BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It is not the way Fordham head coach Tom Masella envisioned his season would start. And it’s not the place where quarterback John Skelton imagined his team would be after the first two games. Nonetheless, the Rams find themselves at 0-2 - with a trip to Colgate up next - after falling to the Columbia Lions, 40-28, in front of an energized crowd of 6,449 in the home opener at Jack Coffey Field.

“I thought our kids played hard,” Masella said after it was all over. ”We played well in spots and in other spots we didn’t make plays. We came up on the short end. We didn’t make enough plays at the end and Columbia did. That’s football.

“We had 500-plus yards of offense. When it was all said and done we just didn’t make enough plays. It’s hard to play from behind all the time.”

John Skelton threw four touchdown passes but was intercepted three times in Saturday night's loss to Columbia. (fordhamsports.com)

Unlike two weeks ago at Rhode Island, Fordham didn’t trail from start to finish. After the Rams won the toss and deferred to the Lions, Colombia held onto the ball for 5:30, but two key penalties pushed them back to the Fordham 26-yard line where kicker Gregory Guttas missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. Then the Fordham offense took the field and delivered quickly. On third-and-six, John Skelton connected with Asa Lucas for a 70-yard touchdown reception that gave Fordham their first lead of the season.

Quickly, though, the Lions began to assert themselves on offense. Late in the first quarter Columbia would tie the game at 7-7 on a three-yard run by quarterback M.A. Olawale. Ray Rangel would add a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter to give the Lions their first lead, though the extra point was no good.

But Fordham would strike quickly, regaining the lead on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Skelton to his brother, Stephen Skelton. With the touchdown pass, John Skelton became Fordham’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (48 by the end of the game). Unfortunately for the Rams, the Lions would add two more scores before halftime.

Fordham cut into Columbia’s 27-13 lead late in the second quarter with a drive that started at their own 45 after a strong kickoff return by Jason Caldwell. A 27-yard reception by Xavier Martin set up David Moore’s 12-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to 27-21. With 32 seconds left in the half, Fordham had another chance to cut into the lead or, even better, take the lead going into halftime. A roughing the passer penalty on Columbia put the ball on the Lions’ 13-yard line with three seconds to go. But Kevin Heinowitz’s 30-yard field goal attempt was no good and the Columbia bench celebrated as they headed to halftime with the lead.

After the Lions scored a touchdown on their first possession of the second half, Fordham had trouble getting things going on offense, unable to take advantage of two consecutive drives that started at their own 40 after the kickoffs went out of bounds. Finally, later in the quarter, Fordham would strike with their most impressive drive of the season, a 10-play, 93-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Skelton to Caldwell. Skelton threw for 77 yards on the drive, connecting with three different receivers. With 1:24 left in the third quarter, the Rams had cut Columbia’s lead to 34-28.

Fordham couldn’t match that success on their next two possessions, and then disaster struck late in the fourth quarter. On second-and-five from their own 34, Skelton attempted a short pass to Caldwell that was intercepted by Jared Morine and returned 36 yards for a touchdown. Though the two-point conversion failed, the damage had been done. With 4:33 left, Columbia had a 12-point lead, and that was enough for many Fordham fans as the stands began to empty.

“We had the ball and a chance to go up,” Masella said. ”We had our chances down six going into the fourth quarter with the ball twice and didn’t make the plays. We thought we had a chance to win it with 14 or 15 minutes to go down six with the ball.”

Skelton finished 25-of-47 for 383 yards passing and four touchdowns. But it’s the three interceptions that he’ll remember.

“Three turnovers aren’t going to help you win the game and those three turnovers were all on my shoulders,” Skelton said afterward.

Martin had 63 yards on the ground and Skelton gained 62 yards. Lucas, Moore, and Stephen Skelton had four catches apiece and each scored a touchdown. Fordham had 533 yards of total offense. Columbia had 358. However, the Lions controlled the ball for 36:47.

The key stat: Fordham was penalized 14 times for 164 yards. That, along with a number of dropped passes and missed tackles, was too much for the Rams to overcome. 

“We lost our composure a couple times and a couple times I thought we were aggressive,” Masella said about the penalties. ”Some of them were silly penalties on our part.”

For Columbia, Olawale received the game’s Most Valuable Player award and he was certainly deserving of it. He rushed for 95 yards, threw for 167, and played a part in four of Columbia’s touchdowns, running for two and passing for two.

“He made a lot of plays tonight,” Masella said, talking about the Columbia quarterback. ”His rushing total is no indication of how much he controlled the game. He definitely controlled the game with his running ability.”

