Game Central

HAMILTON -- Colgate kicks off the 2015 football season Saturday with a visit to FBS member Navy, which is playing its first campaign in the American Athletic Conference. The Raiders and Midshipmen are conference rivals in most other sports in the Patriot League, but Navy maintains membership in football's highest classification and this year joins the AAC.

Saturday also marks the 125th anniversary of Colgate's first football season back in 1890. The Raiders enter 2015 with 625 all-time victories and a .567 winning percentage.

Colgate opens its 2015 campaign in similar fashion to many Raider teams from the past -- with stiff competition from the get-go. The Raiders meet 2014 Poinsettia Bowl-champion Navy in the opener and then host NCAA FCS semifinalist New Hampshire on Sept. 12. After that, Yale visits for Colgate Homecoming.

Previous early-season encounters this decade saw the Raiders visit Ball State and Delaware last season, take on Air Force and New Hampshire in 2013, play at Albany, South Dakota, Stony Brook and Yale in the first five games of 2012, and battle Towson in 2011.

Next season, Colgate resumes its series against Syracuse on Sept. 3. The Raiders hold a slim 31-30-5 against their Central New York neighbors.

Navy leads the all-time series against Colgate by a 6-0 count, with all six games having taken place in Annapolis. The Raiders were the last Patriot League team to take on Navy, with that encounter taking place back in 1998.

The Midshipmen rallied that afternoon for a 42-35 decision.

Raiders Picked Third in Patriot League
Colgate is slated for a third-place result in this year's Patriot League football race, according to the conference office's preseason release.
 
The Patriot League posted its kickoff poll in conjunction with Football Media Day on Aug. 4 at Green Pond Country Club. One year ago in Hunt's debut season as Colgate head coach, the Raiders finished third after being slotted fifth in the preseason. Another two-position leap like that one would earn Colgate its eighth Patriot League football title.

Colgate landed five players on the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team, led by team captains Victor Steffen on the defensive line and John Weber on the offensive line. Other Raiders selected were tight end John Quazza, linebacker Kyle Diener and placekicker Jonah Bowman.
 
The Patriot League's Preseason All-League roster consists of just one set of starters on offense and one on defense, along with three specialists. Voting for the preseason All-League Team and predicted order of finish was conducted by the Patriot League's head coaches and football sports information directors, who could not vote for their own players or team.

Colgate placed 11 individuals on the the three CollegeSportsMadness.com Preseason All-Patriot League teams.

2015 marked Hunt's second turn at the helm of the Raiders recruiting machine, as well as Colgate's third signing day experience that included the offer of scholarships. And the Raiders for the second year in a row inked 24 student-athletes, this time from seven different states.

Six incoming members of the Class of '19 call Pennsylvania home, with five more from Florida. Other states represented are Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas.

CBS Sports Network Telecast: Saturday's game kicks off at noon on the CBS Sports Network. John Sadak and Randy Cross are calling the action from the booth, with Sheehan Stanwick Burch on the sidelines.

For channel information, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.