluka at the 6:54 mark in the second quarter.
*Senior placekicker Derek Ng put the Crusaders back in front for good, 24-21, with a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter. Ng finished 1-for-1 on field-goal attempts and 5-5 on extra points.
*Senior defensive backs John Smith and Walter Reynolds recorded interceptions on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter to help seal the Holy Cross victory.
*Junior linebacker Jacob Dobbs posted a team-high 11 tackles, and senior linebacker Liam Anderson finished with eight tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup to lead the Crusaders' defense.
*The Crusaders host Merrimack next Saturday in their home opener. Live coverage begins at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
RECAP:
HOLY CROSS
AT NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (1-1, Big Ten) 52, FORDHAM RAMS (0-1, 0-0 PL) 7
Memorial Stadium/Lincoln, Neb. Noon (Big Ten Network)
BOX SCORE
LINCOLN, Neb. – Senior linebacker Ryan Greenhagen set a Patriot League single-game record with 30 tackles, but Fordham fell to Nebraska in a 52-7 season-opening loss to the Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium.
*Greenhagen, the 2021 Preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, broke Lee Picariello’s 31-year-old record of 28 tackles set by the then-Lehigh junior linebacker against William & Mary on Oct. 27, 1990.
*Greenhagen also tied the NCAA Division I record of 30 tackles with four other FCS student-athletes. His 30 tackles against an FBS opponent is the most since NCAA defensive statistics became official in 2000.
*Rams’ senior quarterback Tim DeMorat threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Fotis Kokosioulis in the second quarter to make the score 22-7.
*DeMorat completed 17-of-29 passes for 165 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Junior wide receiver Dequece Carter added five catches for 69 yards, while senior running back Zach Davis rushed for 37 yards on six carries.
*Fifth-year defensive back Jesse Bramble finished with eight tackles, 2.0 TFLs and a pass breakup for the Fordham defense.
*The Rams host Monmouth under the lights at Jack Coffey Field with a 6 p.m. start on ESPN+.
RECAP:
FORDHAM
AT AIR FORCE FALCONS (1-0, Mountain West) 35, LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (0-1, 0-0 PL) 14
Falcon Stadium/Colorado Springs, Colo. 2 p.m. (Stadium)
BOX SCORE
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior linebacker Major Jordan recorded a career-high 15 tackles, and junior wide receiver Julius Young led the Leopards’ offense with 9 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown, but Lafayette fell to Air Force, 35-14, on Saturday afternoon.
*The Leopards fell behind 14-0 before sophomore quarterback Rent Montie connected with Young on a 23-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit in half.
*Montie was one of three Lafayette quarterbacks to earn time, finishing 7-for-12 for 86 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Sophomore quarterback Aaron Angelos completed 11-of-16 passes for 156 yards. Senior quarterback Shane Davis also played for Lafayette.
*Senior running back Selwyn Simpson carried five times for 22 yards and a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Junior running back Jaden Sutton led the Leopards with 38 yards on seven carries.
*Junior linebacker Marco Olivas finished with 11 tackles and 1.5 TFLs, while junior defensive lineman Damon Washington added seven tackles and one sack.
* Lafayette travels to William & Mary next Saturday for a 6 p.m. start on FloFootball.com.
RECAP:
LAFAYETTE
AT SACRED HEART PIONEERS (1-0, NEC) 21, BUCKNELL BISON (0-1, 0-0 PL) 0
Campus Field/Fairfield, Conn. 6 p.m. (NEC FrontRow)
BOX SCORE
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Bucknell dropped its season opener to NEC-favorite Sacred Heart, 21-0, at Campus Field on Saturday evening.
*Sophomore running back Coleman Bennett led the Bison offense with 33 yards on 11 carries and two catches for 17 yards.
*Bucknell’s defense held the Pioneers’ potent offense to seven points at the half, though Sacred heard doubled the lead in the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown run from Julius Chestnut, the FCS’s leading rusher during the 2020-21 season.
*Sophomore linebacker Blake Leake recorded a team-high eight tackles and 1.0 TFL, and a half-sack. Junior linebacker Ben Allen added seven tackles, while junior safety Brent Jackson finished with six tackles and a half-sack.
*The Bison travel to No. 15/16 Villanova next Saturday for a 6 p.m. game on FloFootball.com
RECAP:
BUCKNELL
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The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.