Six games into its losing streak and a week after a 48-point thrashing at the hands of Richmond, the Georgetown football team will need to reanimate its listless offense to beat Lehigh (2-5).
Lehigh’s record does not give the team’s season due justice. Three of their losses have been by a combined seven points, and the team could just as easily be 5-2 right now.
The team has won their last seven match-ups against the Hoyas, and in the two games under head coach Andy Coen’s leadership, Lehigh has allowed the Georgetown offense only three points. Last season’s meeting, a 45-0 rout, was one the Hoyas would like to forget.
The only good news for Georgetown is the Lehigh secondary’s struggles this season. Despite leading the Patriot League in interceptions, Lehigh has given up an average of 287 passing yards a game and allowed Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph to burn them for 330 yards last week. Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly hopes to exploit this weakness on Saturday.
“It does [help],” he said. “Obviously, Holy Cross throws the ball a ton, but you can look at those weaknesses and try to take advantage of them.”
In order to take advantage of that weakness, Georgetown will have to improve its paltry pass offense. The Hoyas are only averaging 137.6 passing yards a game this season, and 98.6 of them are from freshman quarterback James Brady.
Brady’s freshman year has been a learning experience. Against Howard and Bucknell, he looked like a solid college quarterback. But against Richmond and Holy Cross, he looked uncomfortable. Still, there have been flashes of potential in each one of his games.
“The transition is very difficult,” Kelly explained. “It’s no different than a college player going to the NFL. The game is extremely fast at this point in time. Each week the game slows down more and more for him. He’s improved every week, and he’s going to be an excellent quarterback.”
Georgetown hopes that Brady becomes an excellent quarterback sooner rather than later, but even if he doesn’t immediately fulfill that role, Brady is a symbol of the youthful resurgence that the team has enjoyed.
The Hoyas are a young, character-driven team. Even when losing by 48 last weekend, the team battled for the entire game, according to Kelly. He is not the only one who has recognized the team’s improvement.
“I think they are-from a talent standpoint-better than they were a year ago,” Lehigh coach Andy Coen said in a press conference on Tuesday. “I think they’re more physical; they’ve played some young kids over the past couple years and they’re developing.”
The team’s youth and potential have made this season’s largely somber mood a little bit more tolerable, but if the wins don’t start to come, energy won’t count for much.
Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Harbin Field.
