The FCS Wedge

Colgate Raiders

2018 Record: 10-2 (6-0)

Head Coach: Dan Hunt, 6^th Season (36-23, 24-6)

Last League Title: 2018

Last FCS Playoff Appearance: 2018, Quarterfinalist

2019 Schedule

8/24 Villanova

8/31 Air Force

9/7 BYE

9/14 @ William & Mary

9/21 Maine

9/28 @ Dartmouth

10/5 Lehigh

10/12 Bucknell

10/19 @ Cornell

10/26 @ Holy Cross

11/2 @ Georgetown

11/9 Fordham

11/16 @ Lafayette

11/23 BYE

Overview

Colgate enters 2019 on the heels of one their best seasons ever at the FCS level. The 2018 team was led by one of the statistically great defenses in the subdivision’s history. The Raiders gave up a grand total of 29 points (3.6 ppg) in their 9 games against FCS competition (FBS Army scored 28)! The Raider’s “D” pitched five shutouts and had a stretch of 32 scoreless quarters! The offense, while not overly explosive, was extremely steady throughout the year (30.1 ppg). Even special teams had their moments to shine. Chris Puzzi’s game winning FG against James Madison punched Colgate’s ticket to the Quarterfinals. Unfortunately for Colgate, Puzzi’s FG would be the final points of the year as the eventual national champion North Dakota State Bison blanked the Raiders 35-0 the following week in Fargo.

The question now is what does Colgate do for an encore? They return a handful of All-League selections and plenty of experience in key positions. The major concerns are at wide receiver, linebacker and in the secondary. There’s also a pretty daunting schedule to navigate.

Offense

There’s a lot to like (1^st Team All-PL QB and excellent OL) about the Colgate offense heading into the 2019 season but there’s also two serious question marks, WR and RB. The unit was extremely efficient last year against the weaker competition but when facing the better teams it often struggled. With offensive coordinator Chris Young moving on to Elon after 16 seasons in Hamilton and no replacement being named, it appears Hunt will have more of an influence on the offense this season.

Leading the way on offense is not only the best returning QB in the Patriot League (Preseason Offensive POY), but one of the better signal callers in all of FCS, junior Grant Breneman (160.5 ppg 6 TDs 4 TDs passing, 7 TDs rushing in ‘18). The preseason Payton Award candidate is especially dangerous when he gets outside of the pocket. If there’s one area he could use some improvement it’s throwing to the second and third level from the pocket. Making that task a little trickier will be a very green group of wide receivers.

Amazingly, due to graduation and players leaving the program Colgate does not return a single wide receiver that caught a pass in 2018. While experience is clearly lacking, the one thing Colgate does have at the WR position is size; senior’s Nick Gill and Frank Rica III are 6’3 as it junior Nick Draught. Then there’s 6’4 freshman Ryan Cekay who could blossom into a redzone terror. Keep an eye on shifty fellow freshman Rory Boos in the slot as the season progresses. Breneman will likely lean on 1^st Team All-PL TE Nick Diaco (9 rec 114 yards) in key situations before the new crop of wide receivers settle in.

Another area of concern on offense heading into the season is at running back. The loss of fifth year stud James Holland will hurt the rushing and passing attack. Taking over the RB duties will be the duo of senior Alex Mathews (147 yards 5 TDs in ’18) and junior Malik Twyman (292 yards 1 TD). Diminutive sophomore John Cox (5’7 200) should see his role increase in 2019. Mathews (Preseason 1^st Team All-PL) and Twyan should from a solid duo behind what will be one of the top offensive lines in all of FCS.

Along with Breneman at QB, the strength of the Raider offense will be the OL. A pair of 1^st Team All-Patriot Leaguer’s OT Jovaun Woolford and G Jack Badovinac lead the way. Senior Charlie Holsopple, Juniors Sam Diehl and Jayvion Queen seem like the leaders in the clubhouse to start at the other OL positions. All three have All-League potential. Sophomores Michael Griggs and Shiva Puttagunta should also be in the mix to see time as the season goes along.

Defense

It’s safe to say that an encore performance of the 2018 Raider defense will be impossible. Between graduation and an uptick in competition, the historical stats and complete domination the Colgate “D” reveled in last season is a thing of the past. That’s not to say the 2019 edition won’t be the best unit in the league, because it will, or it won’t be quite good nationally, because it will be.

The strength of the defense in 2019 will be the defensive line. 1^st Team All-American (STATS) DE Nick Wheeler is the ultimate disrupter off the edge while Cam Rohr (6’2 315)is an excellent cog in the middle. Junior Abdoul Kouyate will see significant time at the other end position. Senior Jacob Escaro, junior Owen Rosenberger, sophomore E.J. Simmons and freshman Will Anderson (Navy transfer) should all see important snaps as well.

