Road to 11-0: The Story So Far

The undefeated Holy Cross football team begins its postseason journey on Saturday, Dec. 3, with a second-round NCAA FCS playoff matchup against New Hampshire. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Fitton Field, and tickets start at just $15.

But how did Holy Cross get here? Here's a game-by-game look back at an entertaining 2022 regular season  — a series of consecutive 1-0 weeks that lifted the Crusaders to a top-eight seed and first-round bye in the playoffs. 

1-0: Friday Night Lights

Holy Cross 31, Merrimack 17

After slipping up in a 2021 setback against the Warriors, the Crusaders entered the 2022 opener motivated to avoid another letdown. Holy Cross delivered in the victory on Sep. 2, generating 502 yards of offense — featuring a 24-yard touchdown reception from Ayir Asante and 46-yard touchdown catch from Jalen Coker. Defensively, Walter Reynolds had a 12-yard interception return, and Hunter Burns grabbed a highlight-reel interception in the end zone.

Notable Number:   0 — the number of times that the Crusaders punted in the Week 1 contest against the Warriors

2-0: Hail Mary

Holy Cross 37, Buffalo 31

“How awesome was that?” is what offensive coordinator Chris Smith exclaimed after embracing his father, Jerry, after the Crusaders upset an FBS foe for the second straight season. Awesome is right: Holy Cross delivered one of the biggest plays in all of college football this season on Sep. 10, as Smith and several other Crusaders returned to their native Buffalo for a Saturday night showdown. What most might remember is the ending — with Matthew Sluka’s Hail Mary pass to Coker — but the game as a whole was a master class in resilience. The Crusaders rallied twice from a second-quarter 14-point deficit, and did not lead at any point in the game until Derek Ng hit a go-ahead field goal with 7:12 remaining. The Bulls tied the game up at 31-31 with just 31 seconds left, but Sluka sealed the emotional walkoff win with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Coker as time expired. 

Notable Number: 1 – The Hail Mary was SportsCenter’s No. 1 play of the evening on Sep. 10

3-0: Home Opener

Holy Cross 38, Yale 14

In front of a lively Homecoming crowd, the Crusaders fed off the momentum of their thrilling Week 2 win with a convincing home-opening win on Sep. 17 over the eventual Ivy League champions. The win marked Holy Cross’ first Homecoming weekend victory since 2011 and just the seventh win in program history over Yale. Derek Ng hit a fourth-quarter field goal, the 38th of his career, to break the Holy Cross program record for career field goals made. Coker continued to dazzle, catching a 32-yard heave from Sluka for a score and even throwing a 36-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Purdy; Coker went on to earn the Turco Award as the Crusaders’ Homecoming MVP. 

Notable Number: 24 — the Crusaders’ margin of victory over Yale, the largest by which Holy Cross has ever beaten the Bulldogs 

4-0: No Looking Back

Holy Cross 35, Colgate 10

A single play can change the course of a game — and Devin Haskins’ blocked punt in the second quarter literally shifted the energy of Holy Cross’ Patriot League opener in Hamilton, N.Y., on Sep. 24. With the Crusaders trailing 10-7 with about a minute-and-a-half to go in the opening half, Haskins blocked a punt and gave Holy Cross the ball back, leading to a touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half. That marked the first seven of what would be 28 unanswered points for the Crusaders, including a one-handed touchdown grab from Coker to open the second half. The win was Holy Cross’ first in Hamilton since the 2010 season.

Notable Number: 2.5 — total sacks in the game by Jake Reichwein, the most in a single game by a Crusader this season; the 2.5 sacks totaled a loss of 18 yards

5-0: First Since…

Holy Cross 30, Harvard 21

Holy Cross hadn’t won at Harvard Stadium since 2000, but in a season full of uncharted territory, what was one more accomplishment to check off the list? Sluka passed for nearly 300 yards in the back-and-forth affair. Special teams made a difference, as both Haskins and John Smith blocked a punt. (That’s not to mention this booming forced fumble from Smith). Harvard was within 24-21 in the fourth quarter, but Ng made three field goals throughout the game, with two in the final frame – including a 49-yarder with 1:24 to go – to give the Crusaders late breathing room. The Crusaders defeated Harvard and Yale in the same season for the first time ever, and opened a season at 5-0 for the first time since 1991. That 1991 team, of course, was the most recent team to finish 11-0 in a regular season, and it was a squad that would become a constant comparison for the 2022 Crusaders in the coming weeks. 

Notable Number: 164 — Receiving yards by Coker against Harvard, a single-game career high for the junior

6-0: Complete-Game Shutout

Holy Cross 57, Bucknell 0

The Crusaders scored on their opening drive of the second annual EBW Classic on Oct. 8 at Polar Park, and didn’t look back from there. Haskins blocked a Bucknell punt just three minutes later (are you sensing a theme here?) and returned it for an immediate touchdown; Holy Cross built a 37-0 lead by halftime, and didn’t let up at any point. The Crusaders had 31 first downs to Bucknell’s 10 on the evening, and had 511 yards of offense to just 169 for the Bison. 

