Last year, the Fordham football team enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in school history, before it ended on a disappointing note.
The Rams posted a 12-2 record and advanced to the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs before suffering a 48-28 loss to Towson.
That defeat is being used to fuel the Rams heading into this season, which will begin on Aug. 30 when they host St. Francis (Pa.).
“Our kids remember that feeling in that locker room at Towson. It was a sinking feeling, it was empty,” Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead said at the Rams’ media day on Monday. “But now, I think it’s not enough just to get to that point. What do we have to do [to take that next step]?”
That “next step” is contending for a national championship — which Moorhead said is the team’s goal in 2014.
“We’re a very confident team, but we know that we’re not going to sneak up on anybody this year,” senior quarterback Michael Nebrich said. “We’ve gone into every practice with the mentality that we need to get better every single day, or else we’re not going to have the season that we know we’re capable of.”
Nebrich is the linchpin of a dynamic offense that returns wide receivers Sam Ajala, Tebucky Jones and Brian Wetzel, as well as tight end Dan Light — all seniors. Fordham averaged 37.6 points per game in 2013, topping 50 points in five contests.
The offense is a proven commodity, yet the Rams will go as far as their defense will take them. Fordham’s defense struggled at times last season, particularly against the running game allowing 202.4 yards per game on the ground.
“The biggest thing that I’d like to see an improvement on, and I think we’ve been working on it in camp, is our rushing defense,” Moorhead said. “That’s one area that we’ve really focused on, clamping down on the run. I know our defense talked about [a goal of holding opponents to] 3.3 yards [per] carry.”
Fordham is knocking on the door of the top 10 in the FCS poll, as the Rams were ranked 11th in The Sports Network FCS Poll and 12th in the FCS Coaches Poll. The Rams were also unanimously picked to win the Patriot League.
Expectations are sky-high, yet senior cornerback Ian Williams cautioned that a new season will bring new challenges. Fordham will now be the team that has a bulls-eye on its back.
“We can’t think about last year anymore; it’s a brand-new season,” he said. “[The] 2014 Rams [are] going to be different than [the] 2013 Rams, and we can just hope to improve on what they did last year.”