Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Georgetown & Fordham Football Set to Renew Rivalry This Weekend

Oct. 18, 2005

Washington, D.C. - Over the course of more than 100 seasons of college football, Georgetown University has faced nearly 150 different opponents. In 92 of those series, the Hoyas hold the head-to-head advantage.

This Saturday at the Multi-Sport Field (2 p.m.) on the campus on the Hilltop, Georgetown will kick off against Fordham University, its most common rival. Adding spice to an already fierce rivalry will be the fact that the Hoyas will be celebrating Homecoming this weekend.

Fordham leads the head-to-head series between the teams, 26-20-3, and has won the last 10 match ups, including five since Georgetown joined the Patriot League.

The series dates all the way back to 1890, when the teams fought to a 6-6 tie.

The Rams won the next two games and there were two ties before Georgetown rattled off three wins, taking games between 1915-17. That was the start of a stretch in which the Hoyas won 14 of the 16 games played.

Two of Georgetown's most memorable victories were upsets.

Lou Little's 1925 team defeated the heavily favored and unbeaten Rams at the Polo Grounds in New York City, 27-0. It was one of seven shutouts that season for a Georgetown team that went 9-1 and was arguably the school's best team ever.

The other win, under the direction of Scotty Glacken, the program's all-time leader in wins (98), was in 1969, when the Hoyas stunned the defending national club champions, 14-7, on Kehoe Field.

Homecoming has seen the Hoyas meet the Rams before as well. In November 1971, Georgetown posted a 30-9 win over the Rams at Kehoe Field.

More recently, in 1998, the Hoyas dropped a 49-40 decision to the Rams on the road, coming back from deficits of 28-0 and 42-21. In that game, quarterback J.J. Mont set a school record for touchdown passes (5) and passing attempts (65). Matt Mattimore, who was named to Don Hansen's I-AA Non-Scholarship First Team, tied the school record for receptions (12) and touchdown catches (3) in a game and his 188 receiving yards were just three shy of the school record.