The FCS is the least understood, yet most impressive college football level in Division I — and Gridiron Heroics is going to tell you all about it, for 12 months a year, conference by conference, beginning with this week’s FCS football preview series for 2022. Today we publish the FCS’ Patriot League Football Preview for 2022.
The college football programs are good, these programs produce NFL-level talent, they beat FBS teams every year (want evidence? stay tuned – we will publish this in the next week) and they still get overlooked. But Gridiron Heroics won’t be overlooking the FCS as everybody else does annually, we will be embracing the level and the stories these schools tell, year in and year out.
Enjoy the preview.
Also, from Monday, Aug. 22 until our FCS overall preview finale, Gridiron Heroics’ team of eight (yes, eight) FCS reporters break down the 15 conferences that make up the awesome, special level that is — the FCS. Check out the previews with the links below, conference by conference:
THE REST OF THE BEST FCS CONFERENCES IN AMERICA (click on links below)
OVERALL FCS PREVIEW: Overall FCS Preview
MONDAY, AUG. 22: ASUN-WAC & Big Sky
TUESDAY, AUG. 23: Big South, CAA, MVFC
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24: OVC, Patriot
THURSDAY, AUG. 25: Pioneer, Southland
MONDAY, AUG. 29: HBCU DAY – MEAC & SWAC
TUESDAY, AUG. 30: NEC, SoCon
MONDAY, SEPT. 13: Ivy League (1st game Sept. 16)
RELATED STORY: The Top 30 for 30 Shows in College Football — We Rank Them
BMAC AND THE NACH PODCAST (Aug. 23 episode at top)
FCS NUTS AND BOLTS: All of the key facts for the 2022 FCS season
THE FCS CONFERENCE: The Patriot League
THE TEAMS: Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh
THE 2021 CHAMPIONS: Holy Cross (10-3 overall, 6-0 in the Patriot League)
THE NEXT BEST TEAMS: Fordham was the only other team to finish with a winning record in 2021 (6-5 overall), but Colgate finished second place with a league mark of 5-1 (and 5-6 overall).
THE FIVE BEST PLAYERS (STATS): QB/Sr. Tim DeMorat, Fordham (3,214 passing yards, 31 TDs); DL/Sr. Malik Hamm (7.5 TFLs, 64 tackles), Lafayette; QB/Jr. Matthew Sluka, Holy Cross (1,512 passing yards, 11 TDs; 800+ yards rushing); Sr./LB Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross (17.5 TFLs, 137 tackels); Sr./LB Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham (career numbers – 312 tackles, 35.5 TFLs).
The Good and the Bad
THE GOOD: If you know anything about the programs and the student-athletes who attend Patriot League schools (and FCS schools, in general), you realize they’re all doing this for what people would say “are all the right reasons”. The academic reputation is strong, the young men graduate and go on to big things, and there are no delusions of grandeur that the reason this league exists is to get you to the NFL (even though it occasionally happens).
From a strictly “gridiron” standpoint, the good news is the Patriot League broke a trend that had gone on since Colgate’s impressive showing in 2018: It shook itself loose from the 2019-21 (spring) doldrums and had a really strong program emerge in Holy Cross — which is good for this conference, reputation-wise. The Crusaders opened with an FBS win (UConn), clearly were the best team in the league, and won a first-round playoff game.
THE BAD: From a league standpoint, the Patriot League really struggled in 2021 against Ivy League competition — which is a pride thing in the northeast. Honestly, the entire league (even Holy Cross — see Merrimack loss) suffered non-conference losses that hurt the reputation of the league. Collectively they’ll want to improve upon that in 2022.
The Games
THE BIGGEST CONF GAME OF THE YEAR (AND WHY): This is an absolute no-brainer: On Oct. 29, Fordham treks north from the Bronx to face heavy Patriot League favorite Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. These two teams not only were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the preseason conference poll, but they also dominated the preseason all-conference teams — and Fordham returns 3,000-yard passer and two-time Patriot League offensive player of the year, Sr./QB Tim DeMorat.
THE BEST CHANCE FOR AN FBS UPSET WIN (AND WHY): Holy Cross over Buffalo on Sept. 10. Not only could I see this happening, I’m convinced this is going to happen. The Crusaders handled UConn convincingly last year. They’re loaded with talent in 2022 and have proven they can play with the FBS competition. Buffalo was 4-8 last year and finished the season on a four-game losing streak.
The History
THE HAPPY CONFERENCE HISTORY NUGGET: How about this for a program history? Fordham went to back-to-back, big-time bowl games in the early 1940s. Coach Jim Crowley’s Rams went to the Cotton Bowl and fell by one point to Texas A&M in the Aggies’ home state. The next year, Fordham knocked off Missouri in the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana. … The Rams also were declared “mythical national champions” for their 1929 season (though some retroactive rankings gave that season to Notre Dame). … Crowley — who was one of the legendary “four horsemen” at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne — coached future NFL legend Vince Lombardi at Fordham.
The Predictions
THE PREDICTION — WHO GOES TO THE FCS POSTSEASON (AND WHY): Clearly, Holy Cross. It’s rare for the Patriot League to send two teams (champion and one at-large) to the FCS playoffs. It hasn’t happened since Colgate and Fordham (with current NFL RB Chase Edmonds) both made it in 2015.
The Crusaders are heavily favored to repeat and have tons of talent. And how can you not love this offensive line, with Nick Olsofka, Pat McMurtrie, and Luke Newman leading the way? On defense, the Crusaders return one helluva duo at LB in Jacob Dobbs (Patriot D-POY in 2021) and Liam Anderson, among others. There’s experience, talent, and 2021 results to back up this prediction. Pencil it in for November … no, check that: Put it in that non-smearing ink — Holy Cross will be playing after Thanksgiving.
THE SURPRISE — WHO WILL SHOCK THE CONFERENCE (AND WHY): The surprise would ultimately be if another team other than Holy Cross and Fordham finished in the top two. The biggest candidate to mess that up? It’s really a toss-up. Colgate seems to be in a rebuilding mode but historically has been strong (second-place last year). Lehigh has some talent on defense, and there is no bigger defensive talent in the league than Malik Hamm of Lafayette, who will get his opportunity in an NFL camp come May.
Top Three Finishers
THE TOP THREE (AND WHY)?: 1) Holy Cross; 2) Fordham; 3) Colgate. The biggest question is No. 3. Colgate head coach Stan Dakosty has been a huge part of the recent (and past) success the Raiders have had. This goes back to his playing days in Hamilton, NY. As an assistant with Dan Hunt, he was a key part of the 2018 season, when Colgate smothered teams all year (including a win over James Madison in the playoffs). And let’s not forget — Colgate was 5-1 in the league last year.