WASHINGTON – Three out of four and first place to boot.
 
Colgate completed a daunting stretch of four straight road games with three wins, capped by Saturday's 17-13 triumph at Georgetown.
 
The Raiders held off the host Hoyas in the final quarter to make it 12 wins in 13 games against Georgetown. Colgate led 17-0 entering the fourth before Georgetown put two field goals and a touchdown on the board, helped by a successful onside kick, to make it a game.
 
But Colgate iced the victory by taking over with 4:34 remaining and running out the clock. The big play was a fourth-and-1 conversion run by Jake Melville from the Colgate 39.
 
The Raiders, now 2-0 atop the Patriot League and 3-4 overall, are off next week before hosting Fordham for what could be a first-place showdown on Oct. 31 for Family Weekend.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 17, Georgetown 13

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League.
• Georgetown is now 3-4 and 1-1.
 

Fourth-Down Conversion Key
• Colgate continued a season-long trend by converting three of four fourth-down conversions.
• The Raiders are now 17-of-27 (63.0) after entering the game first in the Patriot League in that category.
• A huge play in the game saw Colgate convert fourth-and-1 from its own 39 with 2½ minutes remaining and the Raiders clinging to a 17-13 lead.
• Colgate emptied the backfield and Melville followed Ryan Paulish and Matt McDowell on the right side of the line and tight end John Quazza for a 2-yard gain.
• Two plays later, James Holland got loose for 15 yards and the game was all but decided.
 
Holland Returns, Scores Twice
• Holland wasn't 100 percent after having been sidelined the last two games by injury, but the sophomore tailback bullied his way to 75 tough yards on 14 rushing attempts.
• He also turned in his first two-TD game, scoring from 8 yards out in the first quarter and 2 yards out in the second.
 
More Key Info
• Jonah Bowman put his field-goal troubles behind him with a 39-yarder at the halftime buzzer.
• When the ball sailed through the uprights, he Colgate sideline erupted like it was a game-winner.
• It was the junior's longest field goal of the season and longest since he converted from 40 yards at Delaware early in 2014.
• Colgate in the third quarter put three drives into Georgetown territory but came away empty. Nikko Armiento punted to the 1-yard line and then the Raiders fumbled and turned it over on downs on two other drives.
• Before Georgetown's fourth-quarter rally, Colgate had held the Hoyas scoreless for eight consecutive quarters: the final quarter of 2013, a 19-0 shutout last season in Hamilton and the first three quarters Saturday.

• Melville led the Raiders in rushing with 80 yards on 14 carries. He was 11-of-23 passing for 190 yards.
• Alex Greenawalt was his top target. The sophomore receiver finished with three catches for 88 yards, including a 48-yarder in the second quarter to set up Colgate's second touchdown.
• Georgetown pulled off a perfectly executed onside kick to boost their fourth-quarter comeback. Ben Priddy pooched it toward the right sideline and Brandon Williams hauled it in.
• Four plays later, Georgetown quarterback Kyle Nolan was in the end zone to narrow the Colgate lead to 17-10.
• Colgate improved to 12-1 all-time against Georgetown with its fourth straight win over the Hoyas.
• Wide receiver Thomas Ives made his first collegiate start and had his first career catch, a 9-yarder on Colgate's first offensive snap.
• Connor Wingenroth hauled in a career-long catch of 28 yards on the first play of the third quarter.
 
Defensive Highlights
• Georgetown was driving for what could have been a tying touchdown. The Hoyas on the 13th play of a drive faced second-and-9 from the Colgate 11.
• The Hoyas tried a double-reverse, with Alex Valles taking the handoff and flipping to Jake DeCicco – brother of former Raider wideout Jimmy DeCicco.
• But linebacker Charles Cairnie held his ground and tackled DeCicco for a 9-yard loss. One play later, Georgetown was forced to settle for a 37-yard field goal with 4:41 remaining.
• The Hoyas never got their hands on the football again.
• Linebacker Kyle Diener led the Raiders with 13 tackles. Diener leads the team with 63 total stops.
• Keyon Washington had a fumble recovery and three tackles, including a huge stop on fourth down to set up Colgate's second touchdown of the game.
• Curt Mitchell II posted his first career sack late in the second quarter as Colgate forced a Hoyas punt that was turned into a late three points.

• Pat Afriyie forced a pair of Georgetown fumbles. The first was recovered by Cairnie in the second quarter at the Colgate 11. The second was recovered by Washington in the third quarter.
• The second of those two forced fumbles came via sack and lifted Afriyie's season sack total to 7½. He has caused four fumbles.
 
Turning Point
• The last 4:34 of the game.
• Georgetown had rallied from a 17-0 fourth-quarter deficit with 13 straight points, highlighted by a successful onside kick.
• But after the Hoyas kicked their second field goal of the game to make it 17-13 with 4:41 remaining, Colgate took over and never relinquished the ball.
• The Raiders converted fourth-and-1 from their own 39 on a Melville keeper, and then Holland followed with a 15-yarder to ice it.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On finishing the game) "We had been struggling offensively the second half to be able to execute consistently. But once we got the ball back, we said, 'No more. Let's end it now.'
 
"The O-line stepped up, the running back stepped up and on the fourth-down play the quarterback stepped up and got the yard we needed."
 
Listen to the rest of Hunt's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate linebacker Charles Cairnie: (On the 9-yard tackle for loss) "I was rushing upfield, the QB was staying home and I saw the guy far off coming back. I said, 'This could be a reverse, it could not be; I'm just going to play it like it is.' I happened to be there and got the tackle."
 
Listen to the rest of Cairnie's comments HERE.
 

• Colgate placekicker Jonah Bowman: (On his 39-yard field goal) "Oh, it felt really good, especially with all the struggles we've had this year. To finally come back and put one through the uprights felt great."
 
Listen to the rest of Bowman's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate quarterback Jake Melville: (On the fourth-and-1 carry) "We came out in five-wide and tried to spread them out a little. We knew our line was going to get a push and I was just following Quaz to the right side. It worked out for us."
 
Listen to the rest of Melville's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate tailback James Holland: (On his return to action) "It definitely felt good to be back out there. That was a Patriot League game, so we knew it meant a lot. I had to be out there for the team."
 
Listen to the rest of Holland's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cooper Field was 3,136.
 
Up Next
• After an open date, Colgate hosts Fordham Oct. 31 for Family Weekend.
• The Rams survived at Holy Cross on Saturday, winning 47-41 in overtime to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in conference.
• Kickoff from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium is 1 p.m., with Campus Insiders carrying the livestream.