HAMILTON – Colgate's defense keeps reaching new heights – and keeps sinking its opponents to new lows.
The No. 11 Raiders pitched their fourth shutout in the last five games and Colgate took control of the Patriot League race with a 38-0 triumph over Georgetown here Saturday. The four shutouts in one season are the most since the 1966 Raiders had four.
Colgate stands 4-0 with two games remaining – next Saturday at Fordham (1-7, 1-2) and the following week at Lehigh (1-7, 0-3). A win at Fordham clinches the Raiders' third title in the last four seasons.
Colgate limited Georgetown to just 36 yards of total offense on 48 plays. The Hoyas in the second half gained 6 total yards.
They were credited for the game with 28 rushing attempts for minus-12 yards. Only Towson's minus-38 in 1999 was lower on the all-time Colgate defensive rushing chart. The total offense number of 36 was the fourth-lowest in program history.
Georgetown snapped the ball seven times in Colgate territory – for the game. The deepest Hoya penetration came in the first quarter when they reached the Colgate 44-yard line on their third possession.
Nick Ioanilli then sacked Hoyas quarterback Gunther Johnson on third-and-6 to force a Georgetown punt.
The second and final trip into Raider territory came just before halftime.
Alec Wisniewski halted that foray by intercepting a pass and returning it 55 yards for a touchdown and a 24-0 Raiders lead at intermission.
It was Wisniewski's fourth career interception and first collegiate TD, a fitting end to Senior Day for the Raider captain and his 27 senior teammates.
The play marked Colgate's third defensive touchdown of the season. Colgate's defense now has scored three touchdowns and allowed just two. Both of the opposition TDs went to Holy Cross back in the Sept. 1 season opener.
Colgate eclipsed 200 rushing yards for the second time this season, finishing with 242 on 52 attempts.
James Holland Jr., led the way with 92 yards, followed by 65 from
Grant Breneman and 35 from senior
Sage Attwood.
Breneman scored a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter, while Attwood tallied his first career TD and
Alex Mathews carried it over for the other Colgate TD.
Bottom Line
• No. 11 Colgate 38, Georgetown 0
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 7-0, matching the record of the 2009 Raiders. Colgate is 4-0 in the Patriot League.
• Georgetown falls to 4-5 and 3-1.
Stats of the Game
• Colgate won its 12th straight game dating to last season. Only defending national champion North Dakota State with 14 has a better current run.
• The Raiders, NDSU (8-0), Princeton (7-0) and Dartmouth (7-0) remain the nation's only unbeatens.
• Colgate is riding its best streak since winning 15 straight in 2003.
• Colgate over its last six games has allowed 3, 0, 0, 3, 0 and 0 points.
• Remember how cool it was that last year's defense didn't allow a touchdown over the last 15 quarters? This year's team is riding a streak of zero TDs over its last 28.
• Considering Holy Cross scored all 17 of its points in the Sept. 1 opener during the fourth quarter, Colgate's defense has kept its opponents out of the end zone for 46 of the last 47 quarters.
• Which pretty much describes the formula for winning 12 in a row.
• Holland in the game passed
Jake Melville for 13th place on the Colgate career rushing chart. Holland now has 2,556 yards. Next is No. 12 Mark van Eeghen (1971-73) at 2,591.
• After coming up empty on its first two possessions of the game, the Raider offense went TD, TD, field goal before Wisniewski's pick-six made it 24-0 at halftime.
• Ball control was the order of business in the second half. Colgate had possession for 22:19 to Georgetown's 7:41 over the final 30 minutes.
•
Dillon DeIuliis was the Colgate tackle leader with seven, including a career-high 2½ for lost yardage.
•
Chris Puzzi's 22-yard field goal in the second quarter was his 10th of the season. He's 10-of-11 thus far, eclipsing his 9-of-12 effort last year and bumping him to a tie for sixth on the Colgate season chart.
• Attwood carried four times for 35 yards, including his 4-yard TD that capped the scoring. Fellow senior
Frank Ferrari had a 29-yard scoring run on the ensuing drive wiped out by penalty.
From the Sources
•
Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On Senior Day) "This group can switch the button from being emotional with their families and Senior Day to, OK, let's go to work, and that's how they handled it. Again, it's par for this group; that's what they do and they showed it today."
(On another shutout) "Again, I'm running out of words. To hold a team to less than 50 yards of total offense, to never be threatened in a game – it doesn't matter who you are playing. To never be threatened is really something special, especially in these conditions. This was a game against a 3-0 football team that was playing well and playing with a lot of confidence, and our kids made it about themselves and played at their highest level."
Listen to the rest of Hunt's comments
HERE.
•
Colgate senior captain Alec Wisniewski: (On his interception) "We were in man coverage and I was covering the slot on the weak side. He ran a drag and it wasn't the nicest of weather outside, and it looked like it slipped out of the quarterback's hand a little. I was able to undercut the route and take it back for six."
Listen to the rest of Wisniewski's comments
HERE.
•
Colgate junior defensive tackle Nick Wheeler: (On playing for the seniors) "They were the ones bringing all of the energy. For the underclassmen, it was more about playing for them."
Listen to the rest of Wheeler's comments
HERE.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance on a miserably rainy day inside Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium was 1,827.
• Before the game, Colgate honored 28 seniors playing their final regular season home game.
• This year's senior class is now 19-3 against Patriot League competition.
Up Next
• Colgate begins a three-week road swing next Saturday at Fordham.
• The Rams are 1-2 in the Patriot League and 1-7 overall after Saturday's 21-13 home loss to Lafayette.
• Kickoff from the Bronx is 1 p.m. The Patriot League Network and WKXZ-FM 93.9 carry all of the action.
