2008 Woodie Awards
Football Team TKO'd on Last-Second Kick
Jeff Fein
Issue date: 9/9/05 Section: Sports
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A middle-aged woman clad in maroon aptly described the football team's season-opener as she exited Andy Kerr Stadium on Saturday: "That was a tough one," she said, shaking her head.
A tough one, indeed. The Raiders squandered a one-point lead in the final 27 seconds of the game, allowing the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State to drive 65 yards and kick an improbable game-winning field goal that split the uprights as time expired. All that occurred after a furious Raiders comeback had erased a 21-12 fourth-quarter deficit.
"I wasn't pleased at all," Raider Head Coach Dick Biddle said of his team's performance. "We didn't play well enough on either side of the ball to win the game. Very few of our players delivered the kinds of performances you need to beat a decent football team."
The Raiders have now lost eight of ten season-openers under Biddle, which is remarkable considering the coach's overall winning percentage of .704. The loss also marks the end of Colgate's 17-game home winning streak.
Central Connecticut's last-minute miracle aside, the story of the game was the Raiders' seven turnovers. Junior quarterback Mike Saraceno, who made his first start as a collegian, threw five interceptions. But according to Biddle, the quarterback was not solely responsible for Colgate's turnover woes.
"People are going to be quick to blame Mike," Biddle said, "but when you have seven turnovers, the whole team is at fault. There was a kickoff when we just dropped the ball. There was a fumble by a running back. There was an interception that was the result of a poorly run route by a receiver. All the way around, we had trouble."
The trouble started late in the first quarter, when an errant pass by Saraceno was picked off in Colgate territory, giving the Blue Devils possession on the Raider 39-yard line. Central Connecticut then kicked a field goal to take its first lead, 6-3, early in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils ripped off 12 points in the second, and took a 15-6 lead at halftime. Colgate's only points of the first half came on field goals of 21 and 27 yards by senior kicker Mike Rava. Its four first-half turnovers kept them out of the end zone.
A tough one, indeed. The Raiders squandered a one-point lead in the final 27 seconds of the game, allowing the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut State to drive 65 yards and kick an improbable game-winning field goal that split the uprights as time expired. All that occurred after a furious Raiders comeback had erased a 21-12 fourth-quarter deficit.
"I wasn't pleased at all," Raider Head Coach Dick Biddle said of his team's performance. "We didn't play well enough on either side of the ball to win the game. Very few of our players delivered the kinds of performances you need to beat a decent football team."
The Raiders have now lost eight of ten season-openers under Biddle, which is remarkable considering the coach's overall winning percentage of .704. The loss also marks the end of Colgate's 17-game home winning streak.
Central Connecticut's last-minute miracle aside, the story of the game was the Raiders' seven turnovers. Junior quarterback Mike Saraceno, who made his first start as a collegian, threw five interceptions. But according to Biddle, the quarterback was not solely responsible for Colgate's turnover woes.
"People are going to be quick to blame Mike," Biddle said, "but when you have seven turnovers, the whole team is at fault. There was a kickoff when we just dropped the ball. There was a fumble by a running back. There was an interception that was the result of a poorly run route by a receiver. All the way around, we had trouble."
The trouble started late in the first quarter, when an errant pass by Saraceno was picked off in Colgate territory, giving the Blue Devils possession on the Raider 39-yard line. Central Connecticut then kicked a field goal to take its first lead, 6-3, early in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils ripped off 12 points in the second, and took a 15-6 lead at halftime. Colgate's only points of the first half came on field goals of 21 and 27 yards by senior kicker Mike Rava. Its four first-half turnovers kept them out of the end zone.