GAME DAY

The Colgate Raiders (8-3) will meet top-seeded New Hampshire (10-1) at Cowell Stadium in Durham, New Hampshire in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 12 noon.

The Raiders are making their seventh appearance in the playoffs. The last appearance came during the 2003 season, when they advanced to the championship game.

Colgate and Lafayette tied for the Patriot League championship with the Raiders receiving the league's automatic bid because they defeated the Leopards 18-15 during the regular season.

The winner of the Colgate-New Hampshire game will play the winner of the Eastern Washington (7-4) at Northern Iowa (8-3) contest. The Colgate-UNH game will be televised live by ESPN2.

THE SERIES

This is the fifth meeting between Colgate and New Hampshire with the Wildcats leading the series, 3-1. The last meeting came during the 1990 season with UNH winning 38-22 at Colgate's Andy Kerr Stadium. The Raiders are 1-1 at Cowell Stadium winning 27-23 in 1986 and losing 17-10 in 1989.

COLGATE VS. TOP 25 TEAMS

Colgate is 6-4 in its last 10 games against teams ranked in the Top 25 of Division I-AA. In 2003, they defeated #24 Lehigh, #19 Fordham, #5 Massachusetts, #10 Western Illinois, and #13 Florida Atlantic, before losing to #3 Delaware in the NCAA Division I-AA championship game. Colgate lost to #14 Massachusetts in last year’s season opener and later to #12 Lehigh. This year, they beat #15 UMass 17-14 and lost to #16 Lehigh 50-34.

PLAYOFF HISTORY

Colgate is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and first since the they advanced to the title game in 2003. Other appearances came in 1982, 1983, 1997, 1998, and 1999. Overall the Raiders are 4-6 in playoff competition and 3-4 under head coach Dick Biddle.

10 STRAIGHT WINNING SEASONS

Colgate is one of seven Division I-AA programs sporting a streak of 10 or more winning seasons. The others are Eastern Kentucky (28), Montana (20), Dayton (13), Appalachian St. (12), Duquesne (12), Western Kentucky (10) and Colgate (10). The Raiders have never had a losing season under head coach Dick Biddle.

COLGATE HEAD COACH

Colgate head coach Dick Biddle is in his 10th season with the Raiders. He has an overall record of 84-34 for a .711 winning percentage. He is the fourth winningest active Division I-AA coach. In 2003, he was named the American Football Coaches Association Division I-AA National Coach of the Year, and for the second time in his career Patriot League Coach of the Year.

His winning percentage is the highest of any coach who has coached eight or more seasons in the Patriot League. He is the second winningest coach in school history.

Biddle is the first Colgate coach to post 10 straight winning seasons and the first Colgate coach to record nine straight seasons with seven or more victories.

BIDDLE A FINALIST FOR EDDIE ROBINSON COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD

Dick Biddle has been named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award. which is presented annually to the Sports Network's National Coach of the Year in Division I-AA.

The 19th Annual I-AA College Football Awards will be held Dec. 15th in Chattanooga, Tenn., on the eve of the NCAA I-AA national championship game.

BIDDLE, NEPA AND SCOTT WINS MAJOR PATRIOT LEAGUE HONORS

For the third time in his 10-year career, Colgate head coach Dick Biddle has been named the Patriot League Coach of the Year. Senior linebacker Jared Nepa (Carbondale, PA) was the PL Defensive Player of the Year, and freshman tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) was PL Rookie of the Year.

ELEVEN COLGATE PLAYERS NAMED TO THE ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAM

Eleven Colgate players have been named to the 2005 Patriot League all-league as selected by the league coaches. First team selections were quarterback Mike Saraceno, linebacker Jared Nepa, cornerback Chris Williams and strong safety Geoff Bean. On the second team were running back Jordan Scott, wide receiver DeWayne Long, offensive tackle Jeremy Wurst, center Jake Sulovski, defensive tackle Jeff Galletly, defensive tackle Chris Petrone and cornerback Cody Williams.

COLGATE CAPTAINS

Senior linebacker Jared Nepa (Carbondale, PA) and junior quarterback Mike Saraceno (Sunrise, FL) are Colgate's co-captains for the 2005 season.

SCOTT NAMED PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Colgate freshman tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) has been the 2005 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. He is the fourth Colgate player to win the honor joining Jim Tierney (1989), Ryan Vena (1996) and Ed Weiss (1997).

Scott broke the Colgate and Patriot League freshman rushing record with 1,159 yards despite not starting the first three games.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Colgate has won 36 of its last 44 games.

• Colgate has won 51 of its last 62 Patriot League games.

