BRONX, N.Y. – Colgate polished off a remarkable turnaround to its football season Saturday, holding off a Fordham two-point conversion try with under a minute remaining to claim the 41-39 victory.

That's seven straight wins for the Raiders, who now stand 8-3 and await instructions from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee. Sunday's 1:30 p.m. selection announcements on ESPNU will point Colgate toward its playoff destination – be it home or away.

“I'm glad to be there,” Biddle said. “It's like a reward and we'll see what happens.”

The Raiders finished with eight victories in a season that saw them play only four games at Andy Kerr Stadium. Colgate won all four of those and also won its last four away from Hamilton to finish 4-3 on the road. The Raiders were a perfect 5-0 in Patriot League play – 6-0 if counting Fordham – to win their seventh conference championship under Biddle.

“It's a tribute to our players, the way they practice and the way they perform,” Biddle said. “It's a very gutty team and they hang in there. I'm so proud of them. They come from behind and they hang together. They never complain about one another when it comes to the defense and the offense – that can happen when you're giving up a lot of points.

“But they just find a way to win.”

Just Enough Defense
Colgate found its way Saturday despite allowing a season-high 608 yards of total offense to Fordham (6-5). Rams tailback Carlton Koonce rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns, while Fordham quarterback Ryan Higgins completed 33 of 55 pass attempts for 386 yards and two more scores.

Yet the Raiders' defense made enough plays over the middle portion of the game to give its offense time to shake loose any cobwebs that may have lingered from the Patriot League-clinching win seven days earlier in Pennsylvania.

“I don't think there was any hangover; Fordham is very good,” Biddle said. “Fordham has some athletes and we knew they would play hard. But the kids hung in there and we made enough plays on defense to get the game.

“Our offense again was outstanding, especially in the second half. And it's redundant what I've said about our quarterback and how good he is.”

McCarney was battered and bruised from the Lehigh game, and he certainly wasn't his sharpest Saturday in the Bronx. But the final stats show the junior signal-caller with another 390 yards of total offense – 178 rushing, 212 passing.

Just a day at the office for Colgate's Walter Payton Award candidate.

“Fordham is a good team; we just started slow,” McCarney said. “Last week, we started slow against Lehigh. But once we started getting stuff clicking with the running game, we were fine.”

DeCicco Gets His First TD
Colgate finished with 335 rushing yards. Tailback Jordan McCord chipped in 141 of those and scored three times, pulling into a season tie with his backfield mate at 22 rushing touchdowns apiece. Sophomore Jimmy DeCicco also scored his first TD of the year on a 5-yarder late in the second quarter.

That pulled Colgate to within 16-14 at intermission, despite a pair of killer turnovers – one when the Raiders were backed up and one when they were ready to score – that accounted for at least a nine-point swing.

Colgate then went in front for good on its opening drive of the second half. McCarney found a wide open Ryne Morrison down the middle of the field and hit him in stride for a 62-yard TD pass. Morrison finished with four catches for 95 yards – his third game in a row leading the team in receiving yards.

“Coach Biddle always says someone has to step up, and I'm just glad I have been able to fill that role,” said Morrison, who now has 26 catches this season for 394 yards and two TDs. Over his last three games, Morrison has 12 receptions for 281 yards and his two scores.

Both teams struck for 20 fourth-quarter points after Colgate entered the final period with a modest 21-19 advantage. Twice the Raiders built nine-point leads, the last time at 35-26 with 4:36 to play. But after McCord scored his third touchdown of the game with exactly 2 minutes left, Fordham blocked the PAT to keep it a one-possession game at 41-33.

Fordham then drove quickly for its third touchdown of the quarter, this one a 19-yard completion from quarterback Higgins to Brian Wetzel with 43 seconds left. But Colgate's defense easily stopped the two-point try after the Rams chose to pitch to Blake Wayne instead of Koonce.

Onside Savior
Morrison then sealed Colgate's victory with an aggressive grab of the onside attempt by Fordham's superb placekicker, Patrick Murray.

“He kicked it kind of low and there were a lot of big boys coming at me,” Morrison said. “I didn't want to give them a shot to hit me so I attacked the ball. It was more of an instinctual thing than anything else.”

Morrison attributed Colgate's early offensive struggles to the number of walking wounded who missed practice time because of their ailments.

“This was a very tough game, but we had a lot of guys banged up,” he said. “It showed this week in practice. It was tough for us to get things rolling because we weren't full-speed all week. But Fordham was a very good opponent and I was glad to get the win. They gave us a scare.”

McCarney in the game set Colgate's season total offense record, climbing to 3,562 yards for the year. He has 2,253 passing yards and 1,309 on the ground. Chris Brown set the old mark of 3,285 yards back in 2003.

McCord topped 100 yards for the 11th time in 11 games, tying the Colgate record for consecutive games over the century mark. For the year, McCord has 1,627 yards and moves into fifth all-time in Patriot League history.

What's interesting about that is the fact that Colgate now owns all five of the top rushing performances in conference history – by five different players:

1. Jamaal Branch, 2003   2,326
2. Jordan Scott, 2007    1,875
3. Nate Eachus, 2010     1,871
4. Kenny Gamble, 1986    1,816
5. Jordan McCord, 2012   1,627

In addition, McCord improved his career total to 3,063 yards to move into seventh on that Raiders all-time list.

Sophomore linebacker Tyler Butler continues to make the most of his newfound playing time in place of the injured Patrick Friel. The Loxahatchee, Fla., product finished with a game-high 14 tackles, including 11 solo.

And Mike Armiento helped end one of Fordham's many scoring opportunities with an end zone interception. Fordham appeared to score three plays earlier but the Rams were foiled by a holding infraction. Then Armiento kept the Raiders in front 21-19 as the third quarter ended with his fourth pick of the season.

Selection & Ticket Info
The Colgate football team will be watching Sunday's 1:30 p.m. selection show at Donovan's Pub on campus. The public is invited to join the team for the announcement, but should note that there will be no food and beverage service. Fans are welcome to bring their own food but are asked to pick up trash.
NCAA playoff tickets go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at the Reid Athletic Center Ticket Office. Hours for the upcoming Thanksgiving week are as follows:

Monday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m.
Tuesday, 10 a.m. to noon.
Wednesday, 10 a.m. to noon.
Thursday and Friday, closed.

And the Colgate Athletics Online Store is now open at ShopRaiderGear.com. Football jerseys are being sold 10 percent off to celebrate the 2012 Patriot League champions. Also be sure to check out the championship section on the store for the 2012 Patriot League football championship clothing, which will be available shortly.