Closing the Book on Lafayette, Opening it on Georgetown

Ben Corniello

Just some final points I haven't made yet about the win over Lafayette:

-I failed to mention that the Leopards were without their outstanding top WR, Elijah Steward, who I singled out last week for his amazing number of receptions and yardage already. 

-As one commenter on an earlier post noted, the offensive line did have an outstanding game. That's especially true considering how large the Lafayette D-line was. The Leopards standout D-lineman Jaylon Joseph did have one tackle and he broke up the Chase Goodwin pass that was intercepted. But otherwise, he was contained. 

-All the deserved accolades for Bryson Canty crowded out some of the kudos deserved by the other receivers. Junior Jordan Kelly had some key receptions and strong runs after the catch. Edan Stagg showed his speed as both a receiver and had the longest kickoff return of the day. Finally junior Ethan Hebb, who made the switch to WR in camp from DB, grabbed a TD pass from Cole Freeman with a Lafayette defender all over him in the end zone. 

-It was good to see a healthy senior DL Ben Corniello back on the field and he then recorded a sack. 

-PK Hugo Merry was perfect on his one FG attempt of 43 yards, and 4-4 on PATs. He may have been barred from trying a 46-yard FG in the 2nd quarter not so much because of the distance but because there was a real twisting breeze coming from the north end zone. During the half, I noticed his practice kicks to that direction were drifting left, and when Lafayette kicker Jack Simonetta attempted a kick from exactly 46 yards in the exact same direction, you guessed it, it went way wide left. 

-The Lions only punted twice and covered kicks well.  

Danny Lauter

Georgetown Overview

Once again, the Hoyas have been putting in an inconsistent performance this season. But as it is with all inconsistent teams, the Lions will have to be careful because Georgetown has some real weapons. 

Chief among them is QB Danny Lauter who has all the tools to be a dominant player at this level. His problem is, you guessed it, inconsistency. Lauter has had strong individual halves of games a number of times, and even pitched some near perfect games once or twice. But he's rarely put it all together for too long. 

In his defense, the GU O-line has been depleted this year by graduation and injuries. A big reason why he's underwater on TDs vs. INTs (4 TD passes, 6 INTs) is because of spotty protection. It looks good on the stat sheet that Georgetown has only allowed five sacks so far this season, but the truth is some of those six INTs thrown by Lauter should have been sacks he ate instead. 

It should also be noted that Lauter did NOT start or play at all in last year's game against Columbia that the Lions won 30-0. 

A bit more consistent is RB Naieem Kearney who is grinding out a lot of yards per carry, but is barely getting 12 carries per game. The Lions stuffed him for just 28 yards on the ground last year in the game in NYC.

WR Jimmy Kibble is leading the team in receptions and yardage this year, and also back at the position is Cam Pygatt who had six catches and 56 yards vs. CU last year.

The defense has been mediocre; giving up a lot of yards on the ground and getting nailed by some big passing plays as well. 

But the D also has an impressive 15 sacks through just four games. The leading sack master for the Hoyas is David Ealey with 3 1/2, and he was one of the leading tacklers in the game vs. the Lions last year. 

Perhaps more important than individual stats is the fact that this series is in the midst of an unusual three-game winning streak as CU has won each game by multiple scores since 2021. Prior to that, the Lou Little Cup series had been more of a see-saw affair with nail biter games being the norm. Whether this means we're due for an upset or at least a much closer game, we don't know. 

Another elephant in the room is that Georgetown's two wins were over light opponents Davidson and Marist, and its two losses were against tougher competition in Sacred Heart and Brown. The biggest difference between the Hoyas performance in its last two games is its offense only put up 14 points per game in those losses while it averaged 38.5 points per game in its opening two wins.