For a good long while on Friday it appeared as though Colgate (0-1), which only won two games all of last year, was going to deliver a stunner to the FCS landscape early on this year. The Raiders jumped out to a daunting 31-7 lead over #22 ranked Monmouth (1-0) and seemed to be in prime position to shock the Hawks. Instead, though, Curt Fitzpatrick’s team crumbled down the stretch, through a series of defensive mistakes and offensive sputters, allowed Monmouth to surge all the way back and avoid
the upset.
So much ado was made about Monmouth’s high-octane offense heading into this season but it was the Raiders offense that looked the part early on in this one. Quarterback Zach Osborne was electric in both the run and pass game, accounting for 286 total yards and a pair touchdowns in the first 30 minutes. He made play after play to help his team pull away from the jump.
The other signal caller in this game… Monmouth’s Derek Robertson… surprisingly struggled while Osborn was on fire. Pegged to be one of the better QBs in the FCS this year, Robertson looked lost against the Raiders defense, tossing four interceptions in the first half alone and only finding the end zone once in that same span. It all started on the opening series when Robertson’s first pass of the game went backwards. A few plays later he uncorked a deep ball to the end zone that was picked at the goal line by Tymir Wynn.
That play, it turned out, set the tone for the whole evening. Osborne connected with receiver Treyvhon Saunders just two plays later on a deep 61-yard strike to set up the first touchdown of the night. From there, the Raiders rolled on both sides of the ball. By halftime Saunders himself had 170 receiving yards and a pair of scores, Osborne had thrown for 223 and the Raiders led it 24-7.
The second half started the same way except Colgate sent out Jake Stearney under center instead of Osborne who left with an injury; something that would prove to be a big swing. On his first series, the junior quarterback Stearney went 3-for-3 passing and led a drive that ate over seven minutes off the clock. He connected with running back Brendan Cassamajor for the score to extend the lead to 31-7 and everything was going Colgate’s way. That, though, would not last.
The Hawks finally responded and shift momentum some with a big play of their own. Robertson found receiver Gavin Nelson behind the defense for a much-needed 70-yard TD strike. The converted two point try cut the deficit to 16 points. They built upon that with another third quarter touchdown and, when the fourth began, Monmouth only was down ten.
Colgate started to tense up and it showed on both sides of the ball. After being forced to punt again, the defense gave up another huge play. Robertson rolled out and strung a pass to Nelson in the back corner of the end zone, all but silencing the once-raucous crowd in Andy Kerr Stadium. The Raiders had once led by 24 and now were up just three with most of a quarter to play.
Monmouth continued to surge on defense. They got to Stearney and stripped the ball away on a big sack. Robertson capitalized almost immediately, unloading his fourth touchdown pass of the evening on yet another explosive play. Nelson once more was on the receiving end of a long scoring pass, this one 51 yards. He would finish the night with three TDs and 176 receiving yards all on five catches.
Now with the lead for the first time and all the momentum, the Hawks started to choke out Colgate. They turned the Raiders over on downs in the red zone before scoring again. Running back Rodney Nelson broke free on a 75-yard scamper to make it 42-31.
Now at their lowest point of the night, Colgate started to come alive again. Stearney orchestrated a touchdown drive of his own. Danny Shaban pushed his way in from two yards out to cap the 13-play march and the ensuing two-point pass was also completed. Trailing by a field goal, the Raiders had a chance but needed to stop a red hot Monmouth offense and that proved to be just a bit too much to ask. The Hawks were able to grind out a few first downs and put it on ice.
When all was said and done, Monmouth scored 35 unanswered points in the comeback before allowing that last score. Robertson was a completely different quarterback in the second half, as he completed 76% of his throws and tossed three touchdowns and no picks. He finished his night with 491 total passing yards and four TD throws to offset his four picks. Three different Hawk pass catchers had 100-yard games.
Despite the crushing loss, Colgate did have some noteworthy individual showings of their own. Saunders put up a whopping 223 receiving yards on 13 snags and had two TDs of his own. The untimely injury to Osborne paired with a total defensive collapse, though, doomed the Raiders in Curt Fitzpatrick’s Raiders head coaching debut. It will be a hard one to bounce back from but they’ll try next week at Villanova. Monmouth will look to make it 2-0 as they take on Fordham next.
