Bronx, N.Y. – The two teams had lots in common. Both featured record-setting offensive players, both won Patriot League titles (with both teams clinching the title at Bucknell), and both won a first round NCAA Playoff game.
 

But like Chase Edmonds bursting through a hole in the line, this contest was a runaway as fans decided the 2014 version are the Best of the Rams.
 
Entering the 2014 season there was a great deal of buzz about the football program. The 2014 squad entered the season with tremendous expectations under head coach Joe Moorhead. Coming off a 2013 season in which the Rams went 12-2 (setting a school record for wins in a season), picked up their first win over an NCAA FBS program (Temple), their first home win over a top-ten NCAA FCS team (Villanova), and received the school's first NCA FCS Championship at-large bid, Fordham entered the season with a Patriot League championship on their radar.
 
It would be the first year that the Rams would be eligible for a Patriot League title since 2009 (Fordham started giving athletic scholarships before the rest of the league) and the Maroon and White were ready to declare themselves back.
 
After an early slip-up at #7/11 Villanova, Fordham would reel off nine straight wins, including all six Patriot League contests to go a perfect 6-0 in the conference. The Rams clinched the championship with a thrilling, 30-27, overtime win at Bucknell on a cold winter's night in Lewisburg, Pa., as Peter Maetzold connected with Tebucky Jones, Jr., for a scoring strike on the final play of the game.



For the second straight year the Rams hosted a first round NCAA FCS Championship game and for the second consecutive year, knocked off Sacred Heart, the NEC champions.
 
The Sacred Heart win meant Fordham would travel north the following week to take on top-seeded New Hampshire in the second round. The Rams gave the Wildcats all they could handle before seeing their season come to an end with an 11-3 record.
 
In the New Hampshire loss, freshman running back Chase Edmonds showcased his versatility. He rushed 18 times for 208 yards and one touchdown while also returning seven kickoffs for 164 yards and catching two passes for 13 yards.  His 385 all-purpose yards were a Patriot League single-game record (previous was 370 set by Lehigh's Ronald Jean in 1999) and his 208 rushing yards and 164 kickoff return yards were the top marks for Patriot League player in an FCS playoff game. Edmonds also set an NCAA FCS Championship game record with a 91-yard touchdown run, surpassing the previous long of 90 yards set by Henry Fields of McNeese State in 1994.
 
Following the season, Edmonds would be named the 2014 Jerry Rice Award winner as the NCAA FCS Rookie of the Year as well as earning All-America honors. He enjoyed a record-setting rookie season, carrying 294 for 1,838 yards and 23 touchdowns and returning 24 kickoffs for 514 yards (21.4 average). He set school marks for most rushing yards in a season and surpassed the former school record of 20 rushing touchdowns set in 2003.

On the year, Edmonds amassed 2,473 all-purpose yards, setting a Fordham and Patriot League single-season record, while his school-record 1,838 rushing yards put him fourth in the Patriot League single-season record book, and his school-record 23 rushing touchdowns tied him for second all-time in the conference. Edmonds also set a school record with 144 points scored.
 
Edmonds was joined in receiving All-America honors by offensive lineman Mason Halter and senior wide receiver Brian Wetzel. The Rams led all Patriot League schools with three Sports Network All-Americans and were tied for third in the nation for most selections.
 
Academically, defensive lineman Brett Biestek and tight end Dan Light were each named Academic All-Americans®.
 
Much like the 2002 program, there were great expectations entering the 2002 season. Coming off the first winning season on the NCAA I-AA level (now FCS) and a 5-2 mark in the Patriot League (Fordham's top finish to that point), the Rams were predicted to battle for the league title. And battle they did.
 
The 2002 Rams, led by head coach Dave Clawson, recovered from a setback to Columbia in the third game of the season to win seven of the next eight games, including a school-record six Patriot League contests. Fordham finish 6-1 in the Patriot League and clinched their first ever Patriot League title on the final game of the regular season with a convincing 34-7 win at Bucknell on November 23.
 
Fordham traveled up to Boston for its first round game, the Rams' first ever NCAA I-AA championship game, taking on fourth-seeded Northeastern University. Despite it being the Rams' first NCAA I-AA playoff appearance, Fordham upended the Wildcats, 29-24, to move on the second round where they fell at Villanova to close out the year at 9-2.
 

Following the season, running Watson was named All-America as well as the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. He was the first Fordham player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season on the FCS level, doing so as both a junior and a senior.
 
In 2002, Watson finished tenth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, setting school records for rushing yards in a season when he gained 1,467 yards on 285 carries. The 1,467 yards was the fourth best total in Patriot League history and he ranked ninth in the NCAA I-AA in rushing yards/game and points/game.
 
Watson graduated with Fordham career records for rushing yards (4,617), rushing attempts (942) and rushing touchdowns (48) as well as single season records for rushing yards (1,477 set in 2003), rushing attempts (311 set in 2003) and rushing touchdowns (20 set in 2003).
 
Watson finished his career as the third all-time leading rusher in Patriot League history while breaking the league's record for most career rushing touchdowns. He also finished second on the Patriot League all-time scoring list and fifth on the all-purpose yards list.
 
Joining Watson in enjoying record-setting offensive careers were quarterback Kevin Eakin and wide receiver Javarus Dudley.
 
Despite playing just two seasons, Eakin was one of the most prolific passers in Fordham football history, setting Fordham career records in passing yards (6,112), touchdown passes (45), completion percentage (61.5%), 200-yard passing games (19) and 300-yard passing games (5). He also ranked among Patriot League career leaders in completion percentage (third), passing yards/game (sixth), passing touchdowns (tenth), passing yards (11th) and total offense (12th).
 
Dudley, a consensus First Team All-American as a senior in 2003, became the first Fordham receiver to compile more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season, accomplishing the feat three times. He graduated as the Patriot League career leader in receptions (295), receiving yards (4,197), receiving touchdowns (34), all-purpose yards (7,121), kickoff returns (111) and kickoff return yardage (2,663), all records that still stand. He also holds Fordham single-season marks for receptions (101, set in 2004), receiving yards (1,439, set in 2004) and kickoff return yards (840, set in 2002).
 
All three were inducted onto the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.