Holy Cross vs. UNH

[crusader11]

10-7 HC with 11:12 left in the 2nd.

Very impressed with the HC defense today.

[crusader11]

After HC scores to make it 10-7, they force a big three and out. Will start their next drive at the HC 30.

Offense seems to be clicking, scoring on their last two drives.

[crusader11]

HC moving, 1st and 10 at the UNH 11. Going hurry up and have the defense on their heels.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

UNH has been REALLY good to start the year. Impressive start....

[dwtime]

UNH playing terrible

[crusader11]

HC settles for a FG. 13-7 HC with 8:26 left in the 2nd.

[crusader11]

Another three and out for the HC defense. They have good field position for their next drive, will begin at the 50-yard line.

[dwtime]

Patriot league just has terrible refs, horrible! Clearly the HC stopped out of bounds way before the marker. Terrible.

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Terrible tackling UNH

[crusader11]

Patriot league just has terrible refs, horrible! Clearly the HC stopped out of bounds way before the marker. Terrible.

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Terrible tackling UNH

There's no way you could tell whether he stepped in or out based on that replay.

[dwtime]

There's no way you could tell whether he stepped in or out based on that replay.
Yeah, no. fist step after he turned not tough to see.

[dwtime]

UNH stayed home when the bus left, 16-7

[crusader11]

Yeah, no. fist step after he turned not tough to see.

The referee who was three yards behind the play has a better vantage point than you and I watching on a bad replay.

I didn't see the UNH sideline complain about it.

Anyways, HC 16 UNH 7 after another FG. 1:32 left in the 2nd.

It sure is nice to have a reliable FG kicker.

[Sader87]

11...is your game stream still working?

[dwtime]

The referee who was three yards behind the play has a better vantage point than you and I watching on a bad replay.

I didn't see the UNH sideline complain about it.

Anyways, HC 16 UNH 7 after another FG. 1:32 left in the 2nd.

It sure is nice to have a reliable FG kicker.

He is a good kicker.

[crusader11]

11...is your game stream still working?

I've been fortunate. Haven't had any issues all day.

[dwtime]

I've been fortunate. Haven't had any issues all day.

mine was out for almost a full quarter.

[dwtime]

UNH had their way with HC the first half of the 1st quarter then its been all HC.

[dwtime]

Whats wrong with the HC clock? Play is over clock stops then about 5 seconds later another second comes off. Seen that happen all day.

[crusader11]

HC defense totally dominated the UNH offense in that first half, allowing just 147 total yards.

At the half: HC 16, UNH 7.

HC gets the ball first to begin the second half.

[Schism55]

Very interesting. Get em 'Saders!!

[dwtime]

Nice Sack!

[crusader11]

Both teams go three and out to start the second half. HC ball at around their own 20.

[Schism55]

Nice Sack!
That's what she said!

[dewey]

Come on Holy Cross!

Dewey

[crusader11]

HC 23-7 with 9:13 left in the 3rd.

Pujals just leveled the UNH defensive end on a nice reverse play, which went for a 20-yard TD run.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

This is huuuge!!

[crusader11]

UNH fumbles on the ensuing return, and HC has 1st and goal at the 5.

Touchdown Holy Cross!!!

[Mattymc727]

If you thought UNH was a really good team you don't know FCS football. UNH should be 20-25 in the rankings.

[Lehigh'98]

Incredible. All HC after 1st qtr.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

This is the type of win the PL needed.

Fordham and Lehigh stink so the it's up to HC and Colgate to carry the torch this year!

[cx500d]

If you thought UNH was a really good team you don't know FCS football. UNH should be 20-25 in the rankings.

Yeah, they are gonna drop like a rock

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

If you thought UNH was a really good team you don't know FCS football. UNH should be 20-25 in the rankings.

Always the narrative in this situation. Lehigh and Colgate both lost by 3 pts to Top 10 CAA teams. HC has been impressive to start the year. UNH will rebound...

[crusader11]

UNH still has life, driving down the field to score a TD. They missed the PAT, which still makes it a three score game -- 30-13.

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If you thought UNH was a really good team you don't know FCS football. UNH should be 20-25 in the rankings.

