crusader11
July 29th, 2009, 10:27 AM
I’ve seen a lot of posters predicting their teams forecast for the season, as well as predicting other teams in their conference, so I thought I’d give some love to the Patriot League and predict the outcomes for each team this season (hey, I need something to do to keep me sane at this boring internship). I’ll start with the team who I think will finish at the bottom and move on up from there.
The traditional doormats, bottom feeders, everyone’s favorite opponent, whatever you want to call them, will hold true to all these names in the coming season, but they will be drastically improved—I can tell you that much. With the talented and athletic Keerome Lawrence officially making the transition from QB to Slot Receiver (I expect Tucker Stafford to take over the reins at QB assuming he is fully healthy), and Nick Parrish leading a quick, albeit undersized, defense the Hoyas will certainly be better. Now, I don’t think this improvement will necessarily translate into more wins, but GU will be more competitive than in years past.
An ongoing problem over the last few years for GU football has been in the trenches (see the Richmond game last year) where they simply are pushed around. They are undersized and, while they try to run an offense of misdirection and option plays to make up for their lack of size, they have little success.
Fortunately for GU, their out of conference schedule is not very challenging, with the exception of defending Champion Richmond, of course, so it is plausible they could get 2 or 3 wins in the OOC. So, without further adieu, here are the predictions.
9/5 - at Holy Cross. GU will get a wakeup call and a rude awakening in their season opener up in Worcester. HC has handled GU with ease over the past two seasons outscoring them 93-14 and it is hard to see little changing with Dom Randolph and the vaunted HC offense back for another year. GU will score a cheap touchdown or two in the 4th against the second and third team to make it closer. HC 48-GU 14. (0-1)
9/12 - vs. Lafayette. Things won’t get too much easier for GU as the Leopards come to DC for the Hoyas’ home opener. While some of the “experts” think Lafayette may be a bit down this year due to the graduation of some of their big guns (most notably Shaun Adair), Frank Tavani seems to always field a strong and competitive team. And with the way Lafayette runs the ball and GU’s poor run defense, it is hard to see Lafayette not running rampant past GU. Lafayette 35-GU 10. (0-2)
9/19 - vs. Yale. GU begins to place the puzzle pieces together and faces a Yale team who looks to be in the middle of the pack this year in the Ivy League. After graduating their stud running back Mike McLeod, and firing coach Jack Siedlecki, GU will put a scare into the Bulldogs, and keep it close for much of the first half. Ultimately, however, Yale is too big up front and the better team. Yale 27-GU 14. (0-3)
9/26 - vs. Howard. GU concludes their 3 game home stand by entertaining cross-town rival (if you want to call it that) in Howard. This is one of the few games that GU will be favored in as Howard is coming off a 1-10 campaign in 2008 and doesn’t look to have much of a team this year. The Hoyas finally put one in the win column. GU 17-Howard 7. (1-3)
10/3 - at Bucknell. The Bison are an enigma. They have shown flashes of being a good football team (leading Holy Cross at halftime last year, defeating Fordham two years ago), yet they have also displayed how they can be one of the worst teams in the FCS at times. Bucknell will surprise some people this year, and while GU is confident they can hang with the Bison after losing by just a field goal last year, Bucknell wins the game as AJ Kizekai runs circles around the GU defense. Bucknell 31-GU 13. (1-4)
10/10 - at Lehigh. The dark horse of the Patriot League this year who will be led by the strong arm of JB Clark, Lehigh wins in a laugher. Lehigh 42-GU 10. (1-5)
10/17 - vs. Colgate. This one will get ugly early and often. Colgate loves to run the ball, and Georgetown doesn’t have the horses up front to contain Nate Eachus and the ‘Gate running attack. After jumping out to a big lead at the half, Colgate calls off the dogs in the second half, allowing GU to get a few points back. Colgate 38-GU 14. (1-6)
10/24 - Georgetown gets a much needed week off to regroup. The next two games on their schedule are very winnable and they have to look forward to that.
10/31 - at Old Dominion. It is hard to project just how strong OD will be in their inaugural season. I’d like to think GU would be the favorite in going up against a team in their first season, but something tells me that OD takes a lot of their frustration as a result of growing pains and early season losses out on the hapless Hoyas. Old Dominion 24-GU 14. (1-7)
11/07 - at Marist. The Hoyas get an opponent on their level and uses the loss to OD in the previous week as motivation to beat Marist. A late FG lifts the Hoyas to a victory. GU 20-Marist 17. (2-7)
11/14 -vs. Richmond. I’ll reserve my comments for this game and let you name the score. (2-8)
11/21 - vs. Fordham. The Rams come to town and spoil Senior Day for the Georgetown Seniors. GU, playing with a good deal of passion and fervor takes a lead into the locker room, but FU wakes up in the second half and pulls out the win. Fordham 35-GU 21. (2-9; 2-3 in the OOC, 0-6 in the PL).