Though he dropped a sure touchdown in the fourth quarter, Andrew Kennedy was his favorite target, catching four passes for 83 yards.

For Fordham, it’s time to look ahead after a disappointing start to a promising season.

“Our new season starts Saturday at Colgate,” Masella said. ”We’re not a bad football team. We just haven’t played particularly well in two halves. We’re going to have to make the adjustments and change that.”

“Being 0-2 hurts,” Skelton added. ”We still have a whole season in front of us. It’s not too late to turn this ship around. We have a lot of season left.”

Trying to erase the memory of an ugly loss to Rhode Island two weeks ago, the Fordham Rams will open Jack Coffey Field tonight at 6:00 in the 8th annual Liberty Cup battle with the Columbia Lions.

The Liberty Cup honors the alumni of both schools who were lost in the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as those from city and state agencies, and others, who lost their lives that day.

As fordhamsports.com reports, “the World Trade Center attacks claimed the lives of 43 Columbia alumni and 35 Fordham alumni including two former Fordham football players, Nick Brandemarti, FCO ’00 and Kevin Szocik, FCO ’97.”

“This is a very special game for us,” Fordham coach Tom Masella told fordhamsports.com, the university’s official website. ”The spirit of the Liberty Cup and what it stands for help us to realize how fortunate we are. We’re excited to be involved in such a meaningful cause.”

And then there’s the game.

This is a big one for the Rams following the disappointing season opener that saw Fordham fall to Rhode Island, 41-28. Fordham trailed 34-7 at halftime of that game. Tonight will be the first game of the year for Columbia.

Here’s what you need to know, compliments of Joe DiBari’s game notes:

• Xavier Martin rushed for 155 yards and four touchdowns in Fordham’s win over Columbia last year. Martin rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns against Columbia in his first college game two years ago, a 27-10 Fordham win. QB John Skelton was 22-of-29 for 285 yards in the 29-22 win a year ago.
• Skelton became Fordham’s all-time leader in pass completions (currently 546) two weeks ago. Last year he set the school record for passing yards(currently 6,517), and he’s one touchdown pass shy of tying that school record.
• Skelton threw for 302 yards in the loss to Rhode Island, while the team rushed for 122 yards. Fordham turned the ball over five times.
• Defensively, Fordham allowed 229 rushing yards and 226 passing yards against Rhode Island.
• Fordham has won four of the first seven Liberty Cup games, including the last two.
• Columbia leads the all-time series, 11-6. The teams first played against each other in 1890.
• The Lions were 2-8 last year, 2-5 in Ivy League play.
• Tonight is the first of six home games for the Rams this year. The only other scheduled night game at Rose Hill is Oct. 10 against Bryant.

Charles Costello 

(NOTE: Fordham SportsNet will be there tonight as the Rams battle Columbia at Jack Coffey Field. Be sure to check http://fordhamsportsnet.com/ after the game for in-depth reports, analysis, and interviews.)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It is fair to say that things did not go well for the Fordham Rams in their 2009 college football season opener. In fact, the game’s first 31 minutes proved to be a nightmare. Trailing 34-7 at halftime, and down 41-7 after the first play of the third quarter, Fordham eventually fell to the host Rams, 41-28, Saturday afternoon at Meade Stadium in Kingston, RI.

“You just can’t give up 34 points in the first half and expect to get back in the game,” head coach Tom Masella told fordhamsports.com following the loss. “We simply didn’t play football in the first half but I thought the guys hung in there in the second half and showed a lot of fight.”

That fight included three straight touchdowns that cut the URI lead to 41-28 with 9:34 to play in the game. The scoring came too late, though, as the Fordham defense was eaten alive by Rhode Island in the first half. Down 34-7 at the half, the first 30 minutes of this new season did not go as Fordham had planned.

“Give Rhode Island credit. They made plays,” Masella told The Providence Journal. “We were awful and they were very good in the first half. In the second half I thought our kids hung in there and battled and almost made a game of it.”

