The Empire Conference continues to be a wild one, as Colgate beat Syracuse to bunch everyone up again.

Syracuse came into this weekend's clash having beaten Stony Brook on the road and moved into 1st. Colgate, for their part, had started with an impressive win and then were shut out by Fordham and lost to Binghamton, as well. And yet, Colgate handed Syracuse a 39-10 defeat. 

"We were just going through the motions [in those earlier losses]," said Colgate Coach David Chapman. "We needed to be more competitive and we started being more competitive in practice. Once we approached it that way, the guys got on board."

Colgate's offense started to fire a little better, too. Against Fordham, they got into the Fordham 22 on several occasions, but every time the attack would fizzle. More intensity and better execution got some points early for Colgate this Saturday, and that put Syracuse on the back foot a bit more, and it built from there.

Flyhalf Eli Brick coordinated the attack nicely and kept Syracuse pinned back thanks to his tactical kicking. Sophomore flanker Dorian Washington was superb in the breakdown, poaching several balls and getting his backs more possession as a result. And fullback Chris Wren had a big day, making several key tackles to stop line breaks.

Also this weekend, Binghamton won, beating the US Merchant Marine Academy 63-19 to improve to 2-1. Brockport, currently 2-1, plays 1-1 Fordham on Sunday.

The conference remains very close, and no team seems to be safe. Chapman said that's how he wants it.

"To have a conference where every team is competitive, and every game is a tough game, is what makes it fun," he said. "All of the coaches in this conference know and like each other. It's good competition and it's the right competition for us. We will need some help to make the top two, but we're continuing to improve."