The linebacker unit will be led by senior 1^st Team All-PL selection Nick Ioanelli (6 TFL, 28 solo in ’18). Senior Shane Shaffner, juniors Blane Briggs and Trevor Thompson seem likely to start in defensive coordinator Paul Shaffner’s 3-4 alignment. Freshman Tyler Flick was an excellent athlete (All-State HS RB) who could see significant time. Replacing the caliber of T.J. Holl (17 TFLs, 121 total tackles) and Dillon Deluliis (73 total tackles) will be nearly impossible but there is some good experience returning. However, depth could be an issue.

Like at linebacker, the secondary returns a stud in 1^st Team All-PL (STATS 2^nd Team All-American)senior CB Abu Daram-Swaray but lost a lot of experience and production. Taking over at the other CB position will likely be either senior Jordan Jefferson or sophomore Collin Heard. Both got a lot of reps last year in reserve roles. Aiden Gaertner and Marques Bruce seem to have the inside track to the starting safety positions. Kyan Brumfield and talented freshman Keshaun Dancy should see significant time as well in the secondary.

Special Teams

1^st Team All-PL PK Chris Puzzi leads the specials teams unit. The senior’s most memorable kick last year was his 38 yard buzzer beater against JMU in the second round of the FCS playoffs. Abu Daramy-Swaray will likely again have a significant role in the return game. TySean Sizer and perhaps fresham Rory Boos will get a few opportunities in the return game as well. The punting duties will likely be handled by senior Tommy Halkyard (37.4 avg in ’18).

Outlook

While Colgate returns a strong talent base and experience at key positions, the Raiders will be hard pressed to come close to last year’s magical run. First, Colgate lost a tremendous amount of production due to graduation. Every team suffers graduation losses but rarely do so many key players leave at once. Wide receiver, linebacker and the secondary are without question a major concern heading into the season.  Secondly, the schedule is going to be much harder in 2019. Colgate benefited greatly by feasting on one of the weakest schedules in all of FCS last season; 28-58 record of FCS competition/0 teams with a winning record.

Heading into the season Colgate appears to have just enough to squeeze out another league title and trip to the playoffs. However, neither is a foregone conclusion. The Raiders margin for error this season will be much smaller than it was in 2018. They certainly can’t afford Breneman getting banged up like he was down the stretch in 2018.

Prediction: 8-4 (5-1)

Bucknell Bison

2018 Record: 1-10 (1-5)

Head Coach: Dave Cecchini, 1^st year (17-38 career record)

Last League Title: 1996

Last FCS playoff Appearance:  Never

2019 Schedule

8/31 @ Temple

9/7 @ Sacred Heart

9/14 Villanova

9/21 BYE

9/28 Princeton

10/5 Holy Cross

10/12 @ Colgate

10/19 @ Towson

10/26 @ Lafayette

11/2 BYE

11/9 Lehigh

11/16 Georgetown

11/23 @ Fordham

Overview

2019 ushers in the Dave Cecchini era in Lewisburg. This comes after the Bucknell administration opted not to bring back Joe Susan for a 10^th season. Susan was let go after a disastrous one win 2018 campaign; the Bison’s fourth straight losing season. Cecchini comes to Central Pennsylvania after serving as Valparaiso’s head coach for the last five seasons. Prior to that, the former Lehigh All-American WR served as the offensive coordinator at his alma mater from 2010 thru 2013. Before his stint at Lehigh, he was the OC at Harvard and The Citadel.

There’s no question Cecchini knows offense and Patriot League football. He also knows what it’s like to try and turn around a morbid program. Bucknell is without question one of toughest jobs in all of FCS due to its location, ho-hum tradition and general apathy that surrounds the program. All things considered, Valparaiso might be the most difficult job in the subdivision.

Offense

It will be up to Cecchini and offensive coordinator Jason Miran to formulate a strategy to get the Bison offense out of their multi-year slump (13.4 ppg in ’18). The lack of offense under Joe Susan’s watch further drained the life out of a Bucknell program that has struggled for decades to stir up excitement. One of the best ways to get people interested in Bison football is to have an offense that scores points and generates big plays. Losing is bad enough. But losing in a boring, lifeless manner is arguably the worst way to go down.

The straw that stirs the drink on offense is obviously the quarterback. Heading into the 2019 season Bucknell has three signal callers with significant experience. Sophomore QB Tarrin Earle (386 yards 3 TD, 2 INT in 4 games) should have the inside track to the starting position. Earle was a highly touted prospect out of New Jersey and did some good things when given the opportunity late last season. Senior John Chiarolanzio (434 yards 0 TDs, 6 INTs in 4 games) and Junior Logan Bitikofer (1050 yards, 7 TDs, 8 INTs in 6 games) will vie for playing time. Bitikofer is the most likely to push Earle in fall camp.

