Colgate Raiders (1977)

Colgate, you ask? Yes, it’s my first post on the (Red) Raiders, after I saw a request in the comments section a while back and I figured, well, why not. While I should probably start with the awesome 2003 team that reached the I-AA (FCS) title game, I’ll go back a little further with the 1977 bunch, which was no pushover, either.

The Team: The Raiders went 10-1 playing mostly against Yankee Conference, Ivy League and future Patriot League foes. This was during the time period after college football split from “University” (big-time) and “College’ (not-so-big-time) into divisions I, II and III, but before the creation of I-AA/FCS in 1978. Colgate, for whatever reason, was considered D-I, even though its schedule was closer to the lower levels than the Alabamas of the world (Colgate joined I-AA in 1982.). Nonetheless, the Raiders roared out to a 10-0 start and squeaked into the really-real D-I national rankings at No. 20 before a season-ending 21-3 loss at D-II Delaware. The Raiders outscored their foes 380-217, an average of 34.5 points per game (pretty impressive in the grind-it-out ’70s).

A couple shots from Colgate's season-opening 23-0 win over Rutgers,
which the school yearbook treats on a level usually reserved for a New Year's Day
bowl win. Check out this student quote: "I just didn't go to any classes. I've spent
all my time trying to send negative waves down to Rutgers."

The Players: Nice of Wikipedia to include stats for this team. These guys (Colgate, not Wikipedia) did it through the air and on the ground. Quarterback Rob Relph threw for 2,178 yards and 20 TDs, running back Henry White ran for 1,032 yards and 5 TDs (and was an AP All-American honorable mention) and receiver Dick Slenker caught 44 passes for 782 yards and 7 TDs. Doug Curtis made 116 tackles and Gary Hartwig registered six sacks.

The Coach: Frederick Dunlap wet 77-49-3 at the Gate from 1976-87 after an 11-year stint at Lehigh (49-62-2). Overall his career record was 126-111-5.

A nice close-up of the Colgate home uniform.

The Uniform: According to the Helmet Project, 1977 marked the debut of the iconic “’gate” logo the Raiders use to this day, with a few breaks here and there. The ’77 helmets and jerseys were maroon; the shirts are very similar to what Maine and Dartmouth wore in other eras. The pants were gray with a thick maroon stripe down the side, again, like 1980s Maine or the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The classic 'gate logo, in all its glory.

The Aftermath: Colgate remained a strong team for the most part under Dunlap, reaching the I-AA tournament in 1982 and ’83 and finishing in the NCAA I-AA top 10 rankings both years. After a run of down years in the ‘90s, Colgate turned to Dick Biddle, who coached the Raiders to the I-AA title game in 2003, which I might have to write about one of these days.