From Kris Kent's point of view, this fall won't be like 2012 for him and his Colgate University football teammates.
The Raiders were picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll that was released Wednesday at the league's annual media day at Green Pond Country Club.
"It's definitely different for us than last year when no one expected us to do what we did," said Kent, a 2011 graduate of Nazareth Area High School and the Raiders' starting weakside linebacker. "It's up to us to come up big and hopefully we can get off to a strong start at Air Force."
Of course, from a historical perspective there's nothing unusual with Colgate sitting atop the league.
"When you have championship seasons, it's when you beat Colgate," Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said.
The Raiders have won the second-most games in league history behind Lehigh. Their coach, Dick Biddle, has won more league games than any other coach. And, partly because of their success, partly because they do things like open seasons at Air Force or Army or Navy or Syracuse, partly because of their long series with bigger schools such as Rutgers, and partly because of their history, with all due respect to Lehigh, Colgate may be the league's signature program.
And the Raiders know it.
"This program's history is so great," Kent said. "You hear about it, you walk the hallways and see the trophies, you see the (2003) Division I-AA runner-up trophy. This program has the kind of history and tradition that pushes you to carry it on."
Tavani and Lehigh coach Andy Coen acknowledged that Colgate's tradition is a major part of the Raiders' success.
And Kent's certainly holding up his end. As a sophomore, he recorded 84 tackles (51 solo), second on the team. He had four sacks, third on the Raiders, and recorded 17 tackles in one game against a scholarship powerhouse in Stony Brook.
"Kris has done well in the past, and I expect him to vie for being first-team all-league," Colgate coach Dick Biddle said. "Kris has everything he needs to be an excellent football player. He has a good attitude, good speed, works hard on the defense. Hopefully, we can give him a good chance to make a lot of plays, I think he's underrated, personally."
Kent said the Colgate defense believes it has something to prove.
"Our offense (led by preseason PL Player of the Year Gavin McCarney at quarterback) was great but our defense kind of slacked off," he said. "Our emphasis is on stopping the run, especially on first down. If we can make teams face third and longs, it will make everyone better on defense."
Kent said practicing against McCarney, who piled up 3,778 yards of total offense last season, also makes him and the defense better.
"It's tough. You think you are in perfect position to make an interception and he puts the ball perfectly in a tight space," Kent said. "He has great vision and sees the field really well."
Of course, Colgate benefits from Biddle's mastery of his read-option attack and his ability to extract the best from his players.
"Coach really knows how to get the most out of our potential," Kent said. "He's tough to play for, but he's really good at giving you a push when you need it."
Of course, Biddle has a way of getting great players to start with, which, as Lehigh coach Andy Coen noted, isn't all that easy in the secluded tundra of Hamilton, N.Y.
"You kind of wonder that he gets kids to go there," Coen said. "But Colgate is always tough and physical. That's the biggest challenge of playing up there; it's cold, rainy and snowy and you know you are going to get hit."
And this year, much of that hitting will be done by Kent and a defense with lofty goals in mind.
"Our first goal is to win the league," Kent said. "Then if we are fortunate enough to make the playoffs we want to represent the league the way we should. People look at us and the Ivy League as nerds in a way (Kent is majoring in computer science), but we work as hard as everybody else and want to win as much as everybody else. We want to show the Patriot League is a force to be reckoned with."
Just as Kent has shown the other Patriot League teams that he's a force to be reckoned with as well.
Source: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/brad-wilson/index.ssf/2013/08/kris_kent_colgate_university_looking_to_live_up_to_preseason_hype.html
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