Final Score
#21/22 Monmouth (1-0) – 42
Colgate (0-1) – 39
 
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Monmouth University Football engineered the largest comeback in program history Friday night, erasing a 24-point deficit in the second half to stun Colgate 42-39 in the season opener at Andy Kerr Stadium.
 
Down 31-7 midway through the third quarter, the Hawks stormed back behind quarterback Derek Robertson and the explosive Nelson brothers, Gavin and Rodney, in a game that rewrote the Monmouth record book.
 
Robertson threw for 491 yards — the second-most in program history, trailing only his own 536-yard performance in last year's finale at No. 20/18 Stony Brook — overcame four interceptions, and tossed four touchdowns, marking his fourth career Monmouth game with four or more scores and eighth overall. He spread the ball to three receivers who each topped 100 yards, the first time that feat has ever been accomplished in school history. Gavin Nelson led the way with 176 yards and three touchdowns on just five receptions, while Josh Derry added 103 yards and TJ Speight finished with 100.
 
Rodney Nelson powered the ground game, rushing for 169 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a 75-yard scoring burst that gave Monmouth an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Combined, the Nelson brothers accounted for five touchdowns and 370 total yards.
 
The comeback began late in the third quarter when Robertson found Gavin Nelson for a 70-yard strike to trim the deficit to 31-15 at the 7:15 mark. Rodney Nelson followed with a 1-yard score, helping the Hawks rattle off 35 unanswered points on five consecutive touchdown drives.
 
Monmouth took their first lead of the night, 35-31, with 12:24 left in the fourth quarter on a 51-yard strike through the air for Gavin Nelson's third touchdown of the evening. The one-play scoring drive came directly following a key sack and forced fumble by redshirt freshman edge rusher Lamont Lester Jr. and recovery by tackle Bryce Rooks – the lone takeaway on defense for the Hawks.
 
Colgate pulled within three on a late scoring drive, but the Monmouth offense was able to bleed the final 4:42 remaining in regulation behind a trio of first-down runs by Rodney Nelson on the game-clinching drive.
 
Defensively, Jaeden Jones turned in a career performance with a team-high 11 tackles. The Hawks limited Colgate to just 8 points in the fourth quarter after allowing 31 through the first three periods.
 
Monmouth piled up 678 total yards, averaging more than nine yards per play, while converting 9 of 14 third downs. The total offensive yardage output is the fifth best single-game performance the program's history.
 
Quotes
"We were moving the ball in the first half, but just not finishing in the endzone. We corrected that in the second half, and you can't give Derek [Robertson] enough credit for battling back. He did a great job.
 
I have to give all of our guys a lot of credit – they just kept believing. The defense came up with some key stops at important times, and the offense turned them into points. Very happy to be a part of that." – Head Coach Kevin Callahan on the win
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"It's really a credit to our receivers – those guys are special. They picked me up a ton today, the defense picked us up a ton today. I have to be a lot better moving forward, but I'm so happy to get this one done. Can you believe that fight? It was unbelievable from this team. No quit in this team, and that's why I love every single one of these guys." – Quarterback Derek Robertson on the comeback victory
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"We talked about it at halftime – we just had to take it one play at a time, one series at a time, and get stops. We always talk about doing our 1/11^th, and if that happens, if everyone is doing their job, we're going to be successful." – Defensive Back Jalen Newman on defensive halftime adjustments
 
Notes
- The 24-point comeback win is the largest in team history. The previous was 19 points vs. Wagner on Sept. 29, 2018, when the Hawks overcame a 21-2 deficit and won 54-47.
- Robertson has thrown for 1,027 yards in last two games combined, a Hawks record over a two-game stretch.
- Gavin Nelson (176), Josh Derry (103) and TJ Speight (100) became the first Monmouth wide receiver trio to each reach the century mark in a single contest.
- Gavin Nelson's 176 receiving yards and three touchdowns are both career bests.
- Rodney Nelson's 75-yard score was the longest run of his career.
- It was Rodney Nelson's fourth career 100-yard rushing game.
- Tra Neal had the lone first half score for the Hawks, a 13-yard catch for his eighth career endzone trip.
- Lamont Lester Jr.'s timely strip sack was the first of his career.
- Five different Hawks recorded a tackle for loss: Jones, Lester Jr., Evan Rutkowski, Spencer Kishbaugh and Rob Adamson Jr.
- Luke Schabel notched his 13^th career punt inside the 20.
 
Numbers Crunch
- Each team had 32 first downs on the night.
- Colgate ran more plays, 77-73.
- MU outgained the Raiders on offense, 678-541.
- Colgate had more possession time, 32:57 to 27:03.
- Monmouth was 9-of-14 on third downs and 1-of-2 on fourth downs.
- Colgate was 7-of-14 on third downs and 2-of-3 on fourth downs.
- Monmouth was 2-of-5 in the redzone, while Colgate was 5-of-6.
- The Hawks recorded the only sack of the game.
- The Raiders committed more penalties, four (40 yards) to MU's three (32 yards).
- Colgate now leads the all-time series, 3-2.
 
Up Next
The Hawks travel to Fordham to take on the Rams on Saturday, September 6. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.