Holy Cross Football

The news that Joe Flacco (formerly of Delaware) has been named the starter for Sunday's Ravens season opener against Cincinnati got me thinking about another 1-AA* quarterback who may some day play in the NFL and a couple of other Holy Cross football related thoughts.

1. Holy Cross QB Dominic Randolph is poised to have a huge breakout year. The type of year that not only will put Randolph in the thick of things in terms of winning the Walter Payton Award but also put Randolph in forefront in the minds of many NFL scouts. Last season Randolph passed for 3,604 yards with 30 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Improving on those numbers this year will make his season hard to overlook. At 6'3" and 223 pounds - Randolph has an NFL body and I think he will prove once again that he has an NFL arm and QB smarts. I was perhaps the first person to publicly tout Harvard's Ryan Fitzpatrick as an NFL QB and I'm hoping to be likewise correct about Randolph.

2. Coach Tom Gilmore is in his 5th season as head coach of the Crusaders. I would not be surprised if it turns out to be his last. Tom Gilmore is a very good coach and barring a complete collapse of the team - I expect a number of Division 1* schools to come a courting by the end of the season.

3. Holy Cross opens up the season with 4th ranked UMass. The game will be played at Fitton Field and I for one think an upset may be in the making. Holy Cross lost to the Minuteman 40-30 last year up in Amherst but it should be remembered that Holy Cross out scored UMass 21-10 in the second half. The Crusader seniors know they can play with the Minuteman and next Saturday I expect them to show it.


* We have to get away from this "football championship subdivision" crap and go back to just 1-A and 1-AA.