After taking down league rival Holy Cross on Homecoming last month, the once-hapless Georgetown football team seemed to be in the midst of a renaissance.
Scott Darby has taken a step back after a blistering start to the season. (Photo by Julianne Deno)
The team’s record stood at 3-1, surpassing their win total for the past two seasons combined, and the Hoyas were just one last-second play away from being undefeated. The defense was firing on all cylinders, and the offense was anchored by quarterback Scott Darby, who earned his second Patriot League “Player of The Week” honor of the season for his play against Holy Cross.
Darby’s excellence was a pleasant surprise for a team that went through three quarterbacks the season before, especially because the starting spot was up for grabs between the junior and sophomore Isaiah Kempf for the entire preseason.
Nearly a month later, however, those good times almost seem further away than the trials and tribulations of last season. The Hoyas have lost three in a row, their most demoralizing defeat being a double overtime loss to Wagner, which was sealed by a Darby interception that the Seahawks returned for a touchdown.
Last week, against Bucknell, Darby still came out to start the game, but it was Kempf who took the majority of the snaps, suggesting the team’s recent slide may prompt a return to last year’s quarterback committee. It is a question that the team is unlikely to resolve until this weekend’s game against Sacred Heart.
“We’ll practice this week and we’ll find out on Saturday,” head coach Kevin Kelly said. “It’s a game time decision.”
Even if Kempf does replace Darby on the opening drive on Saturday, he’s unlikely to be an instant savior. The sophomore was impressive against Bucknell, passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, but it was his fourth quarter interception for a touchdown that ultimately cost the Hoyas the game.
That demoralizing ending proves that the real question for the Hoyas isn’t who’s under center to start the game, but who finishes it. And for the past two weeks, neither of the two quarterbacks have made a strong case that they deserve that responsibility.
Of course, two errant passes are hardly to blame for all of the Hoyas’ recent struggles. Against both Bucknell and Wagner, Georgetown held the lead in the fourth quarter. The same was true against Yale earlier in the season. This year’s squad is more than capable of competing with its opponents, but closing out games has become a concern.
“It’s all execution,” Kelly said of his team’s late game struggles. “It’s little things that become big things. It’s not a big problem, it’s little things. You work on the details and the little things take care of themselves.”
Still, at least offensively, that execution begins with the guy receiving the snap. Both quarterbacks have been humbled by one little play gone wrong, as effective a lesson as any in the need for focus. Perhaps the only thing that could interfere with that focus is a divisive quarterback controversy.
That doesn’t seem likely. In fact, the potential rivals hardly see themselves as such.
“Isaiah and I have a great relationship, and I think we both help the offense run efficiently,” Darby wrote in an email.
The two quarterbacks can even play complementary roles.
Darby, who has completed 55.6 percent of his passes this season for 956 yards, is described by Kelly as the better runner. He has lived up to his reputation, rushing for 209 yards and two touchdowns, good enough for second on the team. That yardage number is deflated too, dragged down each time Darby is sacked.
Kempf represents the more traditional pocket passer. Kelly praised him as the better thrower, and his big numbers against Bucknell seem to prove it. On the season Kempf has a 120.0 passer efficiency rating compared to 107.7 for Darby.
Whoever lines up under center on Saturday will likely make or break the Hoyas, at least if trends from last week hold. Georgetown showed off a pass-dominated offense against Bucknell, throwing nearly 75 percent of the time while never facing a large deficit.
No matter how many pass attempts each quarterback throws this weekend, both will have the same goal: stop the Hoyas from taking themselves out of the game. Despite their recent skid, the Hoyas’ comeback season is far from over, and neither quarterback wants to be the one to throw it all away.
“The way to get back on the winning track is pretty simple—execute basic assignments and minimize self-imposed mistakes,” Darby wrote. “It’s too hard to win college football games when you need to overcome your own mistakes and beat your opponent.”