Notable Number: 57 — The 57-point defeat was Holy Cross’ largest margin of victory since the 1987 season, and the Crusaders' largest shutout win since a 60-0 win vs. Fort Totten in 1942

7-0: Found A Way

Holy Cross 24, Lafayette 21

Coming off a bye week, the Crusaders struggled to find rhythm during a road matchup at Lafayette on Oct. 22; Haskins did yet again block a punt and return it for a touchdown to give Holy Cross a 17-7 edge in the first half, but the Leopards did not back down, clawing their way back and even taking a 21-17 lead with 13:32 left in the fourth quarter. In the waning minutes of regulation, the Crusaders converted on fourth down twice and Sluka connected with Justin Shorter for a 16-yard touchdown to give Holy Cross the lead back when it mattered most. On Lafayette's next drive, Haskins secured an interception to preserve the win — and undefeated slate — for the Crusaders.

Notable Number: 4 — Consecutive games with a blocked punt by Haskins, who set the Patriot League single-season record for blocked punts 

8-0: Instant Classic

Holy Cross 53, Fordham 52 (OT)

Among the nearly 18,000 fans in attendance at the long-awaited Family Weekend matchup between then-No. 5/8 Holy Cross and No. 22/15 Fordham, many might say it’s the best football game they’ve ever been to. Regardless, the national game of the week lived up to the hype, and then some — and it will go down as one of the most entertaining games ever in the storied history of Holy Cross football. Crusader fans won’t ever forget the shift from that pit-in-your-stomach feeling to the eventual shock and jubilation as the setting sun cast a golden glow over the triumphant Crusaders. It’s nearly impossible to briefly summarize the roller coaster of emotion that Fitton Field transformed into on Oct. 29, but to boil it down: The Crusaders kept up with the nation’s best offense, paced by a career day from Sluka. Holy Cross actually did not lead at any point during the final 30:38 of regulation; trailing 45-38 in the final minute-and-a-half of the game, Sluka and Coker connected yet again for a game-tying touchdown — Coker’s third touchdown of the day — that forced overtime. Fordham needed just one play to score in overtime, while the Crusaders responded with a more drawn-out drive, needing five plays, culminating in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Sluka to Shorter. Holy Cross opted for the gutsy two-point conversion; Sluka handed off to Shorter, who crossed and tossed the ball to Asante, who then completed the reverse sweep and rushed into the end zone for the walkoff victory — as Fitton Field erupted in cheers, shrieks, laughter, tears and pure joy. When asked in a postgame press conference if he had ever played in an environment before that compared to the one at Fitton that day, Coker shook his head, and very simply said, “No.” No emotion can compare to what it felt like to be a Crusader that day. 

Notable Number: 607 — Holy Cross’ total yards of offense in the win over Fordham, their highest total in a game since 2017; Sluka rushed for a career-high 174 yards and passed for 291

9-0: Four Straight

Holy Cross 42, Lehigh 14

In defeating Fordham the week prior, Holy Cross was already past a major obstacle that could have prevented a fourth consecutive Patriot League title — and the Crusaders had control of their own destiny entering Nov. 5’s conference tilt with the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh stuck around, cutting within 21-14 early in the third quarter, but Holy Cross pulled away late to comfortably secure the victory. Jordan Fuller ran for three touchdowns in the win; Liam Anderson led the team defensively with nine tackles and two tackles for a loss of five yards. Holy Cross rushed for a season-best 338 yards as a team — their third game in the last four with over 300 rushing yards — totaling 470 yards of offense. In the final seconds of the contest, the Crusaders’ defensive line dumped a Gatorade cooler on head coach Bob Chesney and the whole team went to lift a trophy for the fourth straight year.

Notable Number: 10 — Total Patriot League titles won by the Crusaders

10-0: Senior Day W

Holy Cross 36, Bryant 29

Back in nonconference action despite already clinching a Patriot League title the week prior, the Crusaders built a 22-0 lead in the first half of their Nov. 12 matchup with the Bulldogs. Bryant managed to climb back in the game, trailing only 29-19 early in the fourth quarter. Reynolds had a pick in the end zone with 5:49 to go to prevent a score on a late Bulldogs drive, but Bryant still hit a 37-yard field goal with 3:36 left to make it a one-score game. The Crusaders were able to run out the clock in the final minutes to preserve the victory.

Notable Number: 52 — Ng’s 52-yard field goal in the second quarter broke his own school record for the longest field goal in program history

11-0: History Made

Holy Cross 47, Georgetown 10

In the nation’s capital, the Crusaders cruised to a win over the Hoyas in their regular-season finale – securing a second consecutive 6-0 Patriot League slate and the first 11-0 regular season by a Holy Cross team in 31 years. The Crusaders held Georgetown scoreless in the second half. Sluka threw for three touchdowns and a career-best 301 yards, while also rushing for an additional 77. Fuller had three first-half touchdowns, while Asante had a season-best 137 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Notable Number: 11 – Sluka completed his first 11 pass attempts of the contest, pacing the Crusaders to their 11th straight win

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 

Be sure to follow the Holy Cross football team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!

Twitter - @HCrossFB | @goholycross

Instagram - @hcrossfb | @goholycross

Facebook - Holy Cross Football | Holy Cross Athletics

YouTube - GoHolyCross