‘There's no game that he thinks he can't win’: Sluka delivers in high-pressure moments for No. 6 Holy Cross

“Any time there’s a game where there's a lot of pressure, where the stakes are high, where there's a lot of people there, where there's a lot of hype…

“I just love those games the most.”

Junior quarterback Matthew Sluka of the Holy Cross football team lives for the spotlight and lives for the bright lights — and he has held true to that throughout his career as a Crusader, particularly in 2022. Repeatedly, his “clutch gene” has shone through when Holy Cross has needed it. The entire college football world saw his Hail Mary completion to junior wide receiver Jalen Coker this season against Buffalo on Sep. 10, which was named SportsCenter’s top play of the night. Last year, he had one of the strongest performances of his career as the Crusaders clinched their third consecutive Patriot League title on the road at Fordham; most recently, on Oct. 29, he went punch-for-punch with the Rams’ daunting offense, culminating in a 53-52 overtime victory. 

The list goes on and on. Simply put, when a big-time play has been needed, the confident, fearless Sluka has delivered. 

“Sluka is a very special player,” said senior cornerback Devin Haskins. “He's very dynamic. And he does crazy things out there that we all get to see every week.”

“There's no game that he thinks he can't win until the clocks are at double zero,” Coker said.

For someone who has become recognized as one of the top quarterbacks in all of FCS, Sluka was unsure until very late as to whether he wanted to play football collegiately. He’d played football since age 7 and always played quarterback, and he always had the natural instinct and ability when it came to playing football. But at the same time, lacrosse took up a big part of his heart as well. 

Where Sluka grew up on Long Island, lacrosse was strongly emphasized and encouraged. There were more opportunities to play against the nation’s top talent in that sport, and the overall resources and focus on lacrosse were much stronger. He understood the game at a much higher level at a much younger age, and with lacrosse, there was more assurance that he could succeed in the sport at a high level — there was an “easier route” to success, he admits. 

The challenges of football still called to him, but he needed more time to build his confidence that it was the right sport for him in the long run. With two undefeated seasons under his belt as the quarterback at Kellenberg Memorial, and still undecided as to which sport he wanted to pursue, Sluka opted to spend a postgrad year at the Peddie School in New Jersey. There, he had the chance to face some of the stronger football talent in the nation — against players with offers from Power Five schools — and led his team to another undefeated season and a Mid-Atlantic Prep League title. 

“That was where I realized,” he said, “that I do belong.”

Sluka loves to play football freely and creatively, which he attributes to his lacrosse background.  There’s a certain fluidity and full-field vision required in lacrosse that gives him an extra advantage on the gridiron.

“Being able to see where people are going and having that feel has helped in football,” he said. “You have to be able to think on the fly and be creative.”

During an intrasquad scrimmage prior to the abridged Spring 2021 season, Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney gave Sluka some advice that he hasn’t forgotten since.

“He was just like, ‘Matt, go back to how you play football,’” Sluka recalled. “‘Stop overthinking it, stop overcomplicating it, just go out there, just play football.”

He reassured Sluka that in that moment, he didn’t need to worry about what he did or didn’t know — the coaches would teach him all of that. But for now, all he needed to do was enjoy playing the game of football. Sluka threw a touchdown on the next play.

Sluka had been on the Crusaders’ scout team all fall, but Holy Cross fans got their first glimpse of Sluka on a single six-yard rush against Lehigh on March 13, 2021. Two weeks later, in a home game against Fordham, his role quickly changed. He was lower on the depth chart, but the coaches understood his running ability, and knew that he could give them a spark on offense. 

He entered the game against the Rams with the Crusaders trailing, 14-13, in the third quarter. On his first drive of the contest, he handed off to running back Peter Oliver, who exploded for a 48-yard rush. The next play, on his first carry of the game, Sluka kept the ball and ran 15 yards to the left for a touchdown — and a 20-14 lead for the Crusaders. 

“Alright, this is easy,” he told himself in that moment. “Let's just do it.”

On the sideline, he told a teammate: “Next play, to the right, I’m going to score.” 

His next carry: He went right, then cut all the way left for a 57-yard touchdown run.

He finished that game with 145 rushing yards in less than two quarters, the most in a single game by a Holy Cross freshman since 1976. He went on to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, and guided the Crusaders to their second straight Patriot League title.

As a freshman and sophomore, he was the team’s leading rusher, and leads the team again this year with 623 rushing yards in eight games. In just 25 career games, he already ranks tied for fifth in Holy Cross program history with 25 rushing touchdowns. He’s never lost a game against a Patriot League opponent. 

