1984 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

The 1984 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross as an independent during the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Crusaders ranked No. 15 nationally and did not qualify for the postseason.

1984 Holy Cross Crusaders football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–3
Head coach	Rick E. Carter (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Mark Duffner (4th season)
Captains	Bill McGovern Peter Muldoon
Home stadium	Fitton Field
Seasons ← 1983 1985 →

1984 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tennessee State			–					11	–	0	–	0
Eastern Washington			–					7	–	2	–	1
Georgia Southern			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Holy Cross			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Delaware			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Richmond ^			–					8	–	4	–	0
James Madison			–					6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary			–					6	–	5	–	0
Bucknell			–					5	–	5	–	0
Colgate			–					5	–	5	–	0
Lafayette			–					5	–	5	–	0
Lehigh			–					5	–	6	–	0
Florida A&M			–					3	–	6	–	1
Northeastern			–					3	–	7	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					2	–	9	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

In their fourth year under head coach Rick E. Carter, the Crusaders compiled an 8–3 record. Bill McGovern and Peter Muldoon were the team captains.^[1]

As in the previous year, Holy Cross began the campaign with a long winning streak (seven games), and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the weekly national rankings. Two late-season losses to Division I-AA foes, however, dropped them out of the upper echelon. Their third loss, in a game played after the final rankings were released, was to Division I-A powerhouse Boston College on the day that BC quarterback Doug Flutie won the Heisman Trophy.

Holy Cross played its home games at Fitton Field on the college campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	Rhode Island		Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 19–0	9,911	[2]
September 22	UMass	No. 5	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 35–7	17,641	[3]
September 29	at Harvard	No. 4	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 24–14	19,500	[4]
October 6	Dartmouth	No. 3	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 30–20	19,061	[5]
October 13	at No. 12 Colgate	No. 2	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 42–27	9,500	[6]
October 20	Connecticut^	No. 2	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 41–0	20,659	[7]
October 27	at Brown	No. 2	Brown Stadium Providence, RI	W 38–17	12,843	[8]
November 3	at No. 13 Boston University	No. 2	Nickerson Field Boston, MA	L 12–16	14,750	[9]
November 10	No. 4 New Hampshire	No. 6	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 13–14	12,441	[10]
November 17	at Maine	No. 19	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	W 24–7	3,000	[11]
December 1	Boston College	No. 15	Fitton Field Worcester, MA (rivalry)	L 10–45	25,000	[12]
Homecoming ^ Family Weekend Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game