Patriot League Week 1: Separation at the Top

A tale of two afternoons might be the best way to describe Week 1 in the Patriot League. The early afternoon games were blowouts, with teams winning by an average of nearly 36 points. The evening slate was where the action was: three games that were shutouts at half, followed by highly entertaining finishes. When the smoke cleared, Lehigh and Colgate found themselves atop the league standings with 2 league wins apiece, with William & Mary and Richmond nipping at their heels with a pair of nonleague wins over quality HBCU opponents. Villanova broke through into the win column with a tight win over a scrappy Bucknell team, while Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Fordham were overwhelmed for a second straight week. As a good chunk of the league prepares for FBS opponents next week, with a massive Lehigh-William & Mary showdown for first place looms, let’s dive into the Week 1 that was.

Saturday, September 5

Lehigh 45 (2-0, 2-0 Patriot), Georgetown 14 (0-1, 0-1 Patriot)

Everyone knows Lehigh senior RB Ben Yoder, the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, is a certified stud. But you’ll be forgiven if you take a look at his video game stat line to start the season and think it’s a typo. But Saturday’s high noon affair at Cooper Field, the official unofficial start to the 2026 season for the Georgetown after last week’s “no contest” vs. Lafayette, was all Yoder and Co. after a shaky start that saw Lehigh, including Yoder, uncharacteristically cough the ball up twice in the first 16 minutes.

After a methodical opening drive that saw Yoder punch in his first of the day from 4 yards out with 8:21 remaining in the 1st quarter, the Hoyas got on the board early in the 2nd when Yoder’s fumble popped right into the hands of junior CB Michael Bonsu, who streaked 22 yards to tie up the game.

But Lehigh scored the next 35 points unanswered, Yoder 20-yard run, Yoder 7-yard reception from QB Hayden Johnson, 27-yard field goal from K Connor Poole, Yoder 9-yard run, TE Joseph Marranca 2-yard catch from Johnson, and Aidan Mayfield 12-yard run to cap off the Mountain Hawk deluge with 3:56 remaining.

Georgetown did get its first offensive score of the season when backup QB Jack Johnson found Jonathan Alexander for a 4-yard strike with seconds remaining, a development worth keeping an eye on as senior QB Jacob Holtschlag(7/15, 71 yards, 1 INT) looked a bit rattled by Lehigh’s defensive onslaught.

While Yoder gets the deserved credit in the rout, and the rushing attack produced an eye-popping 302 yards on the afternoon, Johnson continued to look the part of the steady veteran signal caller, finishing 16/19 and 2 TDs, while sophomore WR nabbed 4 catches for 113 yards to pace the Mountain Hawk receivers.

Lehigh certainly looks like the cream of the Patriot League crop in the early going with another 3+ score win, but the Boys from Bethlehem will face their biggest test in Lehigh’s home opener vs. fellow first-place squad William & Mary. Georgetown will take the bye week to hopefully find some offense, but things don’t get any easier with a road trip down I-95 to Richmond in two weeks.

Top Performers

• Lehigh: RB Luke Yoder had 17 carries for 120 yards and 3 TDs, with 2 receptions for 23 yards and a score.

• Georgetown: Sophomore DB Brian Allen was all over the field with 14 tackles (10 solo).

Next Week

• Lehigh: Saturday vs. William & Mary, 2:00pm

• Georgetown: Bye week

Colgate 35 (2-0, 2-0 Patriot), Holy Cross 10 (0-2, 0-2 Patriot)

Yes, I’m a proud Holy Cross grad and unashamed Crusader homer. Yes, I live and die by what happens every Saturday between the end of August up until Thanksgiving (and in the not-so-distant past, until much later in the year). That’s why I have to seriously question what the Crusaders’ identity is just two weeks into the young season.

All credit to Colgate: on a picture-perfect day in the Chenango Valley where the Raiders honored legendary 98-year-old head coach Fred Dunlap, second-year head coach Curt Fitzpatrick had a game plan and his boys executed it from the jump. But the Dan Curran’s team looked like it left it’s motor, oil, and back up generator back in Worcester, once again losing by 25 and looking disorganized and overmatched early.

But again, all credit to the home team. Senior QB Jake Stearney wasted no time getting the Raiders on the board in three plays, finding junior WR Matt Fogler for an easy 33-yard pitch and catch, their first of three TD connections on the day, just 4 minutes into the game. Holy Cross QB David Lynch then led what looked like an equalizer drive back the other way, but had to settle for 23-yard Owen Saraceno field goal to pull within 4 points.

