# 2017 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

The 2017 Holy Cross Crusaders football team represented the College of the Holy Cross as a member of the Patriot League during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Holy Cross was led by 14th-year head coach Tom Gilmore for the first seven games of the season before he was fired following a 2–5 start. Offensive coordinator Brian Rock was named interim head coach for the final four games. The team finished the season with an overall record of 4–7 and a mark of 3–3 in Patriot League play to place three-way tie for third. The Crusaders played their home games at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts.

## Schedule

The 2017 schedule consisted of five home and six away games. The Crusaders hosted Patriot League foes Lafayette, Colgate, and Georgetown. They traveled to Bucknell, Fordham, and Lehigh.
In 2017, Holy Cross played non-conference opponents UConn of the American Athletic Conference, New Hampshire of the Colonial Athletic Association, Dartmouth and Yale of the Ivy League, and Monmouth of the Big South Conference.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:30 p.m. | at UConn* | | Rentschler FieldEast Hartford, CT | SNY | L 20–27 | 24,435 |
| September 9 | Noon | at Bucknell | | Christy Mathewson–Memorial StadiumLewisburg, PA | STADIUM | W 20–0 | 1,987 |
| September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 9 New Hampshire* | | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA | Charter TV3 | W 51–26 | 7,906 |
| September 23 | 7:00 p.m. | at Dartmouth* | No. 25 | Memorial FieldHanover, NH | ILN | L 26–27 $^{OT}$ | 7,094 |
| September 30 | 1:00 p.m. | Lafayette | | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA | Charter TV3 | L 7–10 | 7,764 |
| October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | Monmouth* | | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA | Charter TV3 | L 36–48 | 4,484 |
| October 14 | 1:00 p.m. | at Yale* | | Yale BowlNew Haven, CT | ILN | L 0–32 | 8,709 |
| October 21 | Noon | Colgate | | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA | STADIUM | L 7–45 | 6,784 |
| October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | Georgetown | | Fitton FieldWorcester, MA | Charter TV3 | W 24–10 | 9,063 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | at Fordham | | Coffey FieldBronx, NY (Ram–Crusader Cup) | STADIUM | W 42–20 | 5,467 |
| November 11 | 12:30 p.m. | at Lehigh | | Goodman StadiumBethlehem, PA | STADIUM | L 21–34 | 7,247 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At UConn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Huskies | 7 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 27 |

### At Bucknell

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| Bison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### New Hampshire

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Wildcats | 7 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 26 |
| Crusaders | 3 | 13 | 21 | 14 | 51 |

### At Dartmouth

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 25 Crusaders | 0 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 26 |
| Big Green | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 27 |

### Lafayette

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leopards | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Crusaders | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Monmouth

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawks | 0 | 21 | 20 | 7 | 48 |
| Crusaders | 3 | 14 | 0 | 19 | 36 |

### At Yale

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 32 |

### Colgate

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 7 | 10 | 21 | 7 | 45 |
| Crusaders | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Georgetown

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hoyas | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Crusaders | 0 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 24 |

### At Fordham

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Mountain Hawks | 14 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 34 |

### At Lehigh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Mountain Hawks | 14 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 34 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked 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 | — | — | — | 25 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | — | — | — | 25 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |