Game Notes

THIS WEEK
Sat., Nov. 7 – at Lafayette (Easton, Pa.), 1:08 p.m. 

For the second time in three weeks, a Patriot League contest will feature a pair of nationally-ranked teams as the No. 18/20 Colgate Raiders (8-1, 3-1) travel to No. 25/24 Lafayette (7-1, 3-0) Saturday, Nov. 7. Kickoff is set for 1:08 p.m. The Raiders topped Lafayette 21-13 last season and have a 12-1 record against the Leopards during the Biddle era.

THE SERIES
This is the 53rd meeting between Colgate and Lafayette, with the Raiders leading 38-10-4. Colgate won last season 21-13 in Hamilton, N.Y. and is 12-1 against the Leopards during the Biddle era.

WEBSITES
Complete Colgate football information, including releases, statistics, records and features can be found on: Colgate's official website at www.goColgateRaiders.com

FOLLOW THE RAIDERS ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER
Fans of all Colgate University sports can follow their favorite teams more than ever, as Colgate Athletics joined the world of social networking on Twitter and Facebook.

THE COACHES
Colgate head coach Dick Biddle, who has the most wins in school history, is in his 14th season at the helm of the Raiders. His overall record is 112-50 and is 12-1 against Lafayette. Biddle has won eight or more games in seven seasons during his career.
Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani is in his 10th campaign with the Leopards. He has compiled a mark of 59-51 at Lafayette, 24-8 in Patriot League games over the last six seasons. 

LAST OUTING
Junior quarterback Greg Sullivan went 11-21 for 198 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes as No. 24 Colgate (8-1, 3-1 Patriot League) stayed alive in the race for the Patriot League title with a 27-20 win over Lehigh on a rain-soaked Halloween matinee at Andy Kerr Stadium.
Three of Sullivan's touchdown passes went to senior wide receiver Pat Simonds, who caught five passes for 85 yards. Simonds tied a career-high with his three touchdown catches. Furthermore, he now has 11 touchdowns, which is a season-high for the Central New York star.

LAFAYETTE NOTEBOOK
The Leopards are coming off a 35-14 win over Bucknell led by quarterback Rob Curley who enjoyed a career day, while the Lafayette defense limited Bucknell's spread option to 95 rushing yards. Lafayette scored four TD's in the second half.
Curly the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week completed 30-of-35 passes for 333 yards with three Touchdowns.
   
SECOND-HALF DOMINANCE
Colgate has allowed only 31 points in the second-half over the last four games, and has outscored its opponents 120-60 in the second-half overall.
     
A THREE-HEADED MONSTER
This season marks only the second time in Colgate football history its had three 1000-yard rushers on the same team.
Greg Sullivan became just the third quarterback in school history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and currently sits tied for 18th with 1536.
Tailback Nate Eachus also sits 18th with 1,536 yards and 20 touchdowns, while Jordan McCord leads the Patriot League in rushing per game (95.9) and is has 1021 yards for his career, 29th overall.
This season the three have combined for 2,105 yards and 21 touchdowns, which breaks down to 233 yards and 2.3 touchdowns per game.

COLGATE VS. PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAMS UNDER BIDDLE
In the last 14 seasons, the Raiders are 65-17 against Patriot League teams under head coach Dick Biddle for a winning percentage of .793.  They have lost to Lehigh six times, Bucknell four times, Holy Cross four, Fordham twice and Lafayette once.

CAREER RECEIVING CHART
Senior wide receiver Pat Simonds has moved into fourth place on the school's all-time receptions 158 and all-time in receiving yards with 2,541 yards. Simonds leads the Patriot League in scoring averaging 7.88 points per game.

BY THE NUMBERS
    • Colgate has won 66 of its last 94 games.
    • Colgate has won 65 of its last 83 Patriot League games.
    • Colgate has won 29 of its last 42 games decided by nine points or less.
    • Colgate has won 37 of its last 45 games at Andy Kerr Stadium.