But that’s as close as the game would get, with the ‘Gate getting two more TDs from Stearney to Fogler (64 yards and 18 yards) and a Danny Chaban 1-yard plunge; the Crusaders got their lone TD of the day on a tough 7-yard run from sophomore RB JoJo Williams right before the two-minute warning.

If the Cross had any dreams of flipping the script from when Colgate came back from a similar 18-point deficit at Fitton Field last season, those were dashed early in the third when Stearney found senior WR Winston Moore for a 58-yard backbreaker to cap the scoring.

For the second week, Lynch had flashes of why he beat out Cal Swanson and Dom Campanile for the starting job when he had time in the pocket, but another three interceptions killed any momentum Holy Cross could muster (credit to senior LB Trooper Price and the stifiling Raider defense). First-year OC Matt Schell tried to establish the run game early, but it was a futile effort, highlighted by Williams’ 20 carries for a paltry 44 yards.

Colgate won their home opener in all three phases of the game, which is to also say Holy Cross lost it in all three phases; the consistency gulf between the two teams was stark. After running through two straight Jesuit opponents, Colgate will look to improve to 3-0 vs. a very beatable Central Michigan team. Holy Cross might be in for it’s second consecutive 0-3 start under Curran when the Crusaders travel to Miami (OH) next Saturday.

Top Performers

• Colgate: WR Matt Fogler caught 6 balls for 153 yards (both career highs) and 3 TDs.

• Holy Cross: WR Ty Curran was Lynch’s top target, grabbing 7 receptions for 130 yards (both career highs).

Next Week

• Colgate: Saturday @ Central Michigan, 1:00pm

• Holy Cross: Saturday @ Miami (OH), 1:00pm

UConn 56 (0-1, 0-0 Independent), Lafayette 7 (0-1, 0-0 Patriot)

The good news? Lafayette traveled to East Hartford on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and collected a $300,000 check from the State of Connecticut, the undisputed Pizza Capital of the World. The bad news? They took a beating in front of an announced crowd of 31,831 at Rentschler Field in head coach Jason Candle’s debut.

This donnybrook was over early after the Huskies rang the bell three times in the 1st quarter and twice in the 2nd to take a commanding 35-0 lead at the half, a half in which the Leopards managed only 5 first downs and was outgained by the Huskies on offense, 362-49.

The second half wasn’t much kinder to Lafayette as UConn upped its suffocating lead to 49-0 on two TD runs through the 3rd quarter. Finally, after UConn’s backup QB Tucker McDonald connected on a 60-yard bomb to freshman WR Raymond Liggins III, the Leopards got on the board courtesy of a 2-yard run from sophomore RB Payton Greer with 44 seconds to play.

Lafayette head coach John Troxell saw few bright spots from his squad, an average of 6.9 yards per carry was encouraging, as were the two defensive picks (from sophomore LB Beckham Dee and sophomore DB Darrick LeBeouf), but one wonders if he immediately burned the game tape when the buses returned to Easton Saturday night. The Leopards have a really good opportunity to get on track in their home opener vs. a middling Marist squad next Saturday afternoon.

Top Performers

• UConn: Junior transfer QB Kalieb Osborne went an efficient 19/26 for 265 yards and 2 TDs, adding 8 carries for 90 yards and 2 more scores.

• Lafayette: LB Beckham Dee had a team-high 8 tackles and an interception in his Lafayette debut.

Next Week

• UConn: Saturday vs. Maryland, 3:30pm

• Lafayette: Saturday vs. Marist, 12:30pm

North Dakota State 38 (2-0, 0-0 Mountain West), Fordham 0 (0-2, 0-1 Patriot)

Yes, the final score was 38-0. This one was going to be in doubt. But if there ever was an encouraging 38-0 loss, this was it. Why? Because Fordham traveled more than 1,400 miles west to the Fargodome, one of the toughest environments to play in in all of college football (NDSU hasn’t lost to a nonleague opponent at home in the regular season since 2016), and played a competitive three quarters.

But moral victories are just that, moral, and the Rams still are in search of any kind of offense in 2026. Joe Conlin’s defense was stout in the first half, giving up only a Drew Klein 39-yard field goal through the first 15 minutes of play. But the Fordham offense’s inability to put together any semblance of a drive led to two Bison scores in the 2nd quarter—a 3-yard run from junior RB DJ Scott and an 8-yard pass from senior QB Nathan Hayes to freshman WR Chris Kiel with 55 seconds remaining in the half.

But sandwiched between the two NDSU scores was an impressive Fordham defensive stand inside their own 5 yard line that led to a turnover on downs, which went all for naught when Fordham punted 6 plays later; the Rams only cobbled together 64 yards and 4 first downs in the first half.