Thoughts? Comments? Should I stop doing this? Any feedback would be appreciated.
The traditional doormats, bottom feeders, everyone’s favorite opponent, whatever you want to call them, will hold true to all these names in the coming season, but they will be drastically improved—I can tell you that much. With the talented and athletic Keerome Lawrence officially making the transition from QB to Slot Receiver (I expect Tucker Stafford to take over the reins at QB assuming he is fully healthy), and Nick Parrish leading a quick, albeit undersized, defense the Hoyas will certainly be better. Now, I don’t think this improvement will necessarily translate into more wins, but GU will be more competitive than in years past.
An ongoing problem over the last few years for GU football has been in the trenches (see the Richmond game last year) where they simply are pushed around. They are undersized and, while they try to run an offense of misdirection and option plays to make up for their lack of size, they have little success.
Fortunately for GU, their out of conference schedule is not very challenging, with the exception of defending Champion Richmond, of course, so it is plausible they could get 2 or 3 wins in the OOC. So, without further adieu, here are the predictions.
9/5 - at Holy Cross. GU will get a wakeup call and a rude awakening in their season opener up in Worcester. HC has handled GU with ease over the past two seasons outscoring them 93-14 and it is hard to see little changing with Dom Randolph and the vaunted HC offense back for another year. GU will score a cheap touchdown or two in the 4th against the second and third team to make it closer. HC 48-GU 14. (0-1)
9/12 - vs. Lafayette. Things won’t get too much easier for GU as the Leopards come to DC for the Hoyas’ home opener. While some of the “experts” think Lafayette may be a bit down this year due to the graduation of some of their big guns (most notably Shaun Adair), Frank Tavani seems to always field a strong and competitive team. And with the way Lafayette runs the ball and GU’s poor run defense, it is hard to see Lafayette not running rampant past GU. Lafayette 35-GU 10. (0-2)
9/19 - vs. Yale. GU begins to place the puzzle pieces together and faces a Yale team who looks to be in the middle of the pack this year in the Ivy League. After graduating their stud running back Mike McLeod, and firing coach Jack Siedlecki, GU will put a scare into the Bulldogs, and keep it close for much of the first half. Ultimately, however, Yale is too big up front and the better team. Yale 27-GU 14. (0-3)
9/26 - vs. Howard. GU concludes their 3 game home stand by entertaining cross-town rival (if you want to call it that) in Howard. This is one of the few games that GU will be favored in as Howard is coming off a 1-10 campaign in 2008 and doesn’t look to have much of a team this year. The Hoyas finally put one in the win column. GU 17-Howard 7. (1-3)
10/3 - at Bucknell. The Bison are an enigma. They have shown flashes of being a good football team (leading Holy Cross at halftime last year, defeating Fordham two years ago), yet they have also displayed how they can be one of the worst teams in the FCS at times. Bucknell will surprise some people this year, and while GU is confident they can hang with the Bison after losing by just a field goal last year, Bucknell wins the game as AJ Kizekai runs circles around the GU defense. Bucknell 31-GU 13. (1-4)
10/10 - at Lehigh. The dark horse of the Patriot League this year who will be led by the strong arm of JB Clark, Lehigh wins in a laugher. Lehigh 42-GU 10. (1-5)
10/17 - vs. Colgate. This one will get ugly early and often. Colgate loves to run the ball, and Georgetown doesn’t have the horses up front to contain Nate Eachus and the ‘Gate running attack. After jumping out to a big lead at the half, Colgate calls off the dogs in the second half, allowing GU to get a few points back. Colgate 38-GU 14. (1-6)
10/24 - Georgetown gets a much needed week off to regroup. The next two games on their schedule are very winnable and they have to look forward to that.
10/31 - at Old Dominion. It is hard to project just how strong OD will be in their inaugural season. I’d like to think GU would be the favorite in going up against a team in their first season, but something tells me that OD takes a lot of their frustration as a result of growing pains and early season losses out on the hapless Hoyas. Old Dominion 24-GU 14. (1-7)
11/07 - at Marist. The Hoyas get an opponent on their level and uses the loss to OD in the previous week as motivation to beat Marist. A late FG lifts the Hoyas to a victory. GU 20-Marist 17. (2-7)
11/14 -vs. Richmond. I’ll reserve my comments for this game and let you name the score. (2-8)
11/21 - vs. Fordham. The Rams come to town and spoil Senior Day for the Georgetown Seniors. GU, playing with a good deal of passion and fervor takes a lead into the locker room, but FU wakes up in the second half and pulls out the win. Fordham 35-GU 21. (2-9; 2-3 in the OOC, 0-6 in the PL).
Thoughts? Comments? Should I stop doing this? Any feedback would be appreciated.