THE BIDDLE ERA
Last season became a major milestone in the coaching career of Colgate head coach Dick Biddle.  On September 7, Biddle became the winningest football coach in school history with his 97th victory, passing the legendary Andy Kerr.
Entering his 14th season with the Raiders, Biddle has an overall mark of 112-50. He has achieved the best winning percentage (.691) of any Colgate coach with seven or more years at the helm of the Raiders.  Biddle is also the first Colgate coach to ever record nine straight seasons with seven or more victories.
He has been named Patriot League Coach of the Year four times while guiding the Raiders to six Patriot League titles and six appearances in the FCS (formally I-AA) playoffs.
In 2003, Biddle was named the American Football Coaches Association Division I-AA National Coach of the Year after leading the Raiders to a 15-1 record, and to the national championship game of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
   
VOTE FOR BIDDLE
Colgate head coach Dick Biddle is a front-runner for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award voted on by fans.
The award provides each coach with $50,000 to donate to the charity or charities of his choice, as well as a $20,000 grant to donate to his school's alumni association.
Fans can vote for coach Biddle at www.coachoftheyear.com or at
www.gocolgateraiders.com.

RAIDERS DEFENSE
Colgate is ranked third in the Patriot League and 29th in the nation in total defense (294.3). Senior Greg Hadley leads the Raiders in tackles with 54 on the year, including five tackles for loss. Hadley is followed by Uzi Idah with 49 tackles, Garrington Spence 46, and Zach Smith with 36. Spence and Coree Moses lead the Raiders with two interceptions apiece.   

DIFFERENT STYLES
This game will feature different style offenses as Colgate is currently ranked third in the nation with 246.6 rushing yards per game, while Lafayette is ranked 67th in the nation with 130.4. Colgate is ranked 17th in the nation in total offense (408.9 ypg), while Lafayette is 22nd (388.4 ypg).
Defensively, the Raiders are ranked 29th in total defense, while Lafayette is 32nd. The Leopards are also ranked first in the Patriot League and 14th in the nation in rushing defense (90.6 ypg).

2009 HONORS
Freshman Evan Colborne was named the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance against Georgetown.
Senior Paul Mancuso was named the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance against Princeton.
Wide receiver John Schademan was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week following his performance against Cornell.
Quarterback Greg Sullivan has earned the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award twice this season and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week once.
Tailback Jordan McCord was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and ECAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Dartmouth.
Wide receiver Pat Simonds was named to the 2009 Sports Network preseason FCS All-America Team.

CLIMBING IN BOTH POLLS
Colgate is ranked No. 18 in the Sports Network poll following the Raiders 27-20 victory over Lehigh on Saturday. Colgate was 24th in the country last week. The Raiders also moved up five spots to 20th in the FCS Coaches Top-25 after sitting 25th last week.

COLGATE VS. TOP 25 TEAMS
Colgate is 7-9 in its last 16 games against teams ranked in the Top 25 of the FCS.  In 2003, they defeated #24 Lehigh, #19 Fordham, #5 Massachusetts, #10 Western Illinois, and #13 Florida Atlantic, before losing to #3 Delaware in the FCS championship game.
Colgate lost to #14 Massachusetts in the 2004 season opener and later to #12 Lehigh.  In 2005, they beat #15 UMass 17-14, and lost to #16 Lehigh 50-34 and #1 New Hampshire 55-21.  In 2006, they lost to #10 UMass 28-7 and in 2007 to #2 UMass, 35-17. Last season #23 Furman defeated the Raiders 42-21, while defeating #21 Lafayette, 21-13.
This season Colgate's only loss has come from #22 Holy Cross 42-28.

UP NEXT
Colgate will host Bucknell Saturday, Nov. 14. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. The Raiders topped Bucknell 52-28 last season and have a 9-4 record against the Bison during the Biddle era.