New York football is dead in October.
It’s a sentiment that applies to the city’s struggling NFL counterparts, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, but also the Fordham University Rams, who fell to 0-8 this past weekend with a 33-19 loss to Lehigh University.
The defeat ensures a reality that many fans likely came to terms with weeks earlier — Fordham will not be in contention for a Patriot League title this season, falling to 0-3 in league play.
But as the focus shifts to future teams and future seasons, perhaps some hope emerges in the form of their third-string quarterback, freshman Tripp Holley.
Holley made his collegiate football debut halfway through the third quarter, replacing junior Jack Capaldi with the Rams trailing the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 33-3. While the gargantuan 30-point deficit was far too much to overcome, Holley managed to reinvigorate a listless Fordham offense, leading two touchdown drives to make it a more respectable 14-point defeat.
“I thought, for the most part, he played well,” head coach Joe Conlin remarked in his postgame press conference. “He used his legs to get himself out of trouble. He missed a couple throws, but I feel like with practice, he can get those down.”
Holley threw for 69 yards, completing 8-18 attempts for a completion mark below 50%. The freshman notably missed a connection with senior wideout Cole Thornton, squandering what appeared to be a wide-open touchdown.
However, it were Holley’s legs that stole the show.
Facing fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter, the Dallas native scrambled for an 11-yard score and the first touchdown of his collegiate career. On a subsequent drive, he converted a fourth-and-8 attempt, putting his head down and absorbing contact on a resilient 9-yard run. And Holley capped off the second touchdown drive by successfully converting a 2-point conversion on a quarterback draw right up the gut.
In total, the freshman was able to gain 51 rushing yards in a quarter and change. At the collegiate level, sacks detract from rushing totals, leaving Tripp with a less impressive 25 net yards, as the Mountain Hawks brought him down three times in the backfield. Nonetheless, he displayed an ability to improvise in the face of pressure and a willingness to fight for every yard.
“The guidance to him was ‘cut it loose out there and have fun,’” said Conlin. “It looked like he was doing that. It definitely gave us a spark.”
The Rams were certainly in need of one.
Fordham got on the board first as strong runs by senior Julius Loughridge and an 18-yard reception by Thornton set up a 44-yard field goal for freshman kicker Bennett Henderson.
Unfortunately, that’s all that the Rams would have to show on the offensive end until the fourth quarter, as Lehigh rattled off 33 unanswered points, 30 of which came in the first half.
The Mountain Hawks have one of the worst passing offenses in college football, ranking dead last in the Patriot League with a mere 153.1 passing yards per game. But who needs to pass the ball when you have the 20th-best rushing attack in the FCS?
Led by sophomore Luke Yoder and freshman Jayden Green, the Lehigh backfield has given defenses nightmares. And with Fordham missing All-Conference linebacker James Conway and their top four safeties due to injury, the Rams were ripe for the taking.
While Fordham managed to limit the lead back Yoder to 80 yards and 3.9 per carry, Green exploded for a career-high 147 yards, averaging a preposterous 8.6 per attempt as he received Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season. Green’s season-long 44-yard touchdown in the first quarter gave the Mountain Hawks a lead they would never relinquish.
“We can’t allow a team whose whole identity is the run game right now to run the ball like that,” said Conlin. “That was something we stressed during the week and we failed to execute.”
Despite some early rushing success, Lehigh only led 7-3 at the close of the first quarter. But the Mountain Hawks would explode in the second quarter, capitalizing on an early interception from Capaldi.
A pair of rushing touchdowns by versatile quarterback Matt Machalik put the Rams down 24-3 with 1:40 left in the half. With a chance to cut the lead down a tad going into halftime, the offense stalled quickly, giving Lehigh the ball right back after just 39 seconds of possession.
The Mountain Hawks took advantage. Freshman quarterback Hayden Johnson aired one out for Matt D’Avino, whose 33-yard receiving touchdown gave Lehigh a 30-3 lead at halftime.
“Obviously can’t have a first half like that and expect to win on the road,” reflected Conlin. By halftime, the Rams had allowed over 200 yards on the ground and 314 total.
The defense improved significantly in the second half, as Fordham allowed just 58 total yards — but it was too little, too late.
Freshman Jaylen Dawson led the game with a career-high 12 tackles, starting in place of Conway, who was not active after starting two games prior to Fordham’s Week 8 bye. Meanwhile, freshman Drew Minnich and senior Trey Bradford both recorded six tackles in their first collegiate starts at safety.
But the moment that brought the sideline to its feet came from no other than senior Matt Jaworski, who recorded his first sack of the season in the third quarter. It had been a long time coming for the Patriot League’s Defensive Player of the Year. Despite being a force in the backfield all season long, the first sack of the year had eluded Jaworski, who tallied a team-high nine sacks last season.
Jaworski finished his day with 10 tackles and three for loss. He’ll be in the running for Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, leading the conference with 13 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hurries.
On the offensive end, Loughridge rebounded from a season-worst game against the College of Holy Cross, rushing for 77 yards and a 2-point conversion on just 17 attempts. The senior now has 2,695 career rushing yards, moving ahead of Pierre Davis for sixth all-time in program history.
The biggest question moving forward revolves around the quarterback position. Fordham has found it difficult to have success without their starting quarterback, junior CJ Montes, who was injured during Week 3 against Stony Brook University.
Capaldi features the strongest arm on the team according to Conlin, but has struggled with accuracy and consistency, completing 46.8% of his passes through seven games with three touchdowns to five interceptions.
While Holley was far from perfect, his ability to improvise and his aggressiveness led to a much more lively attack. Upon entering the game, Holley led the Rams to a pair of touchdowns and a pair of successful 2-point conversions. He’s a raw product and still finding his footing in a nuanced Fordham system, but perhaps he provides the best chance for success.
It’s a difficult decision, but an important one as the Rams look to avoid their first winless season since 1999 with just four games left to play.
Fordham returns to Jack Coffey Field at Moglia Stadium for just the third time this year, squaring up with 2-6 Colgate University for a Week 10 matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.