Yeah, it's impossible that HC might actually be pretty good this season!

[Mattymc727]

Always the narrative in this situation. Lehigh and Colgate both lost to Top 10 CAA teams. HC has been impressive to start the year. UNH will rebound...

Other than beating a Georgia southern team that can't move the ball and had to travel to Alabama, what has UNH shown? They almost lost to Maine at home...

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Always the narrative in this situation. Lehigh and Colgate both lost by 3 pts to Top 10 CAA teams. HC has been impressive to start the year. UNH will rebound...


UNH still has life, driving down the field to score a TD. They missed the PAT, which still makes it a three score game -- 30-13.

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Yeah, it's impossible that HC might actually be pretty good this season!

The patriot league sucks

[crusader11]

LFN nailed it:


The problem with this is:

Before HC win over UNH: "The CAA reigns supreme, UNH is unstoppable, PL has no chance"
After HC win over UNH: "Everyone knew UNH was overrated, they should have scheduled Albany"

HC takes the kickoff back to the UNH 15, and scores on the next play. 37-13.

Route is on...

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Don't be a sour grape, Matty!

[cx500d]

LFN nailed it:



HC takes the kickoff back to the UNH 15, and scores on the next play. 37-13.

Route is on...

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Don't be a sour grape, Matty!

Wow...

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Boom!! This is sweet!!!

[milleniumkat]

Is there no end to the Patriot League domination of the CAA?

[Mattymc727]

Always the narrative in this situation. Lehigh and Colgate both lost by 3 pts to Top 10 CAA teams. HC has been impressive to start the year. UNH will rebound...

No sour grapes from me, Holy Cross is a better team! Neither make any noise

[Sader87]

This game is not ovah believe it or not

[crusader11]

UNH gets one back, scoring on 4th and goal from the 8.

Two-point conversion fails.

37-19 nearing the end of the 3rd.

[crusader11]

37-19 at the end of the 3rd.

HC has 2nd and short coming up nearing their 40-yard line.

[crusader11]

HC answers with a TD. Pujals to Montgomery for a big gainer!

HC 44, UNH 19. 13:01 left.

[Fordham]

Way to go HC!

[CropDuster]

This may be just what we need to get our HC fired. Thanks HC! xrotatehx

[crusader11]

HC adds another score for good measure on an 85-yard wide receiver screen. 51-19 with 6:43 left.

Next up: Dartmouth.

[Lehigh'98]

Damn, this is impressive. Don't see this often vs UNH. They lose but not like this.

[crusader11]

UNH scores on a 65-yard run on their first play from scrimmage. Now 51-26.

One of the few blemishes on a banner day for the HC defense.

[crusader11]

51-26 is the final.

This should place HC in the Top 25 next week.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

This is the PL's most impressive OOC win in years. I honestly can't think of another one. Colgate's 17 point win over Buffalo in 2003?

[The Pud]

Very impressive win for HC! Wow! Just Wow!

[cx500d]

Good old fashioned ass whooping....

[ElCid]

WOW! What happened here? Good job HC!

[Sader87]

Not to get ahead of myself/ourselves, but that was the 1st game HC looked somewhat like they did during our original FCS-scholarship era of 1981-1991. All 3 phases of the game were solid, played aggressively etc etc

[crusader11]

I do think this was a trap game for UNH. They began the season with a one point win over their rival and then went on the road to beat FBS Georgia Southern convincingly.

HC, meanwhile, came out with something to prove. They really haven't been very good since 2009, and many HC fans have been calling for Tom Gilmore to be fired. The team, of course, hears stuff like this. They should have beaten UConn in week one, and then dominated Bucknell last week. This being the first home game of the year, they were clearly more "up" for this one than UNH.

All of a sudden, HC looks pretty damn good.

[crusader11]

Not to get ahead of myself/ourselves, but that was the 1st game HC looked somewhat like they did during our original FCS-scholarship era of 1981-1991. All 3 phases of the game were solid, played aggressively etc etc

We have been able to put prolific offenses on the field for most of Gilmore's run as head coach, but the return of scholarships has really made a noticeable difference on the defensive side of the ball. There's some serious speed over there.

Nice having a great kicker, too.

