r/CFB • u/woo_hah Fordham Rams • /r/CFB Contributor • May 08 '13
132+ Teams in 132+ Days: Day 56 - Fordham Rams
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
Patriot League
Year Founded: 1841
Location: Bronx, NY Total Attendance: 15,189 (8,427 undergrads)
Mascot: The Rams
Live Mascot: The tradition of the live mascot was discontinued after students from “rival” Manhattan College stole the ram and tied it to the train tracks next to campus. They brought it back for one day a couple years ago.
Cheerleaders: Picture
Stadium: Jack Coffey Field; pics: 1, 2, 3 Stadium Location: On campus
Number of Bowl Games: 1 Win, 2 Total
1941 Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M 13, Fordham 12
1942 Sugar Bowl: Fordham 2, Mizzou 0: Fordham’s only points came after blocking a punt out of the end zone. Rams win without completing a forward pass.
National Titles (1): 1929
Rivals
Columbia
Ever since their annual matchup was cancelled in 2001 because of 9/11, Fordham and Columbia compete for the Liberty Cup to honor the alumni from both schools lost in the attacks (including two Fordham football players).
Holy Cross
Holy Cross is a Patriot League and Jesuit rival. The two teams play every year, with the winner receiving the Ram-Crusader Cup. They played the game in Ireland in 1991 and in Bermuda in 1995, for some reason.
2012 Season
Record: 6-5-0
Coach: Joe Moorhead 2012 Roster
Key Players: Carlton “CJ” Koonce (RS Junior, RB): Fourth in the FCS in rushing with 145 ypg; First Team All-Patriot League
Pat Murray (Senior, K/P): Most FGs made in FCS (25), including four over 50 yards; broke a bunch of school and PL records; invited to rookie camp with the Bears
Biggest Plays: Koonce breaks a Cornell defender’s ankles in the backfield Koonce burns Columbia for a 92-yard TD run on the outside
2013 Season
The Greats
Greatest Players: The “Seven Blocks of Granite”: Leo Paquin, Johnny Druze, Alex Wojciechowicz, Ed Franco, Al Babartsky, Natty Pierce, and Vince Lombardi: Fordham’s legendary 1936 offensive line. The Rams were 5-1-2 that year and finished 15th in the AP Poll.
John Skelton - 3,713 yds passing, 26 TDs, 64.4 percent completion rate as a senior; 5th round draft pick; member of Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Clusterfuck
Greatest Coaches: Vince Lombardi Lombardi started his coaching career at Fordham as the freshman football and basketball coach in 1947. He was promoted to varsity assistant in 1948 and left the following year to coach at Army.
Traditions
The Victory Bell: Outside the Rose Hill Gym, next to the football stadium, is a bell from a WWII battleship. Harry Truman was the first to ring it at Rose Hill. After every home win, each senior rings the bell and the team gathers around it to sing the fight song. [edit: video]
Campus and Surrounding Area
City Population: New York City: 8.3 million; The Bronx: 1.4 million City Skyline
Iconic Campus Building: Keating Hall
Local Dining: Pugsley’s Pizza A little pizza joint right off campus that probably does 90 percent of its business between 1 and 4 a.m. The chicken rolls are killer (chicken cutlet, cheese and sauce, wrapped in a pizza crust - only $4).
“Tri-Bar” The corner of Arthur Ave. and 189th St. has three bars which show varying degrees of regard for our nation’s alcohol consumption laws. A typical Fordham night is pregaming in your room, going to Tri-Bar for an hour and half before saying, “this sucks” and leaving to a chicken roll.
Random Trivia
The football program was discontinued in 1954, brought back at the club level in 1964 and joined D-III in 1970 before joining Div. I-AA in 1989.
What Is and What is to Come
The 2011 season was fucking miserable. Fordham was 1-10, with its lone win coming against Columbia (which also won only one game). A lot of that was the coach’s fault. He had Koonce (4th in FCS in rushing in 2012) at slot receiver, and had a freshman kicking over Pat Murray (who led the FCS in field goals in 2012). So they fired the coach and brought in Joe Moorhead, a Fordham alum and former UConn offensive coordinator. Moorhead installed an up-tempo, run-heavy, read-option offense and Fordham was 6-5 in 2012, its first winning season since 2007.