In his standout junior season to this point, he leads the nation in passing yards per completion (17.3), and has racked up 1,730 passing yards and 19 touchdowns in the air. Not to mention leading the No. 6 Crusaders to an 8-0 record and 4-0 mark in Patriot League play — with the chance for Holy Cross to clinch its fourth straight conference title this Saturday, Nov. 5 against Lehigh.

Not too bad for someone who admits that he arrived at Holy Cross with raw talent, but a limited understanding of the game of football. And for Sluka, while his physical improvements are noticeable, the mental side of the game has been his biggest area of growth since arriving on The Hill. 

“Once you can make the decisions faster and easier, it just opens up so much more,” he said. “And then not having those ups and downs of anger or disappointment — everything just has to stay high at all levels.”

In many ways, Sluka is driven by a sense of adventure. He’s fascinated by real estate and cars, he loves to cook, he has a passion for travel, for trying new things, for meeting new people. If a teammate is going out to get food, Sluka will almost always go with them, just to get out of his room and to go somewhere — he doesn’t want to sit still for too long. 

He’s outgoing and will talk to just about anybody, and his open, direct communication style has helped develop trust with his teammates. He’ll ensure that they know what to expect from him, and he makes sure his teammates know exactly what he needs from them.

“I know they trust me, and I trust them,” he said. “So it's just easy.”

Coker notes that that open line of communication has helped the pair grow closer over their three seasons together (Coker’s 10 touchdown receptions rank second in FCS this season). 

“Making sure that we're both comfortable helping each other with the plays, especially earlier in our careers at Holy Cross, just always having faith in each other, just being open with each other,” Coker said. “All the little things that don't get seen by everyone, we try to make sure that those are at their peak.”

Even when things aren’t going well in a game, Sluka’s drive to win keeps him locked in. Even in a game against Lafayette on Oct. 22 in which the Crusaders struggled offensively, Sluka still connected with sophomore receiver Justin Shorter for the go-ahead touchdown with four minutes left to preserve Holy Cross’ undefeated season. 

Sluka points to a championship basketball game when he was younger, when had to drain two free throws to secure the win for his team. It doesn’t matter if it’s a late-game or a championship situation, or a backyard football game with his four brothers — he’s going to find a way to win, to secure that game-winning play. At the end of the day, he always believes he’s going to make the play. 

Even as Sluka embraces the pressure of big-time moments, it’s not for the glory or recognition. It’s for the thrill of victory.

“I don't need all the satisfaction of everyone saying, ‘Oh, great job at this, great job at that,’” he said. “I know what I need to take care of, I know what I need to do. It's just a matter of doing it.

“I like to have the light shine on me when it's a pressure-filled moment. It's just like having that mindset of knowing that you have the potential to make every single play. When it comes down to crunch-time moments or big-time plays, there's no other expectation than to be perfect on this one.”

“Whenever we're in a slump or anything, I just have the utmost faith in him, and I believe in him so much,” Haskins said. “Because he is that kind of player, he's a game changer — he makes big, smart plays all over the place. If it's ever a close game or we’re losing at any point in the game, I'm just always very confident in our offense because he's the person that can control that. He's a playmaker, he's gonna make plays, and because of that, we always, always believe and trust that we can never lose a game with him at quarterback.”

TALKING POINTS VS. LEHIGH…

• The No. 6/7 Holy Cross football team continues a three-game homestand with a Patriot League contest against Lehigh on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Fitton Field. 
• The Crusaders finished with a season-high 607 yards of offense — their first game with 600+ yards since the 2017 season — in their 53-52 overtime win against Fordham on Oct. 29. Sluka finished with career highs in rushing yards (174) and passing touchdowns (four), while also scoring a touchdown on the ground and passing for 291 more yards. Sluka earned the Dr. Edward N. Anderson Award as the MVP of Holy Cross’ Family Weekend.
• Sluka was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career for his performance against the Rams. Shorter, who totaled 206 all-purpose yards in the win, including a 52-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, was named the league’s Special Teams Player of the Week. 
• This will be the first time Lehigh has visited Worcester since the 2018 season, when Holy Cross posted a 56-0 win at Fitton Field. Lehigh enters this Saturday’s matchup off of a bye week. 
• The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League with 21 sacks on the year, with Mike DeNucci leading the way with eight. Lehigh has the second-best rushing defense in the conference, holding opponents to just 120.4 rushing yards per contest.

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