John Skelton set three school records Saturday, but Fordham fell to Holy Cross 41-27. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

Fordham quarterback John Skelton set three school records Saturday, and just missed tying an NCAA record. But on this unseasonably mild Halloween afternoon, what mattered was the end result, a 41-27 victory by Holy Cross before a crowd of 3,449 at Jack Coffey Field.

The Rams entered today’s game against the first-place Crusaders winless in Patriot League play. After sixty minutes of football featuring two powerful offenses, each with its own star at quarterback, according to Fordham head coach Tom Masella, the better team emerged victorious.

“We knew we were playing a very good football team,” he said. “We had to play better and make more plays than we did. [Holy Cross] is a very good football team. We weren’t good enough to beat this team. I didn’t feel that [way] in all the other games. We lost to a better football team today.”

On its first possession of the game, Holy Cross jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Dominic Randolph to Bill Edger. After a Fordham field goal by Kevin Heinowitz, the Crusaders added to their lead thanks in large part to a 45-yard kickoff return by Alex Johnson. On that drive, Holy Cross would score on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Randolph to Freddie Santana giving the Crusaders a 14-3 lead nearly 10 minutes into the game. The ball was actually tipped by a Fordham defender at the one-yard line, but landed in the hands of Santana. It was one of several plays where the defense, specifically the secondary, came up short.

Right before halftime, Randolph found Santana again in the end zone, this time for a three-yard touchdown pass to put the Crusaders ahead 24-10 with 25 seconds left. On that play, free safety Isiejah Allen ran right past the ball, and Santana, without realizing he was in perfect position to break up, or intercept, the pass. After getting the ball back in excellent field position, Heinowitz would kick a field goal to cut the halftime deficit to 24-13.

Fordham’s only touchdown of the half would come on a two-yard run by Xavier Martin, capping a 13-play, 91-yard drive. That cut the Holy Cross lead to 14-10, but that’s as close as the Rams would get. They would reach the endzone twice in the fourth quarter after finding themselves down 34-13. After a 17-yard touchdown run by Martin cut the Crusaders’ lead to 34-20, Fordham recovered an on-side kick at its own 41-yard line, but was unable to score on that drive. Later, down 41-20, Skelton ran one in from three yards out to cut the lead to 41-27. Though the Rams got the ball back with two minutes and 32 seconds left in the game, they were unable to punch one in on what would be their final drive of the game. On fourth down, Asa Lucas dropped a ball in the end zone to end the drive. It was one of many dropped balls by Fordham receivers today.

“We’ve probably been four or five plays short every game,” Masella said. “It’s not because of the effort of our players. I’m very proud of the effort our team has given. We just haven’t made plays in big games. Right now, we haven’t made enough plays to win tight games.”

Skelton set school records for completions (43), pass attempts (67), and passing yards (427), and came one pass attempt short of an NCAA record for most pass attempts in a game without an interception. As a result, it was another big day for the Fordham offense. Stephen Skelton caught 13 passes for 102 yards, David Moore had 10 receptions for 67 yards, Jason Caldwell had nine catches for 154 yards, and Lucas finished with seven catches for 75 yards. Martin led the rushing attack with 87 yards on the ground. Fordham (3-5, 0-3) finished with 627 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, Holy Cross (7-1, 3-0) had 516 yards of total offense. Randolph finished 23-of-35 for 314 yards and four touchdown passes. He also rushed for 76 yards. Matt Bellomo had 83 rushing yards to lead the Crusaders.

“It’s unfortunate where we are, but I’m very proud of our kids because they keep battling,” Masella said. “I like this team. This team has given us everything we want. We haven’t been good enough to beat the better teams. We’ve played them all tough, we just haven’t beaten them. For the first time this week, I thought we lost to a team that was better than us. There’s no shame in that. Our kids gave great effort.”

