HAMILTON  — Colgate Football returns to the gridiron on Friday night when the Raiders take on the Black Bears of Maine at 7 p.m. Fred '50 and Marilyn Dunlap Head Football Coach Stan Dakosty's group will look to carry momentum into the new year after winning six of their final seven contests in 2023. The Raiders ended the season on a three game win streak, including a road upset over nationally-ranked Lafayette.

"There's a lot of momentum coming from last season, but last year is last year and now we're building up for this season with this team," Dakosty said. "There's always excitement going into every season but there's also a lot of questions that can only be answered when you kick off that first game."

A catalyst for the mid-season turnaround was a potent offensive unit that averaged 31 points per game in the final seven contests behind three different starting quarterbacks. Colgate was one of only two programs in the country (FBS or FCS)  to have three different playcallers win two or more games, and all return in 2024.

Senior captain Michael Brescia, junior Zach Osborne, and sophomore Jake Stearney will all be throwing to a stacked wide receiver core headlined by first team All-Patriot League selection Treyvhon Saunders. Saunders will look to build on a breakout sophomore season where he logged 68 receptions, good for second-most in the conference, 12th-most in the FCS, and sixth-most in program history. 

A deep running back room houses Colgate's leading rusher from last season, Chris Gee, along with senior Brendan Cassamajor and junior Marco Maldonado. They will run behind two All-League honorees in Chance Niesner and Bardhyl Gashi, the latter of whom was named the league's best returning interior offensive lineman by HERO Sports.

On defense the Raiders return fifth-year captains Christian Sweeney and Mike Slivka at the inside linebacker position. Sweeney led the Raiders in 2023 with eight tackles-for-a-loss totaling minus-30 yards while junior Cole Kozlowski was just behind him with 7.5 TFLs for minus-24 yards. 

The Raiders did lose six defensive starters from last season, the majority of whom lived in the secondary or up front. Versatile veteran defensive back Asauni Allen will make the move from corner to free safety, opening up roles for sophomore duo of Kaleb Alexander and Tymir Wynn and junior Justin Lawrence on the edges. 

Nick Marsh and Andrew Taddeo will anchor the trenches for the Raiders with a combined 56 games played in their careers. Colgate's 2023 sack-leader, sophomore Brock Winsett, is also sure to contribute meaningful snaps from the defensive end spot. 

The group picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League's preseason poll begins their quest for Colgate's first Patriot League title since 2018 with a trip to Maine this Friday. It is the first time since 2020 that the Raiders do not face an FBS opponent in the season-opener, and a win would mark the first season-opening triumph since the 2018 championship year.  

"We're opening up with a challenging game at Maine," Dakosty said. "Year in and year out, they're a tough physical football team so it's going to be a battle Friday night."

New this season, Colgate Athletics will be transitioning to new digital programs to help enhance fans' gameday experience. The digital programs will deliver impactful content in a new way and provide deep engagement opportunities that go beyond the game itself. The digital programs will be accessible to all fans in attendance and can be viewed by scanning a QR code which will be presented throughout each athletics venue on game days. For more information on the new programs, click here.