The Georgetown football team’s first win streak since 2012 came to an end this Saturday, as the Hoyas dropped a 19-0 decision at Colgate on Saturday. The loss, its first in Patriot League play this season, was the first time Georgetown had been shut out since the final game of 2012.

In the loss, the Hoyas (2-3, 0-1 Patriot League) struggled offensively, mustering only 163 yards of total offense while the Raiders (2-2, 1-0 Patriot League) exploded for 349 yards.

Georgetown also struggled on special teams. In the victory over Brown last week, special teams helped lift the Hoyas, with sophomore placekicker Henry Darmstadter kicking a career-long 44-yard field goal and the team pulling off a fake punt in the fourth quarter to help ice the game.

However, Saturday was a different story. Colgate blocked two punts in the first half, both of which resulted in points for the Red Raiders. The first resulted in a safety while the Raiders picked up and returned the second 10 yards for a touchdown.

“Blocked punts are the product of misalignment and poor technique,” Head Coach Rob Sgarlata said. “On both of the blocked punts we had both. I coach that unit and have to do a better job preparing our players in practice to execute in the games.”

Although Georgetown was able to control the Colgate pass attack — only allowing 30 passing yards on 4-of-12 passing — Colgate exploded for 319 rushing yards. With 40 seconds remaining in the first half, Colgate running back Jake Melville broke free for a 38-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown the Georgetown defense gave up since Week 2 against Dayton. Despite that, Sgarlata was pleased with his defense’s effort.

“I don’t think the defense felt or did anything different,” Sgarlata said. “They played the same way they have all year. They were very solid the entire day and held Colgate to the equivalent of their lowest offensive point total for the season. We forced four three-and-outs to start the second half.”

It was the offense, though, that doomed the Hoyas in the loss. After rushing for 250 yards last week against Davidson, Georgetown managed only 35 yards rushing on 31 carries Saturday. The passing attack did not fare much better, as junior quarterback Kyle Nolan gained just 128 yards on 18-of-28 passing, good for a paltry average of 4.6 yards per attempt.

It was an all-around subpar effort that the Hoyas need to improve upon if they hope to find success in the Patriot League.

“We had 12 possessions in the game. In 11 of these drives we had an unforced error. These errors ranged from a dropped ball, to a fumbled handoff, to a protection breakdown. In total, we allowed five sacks and had five three-and-outs on the day,” Sgarlata said.

One of the few bright spots for Georgetown was the continued excellent play of senior defensive lineman Alec May. May collected eight tackles to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. He now has at least one sack in eight consecutive games dating back to last season.

“I think having a sack in eight straight games just means I’m doing my job,” May said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help us win and my job is to get pressure on the quarterback. The stats don’t mean much unless we win.”

For his performance against Colgate, May was given a Patriot League Honorable Mention, his third Patriot League weekly honor this season. He is having a spectacular senior season, leading the Patriot League with 11 tackles for loss and all of Division 1 FCS, Football Championship Subdivision, with 9.5 sacks. May was named FCS National Defensive Lineman of the Week against Brown and continues to pick up more accolades every week. He is now seventh on Georgetown’s career sack list with 22 for his career.

“We’ve got a bunch of great players on our defense and it makes it a lot easier to make plays when I know the guy next to me is going to do his job,” May said. “[Senior defensive lineman] Richard Shankle and [junior linebacker] Hunter Kiselick are great pass rushers and some of my sacks are just the result of the QB not having anywhere to go in the pocket because of their pressure. It’s a lot easier too to make plays in the run game when Nick doesn’t let any play get up the middle. I really couldn’t have had any of this success without those guys.”

Now May hopes that success starts to translate into wins during Patriot League play. With only five league games remaining, the Hoyas cannot afford another shutout loss. The Hoyas will host 2013 Ivy League champions Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m. on the MultiSport Facility.