Each week that passes without a victory for Georgetown is added motivation for the signal caller and his receiver to improve their game. For Basseuner, Craft and the rest of the Hoyas, habitual hard work is the only salve for the wound that is their current four-game losing streak.
“[Stuff] happens in football – breaks go one way or the other,” Craft said. “You just have to keep working hard, and it will work out for you.”
It has indeed been a tough stretch for Georgetown (1-5, 0-3 Patriot League), who hope to prove that all is not lost this weekend against Bucknell after falling 28-3 to Lehigh last Saturday. This weekend’s contest is a must-win for the Hoyas if they want any chance of finishing Head Coach Kevin Kelly’s inaugural season over .500.
“Right now, our goal is to win out,” senior offensive lineman and team captain Liam Grubb said. “If we win out, we’ll do something that no Georgetown team has ever done since joining the Patriot League, and that’s have a winning record.”
The Bison (3-3, 0-1) may in fact be a beatable opponent for Kelly, who claims Lehigh was the best team his squad has faced thus far. Since Bucknell Head Coach Tim Landis runs the same spread-option offense that Kelly oversaw as a special teams coordinator at Navy for the past four years, the Georgetown coach feels like he knows what might be coming.
“I used to see it every day in practice, so I have some familiarity with it,” Kelly said of the Bison’s vaunted rushing attack. “It’s totally different than anything we have seen thus far this season, but I do have a knowledge of the option, and that has helped in our preparation.”
The Bison’s stampede has averaged 283 yards per game this season, which ranks fourth in Division I-AA, but was limited to 92 yards last weekend in a 34-24 homecoming loss to Penn. Part of the reason for the decline has been a rash of injuries that have plagued the team.
Bucknell plans to start freshman Marcello Trigg under center Saturday after both freshman Andrew Lair and junior Terrance Wilson suffered collarbone injuries on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30, respectively. The Bison are hurting at running back as well, with fullback Paul Forcellini and slotback Rashod Bumpers both suffering from season-ending ACL tears. Junior Josh Destefano, who was filling in admirably for Forcellini at fullback, was lost last weekend with a back injury.
“We can’t rely on one player to get us through,” Landis said earlier this week. “All of our guys have to function together as an offense – one is just part of 11.”
“I think we’re going to be all right this week,” Georgetown senior linebacker Chris Paulus said. “Coach Kelly knows that offense like the back of his hand.”
While the defense may not be a cause for concern, the same cannot be said of the Hoyas’ offense. The unit should benefit from a healthy Grubb, who admits that he hasn’t been at full capacity since suffering a concussion in Georgetown’s 23-21 loss to Columbia on Sept. 23 in New York.
But being an offensive lineman, there is little Grubb can do to solve the problem that has kept the Hoyas out of the win column all season long: turnovers. Saturday’s loss to Lehigh was no different, as fumbles and interceptions once again sabotaged Georgetown’s offensive production. Kelly’s weekly meetings with media are beginning to sound like a broken record.
“We have to eliminate turnovers. They are killing us,” Kelly said. “We’ve tried a lot of different things so far this year – evaluating personnel, changing our schemes, but in the end, [turnovers] have been the determining factor.”
Another issue for the Hoyas has been their inability to run the football. Georgetown has only rushed for an anemic 476 yards, and its leader in rushing yards is Basseuner, who has only played in two full games. The rest of the carries have been divided among juniors Erik Carter and Emir Davis and freshman Charlie Houghton, none of whom seem to be able to bring any stability to the rushing attack.
Basseuner was restricted to only 49 passing yards off 18 attempts last week. Bassenuer hopes that his extra work with Craft, who leads the team in receptions with 24, will soon come to fruition.
“There are aspects of my game that I’m not happy with,” Basseuner said as the final daylight faded from the Tuesday sky. “You only have so many periods in practice, and it all starts with your timing, so I try and get as much work done out here as possible.”
This weekend’s game is a prime opportunity for resurgence on offense. Bucknell’s defense resembles a leaky sieve, allowing an average of 443 yards a game and surrendering 27 points per contest. Senior linebacker Dorian Peterson and senior cornerback Matt Palermo have done their best to steady the shaky unit by forcing two fumbles each, a trend that could no doubt continue this Saturday on the Hilltop.
“We have a very young defense this year, and we have been very susceptible to the big play,” Landis said. “We have had to rely on a lot of young guys.”
The Bison have allowed 11 touchdowns of 20 yards or more.
On the morning after basketball’s Midnight Madness, the Hoyas will welcome the hobbled Bison to Washington, D.C., hoping to prove that they are more than just a mere athletic appetizer before the basketball main course.
“What keeps you going as a coach is that these guys are working harder this week than they were the first week,” Kelly said. “I’ve challenged them about their character, and we’re having some adversity now, but we are improving, and eventually it will happen.”
Game time is set for 1 p.m. at the Multi-Sport Facility.