In the waning minutes of his college football career, quarterback Matt Bassuener felt no sense of disappointment at the fact he would end his Georgetown career on the losing end of a 45-12 scoreboard.
He was suffering no regret after a 1-10 senior season, and felt no nostalgia for what was very likely his last time playing a game he loved since childhood.
Instead, he was standing on the sidelines, racked with worry for a close friend’s welfare. With 77 seconds remaining in the 2007 season, Bassuener’s teammate Chudi Obianwu had laid every ounce of his 6-foot-3, 240-pound frame into Colgate senior running back J.J. Bennett, knocking the 5-foot-7, 188 pound tailback unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Bassuener, who played with Bennett at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, stood over his close friend as he lay helpless on the field for nearly 20 minutes. When Bennett was finally wheeled off the field on a gurney, Colgate Head Coach Dick Biddle and Georgetown’s Kevin Kelly decided to call the game one minute and 17 seconds early.
Suddenly, it did not matter that Bennett and fellow tailback Jordan Scott combined for 301 yards and four touchdowns as the Raiders dropped the hammer on the Hoyas, ending a nightmare season for a senior class worn thin by injury.
Bassuener said he was just thankful that Bennett was released from the hospital later that evening and joined Bassuener and his family for dinner.
“[Defensive backs] Coach [Rob] Sgarlata came up to me while this was happening and mentioned something about it putting things into perspective. He was absolutely right. I have a lot to be thankful for from my time as a Hoya,” Bassuener said onday. “Aside from a perfect-storm-like sequence of events occurring allowing for me to take snaps here, I was extremely lucky to manage to make it through my career without suffering any major injuries.”
The game came to a premature end for Georgetown’s 18 seniors, but the members of the class of 2008 did their best to make it memorable. Georgetown held its own through most of the first half, keeping it close with a pair of field goals from senior place kicker Eric Bjonerud and keeping Scott out of the end zone.
Even when Raiders senior wide out Eric Burke hauled in 73-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Alex Relph, fullback Kyle Van Fleet surged past senior linebacker Mike Gallihugh for a touchdown to pull the Hoyas within five.
Then Biddle – who tied Andy Kerr as the winningest coach in Colgate history with Saturday’s win – decided to put the game in the hands of the school’s second all-time leading rusher.
Scott charged down the field on a drive late in the second quarter and killed the Hoyas’ hopes with his 23-yard romp.
“We had our opportunities, but we couldn’t quite get it done,” senior linebacker Mike Greene said. “We started strong with a turnover and turned it into points, but by the second half we had let it slip away.”
The Raider offense staged a clinic in the second half. Scott slowly chipped away at the Hoyas’ psyche, slamming into the Georgetown front line and pushing forward down after down. Relph lofted a perfect fade pass towards towering sophomore wide out Pat Simonds, who grabbed the ball out of an overcast sky and came down with the fourth Colgate score of the day.
Next came a 31-yard jaunt by Bennett that put the game out of reach. Bennett would have likely scored again were it not for his run-in with Obianwu, which forced a halt to the game and players on both sides to their knees with concern. The loudest cheer of the day came when Bennett gave a thumbs-up to the 2,718 in attendance as he was wheeled off the turf.
The game had all the trappings of the Hoyas’ other nine losses this season. There were the opposing running backs running roughshod over the Georgetown defense, with Scott and Bennett both finishing the day over the century mark. There was the smaller Georgetown player getting strong-armed by a more physically imposing opponent, as 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback Travis Mack bore the brunt of a stiff arm from 6-foot-6, 212-pound Simonds and left the field with an arm injury.
There was the typical array of ineffective screen plays and quarterback draws limiting the offense, as the Hoyas bogged down three times in the red zone during the first half. There was the ceremonial clearing of the bench, as Biddle inserted freshman backup quarterback Greg Sullivan early in the fourth quarter.
Bassuener – who started his career as an undersized safety and finished as the most efficient passer in school history – believes the program will witness a similar metamorphosis in years to come.
He sees the Fordham Rams, who have skyrocketed from Patriot League doormat to conference leader in the past few years, as an example to follow.
“I really thought my class and this year’s team would be the one to flip the win-loss record, and the fact we didn’t is extremely humbling and disappointing for me,” Bassuener said. “From top to bottom though there are a lot of talented and caring people around Georgetown football and I am certain it won’t take long now before that winning culture is created.”
Greene – who finished his career on the Hilltop with 96 tackles – said he has no regrets about his last four years.
“A friend asked me the other day if I could go back would I still sign with Georgetown. I didn’t even have to think about it. … Of course I would,” Greene said. “I love this school, and win or lose it was an honor to wear the uniform. For four years I didn’t just get to bleed Hoya blue, I got to bleed for the Hoya blue. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”