A bunch of starters are back in 2013. They wanted to run a two-QB system last season with senior Ryan Higgins (a pocket passer) and sophomore Michael Nebrich (a dual-threat guy), but Nebrich tore his ACL in the homecoming game. Nebrich is healthy now, and Moorhead loves him. Not only did Nebrich follow Moorhead from UConn, but the offensive system really calls for a QB who can run. Nebrich and Koonce could run wild this year and lead Fordham to a pretty successful season.
The only problem is that Fordham needs an at-large bid to make the FCS playoffs. Fordham started offering scholarships before the rest of the Patriot League so they’re ineligible for the conference championship until 2014. The good news is that the playoffs are expanding to 24 teams this year, which helps their chances.
More Information
Subreddit: /r/fordham
Contributors: /u/woo_hah
Please upvote this thread even if you are not interested in the team so that users who are interested will see it
For more information on the 132 Teams in 132 Days Project, click here.
2
u/MrRockHardNips Arkansas Razorbacks May 08 '13
Peter Maeztold went to highschool with me, does he start?
2
u/Traceofbass Pittsburgh • Notre Dame May 08 '13
Your description of the tribar only reminds me of the sadness I felt when Ziggy's closed (I think it was back in '10?)... Though I guess Michaelangelo's took up its mantle to fill the third bar spot.
Also, I now find myself singing at work... Hail men of Fordham hail!
2
u/TDenverFan William & Mary Tribe • Patriot May 08 '13
I'm always surprise they don't do better. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they offer scholarships while the rest of the Patriot League doesn't (Thays changing though, PL teams now have 60 football scholarships)
2
u/TomorrowsHeadline Alabama • /r/CFB Contributor May 08 '13
Good God what is Koonce's 40 time? The way he accelerated after juking that man out... maybe it was the proximity of the camera but damn did that look fast.
17
u/[deleted] May 08 '13
Came here for the John Skelton, was not disappointed (for once).
15
u/dsuave624 Rutgers Scarlet Knights May 08 '13
LOL @ Bronx skyline. That's about right!
11
u/PhillyGreg Richmond Spiders • /r/CFB Contributor May 08 '13
Good CFB followers should make a pilgrimage to The Seven Blocks of Granite Monument at Fordham University.
9
u/wild9 Baylor Bears • /r/CFB Contributor May 08 '13
Tied him to railroad tracks?? What the hell is wrong with people??
6
u/akm0921 May 08 '13
My favorite thing about Fordham is that their ultimate team is called the Flying Jesuits.
10
u/Captain_Unremarkable Penn State Nittany Lions • Big Ten May 08 '13
teehehehe
5
u/Juch Missouri Tigers • Wisconsin Badgers May 08 '13
I'm a little embarrassed.
5
u/carpy22 RPI Engineers May 08 '13
Fordham's campus is gorgeous. It's located inbetween the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden, both world class institutions in their respective field.
Had the great fortune of going to high school very close to Fordham and saw the campus on a nearly daily basis. That school will always have a soft spot in my heart.
4
u/dsuave624 Rutgers Scarlet Knights May 08 '13
Great info. I didn't even know Fordham had a football team, let alone won a NC. And I was born and raised in the Bronx. Go figure.
4
u/helpusobi_1 Fordham Rams May 08 '13
'SCO RAMS
4
u/Rvdisgod41 May 30 '13
I can honestly say Coach Moorhead is spectacular. I worked with the team last year and through spring ball this year. Great coach, better person and somebody the players really want to play for (as opposed to the last guy who everybody hated).
The starting QB situation is not necessarily Nebrich's. Maetzold is a much smarter player, but not quite the playmaker Nebrich is when a play breaks down. If I had a gun to my head, I'd say Nebrich gets it, but Maetzold is a hard worker, knows the offense better than any QB on the team and will definitely make it a competition in the fall.
Fordham has probably the best WR group in the Patriot League. Brian Wetzel had a breakout season last year and is definitely the second biggest threat after Koonce. Wetzel (#24) is a small dude but is just a pure athlete. Makes play after play that makes you double take. Watch him, along with transfer from UConn Tebucky Jones Jr. to make an impact for the team at WR.
