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HAMILTON – Colgate's “Double-Mac” attack was in full force here Saturday.

The Raiders duo of quarterback Gavin McCarney and tailback Jordan McCord accounted for a combined seven touchdowns and 367 rushing yards to spark Colgate to a 51-35 victory over Holy Cross. Colgate's point total was the highest in 75 years of playing its Massachusetts rival.

“Our quarterback is phenomenal, and any time you can beat Holy Cross it's a great day,” Raiders head coach Dick Biddle said. “I think we were a little tight in the first half, but we responded well.

“The best part about this game is that we only punted once.”

That didn't occur until 1:45 remained and the outcome was decided. Colgate was especially sharp in the second half, scoring touchdowns on its first four possessions to extend a 23-20 halftime advantage.

“That's the offensive line; they like wearing teams down,” said McCord, who carried 34 times for 181 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Saturday also was McCord's 10th career 100-yard rushing game.

“We take pride in that as a team, you know, wearing teams down,” he said. “The option is hard to stop with Gavin; he's a fast quarterback. I'm just happy we got this win.”

Surging Raiders
Colgate (3-3) suddenly has won three of its last four after an 0-2 start, and the Raiders began their Patriot League schedule with a key home victory. Last year, Colgate opened conference play with a 37-7 loss to these same Crusaders.

“It's as good a group of skill players, depth-wise and overall, as I've been around,” Biddle said of his 2012 edition. “They are all good.  Sometimes you have a great player, maybe somebody's average – but they're all good players. They are all-league players. And our quarterback is phenomenal right now.”

McCarney needed only 12 attempts to compile his 186 rushing yards, most by a Colgate quarterback in school history. Tommy Parr ran Colgate's wishbone attack to the previous high of 174 yards in a 1972 win at The Citadel.

In addition to averaging 15½ yards per carry Saturday, McCarney also completed 10 of his 13 passing tries for another 166 yards and a touchdown. For the season, McCarney has passed for 1,097 yards and rushed for 468.

The junior from Jefferson Township, N.J., has accounted for 18 of the team's 29 touchdowns, with 10 on the ground and eight through the air.

“I thought we played pretty well,” McCarney said. “I think we had a pretty good roll out there in the second half, and you have to give all the credit to the offensive line and our tight ends.

“They do a lot. They open the holes and it is up to us to read their blocks. The receivers downfield – everybody did their parts today.”

Double-Figure Scoring
Colgate reached double figures in scoring in all four quarters, and the team's 604 yards of total offense was the ninth-best mark in school history. The Raiders rumbled for 407 rushing yards to go with 197 through the air.

McCarney scored both of his rushing touchdowns in the first half, including a highlight-reel scamper of 51 yards that began with a clean leap over a would-be Holy Cross tackler near the line of scrimmage. It was a career-long rush for McCarney, one yard better than his 50-yarder last year against Bucknell.

For good measure, McCarney in the second half connected with wide receiver Chris Looney for another fourth-down touchdown to ice the game. It was the passing duo's third do-or-die score of the season.

“It's fourth-down and we just needed a first down,” McCarney said. “I wasn't really looking for a touchdown. Chris catches the ball and makes plays, and he just got into the end zone.”

Looney caught four passes for 49 yards, but it was fellow wideout Daniel Cason who hauled in a pair of McCarney bombs. Cason finished with 85 yards on the two receptions for his second-best yardage total of the season.

“Gavin and I finally got on the same page today,” Cason said. “We had a couple of other ones that were close calls, but that's what we work in practice for. We keep getting better and better every week.”

Rare Fumble
Colgate scored touchdowns on its first two possessions Saturday to go on top 13-7. The Raiders looked to be headed for a third TD when the offense lost a fumble for the first time since the Sacred Heart game Sept. 15. McCarney had the ball slip through his fingers on a bootleg call, and Holy Cross had life.

The Crusaders (1-5, 1-1 Patriot) responded with an impressive 90-yard drive in 10 plays to take their first lead, 14-13. Andy Burgess connected on a 36-yard field goal for Colgate, but Holy Cross came right back with another touchdown drive to make it 20-16.

Jimmy DeCicco then sparked Colgate's ensuing drive with a 29-yard kickoff return to near midfield. It took only eight plays to cover the remaining 54 yards, with McCarney scoring from four yards out to push the Raiders in front at the break, 23-20.

Colgate's defense made a difference from the start of the second half. The Raiders halted Holy Cross on fourth-and-1 from the Colgate 36-yard line, sparking the offense to a six-play TD drive and a 30-20 advantage.

“In the halftime room, Coach Biddle talked to us (and) got our minds right,” said sophomore defensive end Vince Myers, who had 1½ sacks and a quarterback hurry among his four tackles. “Coach (Ryan) Knowles told us to get after it. All of us just wanted it.”

Four Sacks, but Still 300 Yards
Colgate finished the game with four sacks of Holy Cross quarterback Steven Elder, who still managed to complete 24 of 39 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns.

Holy Cross tailback tailback Eddie Houghton scored midway in the third quarter to cut Colgate's lead to 30-27, but the Raiders answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive of their own to re-establish the lead. McCord's second TD of the quarter made it 37-27.

“The offensive line did its job and we opened holes for the backs,” senior left guard Brian Crockett said. “We practice hard so it's kind of like second nature to us moving them off the ball. Coach Biddle is pretty good about that.”

Colgate then added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter – McCarney's pass to Looney while the game still was in doubt; and McCord an 8-yard run for his fourth TD that made it 51-27. After that, it was in the defense's hands to manage the game.

“We have a good pass rush, but we just have to get them into pass-rushing downs,” said linebacker Kris Kent, who posted five tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. “I have to give all credit to the offense, because when the offense gets a big lead like that it's a lot easier on us to just drop back and play the pass.”

Colgate senior Patrick Friel tied for game honors with a personal season-high 13 tackles, including 11 solo. Safety Chad Frey added eight tackles. Holy Cross had two receivers top 100 yards – Mike Fess caught 10 for 100 and Gerald Mistretta eight for 166 and two touchdowns.

The Raiders are home again next week, hosting Georgetown in a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Hoyas (3-4) dropped their Patriot League opener 17-14 at home Saturday to Lehigh.