What You Need to Know:

• John Skelton became Fordham’s all-time pass completions leader with his first completion of the game. Skelton was 28-of-42 for 302 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. He scored twice on the ground, leading the team with 54 yards rushing on 13 attempts.
• Fordham did not score until Skelton’s three-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds left in the first half. It came after the Fordham defense had allowed six scores by URI on the their first six possessions.
• Fordham was outgained 455-424 for the game, but that doesn’t tell the real story. URI dominated the first half, moving the ball at will against the Fordham defense to take the 27-point halftime lead. URI rushed for 229 yards for the game, while Fordham had 122 yards on the ground.
• For Fordham, Jason Caldwell caught eight passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, Stephen Skelton finished with seven catches for 90 yards, and Asa Lucas had five catches for 53 yards. Xavier Martin rushed 12 times for 47 yards and a touchdown.
• Fordham turned the ball over five times, losing four fumbles in a sloppy game that saw URI capitalize on the Fordham mistakes. Rhode Island did not have a turnover.
• URI quarterback Chris Paul-Etienne passed for 164 yards and ran for 81 more. He had one rushing touchdown and threw two touchdown passes.

Today’s NY Daily News delivers a story on Fordham quarterback John Skelton’s NFL prospects:

John Skelton knew he was being watched. He could feel the eyes trained on him, analyzing his footwork, dissecting his throwing motion, even scrutinizing the way he carried himself during Thursday’s practice.

Fordham’s senior quarterback knew an NFL scout was sizing him up like a piece of meat. But he didn’t care.

“I used to get nervous,” he said. “But not anymore.”

Continue reading here.

Compliments of Joe DiBari:

Recap of Second Scrimmage

Summer Camp Report No. 3

James Crockett Preseason All-America

Strength and Conditioning Report

I wasn’t able to make it to Rose Hill last night for the Rams’ first scrimmage, but Joe DiBari does a fine job here recapping the night.

After a few more days of practice Fordham will scrimmage again this Saturday afternoon at 2:00 on Jack Coffey Field.

The Bronx is Burning

No mention of the game-time temperature in DiBari’s release, but we’re currently in one of the hottest stretches of the summer in the New York area.

Media Guides are Available

We reported Sunday that some area schools have discontinued the practice of printing media guides, and will instead make them available online only. Not so at Fordham. Click here for more information.

Camp Report No. 2

DiBari continues to do a great job getting information out to Fordham football fans. Here is Camp Report #2 and #1 is available here if you missed it a week ago.

Pre-Season Prediction

Fordham is picked to finish second in the Patriot League in The Sports Network’s preview.

CC

Earlier this summer I sat down with Fordham head football coach Tom Masella, who shared these thoughts with me as his team prepares for the upcoming season:

Football camp opens at Fordham. (nytimes.com)

On this year’s recruiting class:

“I think we have some special players and I think we have some players that can become special that we took some chances on. We took a couple more high-risk, high-reward type kids because that’s how it played out with the new recruiting [rules]. We took a few flyers on some kids and hopefully they’ll develop into great players.

“I thought our first three classes were solid recruiting classes. [With] this one we’re walking that tight rope a little bit. I’m excited to see how this class pans out as we move forward.”

On quarterback John Skelton, an Honorable Mention Preseason All-American:

“I think if John has a great year he has a great chance to do great things beyond Fordham. If John has a great year that means we’re going to win a lot of football games. John has done a terrific job this offseason. We expect big things out of him. We’re excited to see where he takes us this year.”

On putting last year’s disappointing season behind them:

“College football now is almost a 12-month a year job. Our kids have been going at it pretty hard. They understand the lessons from last season. You can’t rest and look back. You have to always look forward. Hopefully our kids are looking forward.

“I knew last year was going to be difficult. Anytime you have early or unexpected success with a bunch of young kids – that’s what they were as freshman and sophomores – it’s always tough to come back and go grind it out again. I think that was a big factor. And then we had some injuries that were also a factor.

“We just didn’t understand what it was to be defending champions as opposed to an also-ran. I think our kids learned a lesson.”

On the excitement of opening camp:

“I’m excited to get [rid of] the taste of last year and I think our players are [too]. I love what they’ve done this offseason. They look ready to go.

“I think there are a lot of great things going on for our university and our football program. I’m excited about the season because of our players. I think we’re going to have a good year. Hopefully people will come out and watch because I think we have a pretty good football team.”

(NOTE: Masella talked at length to Fordham SportsNet about the university’s decision to award football scholarships. You can find that article here.)

Charles Costello

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

When Tom Masella arrived at Rose Hill on December 8, 2005, the new head football coach began his Fordham tenure with a bold statement: “I believe all the resources are here, from the administration to the facilities to the alumni support that will allow us to compete for a Patriot League championship,” he said at the time of his hiring.  Almost four years later, Masella spoke with Fordham SportsNet about the support he and his program have received from the administration, what needs to be done to improve the game day experience at Jack Coffey Field, and the important role the alumni play in the program’s success. Here are his thoughts on those topics:

Fordham’s Administration

“There’s nothing more our administration can do for us to be successful. They fund our program, they give us all the resources to graduate our players, and they’re willing to work within the Patriot League guidelines as far as admissions is concerned. From an administration standpoint, and the funding that they give us to go out and recruit and fund our program, we can’t ask for anything more. They do a tremendous job of helping us be successful.

