PatriotFB Notes (.PDF)
HOW TO WATCH TO PATRIOT LEAGUE FOOTBALL GAMES THIS WEEK
All seven Patriot League teams will be in action during Week Five, including two League games. Georgetown hosts No. 15/rv Fordham at 2 p.m. and Bucknell travels to Lafayette for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with both games streaming on ESPN+. Two Patriot League teams will meet Ivy League opponents with Colgate at Cornell (2 p.m.) and No. 5/6 Holy Cross hosting Harvard (5 p.m.) on ESPN+. Lehigh heads to CAA opponent Monmouth to kick off the day at 1 p.m. on FloSports.com.
HOLY CROSS RANKED NO. 5/6 AFTER LEAGUE WIN; FORDHAM MOVES TO NO. 15 IN COACHES POLL
Holy Cross is ranked No. 5 in the FCS Coaches Poll, and No. 6 in the Stats Perform Top 25 Poll after a 47-7 victory over Colgate. The Crusaders opened the season at No. 5 in both polls, the highest a League team has ranked entering the season. Colgate opened the 2004 season ranked No. 5 by The Sports Network. Fordham moved up seven spots to No. 15 in this week’s FCS Coaches Poll. The Rams are receiving votes in the Stats Perform Top 25. Fordham defeated Stonehill 44-0 last week for their first shutout over an FCS opponent since 2008.
2023 Patriot League Football Standings (as of Sept. 25)
| School |
PL |
PL Pct. |
Overall |
Overall Pct. |
| Holy Cross |
1-0 |
1.000 |
3-1 |
.750 |
| Fordham |
0-0 |
.000 |
3-1 |
.750 |
| Lafayette |
0-0 |
.000 |
3-1 |
.750 |
| Georgetown |
0-0 |
.000 |
2-2 |
.500 |
| Bucknell |
0-0 |
.000 |
1-2 |
.333 |
| Lehigh |
0-0 |
.000 |
1-3 |
.250 |
| Colgate |
0-1 |
.000 |
0-4 |
.000 |
ONLINE SCHEDULE |
ONLINE STATS
FOUR PLAYERS AMONG FCS TOP-25 RUSHING LEADERS
Four Patriot League players are among the FCS top-30 rushing leaders headed into the season’s fifth week. Lafayette So. RB Jamar Curtis is fourth in the FCS, averaging 127.2 yards per game. Holy Cross Jr. RB Jordan Fuller (101.0 ypg) and Sr. QB Matthew Sluka (91.2 ypg) are 16th and 24th, respectively, to help the Crusaders rank sixth in rushing offense (260.8 ypg). Georgetown Gr. RB Joshua Stakely is 27th in the FCS with 88.5 yards per game, leading a Hoyas’ ground attack that is 17th in the nation (199.8 ypg), with the Leopards (199.5 ypg) placing 18th in the FCS.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYERS AMONG FCS RUSHING LEADERS
No. Name, School, Rushing YPG
4. Jamar Curtis, Lafayette, 127.2
16. Jordan Fuller, Holy Cross, 101.0
24. Matthew Sluka, Holy Cross, 91.2
27. Joshua Stakely, Georgetown, 88.5
THREE CLIMBING PATRIOT LEAGUE RECORD BOOK IN TACKLES
Holy Cross 5th LB Jacob Dobbs and Lafayette Sr. LB Marco Olivas are in the range of the Patriot League career total tackles record of 425, held by Lee Picariello (Lehigh) and David Streeter (Holy Cross). Dobbs leads the FCS with 15.8 tackles per game. The League’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year is eight tackles outside of the Patriot League career top 10 and second among the FCS active leaders. Olivas averages 7.3 tackles per game, up to 339 for his career, while currently ranking third among the FCS active leaders. Conway is two tackles away from 300 and ranked second in the League, averaging 10.0 tackles per game through four games. He is fourth among the active FCS leaders.
