2019 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

The 2019 Holy Cross Crusaders football team represented the College of the Holy Cross as a member of the Patriot League during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Bob Chesney, Holy Cross compiled an overall record of 7–6 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, winning the Patriot League title. The Crusaders advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost in the first round to Monmouth. They played their home games at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts.

2019 Holy Cross Crusaders football
Patriot League champion
ConferencePatriot League
Record7–6 (5–1 Patriot)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPatrick Murphy (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorScott James (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumFitton Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Patriot League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Holy Cross $^   5 1     7 5  
Lafayette   4 2     4 8  
Bucknell   3 3     3 8  
Lehigh   3 3     4 7  
Colgate   3 3     4 8  
Fordham   2 4     4 8  
Georgetown   1 5     5 6  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant

Preseason

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Preseason coaches' poll

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The Patriot League released their preseason coaches' poll on July 30, 2019 (voting was by conference head coaches and sports information directors). The Crusaders were picked to finish in second place, receiving 2 of 14 first-place votes.[1]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Colgate 72 (12)
2 Holy Cross 58 (2)
3 Georgetown 51
4 Fordham 39
5 Lehigh 38
6 Lafayette 21
7 Bucknell 15

Preseason All-Patriot League team

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The Crusaders had three players selected to the preseason All-Patriot League team.[1]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 313:30 p.m.at Navy*CBSSNL 7–4528,531
September 71:00 p.m.New Hampshire*Charter TV3W 13–108,372
September 211:00 p.m.at Yale*ESPN+L 10–235,684
September 2812:00 p.m.at Syracuse*ACCNL 3–4140,575
October 52:00 p.m.at BucknellStadiumW 21–142,693
October 1212:30 p.m.at Brown*ESPN+W 47–313,026
October 191:00 p.m.Harvard* 
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
Charter TV3L 21–3110,381
October 261:00 p.m.Colgate
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
Charter TV3W 31–1010,926
November 212:30 p.m.at LehighStadiumW 24–174,545
November 912:00 p.m.Lafayette
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
Charter TV3L 20–235,236
November 161:00 p.m.at FordhamStadiumW 49–273,704
November 2312:30 p.m.Georgetown
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
StadiumW 24–07,152
November 3012:00 p.m.at No. 14 Monmouth*StadiumL 27–442,817
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

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At Navy

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 0 7 0 0 7
Midshipmen 10 14 14 7 45

New Hampshire

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 0 3 7 10
Crusaders 0 3 0 10 13

At Yale

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 0 3 0 7 10
Bulldogs 6 0 7 10 23

At Syracuse

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 0 3 0 0 3
Orange 17 7 10 7 41

At Bucknell

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 0 14 7 0 21
Bison 0 14 0 0 14

At Brown

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 13 14 7 13 47
Bears 7 10 7 7 31

Harvard

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crimson 17 7 7 0 31
Crusaders 7 0 7 7 21

Colgate

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1 2 3 4 Total
Raiders 0 3 0 7 10
Crusaders 7 14 10 0 31

At Lehigh

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 7 10 7 0 24
Mountain Hawks 0 7 7 3 17

Lafayette

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1 2 3 4 Total
Leopards 14 3 6 0 23
Crusaders 3 7 3 7 20

At Fordham

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 0 0 14 35 49
Rams 0 14 0 13 27

Georgetown

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1 2 3 4 Total
Hoyas 0 0 0 0 0
Crusaders 0 14 0 10 24

FCS Playoffs

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The Crusaders received an automatic bid (due to winning their conference) for the postseason tournament, with a first-round pairing against Monmouth.[2]

At Monmouth–First Round

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1 2 3 4 Total
Crusaders 0 7 6 14 27
No. 14 Hawks 7 19 11 7 44

References

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  1. ^ a b "Patriot League Football Preseason Honors Announced". PatriotLeague.org. July 30, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.