However, the Bison stampeded out of the locker room in the 3rd quarter, picking off Ram QB Gunnar Smith on two consecutive possessions, leading to a 37-yard pick 6 by freshman CB Marion Moore and 7-yard TD run by Scott. The Bison would score for a third-consecutive possession on Hayes’ 12-yard TD pass to senior WR Mekhi Collins with 4:28 to play in the 3rd quarter before NDSU head coach Tim Polasek called off the herd enroute to the shutout.

Fordham will now turn its attention to the southeast for its second FBS encounter in as many weeks when the Rams travel to the Pee Dee to face a Coastal Carolina team that almost beat West Virginia in Morgantown.

Top Performers

• North Dakota State: QB Nathan Hayes completed 18/22 passes for 210 yards and 2 TDs.

• Fordham: Senior LB Andrew Osmun recorded 13 tackles (7 solo), including 1 sack and 3 tackles for a loss.

Next Week

• North Dakota State: Saturday @ Air Force, 10:00pm ET/8:00pm MT

• Fordham: Saturday @ Coastal Carolina, 7:30pm

Villanova 17 (1-1, 1-1 Patriot), Bucknell 16 (0-2, 0-2 Patriot)

The last time Bucknell beat Villanova in football, way back in November 1944 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, FDR had just been re-elected to an unprecedented fourth term as President and the Allied forces were driving toward Germany. But on Saturday night in Lewsiburg, the Bison almost overcame its own Battle of the Bulge in a sloppy first half to pull off a shocking upset.

But special teams stung Bucknell in the second half after an impressive defensive showing. Wildcat QB Pat McQuaide, playing under a cloud of eligibility uncertainty, picked up where he left off last Friday night, slinging a pair of TDs to sophomore WR Braden Reed in the 1st (26 yards) and 2nd (16 yards) quarters to take a 14-0 lead into the rather small away locker room at historic Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium; Wildcat standout sophomore LB Omari Bursey once again had a monster game on defense with a team-high 14 tackles (8 solo).

The Villanova air raid would stall in the third quarter as Bucknell counterattacked their way back into the game with two TD bombs from junior QB Chris Dietrich to favorite WR target Sam Milligan (1-yard and 16-yard strikes, respectively) while holding the Wildcat offense to 1 possession and 0 first downs in the frame.

But the right leg of Bucknell junior K Juan Garanton would loom large, missing a PAT after the second Bison TD to leave the Wildcats up by 1. Garanton appeared to redeem himself with a 40-yard go-ahead field goal after senior WR TJ Cadden returned a Nova punt 44 yards and a Wildcat personal foul put the ball deep into Wildcat territory.

But McQuaide and the sputtering Villanova offense put together a 65-yard drive on the ensuing possession to set sophomore K Dom LeBlanc up for a chip shot field goal to give the Wildcats the lead with 8:20 remaining. Dietrich then led a furious Bison charge down to the Villanova 11 yard line, but Garanton’s potential go-ahead kick was deflected at the line of scrimmage and harmlessly fluttered away wide left.

McQuaide’s 21-yard dump pass to junior RB Isaiah Ragland on 3rd down ended Bucknell’s hopes for a major upset and ensured Villanova’s 12th consecutive victory in the series. The surging Wildcats will look to put together a full offensive performance at Louisville on Friday night while Bucknell will regroup in search of its elusive first win at VMI.

Top Performances

• Villanova: WR Braden Reed caught 5 passes for 68 yards and 2 TDs, returning 1 punt for 8 yards.

• Bucknell: WR Sam Milligan had a team-high 13 receptions for 135 yards and 2 TDs, adding 1 carry for 1 yard.

Next Week

• Villanova: Friday @ Louisville, 7:00pm

• Bucknell: Saturday @ VMI, 1:30pm

William & Mary 22 (2-0, 1-0 Patriot), Delaware State 15 (1-1, 0-0 MEAC)

After an exhilarating start to the season in the national spotlight at Villanova in Week 0, William & Mary returned to Williamsburg as conquering Patriot League heroes. But Delaware State’s second-year head coach DeSean Jackson and the Hornets were still buzzing after a season-opening drubbing of Stony Brook.

In a compelling matchup that featured a ceremony honoring legendary coach Lou Holtz, whose first head coaching opportunity came in 1969 for the then-William & Mary Indians, both teams seemed to be in search of ways to lose.

The Tribe controlled the first half, especially the first quarter, opening the scoring on a 25-yard Max Lipinski field goal, his sixth in five quarters. Then Richmond transfer junior RB Andrew King took over, scoring on runs of 14 yards and 3 yards to give the Tribe a commanding 16-0 lead with 5:44 remaining in the first half (after a two-point conversion failed).