[Sader87]

Agreed...by fahh, what differentiates this team from HC teams of the Gilmore/PL non-scholarship-era, has been the play of the defense this season.

[cx500d]

I take back my disparaging comments on Holy Cross

[RichH2]

Congrats Cross. Great win.

[KnightoftheRedFlash]

I haven't seen a Crusader performance that strong since the First Crusade!!

[KPSUL]

All I can say is congratulations to Holy Cross and all the Crusaders faithful here on AGS. HC was simply the better team today. Pujals could not have played much better, the guy seems to be more accurate when he is being hurried or hit. Now get that joke of a streaming service working properly so the rest of the FCS can see how good your team is going to be this year.

[Sader87]

I haven't seen a Crusader performance that strong since the First Crusade!!

Actually, probably since 1991....what many people don't know, forgot etc is that Holy Cross was one of the premier FCS programs in the country before we dropped scholarships in 1992.

I'm not saying we are back at that level now....but it is possible for HC to be at that level again if we continue to recruit well, continue to put improvements in the program etc etc

[bonarae]

Congratulations to the Saders. Pujals was really playing at his best today.

[TennBison]

Did NH even practice during the week?

[UNHWildcat18]

Gotta give credit where credit is due.
Holy Cross executed a near perfect game
UNH made mistakes and did not play well.
UNH is still a top 25 FCS team, everyone has a hiccup
I think Holy Cross is the best team in the PL after watching every team through the first few games. I actually root for holy cross out of all the PL teams lol hope they run the table to make UNH look better!

[ngineer]

Congrats, Cross. At least someone upheld the League's virtue today. We gave ours up without a whimper, today.

[Go...gate]

Great work by Holy Cross! Well done!

[caribbeanhen]

I'm not shocked by the win by Holy Cross but the score was a suprise... what the heck is going on?

[TheValleyRaider]

Very impressive Holy Cross. A needed result for the League, and for you all, of course xthumbsupx

[Go...gate]

I am always happy to see Holy Cross do well, as they are one of Colgate's oldest and most respected rivals in all sports. The two schools have a lot in common.

[Gater]

Great win by Holy Cross. Agreed about the Colgate rival part. HC was the gold standard for 1-AA in the northeast when the PL started. Good to seem them getting a big W.

[32counter]

HC should have beaten UConn in its 1st game.They let the Huskies score 14 unanswered points in the Q4 and lost by 7.They looked very talented even then.The upcoming game for HC which will likely make headlines will be against Yale in mid October at the Yale Bowl.Both teams look like they are equals with 2 very good quarterbacks.

[KPSUL]

I'm not shocked by the win by Holy Cross but the score was a suprise... what the heck is going on?

Holy Cross is an excellent team, if they stay healthy and play with even close to that intensity they should surprise team in the playoffs, at least as well as Colgate in 2015. But UNH is a young team, only 5 seniors starting and maybe 1 or 2 more in the 2 deep. And of the 5, 2 are starting only because they are seniors, IMO. The majority of starters are Sophomores, or redshirt Freshmen - even a couple of true Freshmen which is unusual for UNH. Going in to this season, I saw it as a set-up year for 2018 and 19. However, the win vs Georgia Southern got many of us "breathing the ether" and believing they could compete at the highest level of FCS football from the start of this season.

In contrast, Holy Cross, starts 16 seniors, and a majority of the 2 deep are upper classmen. I believe the current crop of seniors may be the first class since re-instituting scholarships. I assume these guys have had significant playing time together for the better part of 3 years. Last year they started the year looking very strong, but lost QB Peter Pujals in game 3 and floundered without him. With Pujals in game 2, they had a bigger lead against UNH going into halftime than they did this year. UNH won on the strength of a couple key turnovers, the power running of Dalton Crossan, and the support of a huge enthusiastic crowd at the opening of the new stadium.

I'd say that at home, Holy Cross was about 2 scores better than UNH this season. UNH committed more penalties and made more mistakes in this game than they did in the previous two which probably accounts for the 25 point differential.

Based on the disproportionate number of senior starters, to include Pujals, I'd say Holy Cross needs to make the very most of their opportunities this season. They could be very inexperienced and struggle 2018 and even 2019.