FOOTBALL GAME CENTRAL

THIS WEEK
Sat., Nov. 5 – at Lafayette (Easton, Pa.), 6:00 p.m.

The Colgate Raiders (4-5, 0-3 PL) will make their final trip of the season when they head to Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette (3-5, 0-2 PL) on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Fisher Stadium.

THE SERIES
This will be the 55th meeting between Colgate and Lafayette, with the Raiders leading the all-time series 39-11-4, including last years win 24-14 in Hamilton. Lafayette won the last meeting at Fisher Stadium (56-49) in 2009, but Colgate still holds a 18-6-2 record at Easton.

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THE COACHES
Colgate head coach Dick Biddle, who has the most wins in school history, is in his 16th season at the helm of the Raiders. His overall record is 124-60, and is 13-2 against Lafayette. Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani is in his 12th season with the Leopards and has a record of 65-67, and is 2-9 against Colgate.

LAFAYETTE NOTEBOOK
The Leopards (3-5, 0-2 PL) enter the weekend after falling to Patriot League foe Bucknell 39-13 on Saturday in extreme wintry conditions at Fisher Stadium. Bucknell forced seven turnovers to snap the Leopards nine-game winning streak in the series.

The Lafayette offense never really got moving, rushing for 26 yards on 26 carries while throwing for 103 yards. On the other side of snowy Fisher Field, Bucknell racked up 299 yards and six offensive scores to go along with an interception return for a touchdown.

Lafayette is led on offense by Andrew Shoop who has completed 102-of-174 passes for 1,415 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing for one more score. Freshman running back Ross Scheuerman leads the team in rushing with 68 carries for 365 yards, while sophomore Pat Mputu has 46 carries for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Mark Ross leads the Leopards with 31 receptions for 502 yards and six touchdowns, while Mitchell Bennett has made 25 catches for 334 yards and three scores.

On defense the Leopards are led by Leroy Butler who leads the team with 63 tackles, while Todd McFarlane and Kyle Simmons have 60 tackles apiece. McFarlane leads the team with 6.0 tackles for a loss, while Butler has 5.5. Simmons is tied for the team lead with two interceptions, including one returned 31 yards for a touchdown. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Colgate will look to grab its first Patriot League win of the year, this is the first time since 1995 that the Raiders have started 0-3 in league play.
• Colgate wide receiver Jonathan Mputu's younger brother Pat is a running back for Lafayette.
• Colgate will look to extend its streak of not being shutout out to 89 games. The last time the Raiders were shutout was against Delaware (40-0) in the 2003 national   championship game.
• Colgate has the 13th best rushing offense in the nation with 218.7 yards per game.
• Colgate will look to intercept two passes for the fifth time this season, the Raiders are 4-0 when picking-off two passes.
• Colgate is just two wins away from posting its fifth-straight winning season.
• DiMassa leads Colgate with 82 tackles and ranks third in the Patriot League, the last Raider to record 100 or more tackles was Mike Gillihugh (123) in 2007.
• McCarney needs 681 yards passing to become the first Raider to amass 2,000 in a season since Alex Relph threw for 2,138 in 2007.
• McCarney is also just 20 completions away from being the first Raider to complete 150 passes in a season since Relph completed 158 in 2007.
• Eachus needs 237 yards rushing to become just the fourth Raider to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.
• Eachus needs 516 yards rushing to become just the third Raider to amass 5,000 yards in a career.
• Eachus also needs five touchdowns rushing to break the school record of 57 set by Jordan Scott.

WEEKLY AWARDS
Colgate has had seven different players receive 13 weekly awards this season.
• Mike Armiento: Patriot League Rookie of the Week (2x)
• Nate Eachus: College Football Performance Awards (2x)
• Patrick Friel: College Football Performance Awards (1x)
• Adam Lock: CFPA (2x) Patriot League (1x)
• Gavin McCarney: College Football Performance Awards (3x)
• CJ Stempeck: Patriot League Rookie of the Week (1x)
• Joe Uglietto: Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week (1x)

UGLIETTO NAMED PL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Colgate freshman kicker Joe Uglietto was named the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance against Lehigh.  Uglietto made both of his field-goal attempts in Colgate's 45-25 loss to the Mountain Hawks. He connected from 30 yards out to put the Raiders up 3-0 in the first quarter, and then made a 42-yard kick to bring Colgate within 14-12 late in the first half. This is Uglietto's first Patriot League weekly award.

INJURY BUG STRIKES COLGATE
Since the start of the 2011 season the Colgate Raiders have posted 14 different starters on offense, eight on defense and seven in special teams all due to injury. On offense, Colgate has started four different wide receivers, four running backs, two quarterbacks, two tight ends and two offensive linemen. On defense, the Raiders have started four different cornerbacks, two linebackers and two safeties, while the special teams have seen three different kickoff returners, two long snappers and two holders. Colgate hasn't started the same group on offense or defense since the second week of the season, while the secondary has only been the same twice against Monmouth and Cornell.
  
EACHUS APPROACHING PATRIOT LEAGUE MARKS
While Nate Eachus has missed his three games this season, he is still on pace to finish his career with some of the most impressive individual totals in Patriot League history. The Colgate senior running back stands second in Patriot League history with 53 rushing touchdowns, sixth with 4,484 rushing yards and just entered the top 10 with 4,943 all-purpose yards. He remains the active leader nationally in career rushing yards, yards per game and touchdowns and stands second among all players in all-purpose yardage and overall scoring.

600 AND COUNTING
Last season the Colgate football team became just the 15th program in FCS history to reach 600 wins after topping Cornell 44-3 on Oct. 16. Colgate now has an all-time record of 607-452-50. The Raiders are also the ninth winningest program in the FCS over the last decade. Since 2000, Colgate has posted a recorded 89-39 and won four Patriot League titles.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Colgate has won 36 of its last 54 games.
• Colgate has won 71 of its last 95 Patriot League games.
• Colgate has won 32 of its last 47 games decided by nine points or less.
• Colgate has won 44 of its last 54 games at Andy Kerr Stadium.

THE BIDDLE ERA
Colgate head coach Dick Biddle is in his 16th season with the Raiders and has an overall mark of 124-60. He has achieved the best winning percentage (.686) of any Colgate coach with seven or more years at the helm of the Raiders.  Biddle is also the first Colgate coach to ever record nine straight seasons with seven or more victories. He has been named Patriot League Coach of the Year four times while guiding the Raiders to six Patriot League titles and six appearances in the FCS (formally I-AA) playoffs.
   
In 2003, Biddle was named the American Football Coaches Association Division I-AA National Coach of the Year after leading the Raiders to a 15-1 record, and to the national championship game of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

COLGATE VS. PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAMS UNDER BIDDLE
In the last 16 seasons, the Raiders are 71-23 against Patriot League teams under head coach Dick Biddle for a winning percentage of .763.

UP NEXT
Colgate will host Patriot League rival Bucknell on Saturday, Nov. 19. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium and will be streamed live by GateTV on Colgate All-Access.