“I know it’s in vogue to take shots at our administration. This is one of the better places I’ve been. We don’t have all the bells and whistles of some schools but that’s okay. With what they do for us we should be successful. Our administration treats our players and our coaches well.”

Jack Coffey Field (fordhamsports.com)

Facilities and Jack Coffey Field

“We’re going to be getting a new locker room in a year. Our weight room is functional. It’s not what they have at the University of Connecticut or some other places but it’s functional. I know everybody wants a stadium. I guarantee if we were drawing 16,000 or 12,ooo they’d find ways to put in portable stands. We don’t need portable stands until we start filling up our side. The field is beautiful. Alright we don’t have the other side but fill up that side first. That’s a challenge for me to start to get interest and fill it up because if you do have people standing on the perimeters I guarantee somebody will find a way to put portable stands where we can be a football and baseball facility. So fill up that side first and then we can worry about filling up the other side.

“Everybody would love to live in a mansion. Is it realistic? Is it the smart thing to do? Our football stadium on game day is a great place when we’re winning. We start to draw more people, then great, then we have a nice problem on our hands. I’ve never known a sports fan in New York, and I’m from New York, that goes to it because of the stadium. It’s not the stadium. It’s the people playing and the people coming in. I think that’s a cop out for people not coming to games. It’s not that important to them.”

Alumni

“They are the lifeline for us to be successful. Our university funds it as best they can up to the point that all FCS programs fund it. We have to raise money each and every year. What I hope we can do is continue to get more of our younger alums and our students in the stands. We have to continue to raise money. It’s a yearly challenge for us. What we raise from our alumni is really our operating budget. They’ve been great. It’s tough out there right now but I think we’re going to meet our fundraising goal again this year. That’s a credit to our supporters. Our football alums take great pride in our program and they should because they’re the reason why it’s here. I’m sure they’re going to continue to support it as we move toward scholarships and hopefully we can get more people involved.”

In an exclusive interview with Fordham SportsNet, Tom Masella talks about Fordham's recent decision to award football scholarships. (fordhamsports.com)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It was the biggest development in Fordham Athletics since the university joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in December of 1994.

On June 5, 2009, Fr. Joseph McShane, president of Fordham University, announced that the school would begin awarding football scholarships in the fall of 2010. Fordham last awarded football scholarships in 1954. The decision to award scholarships was the result of years of study by the administration, and included prolonged negotiations with the Patriot League and its member schools. Head coach Tom Masella couldn’t be happier with the decision.

“You have to be extremely excited,” Masella told Fordham SportsNet in an exclusive interview. “To have athletic scholarships or athletic merit – as opposed to need-based scholarships – you can just attract a different type of student-athlete. And now you don’t have to limit your pool of players to kids with need. You can find the best football players who are admissible to Fordham and go try to get them to attend Fordham University and play football here. It opens up another avenue of players that we wouldn’t be able to even get in the game with. We’re excited. I think we’ll be a better football program for it.”

Masella said the move to scholarships was necessary given recent rule changes in the Patriot League that negatively impacted Fordham. It was a move he consistently promoted in conversations with the university’s administration.

“The rules in the Patriot League changed as far as how we were able to recruit last year and it was not favorable to Fordham University,” Masella said. “I expressed my concerns to our administration quite often, and kept on expressing that scholarships for us is the way to go because we were already spending the money and we would get a better football player, a better student, and excite the people who care about Fordham football. To me it was a no-brainer, but our administration listened to my concerns and the way I looked at it and they took the ball and ran with it. I thank Fr. McShane, [Vice President for Student Affairs] Jeff Gray, [Executive Director of Athletics] Frank McLaughlin, and [Director of Athletic Administration] Charlie Elwood because they listened. They listened and saw how the new rules in the Patriot League would affect us.

“[Awarding] scholarships makes the most sense for Fordham University,” Masella continued. “There was no negative impact in anything we do by [offering] scholarships. Everything was positive. We’ve talked since I’ve been here – or after the first year – about what was best for our football program. When the rules changed as far as the academic index and the banning in the Patriot League I expressed my concerns about how it affected us. It affected us much more negatively than it affected any other school. It affected all the other schools in a positive manner. It limited our pool of recruits. Our administration saw that and took action.”

