WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Opportunistic. Efficient. Still undefeated. Oh, and back-to-back shutouts for the first time in 52 years.
No. 23 Colgate keep the defensive intensity turned up and the Raider offense took advantage of William & Mary miscues to post a 23-0 victory here Saturday night.
It's the first back-to-back Colgate shutouts since the opening two games of the 1966 season. And the Raiders extended their scoreless quarters streak to 10 since New Hampshire squeezed out a field goal back on Sept. 8.
The Raiders also extended their winning streak to nine for the first time since the magical 2003 NCAA title-game run.
Colgate's scoring came on a pair of 1-yard TD runs – by
Alex Mathews in the first quarter and
James Holland Jr., in the third – bookended around three
Chris Puzzi field goals. Puzzi connected from 26 and 25 yards before booming one through the uprights from 47 for a career-long.
Colgate led 16-0 at halftime. The Raiders then took the second-half kickoff and marched 75 yards in 10 plays, capped by Holland's 1-yard run.
T.J. Holl paced all tacklers with 12, including a sack on the game's opening possession that forced a Tribe fumble.
Dillon DeIuliis recovered and Colgate scored six plays later for a 7-0 lead.
Bottom Line
• No. 23 Colgate 23, William & Mary 0
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2009.
• William & Mary is now 1-3.
Stats of the Game
• The last time Colgate posted back-to-back shutouts, the Raiders were dedicating the new Andy Kerr Stadium grandstand to kick off the 1966 season.
• Colgate opened with a 34-0 victory over Boston University and followed that with a 38-0 triumph at Columbia.
• Before Saturday night, senior
Owen Buscaglia had career numbers of 10 catches for 139 yards. He caught seven for 142 yards against the Tribe.
• Puzzi's previous long field goal was 40. Saturday night's field goal from 47 yards looked like it would have been good from more than 50.
• Colgate in the first half has outscored its four opponents 86-3.
• Holland moved into Colgate's career top 15 in rushing with 87 yards, giving him 2,281. He passed Tom Parr, who had 2,221 from 1971-73, during Saturday's game.
•
Abu Daramy-Swaray picked off his second pass in as many weeks to help Colgate preserve its shutout. Daramy-Swaray and
Tyler Castillo each have two picks.
•
Grant Breneman began the game 10-of-10 passing for 138 yards. He finished 16-of-22 for a season-high 227 yards.
• He was 7-of-7 on Colgate's second scoring drive that made it 10-0.
• Castillo had seven tackles, including one for lost yardage. He also forced a fumble and contributed one pass breakup.
• In addition to the DeIuliis fumble return, he also deflected the pass that Daramy-Swaray intercepted. DeIuliis posted two pass breakups to go with four tackles.
• Colgate forced three William & Mary turnovers, two of which led to 10 points. The Tribe also missed a 31-yard field goal and didn't score after a 15-play, 76-yard drive that took 7:31 off the clock.
• The Raiders are believed to be the first Patriot League team to post two victories in the same regular season against Colonial Athletic Association opponents. And both came on the road.
• The only other Patriot League squad with multiple wins over the CAA in the same season was Colgate in the 2015 playoffs.
From the Sources
•
Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "Offensively, we did a good job in the first half of turning the field around. I was hoping we would kick fewer field goals and more extra points, but we were getting points on the board, turning the field and taking the clock off.
"Any time your defense isn't going to give up any points, it really doesn't make it hard on anybody else. But this was a really good complete win by all three phases, not just the defense."
Listen to the rest of Hunt's comments HERE.
•
Colgate quarterback Grant Breneman: (On his early success) "The protection up front was really good, I could see the defense well, and the wideouts created some separation. Getting into a rhythm early was really important for us.
(On Buscaglia's performance) "We knew that was coming. That's something we've seen in spring ball and during camp. He's a senior who we can rely on and who does the job every single play. It wasn't a surprise to any of us."
Listen to the rest of Breneman's comments HERE.
•
Colgate defensive lineman Nick Wheeler: (On the game plan) "We knew they like to run power and they like to play downhill and be physical, so the mindset was being physical right back. Our motto is being physical and playing with a lot of effort and attitude.
"Another thing we try to do is force a lot of turnovers. We always talk about being a great defense; not a good defense, but a great defense. And great defenses know how to force turnovers and put the offense in good field position."
Listen to the rest of Wheeler's comments HERE.
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Colgate linebacker T.J. Holl: (On the early sack and forced fumble) "They ran play action and I saw it coming. I knew Ben (Hunt) had the guy who was leaking to the flat, so I decided to go put some pressure on the quarterback. I was thinking he was either going to throw it away or tuck it and run, but he left the ball up there in a vulnerable spot.
"Once I got there, I made a play on the ball, smacked it out and it ended up being a big play for us."
Listen to the rest of Holl's comments HERE.
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Colgate wide receiver Owen Buscaglia: (On his performance) "To be honest, you don't really think about it when it's going like that. You just try to catch every ball that's thrown your way because that's our job.
"We ran a little bit of everything. I believe Grant was 10-for-10 and we had a good mix of play-calling. I ran a variety of routes and saw their tendencies, then made adjustments off that at halftime."
Listen to the rest of Buscaglia's comments HERE.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Zable Stadium was 9,191.
• Colgate plays at William & Mary again next season, returning to Williamsburg Sept. 14.
Up Next
• Colgate gets back to Patriot League play with a matchup at Bucknell.
• The Bison improved to 1-4 after Saturday's 19-16 victory at Holy Cross.
• Kickoff from Lewisburg is noon, with the Patriot League Network and WKXZ-FM 93.9 carrying all of the action.
