1983 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

The 1983 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Crusaders ranked No. 3 nationally but lost in the quarterfinals of the Division I-AA playoff.

1983 Holy Cross Crusaders football
ConferenceIndependent
1983 record9–2–1
Head coach
Captains
  • Harry Flaherty
  • Matt Martin
  • Rob Porter
Home stadiumFitton Field
1983 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 Holy Cross ^ 0 –0 –0  9 –1 –1
No. 17 Tennessee State 0 –0 –0  8 –2 –1
No. 7 Colgate ^ 0 –0 –0  8 –3 –0
Lehigh 0 –0 –0  8 –3 –0
Lafayette 0 –0 –0  6 –4 –0
Northeastern 0 –0 –0  6 –4 –1
Southeastern Louisiana 0 –0 –0  6 –5 –0
William & Mary 0 –0 –0  6 –5 –0
Nicholls State 0 –0 –0  5 –6 –0
Bucknell 0 –0 –0  4 –5 –1
Delaware 0 –0 –0  4 –7 –0
Northwestern State 0 –0 –0  4 –7 –0
James Madison 0 –0 –0  3 –8 –0
Richmond 0 –0 –0  3 –8 –0
Western Kentucky 0 –0 –0  2 –8 –1
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Div I-AA Football Committee poll

In their third year under head coach Rick E. Carter, the Crusaders compiled a 9–2–1 record (9–1–1 regular season). Harry Flaherty, Matt Martin and Rob Porter were the team captains.[1]

An eight-game winning streak to open the campaign saw Holy Cross steadily climb in the weekly national rankings, reaching No. 1 in time for their last regular-season game. After suffering their first loss of the year in that season-ender -- to Division I-A Boston College, in a game played at the New England Patriots' home stadium -- the Crusaders dropped to No. 3 in the Division I-AA rankings, and earned a playoff first-round bye before being eliminated in the second round.

Holy Cross played its home games, including its first-ever home playoff game, at Fitton Field on the college campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 10 Boston University
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 14–3 15,231 [2]
September 17 at UMass
W 17–0 13,591 [3]
September 24 at New Hampshire No. 12
W 42–30 10,000 [4]
October 1 at Dartmouth No. 9
W 41–14 10,753 [5]
October 8 No. 2 Colgate No. 6
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 21–18 21,551 [6]
October 15 at Connecticut No. 4
W 20–16 13,090 [7]
October 22 Brown ^ No. 4
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 31–10 16,004 [8]
October 29 Columbia No. 2
  • Fitton Field
  • Worcester, MA
W 77–28 12,861 [9]
November 5 at Harvard No. 2
T 10–10 8,000 [10]
November 12 at Delaware No. 3
W 24–0 16,432 [11]
November 19 vs. Boston College No. 1
L 7–47 38,512 [12]
December 3 No. 9 Western Carolina No. 3
L 21–28 10,814 [13]

References
  1. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. p. 124. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  2. MacMullan, Jackie (September 11, 1983). "Fenerty, HC Befuddle BU". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 71 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Monahan, Bob (September 18, 1983). "Holy Cross Defense Nails UMass". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 62 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Monahan, Bob (September 25, 1983). "Holy Cross Hits Stride, Routs UNH". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 60 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Roberts, Ernie (October 2, 1983). "Dartmouth Is No Match for Holy Cross". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Duffy, Bob (October 9, 1983). "HC Understudy Overrules Colgate". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Anderson, Woody (October 16, 1983). "Crusaders Cross UConn with Late Scoring Pass". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. D13, D15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Craig, Jack (October 23, 1983). "Heffernan Relieves Holy Cross". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 62 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Craig, Jack (October 30, 1983). "HC Stampedes to 77-28 Romp". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Concannon, Joe (November 6, 1983). "Harvard Ties HC, 10-10". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 54 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Simmons, Bill (November 13, 1983). "Holy Cross' 24-0 Win Ensures Losing Season for Delaware". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 13-G, 16-G – via Newspapers.com.
  12. May, Peter (November 20, 1983). "BC Pounds Holy Cross, Expects New Bowl Foe". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. pp. D12, D16 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Thomsen, Ian (December 4, 1983). "BU and Holy Cross End Up by Losing Out; W. Carolina Soars, 28-21". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 89 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.