The strength of Bucknell’s offense should be the running game. In fact, heading into the season the Bison have the deepest, most proven stable of running backs in the Patriot League. The return of Chad Freshnock (1,139 yards/16 TDs career) is significant. The bruising senior RB was injured last August and missed the entire 2018 season. Joining him will be shifty sophomore Jared Cooper (525 yards, 2 TDs). Cooper also emerged as a reliable pass catcher (38 rec 287 yards 2 TDs). Marquis Carter gives the Bison a third quality back. Carter was expected to be the starting RB last year but he was lost for the season following an injury in the 2018 opener against William & Mary.

Sophomore WR Brandon Sanders (44 rec 516 yards 0 TDs) is coming off a great rookie season and will be the focal point of the passing attack. Sanders numbers in 2018 were especially impressive when factoring in the revolving door at QB during the course of the season. Senior Justin Bethea (21 rec 250 yards 1 TD) seems likely to be penciled in at the other receiver position. Slot WR/RB Stefone Moore-Green is talented enough to find an important role in Miran’s offense. Senior Marcus Ademilola (missed all of ’18 with an injury) should vie for all league honors at TE.

The offensive line returns a plethora of experience and versatility. Junior guard P.J. Barr anchors the unit. Fellow Juniors Simor Krizak and Justis Peppers (6’4 330) seem like a safe bet to start at the tackle positions. Seniors Chuck Sanders, Erik Lukner and Justin Falcone (missed ’18 w/injury) along with sophomore Michael Killiri figure to be key contributors along the OL as well.

Defense

Like in 2017, the Bucknell defense was rather feast or famine (28.3 ppg/388 ypg allowed) last season. The Bison emerged as one of the top defensive units in the country during Susan’s first 5-6 years but there’s been a steady decline in recent seasons. The ups and downs on defense combined with an inept offense created the perfect recipe for  10 losses in 2018. First year defensive coordinator Ryan Manalac will be in charge of retooling the once proud Bucknell “D”.

Leading the way on defense is hybrid LB Simeon Page (9 TFL/4.5 sacks in ’18). Despite missing 4 games in 2018, the junior still garnered 1^st team All-PL honors. Senior Sam Chitty (74 tackles in ’18) and Rick Mottram (10 TFL in ’18) are expected to join Page as starters in Manalac’s 4-3 base “D”. Jon Fox, Gerrit Van Itallie and Ryan Brida should also see significant time.

In the trenches, Fifth year senior Joe Shiano and junior Roger Mellado give the Bison two quality/experienced defensive ends. Senior John Hunt (6’0 300) figures to anchor the middle of the line. Hunt started the first 4 games of 2018 before suffering a season ending injury. 6’7 270 pound junior NNamdi Unachukwu will also start/see significant time assuming Manalac sticks with the 4-3 alignment. Seniors Sean Naiman, Blake Fletcher and Jimmy Sheehan, Junior Clay Myers and Sophomore Grayson Cherubino will to be key rotation players along the “D” line.

The Bison enter 2019 with serious question marks in the secondary. The cornerback and safety positions appear to be wide open heading into the season opener against Temple. Senior Mike Caruso, Junior Eric Butler and Sophomores Sterling Deary and Micah Dennis were all mainly role players in 2018. As a result, the door could be open for talented freshman Jonathan Searcy to work his way up the depth chart at cornerback. Gerrit Van Itallie will start at the hybrid safety/LB position while juniors Brandon Benson and Conner Romango should battle it out for the other starting spot. Freshman Justin Murray is a highly decorated DB out of Texas who will play safety in college. Expect Murray to get on the field early and often.

Special Teams

Fifth year senior Alex Pechin just might go down in history as the best punter/kicker in PL history. The 1^st Team All-American (STATS) has a great chance to continue his career in the NFL if he so chooses. Junior Ethan Torres will handle the FG duties (5/8, long of 37 yards in ’18). Marquis Carter and Brandon Sanders should be Bucknell’s main punt/kickoff return weapons.

Outlook

To be frank, Dave Cecchini inherits a mess in 2019. While Bucknell reached a level of respectability during Susan’s first few years, the wheels really started to fall off the last 2-3 seasons. There’s no doubt  Bucknell has quality individual pieces dotting the roster. The sophomore class is especially strong. Getting several key players back from season ending injuries in 2018 should provide a huge boost. Still, top to bottom the Bison lack the personnel to finish in the upper half of the league.

The schedule is extremely difficult for a team coming off a 1-10 record. Heading into the season it’s hard to see Bucknell managing more than two wins (Sacred Heart and Lafayette). If Cecchini can work his magic with the offense and the secondary comes together then another win or two is possible. The Bison are probably two or three years away from having a legitimate chance of ending their league title and playoff droughts.

Prediction: 2-9 (1-5)