• Colgate has won 16 of its last 21 games decided by nine points or less.

• Colgate has won 17 of its last 24 non-conference games.

• Colgate has won 21 of its last 23 games at Andy Kerr Stadium.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

• Colgate tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) needs 32 yards for the eighth best season rushing season in school history and 77 for the seventh best. He has 1,159 yards.

• Colgate wide receiver DeWayne Long (West Des Moines, IA) is currently 9th on the school's all-time receiving yards chart with 1,540 yards. He needs 117 yards for 8th place.

• Long needs three catches to move into 6th place on the all-time pass catching list. He has 118.

• Long is currently the top receiver in the Patriot League in reception yardage with 62.9 yards per game, and third in receptions with 4.60 per game.

• Junior quarterback Mike Saraceno (Sunrise, Fla.) needs 125 yards of total offense to crack Colgate's top-10 single season list. With 133 yards he would be ninth, 157 yards eighth and 210 yards seventh. He has 2248 yards.

SCOTT LEADS THE PATRIOT LEAGUE IN RUSHING

Colgate freshman tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) is the leading rusher in the Patriot League averaging 115.9 yards per game. He is 13th in Division I-AA nationally.

Scott is the fifth Colgate running back in Patriot League history to win the rushing title. Kenny Gamble, the first ever Walter Payton Award winner, did it twice (1986 and 1987), Anthony Caravetta in 1996, Randall Joseph in 1999 and Jamaal Branch in 2003.

SCOTT'S THE FIRST FRESHMAN WITH 1,000 YARDS

Scott is the first Colgate freshman running back in school history to gain over 1,000 yards in a season. He has 1,159.

His 1,159 yards is a Patriot League freshman record, and the ninth best single season total in Colgate history. With 91 yards he would have the eighth best season and with 113 yards the seventh best.

SCOTT BREAKS FRESHMAN SINGLE GAME RUSHING MARK

Scott rushed for a freshman school record 257 on 47 carries against Georgetown last week in the regular season finale against Georgetown. He broke his only record of 222 yards on 45 carries against Holy Cross. His 257 yards is the fifth best single-game performance in school history.

SARACENO FIRST IN PASSING YARDAGE AND TOTAL OFFENSE

Junior quarterback Mike Saraceno (Sunrise, Fla.) is averaging a league-best 191.0 passing yards per game and leads the league in total offense with 224.8 yards per game.

RECEIVING CORP

Senior wide receiver DeWayne Long (West Des Moines, IA) is third in receptions per game in the Patriot League with 4.45 per game, while junior wide receiver Kenny Parker (Stratford, NJ) is fourth with 4.10 per game.

Long is first in receiving yardage per game with 59.0 yards and Parker fourth with 54.7 yards per game. Parker's seven touchdown receptions is second best in the league. He has caught a pass in four straight games.

TOPS IN INTERCEPTIONS

Colgate's senior linebacker Jared Nepa (Carbondale, PA) leads the Patriot League in interceptions with five, while senior cornerback Chris Williams (Blasdell, NY) and sophomore cornerback Cody Williams (Blasdell, NY) are tied for second place with four apiece.

NEPA HAVING A GREAT SEASON

Nepa is Colgate's leading tackler with 89 including a team-high 13 tackles for losses. He has one quarterback sack, team-high five interceptions, four pass breakups, four quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and two fumbles caused.

He has returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season giving him third for his career. His three ties the school record original set by Al Simmons (1950-53).

COLGATE IN THE NCAA DIVISION I-AA STATISTICS

Freshman tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) is 13th in rushing despite not starting the first three games.

Quarterback Mike Saraceno (Sunrise, Fla.) is 34th in total offense averaging 223.5 yards per game, while Jared Nepa (Carbondale, PA) is 15th in interceptions.

In the team categories, the Raiders are fourth in pass efficiency defense, 13th in rushing defense, 8th in total defense and 13th in scoring defense.

RED ZONE

Colgate has scored on 78.6 percent of its opportunities in the red zone (33-of-42). The Raiders have scored 19 touchdowns (10 rushing, nine passing), and kicked 14 field goals.

TOUGH AGAINST THE RUSH

Over the last 10 seasons, the Raiders have held the opposition to less than 100 yards rushing 51 times, and are 48-3 when doing so. So far this season, the Raiders have held the opposition under 100 yards rushing in six of 11 games.

TOTAL DEFENSE

The Raiders are currently 8th in the nation in total defense, allowing 281.91 yards per game. Last season, Colgate finished ninth in total defense, allowing 299.36 yards per game. In 2003, the Raiders were 15th in total defense, allowing 302.1 yards per game.