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Five Things To Watch: Holy Cross Football

REIGNING CHAMPIONS

The Holy Cross football team will be in search of its eighth Patriot League title when it kicks off its season on Saturday, March 13 at Lehigh. Kickoff is set for noon in Bethlehem, Pa.

The Crusaders clinched their seventh Patriot League crown a season ago after posting a 24-0 victory over Georgetown on Nov. 23, 2019. During that 2019 season, Holy Cross finished 7-6 overall with a 5-1 mark in Patriot League play, and also earned their first FCS playoff berth since 2009.

In a preseason poll released on March 3, the Crusaders were selected to defend their title this season. The Crusaders received 45 points in the poll, as voted on by head coaches and sports information directors, and earned five first-place votes.

OFFENSE

A season ago, the Crusaders averaged a league-best 409 yards of total offense -- including 189 rushing yards -- in Patriot League contests, while also averaging a conference-leading 28.2 points per game. Seven starters and several key backups return from that squad.

Offensive success was due in large part to a strong offensive line, headlined by a two-time All-Patriot League and preseason All-Patriot League selection in senior left tackle Brian Foley.

At quarterback, senior starter Connor Degenhardt returns after earning All-Patriot League second team honors a year ago. During the 2019 season, Degenhardt completed 182 of 341 passes on the season for 2,372 yards and 14 touchdowns, while carrying the ball 85 times for 55 yards and five scores, to finish the year with 2,427 yards of total offense.

Sophomore wide receiver Ayir Asante, who earned All-Patriot League honors as a freshman in 2019 and was a preseason All-Patriot League selection this year, also returns. He also received an honorable mention Freshman All-America nod from Hero Sports after seeing action in all 13 games with eight starts, leading the team with 48 receptions for 697 yards and six touchdowns.

DEFENSE

The Crusaders additionally return eight starters and a number of other key members of a defense that held opponents to a Patriot League-best 15.2 points per game in conference action.

A preseason All-Patriot League selection, sophomore linebacker Jacob Dobbs was a Hero Sports first team Freshman All-American in 2019, while also earning second team All-Patriot League recognition. He was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award during his freshman year, in which he started all 13 games at linebacker in 2019, leading the team with 93 tackles, seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss.

Senior defensive lineman Benton Whitley also earned preseason All-Patriot League honors ahead of the Spring 2021 season. A first team All-Patriot League and second team All-ECAC selection in 2019, Whitley started all 13 games for Holy Cross last year. He totaled 33 tackles on the season, including 28 solo stops, five quarterback sacks and seven tackles for loss, along with two pass breakups.

Senior safety Joe Lang was an additional preseason All-Patriot League selection. In 2019, he started 12 games, ranking fourth on the team and 14th in the Patriot League with 72 total tackles, including 62 solo stops, a quarterback sack and three tackles for loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Holy Cross brings back a great deal of experience on special teams, which has been one of the team’s strengths over the last two years.

Another preseason All-Patriot League honoree, junior kicker Derek Ng, appeared in all 13 games for Holy Cross as a sophomore in 2019, leading the team in scoring with 67 points and connecting on 11 of 16 field goal attempts and 34 of 36 extra points. He enters his junior season ranked fourth all-time at Holy Cross in career extra point percentage (.957, 66 of 69) and 10th in career field goals made (17).

The Crusaders also bring back their starting long snapper and their top three kickoff returners from 2019.

SPRING SCHEDULE

When Holy Cross visits Lehigh on Saturday, it will mark the first time in the program’s 125-year history that the Crusaders will play a regular-season game during the month of March.

The contest against the Mountain Hawks kicks off a unique four-game, Patriot League-only schedule this spring, after having the fall 2020 season postponed due to COVID-19.

The Patriot League’s six football teams will be split into two three-team divisions for the 2021 spring season. Colgate, Fordham and Holy Cross will play in the North Division. Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh will play in the South Division. The Georgetown football program will forgo participation in the spring 2021 season.

Teams will play each divisional opponent once, along with two non-divisional games. The League schedule is set to conclude on Saturday, April 17, with a championship game between the two division winners. There is a make-up weekend scheduled for the weekend of April 10.