Here’s the opening to Fordham SID Joe DiBari’s recap of the Rams’ 26-21 loss at Lafayette Saturday afternoon:

The game was an answer to a longtime physics problem. What happens when an irresistible force meets an immoveable object? The part of the irresistible force was played by the Fordham offense, a unit that entered the game second in the Patriot League in total offense. The role of the immoveable forced was played by the Lafayette defense, the top-ranked scoring defense in the league.

The answer to the quandary today was the immovable object as Lafayette upended Fordham, 26-21, in a Patriot League game played in Fisher Stadium. With the loss, the Rams fall to 3-4 overall, 0-2 in the conference, while Lafayette improves to 6-1 overall, 2-0 in the league.

Click here to read the complete game recap.

What you need to know:

• The Rams rushed for only 88 yards. Darryl Whiting had 41 yards on nine carries, while Xavier Martin had just 13 yards on nine carries. When Fordham runs the ball effectively, they win. When they are unable to run the ball, they lose. That’s been the story all season, and it played out once again yesterday.
• John Skelton was 29-of-45 for 245 yards passing and two touchdowns. He threw one interception. David Moore (seven receptions), Asa Lucas (six receptions), Jason Caldwell (six receptions), and Stephen Skelton (four receptions) were his favorite targets.
• Fordham’s defense allowed 439 yards of total offense, 305 yards through the air. The defense was on the field for 37 minutes and eight seconds, including 10 minutes and 31 seconds in the third quarter.
• Down by five points, the Rams got the ball back with 26 seconds left in the game. With no timeouts, they were unable to score despite getting deep into Lafayette territory. Time expired with the ball at the Lafayette 10-yard line.
• Fordham is 0-2 in conference play, and both losses have come right down to the end. Here’s what Fordham head coach Tom Masella told fordhamsports.com after yesterday’s game: “We’ve lost two Patriot League heartbreakers on the road now, but we’ve got to get back up and get ready for Holy Cross next week.”

Sophomore Brad Pierre is one of many options for quarterback John Skelton. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

When you talk Fordham football, you’re talking about one of the most dynamic offenses in the FCS.

The Rams are averaging 29.3 points per game, 36 in their last three games, all of which have been wins. Quarterback John Skelton has thrown for 1,940 yards and 15 touchdowns, no surprise when you consider he’s being scouted by NFL teams. And the Rams have 2,907 yards of total offense, a number helped out immensely by a running game which has gotten going the last three games. Xavier Martin, the Rams’ No. 1 back, has rushed for 380 yards in those games.

“I haven’t seen offensive numbers [like this] in a long time,” head coach Tom Masella said after the Rams beat Old Dominion for their first win of the year. 

And the numbers have only gotten better.

For some perspective, consider the options John Skelton has. While it would be fair to call his brother, Stephen, his favorite target, others are vying for that title. Stephen Skelton has caught 35 passes, one ahead of Jason Caldwell. Meanwhile, Caldwell has 600 receiving yards, while Skelton has 400. Caldwell also leads the Rams with seven touchdowns. David Moore (19 receptions), Asa Lucas (17 receptions), and Brad Pierre (seven receptions) have all had big catches along the way. As great as John Skelton is, he’s got options galore.

“When we take out one guy and put another guy in there’s no drop-off,” Skelton said about his receivers. ”It helps keep our guys fresh.”

As for his rapport with his brother, the elder Skelton said it’s a result of familiarity and years of hard work.

“This past summer we were up here almost the entire summer so I was working with him along with all the other receivers,” John Skelton said. “I’ve been playing with him since I was in high school so it’s easy to see why we’re on the same page.”

And then there’s the running game. It’s no coincidence that in Fordham’s three wins they’ve been able to run the ball successfully. That means the two-headed attack of Martin and Darryl Whiting. That means a combination of speed and power. It’s the thunder (Ron Dayne) and lightning (Tiki Barber) that the New York Giants had a few years back. And it’s led to a more balanced offensive attack, and therefore, more success for Fordham.

