Football Upends Colgate, 37-13

Photo Gallery

Bronx, N.Y. (November 1, 2014) – "Next man up." It's what The Fordham football team declares when a player goes down, indicating that another must step up and contribute. Today that maxim could have been "Next men up" because today the Rams overcame the loss of their starting quarterback with a total team effort, downing Colgate University, 37-13, in a Patriot League game on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham's seventh straight, the #10 Rams improve to 8-1 overall, 4-0 in the Patriot League, while Colgate falls to 4-5 overall, 2-1 in the conference.
 
Senior quarterback Peter Maetzold was the next man up for the Fordham offense, starting in place of the Patriot League preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Mike Nebrich. He completed 27of 38 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns and also rushed eight times for 35 yards.
 

Speaking of rushing, freshman running back Chase Edmonds recorded his eighth 100-yard rushing game of the year, carrying 25 times for 114 yards and two scores. The 114 yards bring his season total to 1,322, moving him into fifth on the Fordham single season rushing list, while his two touchdowns bring his season total to 18, two shy of Kirwin Watson's 2003 school record of 20.
 
But the bigger story of the game was the Fordham defense, which held Colgate to just 41 passing yards and six points through the first 59:29 (the Raiders scored the final touchdown on a 32-yard pass with 31 seconds left in the game). The defense also picked off three passes and recorded a safety, limiting Colgate, who entered the game averaging more than 341 yards of offense/game, to 275 yards.
 
The win also avenged the lone loss for the Rams on Jack Coffey Field since head coach Joe Moorhead took the reins in 2012. Colgate defeated Fordham 41-39 on November 27, 2012 but the Rams have won the other 15 home games played over the past three years, including their last 12 straight, the third longest active home winning streak in the NCAA FCS.
 
The Rams threatened on the first possession of the game, moving from their own 19 to the Colgate 36 but a fourth-and-seven pass from Maetzold to Brian Wetzel fell incomplete.
 
The Fordham defense forced a Colgate three-and-out and the Raiders lined up to punt. Brett Biestek broke through and blocked the kick, with the ball rolling and being pushed back towards the goal line. Levon Williams picked up the loose ball but was tackled just short of the goal line. Two plays later, Maetzold connected with Tebucky Jones, Jr., in the end zone for a 7-0 Fordham lead.
 
Colgate threatened on the ensuing possession but the Rams forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-two from the Fordham 30 to give the ball back to the offense.
 

The offense went to work, covering the 70 yards in just five plays with Maetzold finding Tebucky Jones, Jr. again in the end zone to extend the lead to 13-0 with 27 seconds left in the first.
 
The Raiders responded with a six-play, 77-yard drive, capped by a one-yard rush from quarterback Bret Mooney to cut the Rams' advantage to seven, 13-6, 2:10 into the second quarter.
 
Later  in the second, George Dawson intercepted Mooney on the Colgate 35 and the Fordham offense turned the miscue into six points as Edmonds ended the drive with an eight-yard scoring run to make it a 19-6 game with 26 seconds left in the first half.  
 
After Colgate started the second half with an offensive three-and-out, Fordham took over on its own 38 and moved to the Colgate 14 where the Rams faced a third-and-seven. Maetzold found Wetzel with a short pass and Wetzel followed his blockers to the end zone and a 25-6 game with 10:03 remaining in the third.
 
On the third play of Colgate's next possession, De'Nard Pinckney picked off a Mooney pass on the Colgate 35 and the Rams moved to the Colgate one but Dan Light was not able to get the ball across the goal line after hauling in a Maetzold pass.
 
The Fordham defense put points on the board two plays later as Justin Yancey and Dawson tackled John Wilkins in the end zone for a safety to boost the Fordham lead to 27-6 with 5:38 on the third quarter clock.
 
Early in the fourth, the Rams held the Raiders on fourth down on the Fordham 18 and the Rams drove downfield, led by Edmonds who gained 35 yards on five carries, including the final yard, to give Fordham a 34-6 lead with 11:24 left in the game.
 
Fordham scored on its next possession as Michael Marando connected on a 37-yard field goal with 2:30 on the clock to boost the Rams' lead to 37-6 before Colgate closed out the scoring with a 32-yard scoring strike from Money to John Maddaluna with 31 seconds left.
 
Tebucky Jones, Jr. led all receivers with eight catches for 97 yards with two touchdowns while Wetzel hauled in seven passes for 69 yards and one score and Light grabbed six passes for 68 yards.
 
Defensively, Dawson led the Rams with eight total tackles, six solo, including one for loss and he had an interception, while Austin Hancock also made eight stops, two solo, and Levon Williams finished with seven tackles, six solo, and he had a pass breakup.
 
The Rams return to action on Friday night, November 7, as they travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to face the Bucknell University Bison in a Patriot League game that will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network at 6:30 PM.
 
Notes
The Rams have now won two straight over Colgate… Fordham won for the first time this year when scoring fewer than 40 points… The 73 passing yards by Colgate is the second fewest for a Fordham opponent in a game this year (the Rams held Saint Francis (Pa.) to 36 in the season-opener)… The game featured the top two rushing offenses in the Patriot League (Fordham entered the game averaging 200.5 yards/game and Colgate 193.9 yards/game)… The Rams outscored the Raiders 8-0 in the third quarter and have now outscored opponents 103-31 in the third quarter this season...  Marando missed two extra points in the game, his first two PAT misses this year.