HAMILTON, N.Y. – The members of the Atlantic 10 champion Massachusetts football team have triumphed over adversity all season long.

However when they needed to most – in the opening round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs – it was adversity that ultimately triumphed over them.

Forced to compete in blizzard-like conditions that featured temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit and winds as strong as 40 miles per hour for most of the game, a UMass (10-3) offense that averaged 30 points per game was shut out. Numerous slips, slides and drops sealed the team’s fate, as Patriot League champion Colgate triumphed 19-7 in front of 4,197 at arctic Andy Kerr Stadium.

With the win, the Raiders (13-0) extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 19 games, and also become the first team in Patriot League history to post 13 wins. They advance to the quarterfinal round of the I-AA playoffs, where they will host Western Illinois – winners of a 43-40 double overtime thriller at Montana – on Saturday.

After practicing in a driving rainstorm on Friday afternoon, the Minutemen opted to stay at a hotel in Syracuse, some 50 minutes west of the Colgate campus. Departing the hotel at 9:30 a.m. for what was scheduled to be a 12:30 p.m. kickoff, the team buses skidded off the road in the blinding snow, and did not arrive in Hamilton until 11:30 a.m. As a result, kickoff was delayed until 12:45.

“They called the state police and we were wondering if anyone was coming to get us,” said UMass coach Mark Whipple, who has made no secret of his beliefs that the game should have been played in Amherst. “I didn’t know if we were going to get there or not.”

Nonetheless, tri-captain Anton McKenzie felt the Maroon and White simply did not play their caliber of football, regardless of the conditions.

“We knew we had to come in and play, no matter what conditions,” he said. “We knew we had to come out and play our style of football, and we didn’t. We just didn’t come out and play.”

The Maroon and White offense was held without a touchdown for the first time since a 31-6 loss to Hofstra in September of 2001. It was also the first time in Whipple’s six seasons that the Minutemen have held an opponent to fewer than 20 points and lost.

“It was a great win today for Colgate and a great win for the Patriot League,” Colgate coach Dick Biddle said. “This is a very good football team. This is the best defense I have seen from this team.”

Running back Jamaal Branch, the nation’s leading rusher, was largely ineffective for the Raiders, gaining 59 yards on 25 carries a week after a 280-yard performance against Holy Cross. It was his lowest rushing output since being inserted into the starting lineup in week two.

Quarterback Chris Brown was able to pick up the slack for Colgate, however, as the junior threw for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17-of-37 passing.

For UMass, quarterback Jeff Krohn was 12-for-36 for 199 yards and one interception in his final game in a Minuteman uniform.

Sophomore tailback Steve Baylark gained 84 yards on 20 carries for the Minutemen as well, while junior Rich Demers carried only twice and fumbled on a crucial fourth-down conversion.

The Minutemen’s special teams produced the game’s first points when defensive back Leroy Brooks broke through and blocked a Jason Sutton punt, which freshman James Ihedigbo returned 25 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 UMass lead at the 6:43 mark of the first quarter.

A questionable pass interference call then swung the momentum towards the Raiders, as UMass’ Shannon James was flagged after knocking away Brown’s desperation heave down the sideline on fourth-and-16 from the UMass 31. Two plays later, Brown took advantage of the break when he hit Gerald with a 13-yard scoring strike to even the score at seven with 9:44 remaining in the half.

“That was a huge play,” said Whipple. “Our guys were coming off the field. I thought we had intercepted the pass. That was a big swing. We didn’t respond as well as we should have.”

The Minutemen went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, and freshman punter Christian Koegel was unable to handle the snap from center, forcing him to fall on it at his own 6-yard line and return possession to Colgate.

It took the Raiders only a pair of plays to capitalize on the miscue, as Branch found the end zone from two yards out to give Colgate its first lead of the afternoon. The extra point was no good, and the Raider lead was 13-7 at the 8:14 mark of the second quarter.

Facing the same deficit to start the second half, Whipple elected to kick off and take the wind at UMass’ back, but the Maroon and White offense was unable to get untracked.

After driving down to the Colgate 13, Baylark lost his footing on a first down rush and three consecutive incompletions followed, ending what was UMass’ lone credible scoring threat in the second half.

The Raiders were then able to ice the game, as Umass tight end Mike Douglas lost the handle on a first down reception, and Colgate’s Josh Wurst recovered it at the Minuteman 30.

Brown then found Gerald for a 30-yard touchdown pass on the next play, making the score 19-7 after a two-point conversion attempt failed.

The game marked the end of the collegiate careers of 20 Massachusetts seniors, as well as a season that saw the Minutemen set new school records for regular season wins (10) and conference wins (8).

The Maroon and White will open its 2004 schedule on Sept. 11 against Colgate at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.