I want to use this thread to share information about Fordham. Last year we defeated Fordham 42 - 31 despite trailing 10-0 in the first half. The Fordham head coach is Joe Moorhead. He is in his 5th year as HC there and took the team to the FCS playoffs each of the past two years. Fordham has been narrowly picked over Bucknell to win the Patriot League again this season. As I go over last year's Fordham starters I conclude that Fordham is picked to win their league based on the very strong reputation that Moorhead has built as he's rescued this program from obscurity. After watching last year's game on my DVR very recently here are the Fordham starters from the 2014 game as listed by CBS:
Offense
QB Mike Nebrich has graduated. He picked us apart in the center of the field. I believe he followed Moorhead from UConn when Moorhead left the offensive coordinator job there. Excellent QB but no longer there.
LT Mason Halter Graduated/Transferred to Florida Gators for his last year of eligibility. Was 2 x All FCS. 6’8”, 300 lbs. He is on the Gators' two deep this season and may start for them. Last year we were not able to get any pass rush going on his side and he often handled a DE and LB at the same time with his large wingspan.
LG Garrick Mayweather Jr SR this year.
C Joe Mizera graduated
RG Matt Stolte graduated
RT Anthony Coyle SO this year
RB Chase Edmonds SO this year and FCS Jerry Rice Award winner as best FCS rookie last year. He had some good runs against us between the 20 yard lines but did not hurt us. He is a bit smallish and we were able to tackle him in one-on-one situations.
TE Dan Light graduated. FCS All American
WR Brian Wetzel graduated. He hurt us from the slot all game on LBs and safeties.
WR Sam Ajala graduated. Very good player but our corners handled him until late in the game.
WR Tebucky Jones Jr graduated. Another very good player but again our corners handled him well. He also dropped some catchable balls.
Defense
DE N Merino graduated
NT D Slate graduated
DE J Yancey graduated
LB Brett Biestek graduated (was grad student) Was FCS All American. Great player who stopped a lot of our running plays. You might recall AJ Schurr hitting him hard on a run in the 3rd Quarter.
LB D Pinkney graduated
LB Austin Hancock graduated. Another very strong player who stopped many interior runs.
LB G Dawson JR this year
CB J Williams graduated
FS L Williams graduated
SS J Dixson graduated
CB J Chapman graduated
So this is a team with only 4 returning starters and only one on a defense which pretty much did not stop us in the second half. Fordham's starter reload makes ours look manageable! Although I assess their head coach as very, very capable I think we should win this game. I did not see a bunch of goliath's on the Fordham sideline last year hoping to get into the game. So who are the players that will replace all of these starters from last year? Does Fordham have 77 incoming freshman like we do? Did many of them play together on a prep team last year? No. Of course some good players will emerge on their side but they have a very impressive group to replace.
We should be favored in this game but because our reputation is in tatters we may not be favored. Last year we were not favored. When the line comes out in Vegas if we are a slight favorite or a dog I am going to put a sizeable wager (in Vegas) on our team. Fordham has 11 coaches listed on their roster. We have 17 not including our strength and conditioning team. We have better facilities, more coaches, probably more players, and hopefully 'better' players. I think we win. Hopefully in convincing fashion but at the very least an ugly win.
Last season Coach Monken impressed me by preparing well for a Buffalo team that was much bigger then we were. I expect a similar result in our opener with another year under his belt and more familiarity with what he is working with. While there may be some plebes on our side who contribute the big factor for me is Fordham's loss of 18 experienced starters. You just don't replace that.
I am looking forward to what GBK can tell us about our team heading into this game. And I hope others out there will share what they learn or hear in the next two weeks about Fordham on this thread. Beat 'em!