“Nineteen can’t do it by himself just throwing the ball,” Martin said, referring to John Skelton. “Everybody has to worry about stopping the pass [so] we can sneak up on people. They’re going to try to stop the pass. John’s the best quarterback that I know and that I’ve played with. People are going to line up to stop [number] 19.”

“[When we get] our running game going that really helps open up the passing game,” John Skelton added.

Martin, for one, enjoys the healthy competition he has with Whiting.

“He switches it up,” Martin, the junior said about Whiting, the sophomore. ”I’m like the lightning, the speed back, and he’s the power back.

“He’s great competition,” he added. ”It really helps me out. It makes me compete on a higher level.”

The head coach agrees.

“We want to be balanced running and passing,” Masella said. “Both of them are terrific players.”

And both are part of a prolific offense that’s clicking on all cylinders.

Jason Caldwell caught four touchdown passes, tying a Fordham record, and had nine receptions for 245 yards in today's win at Cornell. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari)

Fordham 39, Cornell 27

Here’s how Fordham SID Joe DiBari began his game recap on fordhamsports.com.

If Andy Bernard, the fictitious Cornell graduate on The Office, held the paper account for the Cornell press box he would have made a killing on Saturday. Fordham and Cornell combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense in the game, with the Rams breaking or tying five school records, as the Fordham offense proved too much for the Big Red, defeating Cornell, 39-27, on Schoellkopf Field.

Continue reading here.

Key stats from today:

• Cornell had 552 total yards, 284 on the ground and 268 in the air. Fordham had 507 total yards, only 87 rushing but 420 passing yards (John Skelton set a school record for passing yards in a game). Cornell had the ball for 38 minutes and 15 seconds.
• Skelton (20-of-27) threw five touchdown passes, four to senior receiver Jason Caldwell who tied a Fordham record for most touchdown receptions in a game. Caldwell finished with nine catches for 245 yards. Xavier Martin had 68 rushing yards on 10 carries.
• Fordham’s defense had five interceptions. Isa Abdul El-Quddus had three of those interceptions, tying a school record.
• The Rams led 32-13 heading into the fourth quarter. They improve to 3-3 with the win.

Charles Costello

"You're only as good as your record."

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

Legendary football coach Bill Parcells is fond of saying that “you’re only as good as your record.” For a team’s rushing attack, that translates into “you’re only as good as your offensive line.” Just ask the Fordham Rams.

“When you can run the football, it’s going to keep you in games,” Fordham head coach Tom Masella said after the Rams picked up their first win of the year two weeks ago. “You don’t have to force things when you’re balanced on offense.”

Up until that point in the season - Fordham’s fourth game - the Rams struggled to get their running game going. Not surprisingly, Fordham, unable to establish the run, lost all three games to start the season 0-3. In the Rams’ last two games – wins over Old Dominion and Bryant - the Rams ran the ball effectively, the way the coaching staff and players envisioned it from the start.

Here are some very telling statistics:

Xavier Martin has rushed for a total of 476 yards in the team’s first five games. Martin has rushed for 164 yards in the three losses. In the two wins, he’s rushed for 312 yards. Darryl Whiting has 254 rushing yards on the season, 157 coming in the two wins. In the Rams’ two wins, they’ve rushed for 529 yards. In the three losses, 251 yards. It’s no secret then: Even with a great quarterback like John Skelton, who seems a lock for next spring’s NFL draft, you win games by being able to run the football. And according to Martin, any success you have running the football is a result of the work of your offensive line.

“I’m only as good as the offensive linemen,” Martin said humbly after gaining 125 yards in last Saturday’s win. ”If the offensive line has a good game, I have a good game. If they have a bad game, I have a bad game. I’m not just an individual making things happen. Even though I have talent, the offensive line opens up the holes for me to run, and I see it and I run.”

Skelton, meanwhile, credits the offensive line for the team’s improvement the past two games.

“It’s a credit to them,” he said about the offensive line. “They’re doing a great job up front. We had injuries earlier in the season but now the group we have is doing a great job.”