# 2018 Colgate Raiders football team

The 2018 Colgate Raiders football team represented Colgate University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Dan Hunt and played their home games at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium. They were a member of the Patriot League. They finished the season 10–2, 6–0 in Patriot League play to be Patriot League champions. They received the Patriot League's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where, after a first round bye, they defeated James Madison in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to North Dakota State. Following the season, they were awarded the Lambert Division I FCS Cup by the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the Metropolitan New York Football Writers, signifying the Raiders as the best team in the East in Division I FCS.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Buck Buchanan Award | Nick Wheeler | DE | JR |

### Preseason coaches poll

The Patriot League released their preseason coaches poll on July 26, 2018, with the Raiders predicted to finish as Patriot League champions.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Colgate | 71 (11) |
| 2 | Lehigh | 63 (3) |
| 3 | Fordham | 45 |
| 4 | Holy Cross | 40 |
| T–5 | Bucknell | 31 |
| T–5 | Lafayette | 31 |
| 7 | Georgetown | 13 |

### Preseason All-Patriot League team

The Raiders placed ten players on the preseason all-Patriot League team.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 1:00 p.m. | Holy Cross | | Crown Field at Andy Kerr StadiumHamilton, NY | Stadium | W 24–17 | 5,304 |
| September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 20 New Hampshire* | | Wildcat StadiumDurham, NH | NBCS BOS | W 10–3 | 11,433 |
| September 15 | 1:00 p.m. | at Furman* | | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | ESPN3 | Cancelled | |
| September 22 | 1:00 p.m. | Lafayette | | Crown Field at Andy Kerr StadiumHamilton, NY | Stadium | W 45–0 | 7,753 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | at William & Mary* | No. 24 | Zable StadiumWilliamsburg, VA | Cox Yurview | W 23–0 | 9,191 |
| October 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Bucknell | No. 21 | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | Stadium | W 27–3 | 2,007 |
| October 13 | 12:00 p.m. | Cornell* | No. 20 | Crown Field at Andy Kerr StadiumHamilton, NY (rivalry) | Stadium | W 31–0 | 3,112 |
| October 27 | 1:00 p.m. | Georgetown | No. 16 | Crown Field at Andy Kerr StadiumHamilton, NY | Stadium | W 38–0 | 1,827 |
| November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | at Fordham | No. 12 | Coffey FieldBronx, NY | Stadium | W 41–0 | 2,591 |
| November 10 | 12:30 p.m. | at Lehigh | No. 10 | Goodman StadiumBethlehem, PA | Stadium | W 48–6 | 6,633 |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at Army* | No. 8 | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | CBSSN | L 14–28 | 26,086 |
| December 1 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 6 James Madison* | No. 9 | Crown Field at Andy Kerr StadiumHamilton, NY (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 23–20 | 6,418 |
| December 8 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 1 North Dakota State* | No. 9 | FargodomeFargo, ND (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN | L 0–35 | 16,404 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||
* ↑ This game was cancelled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

## Game summaries
### Holy Cross

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
| Raiders | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |

### At New Hampshire

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 20 Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Lafayette

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leopards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Raiders | 15 | 21 | 9 | 0 | 45 |

### At William & Mary

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Raiders | 10 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Tribe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### At Bucknell

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 Raiders | 0 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |

### Cornell

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Big Red | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 20 Raiders | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |

### Georgetown

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hoyas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 16 Raiders | 0 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 38 |

### At Fordham

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Raiders | 14 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 41 |
| Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### At Lehigh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 10 Raiders | 7 | 20 | 21 | 0 | 48 |
| Mountain Hawks | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### At Army

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Raiders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Black Knights | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |

## FCS Playoffs
### James Madison–Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Dukes | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| No. 9 Raiders | 3 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 23 |

### At North Dakota State–Quarterfinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 1 Bison | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Coaches | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 |