PATRIOT LEAGUE CAREER TOTAL TACKLES LEADERS
1. Lee Picariello, Lehigh (1988-91), 425
1. David Streeter, Holy Cross (1993-96), 425
3. Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham (2018-22), 424
ACTIVE CAREER TOTAL TACKLES LEADERS
Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross (2019-pres.), 372
Marco Olivas, Lafayette (2019-pres.), 339
James Conway, Fordham (2021-pres.), 298
WRIGHT AND COKER AMONG FCS RECEIVING LEADERS
Fordham Sr. WR MJ Wright and Holy Cross Sr. WR Jalen Coker rank among the FCS receiving leaders through four weeks of the college football season. Wright has helped the Rams’ offense remain prolific, ranking 14th in the FCS in receiving yards per game (93.5) and tied for second with teammate Mekai Felton with four receiving touchdowns. Coker is 15th in the FCS with 92.5 receiving yards per game while leading the FCS with six receiving touchdowns.
RECEIVING YARDS PER GAME
14. MJ Wright, Fordham, 93.5
15. Jalen Coker, Holy Cross, 92.5
MONTES AND SLUKA AMONG PASSING TD LEADERS
Fordham So. QB C.J. Montes and Holy Cross Sr. QB Matthew Sluka are first and third, respectively, in the FCS in touchdown passes heading into Week Five. Montes leads the FCS with 13 TD passes through four games, while Sluka is third with 10.
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS
1. C.J. Montes, Fordham, 13
3. Matthew Sluka, Holy Cross, 10
BISON AND LEOPARDS AMONG FCS RED ZONE DEF. LEADERS
Bucknell and Lafayette are fifth and sixth among NCAA DI FCS squads in red zone defense heading into their Week Five meeting at Fisher Stadium. The Bison are fifth in the FCS, limiting opponents to a .647 conversion rate when reaching their 20-yard line. The Leopards are 3-1 after holding opponents to a .667 conversion rate in the red zone. Lafayette also ranks 19th in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing 19.8 points per game.
LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (1-3, 0-0 PL) AT MONMOUTH HAWKS (1-3, CAA)
Kessler Stadium/West Long Branch, N.J. 1 p.m. (FloSports)
BROADCAST (FloSports): PxP - Matt Harmon; Analyst - Emory Hunt
RADIO BROADCAST (Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM/LVFoxSports.com): PxP - Matt Kerr; Analysts - Connor Mills and Steve Lomangino
SERIES HISTORY: Lehigh and Monmouth meet for the 10th time, holding a 5-4 series advantage.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 1, 2022) - Monmouth 35, at Lehigh
COLGATE RAIDERS (0-4, 0-1 PL) AT CORNELL BIG RED (2-0 Ivy)
Schoellkopf Field/Ithaca, N.Y. 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
BROADCAST (ESPN+): PxP - ; Analyst -
SERIES HISTORY: Colgate and Cornell meet for the 104th time in series history, with the Raiders trailing, 51-49-3.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 1, 2022) - Cornell 34, at Colgate 31
NO. 15/rv FORDHAM RAMS (3-1, 0-0 PL) AT GEORGETOWN HOYAS (2-2, 0-0 PL)
Cooper Field/Washington, D.C. 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
BROADCAST (ESPN+): PxP - Jeremy Huber; Analyst - Lynnell Willingham
RADIO BROADCAST (WFUVSports.org): PxP - Lou Orlando; Analyst - Brian Rabacs
SERIES HISTORY: Georgetown and Fordham will play for the 69th time in series history. The Rams hold a 42-23-3 edge in the all-time matchup.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 1, 2022) - At Fordham 59, Georgetown 38
BUCKNELL BISON (1-2, 0-0 PL) AT LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (3-1, 0-0 PL)
Fisher Stadium/Easton, Pa. 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
BROADCAST (ESPN+): PxP - Gary Laubach; Analyst - Mike Joseph; Sidelines - Meghan Caffrey, John Leone, Phil Ng
RADIO BROADCAST (100.9 FM WVLY - The Valley): PxP - Doug Birdsong; Analyst - Kevin Herr
SERIES HISTORY: Bucknell and Lafayette meet for the 101st time in series history, with the Leopards leading the series 56-38-6.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 1, 2022) - Lafayette 24, at Bucknell 14
HARVARD CRIMSON (2-0, Ivy) AT NO. 5/6 HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (3-1, 0-0 PL)
Polar Park/Worcester, Mass. 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
BROADCAST (ESPN+): PxP - Kevin Gehl; Analyst - Kevin Shea; Sideline - Andy Lacombe
SERIES HISTORY: Holy Cross and Harvard will play for the 74th time, with the Crusaders trailing the series, 45-26-2.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 1, 2022) - Holy Cross 30, at Harvard 21
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
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.