Awarding scholarships will not cost the university any additional money. Instead, money currently allocated for need-based scholarships will be reallocated for athletic scholarships. Masella saw this as a win-win for the university and for his program.

“The great thing is it doesn’t cost us a penny more than what we’re already spending,” the head coach said. “We’re already in compliance with Title IX. It didn’t change the way we’re funded and it didn’t affect us as far as compliance with Title IX. Those are the two biggest issues for us and it didn’t have an impact on us. This was just a very good decision for us.”

And it was a decision that was years in the making. Along with Fordham’s administration studying every issue and aftereffect of moving to scholarships, the university also had to negotiate with the Patriot League, a league that does not award football scholarships. As a result, the Patriot League and Fordham reached the following agreement as described in separate press releases issued by the league and university back in June when the decision was announced: Fordham will remain as an associate member of the Patriot League. The Rams will be eligible for the league title and an automatic playoff berth for the 2009 season. While the Rams will be included in the league schedule through 2012, they will not be eligible for the Patriot League championship beginning with the 2010 season, and games against Patriot League members will not count in the league standings. Though the Rams will not be eligible for an automatic playoff bid beginning in 2010, the number of NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff bids will increase from 16 to 20 that year, with 10 automatic bids and 10 at-large bids. In addition, Fordham’s football players will not be eligible for regular season or end-of-year league awards and will not be included in league statistics and records. Still, Masella believes that being a member of the Patriot League, even with the negotiated restrictions, is better than being an independent.

“To be an independent is not the way to go,” he said. “Yes we had to make some concessions and compromises with the Patriot League. I thought Jeff Gray and Frank McLaughlin did a great job in coming to an agreement with the Patriot League. We don’t want to be an independent. We like our association with the Patriot League. Obviously we’d like to win a title down the road in the Patriot League. That remains to be seen how it all unfolds in the next three years. The short term is we have a schedule. We have our alliance with the Patriot League. It’s a good association. We can’t win a league title. Fine. But we can still go to the national playoffs, and we have a better chance of going in as a member of the Patriot League than we would as an independent. And we still have scheduling. All that was positive. I think the only negative out of the compromise is that our kids cannot win league honors. I was disappointed with that, but that was part of the compromise that Fordham and the Patriot League made.”

In the meantime, the Patriot League is having internal discussions about awarding football scholarships and a decision is expected by 2010. Patriot League members offer scholarships in the league’s other 22 sports. The ongoing talks will affect Fordham’s future in the league, but for now Masella is focusing on the positives of the move.

“They’re looking at scholarships and decisions will be made by the winter of 2010,” he said. “Things will be in place if we want to continue our association or if the Patriot League wants to continue our association.

“Right now we’re in the Patriot League. There’s nothing negative that has come out of us going to scholarships. Nothing for Fordham University that you can look upon and say we shouldn’t have gone scholarships. I think our program is going to be better for it as we move forward.”

One of the advantages of awarding scholarships is the ability to schedule games against NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools, formerly known as 1-A schools. Fordham has games scheduled with Connecticut in 2011, Navy and Villanova (an FCS school) in 2012, and Army in 2014 and 2015.

“I think it’s great for our players,” Masella said about playing FBS schools. “I’ve coached at every level. When I was at Louisiana Tech we played all the big boys and we had success. Players always like to play up. They love the challenge of playing up. It’s great for us. It brings revenue into our program but it also brings exposure to our program. It helps us in recruiting. Statistically you’re not going to have great success in those games, but it’s a long season and the impact of playing in that game and possibly every once in a while winning one of those games is just tremendous for our players and our program, and I think it excites our alumni. It’s a great thing. Everybody in 1-AA football (FCS) is doing it and everyone should because you can generate some revenue, you can get some exposure, it helps with recruiting, and the players love the challenge.”

Fordham will continue to abide by the Patriot League’s academic and eligibility requirements, and standards will remain high with regard to the type of student-athlete the school looks to bring aboard.

“Hopefully we’ll coach a better athlete in time, but we have some great athletes here right now that are scholarship players because that’s the way we’ve set up our recruiting. I don’t think it changes. We’re going to recruit student athletes who are going to get a great education. Hopefully we’re not going to make mistakes with character. We’ve brought in kids with character. Going scholarship opens up the pool of student athletes for us. It doesn’t change our philosophy. It just gives us a bigger pool to choose from.”

A winning scenario for coach, player, and university.

Note: Patriot League press release from June 13, 2008 announcing academic index changes.

(Charles Costello can be reached at charlescostello@optonline.net)

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