The expansion of the College Football Playoff from four to 12 schools this year received quite a bit of excitement and attention, along with a few shrugs.
The shrugs? From the Football Championship Subdivision (previously known as I-AA) that had 12 teams in its tournament from 1982-85 and currently has 24 schools making the field.
And while there’s been somewhat of a drought in D.C. (Howard hasn’t made the playoffs since 1993 while Georgetown’s last postseason game was the 1950 Sun Bowl), we’ve seen schools from our expanded area contend for championships, from Richmond (2008) and James Madison (2016) winning it all to Towson (2014 runner-up) and William & Mary (2022 semifinalist) enjoying deep December runs.
Georgetown (5-6 with a 3-3 Patriot League record last season) is looking for its first winning season since 2011 and the Hoyas have been turned away on the precipice multiple times, entering their season finale against Holy Cross at 5-5 in 2018, 2019 and last year only to come up short against the Crusaders. But these Hoyas have hope after an encouraging offseason.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” head coach Rob Sgarlata told WTOP. “And coming out of just the last five years with getting back from not playing in the pandemic to rebuilding our program, this is one of the closest groups I’ve been around in my entire career.”
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One question facing Sgarlata entering 2024 was who would take over at quarterback for starter Tyler Knoop. The answer? Junior Danny Lauter, who set a school record with 35 completions last fall against eventual Patriot League champion Lafayette.
“When we recruited Danny we knew he had a big-time arm,” Sgarlata said. “Jack McDaniels, our quarterback coach, and Rob Spence, our offensive coordinator, have done a great job through the spring and the offseason working through Danny understanding the entire playbook and being a complete quarterback.”
Here to help the new QB through any growing pains are the wide receiver duo of Jimmy Kibble (33 catches for 753 yards and eight touchdowns) and Nick Dunneman (70-706-4).
“Jimmy’s a jet, he’s a very fast, strong player,” Sgarlata said. “The most talented player we have, I think, who does a lot of things for us is Nick Dunneman, who is an all-league punt returner and will play our inside slot.”
Regarding the ground game, leading rusher Joshua Stakely may be gone but senior running back Naieem Kearney and his 601 yards rushing return.
“He’s very explosive, including that touchdown run against Fordham that broke that game open for us,” Sgarlata said.
Heading up the Hoyas defense are graduate linebacker David Ealey III (team-high 68 tackles plus two interceptions and a forced fumble last year) and Preseason All-Patriot League selection cornerback Wedner Cadet. If the results resemble last year (first in the PL in passing and total defense as well as third down defense), they’ll be fine.
“Those things were critical for us in our Patriot League games,” Sgarlata said. “We’re working to continue that trend as we go into the ’24 season.”
The season kicks off Saturday against Davidson (the Wildcats went 7-4 last year) and league play begins Oct. 12 when defending champion and preseason favorite Lafayette comes to Cooper Field. The Hoyas were picked to finish fifth this fall.
“It’s a great conference for us to be in. We’re excited every year to take that challenge,” Sgarlata said. “The coaches I believe in the league do a great job of coaching, and that’s something I see week in and week out on film.”
Howard (6-6 last year, 4-1 in the MEAC and a trip to Cricket Celebration Bowl) has the difficult task of replacing four-year starting quarterback Quinton Williams.
On the bright side, the Bison return the running back tandem of junior Eden James (627 yards rushing in 2023) and senior Jarrett Hunter (626 yards rushing with nine touchdowns plus 26 catches for 257 yards and two scores).
Hunter was voted Preseason MEAC Offensive Player of the Year. The Bison also return the conference’s reigning and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Kenny Gallop Jr. led the team with 65 tackles and three interceptions while also tallying a sack and a half.
Head coach Larry Scott enters his fifth year guiding the program, with the team increasing its win total each of the last three years.
This year’s edition was picked second in the MEAC Preseason Poll, and the Bison visit conference favorite North Carolina Central in November. The season kicks off on the road Thursday at Rutgers.
Meanwhile, in the Coastal Athletic Association
Once again the CAA is one of the leagues to watch in FCS play. Four schools made the playoffs last fall and four begin this season in the Top 25: Villanova (sixth), Richmond (12th), Albany (14th), and William & Mary (16th).
The Spiders (9-4, 7-1 CAA) reached the second round of the tournament and return not just one, but two quality quarterbacks. And head coach Russ Huesman is playing things close to the vest, refusing to name a starter between junior Kyle Wickersham (72% completions in 2023 with 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns passing) and sophomore Camden Coleman (67% completion rate with 1,161 yards passing and 12 TDs through the air).
Regardless of who starts, their top target is Preseason All-CAA wide receiver Nick DeGennaro (72 catches for 912 yards with 11 touchdowns). Second-leading receiver Jerry Garcia Jr. returns as well (insert Grateful Dead reference here). All-conference defensive lineman Jeremiah Grant is the player to watch on the other side of the ball.
William & Mary (6-5, 4-4) took a step back after reaching the FCS Quarterfinals in 2022, but senior quarterback Darius Wilson returns for his fourth season as a starter. The Tribe was picked to finish fourth in the conference.
Towson (5-6, 4-4) was picked ninth (the CAA has 16 schools) as head coach Pete Shinnick enters his second season with stability at the quarterback position with Nathan Kent returning as the starter after playing in every game last fall.
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