William & Mary extended its lead to 22 with two Lipinski field goals in the 3rd quarter (from 32 and 51 yards) before Delaware State’s offense woke up in the 4th quarter. Swapping out Troy transfer senior QB Ui Ale for William & Mary transfer senior QB Noah Brannock after Ale’s fourth turnover of the night, the Hornets 15 unanswered on two Brannock TD runs (11 and 2 yards) and a Jaron Kelley two-point conversion to get within a touchdown.

But the Tribe’s defense held, forcing a total of six Delaware State turnovers after yielding 26 first downs and 366 total yards; William & Mary only gained a total of 187 offensive yards and gave up 7 sacks, but benefited from good field position. Mike London’s Tribe travel back to Pennsylvania on Saturday with first place on the line at Lehigh on Saturday afternoon.

Top Performers

• William & Mary: RB Andrew King carried the ball 15 times for 73 yards and 2 TDs, adding 1 catch for 6 yards.

• Delaware State: Senior LB Carl Nesmith had 7 tackles (4 solo), 2 sacks, and 3.5 tackles for a loss, helping to hold the Tribe offense to 10 first downs and 187 total yards.

Next Week

• William & Mary: Saturday @ Lehigh, 2:00pm

• Delaware State: Saturday vs. Bowie State, 3:00pm

Richmond 28, Howard 21

It’s been more than 160 years since Union General Oliver Otis Howard led federal troops at the Battle of Seven Pines, located roughly 10 miles from downtown Richmond and a struggling liberal arts institution and former Baptist seminary called Richmond College. Since that scrap, which cost General Howard an arm, Richmond had always had the upper hand on Howard, besting the General and the Union Army on the Peninsula in 1862 and beating the football team in all three of its previous meetings, all in Virginia’s capital city.

But for the first time in its gridiron history, Richmond marched north and invaded Greene Stadium off of Georgia Ave., and it invaded with a vengeance.

Russ Huesman’s Spiders wasted no time in charging to the Promised Land, jumping out to a commanding 20-0 lead in the first 18 minutes on 2 TD passes from senior QB Ashten Snelsire (on a 15-yard pass to freshman phenom WR Bryce Allen and a 42-yard pass to senior WR Quanye Veney) sandwiching a 1-yard TD dash from senior RB Aziz Foster-Powell.

The Bison seemed to have no answer for Snelsire’s passing attack in the first half, and their offense was similarly on its heels, accounting for a mere 59 yards through the first 30 minutes.

But football is always a tale of two halves, and Howard was intent on writing a new chapter. After exchanging punts to start the 3rd quarter, Snelsire couldn’t handle a high snap in the end zone, which was corralled by Eastern Kentucky grad transfer LB Gabe Stephens for a Bison TD.

After another Spider drive fizzled, senior QB Ja’Shawn Scroggins led the Bison on a 9-play, 84-yard drive capped off by a nice 30-yard TD pass to sophomore WR Antonio Hunter in traffic to pull Howard within 6. But Hunter’s muffed punt at his own 30 gave the ball and the momentum back to Richmond.

Snelsire’s third TD pass of the day just two plays later, this time for 29 yards to senior TE Sean Clarke, followed by a two-point conversion put the Spiders up for good with 55 seconds remaining in the 3rd. Scroggins would lead the Bison back down the field for another long drive that saw junior RB Billy Roberson III collect his first TD rush of the season with 11:35 remaining in the game, but Richmond’s defense limited Howard to just 8 yards the rest of the way to secure their second win of the season.

Richmond travels to Raleigh Friday night to face a well-rested North Carolina State team that is hungry following a bad loss to Virginia in Week 0.

Top Performances

• Richmond: QB Ashten Snelsire completed 19/35 passes for 261 yards and 2 TDs, while running in a two-point conversion.

• Howard: QB Ja’Shawn Scroggins passed for 9/28 for 1 TD and carried the ball 12 times for 39 yards.

Next Week

• Richmond: Friday @ NC State, 7:00pm

• Howard: Saturday @ Indiana, 12:00pm

Closing Note

According to Lehigh Football Nation, Saturday marked the first time in Patriot League history that games featuring three Bison teams were in action: Bucknell (vs. Villanova), Richmond (@ Howard), and Fordham (@ North Dakota State).

If I may add another scheduling quirk, Week 4 appears to be the ultimate Pennsylvania Dayin the Patriot League: for the first time, four games will feature a total of six Pennsylvania-based teams played on Keystone State soil all on the same day: Holy Cross @ Lafayette, Bucknell @ Pitt, Lehigh @ Penn, and Colgate @ Villanova.