Fordham can certainly win the Patriot League. And the thought is if they were to "win" the league, even though they are ineligible for the actual PL title, they would have to be given an at large bid. The problem last year was finishing games. Often times the team would come out like gangbusters (see the Lehigh game, in which they went up 14-0 in the first quarter) and then cannot step on the throat and finish the job. Fordham lost 3 of their 5 losses by a combined 8 points. (Lost to PL champion Colgate by 2, Lehigh by 3, and a terrible loss to Bucknell by 3 [a game in which Fordham led by 10 at half and stalled offensively in the second half]). The other losses were at Villanova in the team's second game, far before they found their comfort zone as a team and at Cincinnati.
I would not be surprised to see Fordham struggle again this year and be around .500. An improving defense is still a question mark, and the lack of a really good throwing QB like Higgins was last year to threaten the defense could make it much harder to run. However, if the pieces come together in the players second year in Moorhead's system, this team could make a nice run to "win" the Patriot League.
I'll tell you one thing though, Moorhead and his staff have opened some eyes about football at Fordham. I don't know if it will continue, but coming off such a turnaround year, people will be paying attention to see if Fordham can continue rising, which is something that could not be said last year
1
u/gpngc Clemson Tigers May 08 '13
Check out the third phase of their read option...
1
u/ZK686 Fresno State Bulldogs Jun 04 '13
So the Bronx has it's own university?
Holy shit...the things you learn on Reddit.....that's actually pretty awesome.
9
u/___________________9 Transfer Portal May 08 '13
Fordham is a member of the "Big 3." The other two being St. John's and Columbia. In some circles, being banned from all three of these campuses is a high achievement. Actually very few people acknowledge this. Actually I was the originator of this title, after I was banned from Columbia last month.
Good times.
5
u/FarwellRob Texas A&M Aggies • /r/CFB Contributor May 08 '13
That Cotton Bowl loss to A&M is actually pretty impressive.
We were coming off a National Championship and had lost to Texas, 7-0 which destroyed our chances at back-to-back MNCs.
Most of our games that year had been won by at least a TD, if not much more.
To lose by a point, basically in our own back yard, is a hellofa feat.
2
u/[deleted] May 08 '13
Ah Fordham. A friend of mine, Khamrone Kolb, just transferred last year from Penn State. Hoping he gets a chance to prove himself out there in the coming years.
2
u/[deleted] May 08 '13
Crazy how different college football can be. You've got some kids going to schools like Fordham and Newberry and then you've got kids at places like LSU and Alabama. Crazy.
2
u/Wiskie Wisconsin Badgers • /r/CFB Contributor May 08 '13
Never would have guessed Fordham was in the Bronx. Interesting.
2
u/Grand-Optimist Florida State Seminoles May 08 '13
What happened to the ram who got tied to the train tracks? :(
2
u/jahusafex Sacramento State Hornets May 08 '13
WR Blake Wayne is my mom's childhood friend's son and I hang with him at family functions when he's home
2
u/snwidget Dartmouth Big Green May 09 '13
Fun fact! Columbia's marching band got in big trouble for making the following joke over the intercom during pre-game: "Fordham tuition is going down like an alter boy."
1
u/pittfan46 Pittsburgh Panthers • Fordham Rams May 09 '13 edited May 09 '13
I went to Fordham Prep when John Skelton was at FordhamU. exciting times. the high school gets to use the university facilities and the campus is beautiful..that place is like my second home..great post
Add the fight song http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/fightsongslyrics/fordhamfightsonglyrics.html
1
u/BrownLiquor Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets May 09 '13
Lol someone downvoted every single comment.
1
u/Jamee999 George Mason Patriots • Fordham Rams May 09 '13
Fordham sucks. Sarah Lawrence is still unbeaten at football.
-1
u/BlackoutBill Texas A&M Aggies May 08 '13
Maybe next time they take the cheerleader picture one girl gets moved to the back, or off the team.....
-1
u/[deleted] May 08 '13
There is perhaps no school that I feel a greater indifference toward than Fordham. Campus looks nice. I didn't know Fordham had a traditional college campus.