Coach Tom Gilmore - A Name to Remember

A Jesuit college has everyone excited because the football team is off to a 2-0 start - could be Notre Dame, could be Boston College but I'm talking about Holy Cross.

The excitement is back because the team is 2-0 and also because the head coach is a guy who just gets "it". Remember the name of Tom Gilmore because within 5 years he'll be coaching at a top 1-A program. I've seen enough football to realize the real thing when I see it and Gilmore is the real thing.

Holy Cross is 23rd in the nation in total offense at 428.5 yards per game but they are third in the nation in scoring average with 52 points per game after 2 tilts. Gilmore has this team punching the ball into the endzone whereas the past few seasons the Crusaders would always seem to come up short.

Gilmore has some solid players - make no mistake. John O'Neil is solid as the starting QB (8th in the country in QB passing efficiency at 166.2) and Steve Silva is a solid running back whether running the ball or receiving out of the backfield. Silva won the Golden Helmet Award last week as the top 1-AA player in New England last week.

This Saturday the Crusaders face off against Harvard. The Crimson beat HC 35-0 last year in the People's Republic of Cambridge. Last year Harvard was 10-0 and finished 13th in the 1-AA. That was last year. This year the game will be played in Worcester and there is a very different feel to this Holy Cross team.

Saturday's game will be a good gauge to how good HC really is. Not to put a jinx on them but the HC offense has not had a turnover yet this season.

I know none of you care about Holy Cross - but remember the name Tom Gilmore because he's going places.