Andreas Jeninga/The Hoya Freshman QB Alondzo Turner played most of the game against Lehigh, but how much time he will get at Fordham is still uncertain.

A Saturday trip to the Bronx will mark the 48th chapter in the oldest rivalry in the history of the Hoya football program.

In the past 113 years, Georgetown and the Rams of Fordham University have done battle on the gridiron 47 times. Fordham holds a narrow edge, 20-24-3, in the all-time series. Those numbers are deceiving, however, as the Hoyas have fallen to the Rams in 17 out of 23 contests since the reinstatement of Georgetown football in 1965.

No. 22 Fordham has gone just 1-2 in the Patriot League in 2003 but is undefeated in five out-of-conference contests. The Rams have a strong corps of seniors on offense and special teams on whom the Hoyas will focus much of their efforts.

Georgetown head coach Benson emphasized the need to stop what he called Fordham’s “big three:” senior quarterback Kevin Eakin, senior split end Javarus Dudley and senior tailback Kirwin Watson.

Eakin leads the Patriot League in passing yards per game (262.5) and has propelled the Rams to the top of their conference in pass offense. Completing 175 of 274 pass attempts for 2,100 yards and 16 touchdowns so far this season, Eakin now sits atop the Fordham record books with 38 career touchdowns.

Dudley has shattered his club’s receiving and kickoff return records. He currently leads or is tied for first in season and career pass receptions, season and career receiving yards, season and career kick return yards and career kickoff returns. He needs only one more touchdown to break the school record for career receiving scores.

Watson broke a conference record last weekend, when he ran for his 41st career touchdown in a 32-30 win over Lafayette. The 2002 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, he earned his third-straight 1,000-yard rushing season last week at Lafayette.

Eakin and Watson, along with Georgetown senior wideout Luke cArdle, have been named to the inaugural Football Network/Division I-AA All-Star Classic game. While Eakin was selected before the 2003 season, Watson and McArdle were announced earlier this week.

McArdle has led the nation in all-purpose yards since the beginning of October, averaging 199.5 yards per contest. Eleven of 29 Georgetown touchdowns have come on plays of 30 yards or more, and McArdle has caught 10 of them.

One similarity between Saturday’s competition and last year’s meeting is that both times the Georgetown coaching staff has had more than one quarterback at its disposal. Taking on his largest role to date against Lehigh last Saturday, Alondzo Turner proved that he can handle the starting role – though the freshman passer has room for improvement in his accuracy and pocket awareness.

Turner’s biggest advantage is his threat to run. Fordham’s run defense has allowed 222.6 yards per contest, nearly 100 yards more than Georgetown (126.1). With an arsenal of junior John Sims and sophomores Marcus Slayton and Kim Sarin, the Hoyas will rely heavily on their ground game to move the ball against the Ram defense.

“We’ve got to keep [Fordham] off the field,” Benson said. “We need ball control . we hope we can run the ball and establish some play-action passing.”

But it is junior quarterback Andrew Crawford who has the most poise in the pocket and is most capable of driving the Hoya passing game. Early in the season, Crawford came in for Turner on third down attempts to get crucial completions. As Turner gains experience, Crawford enters the game less and less – despite having a passing efficiency among the best in the country. And Crawford has found McArdle in the end zone 10 times this season. Turner has only done it twice, both in last week’s loss to Lehigh.

The Hoyas have dropped the last eight contests against the Rams. Fordham ended Georgetown’s shot at winning 10 games in 1998, knocking off the Hoyas, 49-40, in their final game of that season.

In last year’s meeting between these two teams, the Rams dominated the Hoyas in a one-sided 41-10 victory at Harbin Field. Georgetown had possession for just under 26 minutes and the defense surrendered 500 yards. Eakin began the contest with 11 straight completions, and by halftime Fordham had blown the game open, 28-3.

There is some promise for this year’s contest, which takes place Saturday at Jack Coffey Field. Lafayette, whom Georgetown beat handily two weeks ago, gave Fordham a run for its money last weekend. The Rams won that contest on a last-second field goal by freshman Micah Clukey.

The Hoyas have not won in the Bronx since 1975. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.