2003 Colgate Raiders football team

2003 Colgate Raiders football
Patriot League champion
Division I-AA National Championship, L 0-40 vs. Delaware
Conference	Patriot League
Record	15–1 (7–0 Patriot)
Head coach	Dick Biddle (8th season)
Captains	John Frieser Tem Lukabu Sean McCune
Home stadium	Andy Kerr Stadium
Seasons ←  2002 2004  →

2003 Patriot League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Colgate $^		7	–	0					15	–	1
No. 23 Lehigh		6	–	1					8	–	3
Fordham		4	–	3					9	–	3
Bucknell		4	–	3					6	–	6
Towson		3	–	4					6	–	6
Lafayette		2	–	5					5	–	6
Georgetown		1	–	6					4	–	8
Holy Cross		1	–	6					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 Colgate Raiders football team was an American football team that represented Colgate University during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Colgate was undefeated in the regular season, won the Patriot League championship and played in the Division I-AA national championship game.

In its eighth season under head coach Dick Biddle, the team compiled a 15–1 record (12–0 in the regular season). John Frieser, Tem Lukabu and Sean McCune were the team captains. ^[1]

The Raiders outscored opponents 480 to 303. Colgate's undefeated (7–0) conference record placed first in the Patriot League standings. ^[2]

Colgate started the year unranked in the Division I-AA national poll, but as the season-long win streak developed, the Raiders steadily climbed in the rankings. They debuted at No. 24 in mid-September and were ranked No. 6 at the end of the regular season.

The Raiders were seeded No. 4 in the Division I-AA national playoffs. After three playoff wins, Colgate lost to Delaware in the national championship game. In the final poll of the year, Delaware was ranked No. 1 and Colgate No. 2.

Colgate played its home games, including its first two playoff games, at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, New York.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at Georgetown		Harbin Field Washington, DC	W 20–19	2,406	[3]
September 13	at Buffalo *		University at Buffalo Stadium Amherst, NY	W 38–15	20,324	[4]
September 20	at Dartmouth *	No. 24	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 31–9	6,920	[5]
September 27	Towson	No. 22	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 26–7	7,467	[6]
October 4	at Cornell *	No. 19	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY (rivalry)	W 27–24	4,142	[7]
October 11	at Princeton *	No. 17	Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 30–3	14,096	[8]
October 18	Yale *	No. 18	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 52–40	7,895	[9]
October 25	Bucknell	No. 16	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 50–6	8,655	[10]
November 1	at Lafayette	No. 12	Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 47–31		[1]
November 8	No. 24 Lehigh	No. 10	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 17–10		[1]
November 15	Fordham	No. 7	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 14–3	4,673	[11]
November 22	at Holy Cross	No. 6	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 45–38	10,166	[12]
November 29	No. 5 UMass *	No. 6	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY (Div. I-AA playoffs)	W 19–7	4,197	[13]
December 6	No. 10 Western Illinois *	No. 6	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY (Div. I-AA playoffs)	W 28–27	5,287	[14]
December 13	at No. 13 Florida Atlantic *	No. 6	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL (Div. I-AA playoffs)	W 36–24	12,857	[15]
December 19	vs. No. 3 Delaware *	No. 6	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (Div. I-AA championship)	L 0–40	14,281	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Colgate Athletic History: Football" (PDF). Hamilton, N.Y.: Colgate University. pp. 13–14 and 27. Retrieved June 15, 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
2. "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 9. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
3. "Colgate 20, Georgetown 19". Democrat and Chronicle . Rochester, N.Y. September 7, 2003. p. 7D – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Colgate 38, Buffalo 15". Democrat and Chronicle . Rochester, N.Y. September 14, 2003. p. 7D – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Colgate Rides Back's 3 TDs". Press & Sun-Bulletin . Binghamton, N.Y. September 21, 2003. p. 7C – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "New England Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. September 21, 2003. p. C13.
6. Bump, Larry (September 28, 2003). "Colgate Blows by Towson". The Baltimore Sun . Baltimore, Md. p. 16E – via Newspapers.com.
7. Feaver, Christopher (October 6, 2003). "Cornell's Rally Falls Short". The Ithaca Journal . Ithaca, N.Y. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. October 5, 2003. p. C19.
8. "Colgate 30, Princeton 3". Courier News . Somerville, N.J. Associated Press. October 12, 2003. p. C-8 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League Standings, Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. October 12, 2003. p. C15.
9. Hine, Tommy (October 19, 2003). "Yale Makes a Mess of It". Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. pp. E10, E15 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Housenick, Tom (October 26, 2003). "Raiders Exploit Bison Breakdowns". The Daily Item . Sunbury, Pa. p. D3 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Brennan, Sean (November 16, 2003). "Rams' Playoff Bid Ends". Daily News . New York, N.Y. pp. 60, 79 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Gearan, Jay (November 23, 2003). "Colgate Dodges Shocker; HC Can't Quite Contain Branch". Telegram & Gazette . Worcester, Mass. p. D6 – via NewsBank. Attendance figure in "Atlantic 10, New England Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. November 23, 2003. p. C16.
13. Burris, Joe (November 30, 2003). "Winter Blunderland: It's No Joy Ride as UMass Can't Weather Colgate". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Muder, Craig (December 7, 2003). "Branch's Late TD Lifts Colgate over W. Illinois". Press & Sun-Bulletin . Binghamton, N.Y. pp. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
15. Hutton, Ted (December 14, 2003). "End for Owls: Dominant Raiders End FAU's Playoff Run". Sun-Sentinel . Fort Lauderdale, Fla. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
16. Tresolini, Kevin (December 20, 2003). "Blue Heaven: Delaware Routs Colgate, Wins First I-AA Crown". Sunday News Journal . Wilmington, Del. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.