WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross football team is the pre-season favorite to win another Patriot League championship.

The three-time defending conference champions also earned a national top-20 pre-season ranking from Stats Perform.

The expectations for this group are high, but at their media day Wednesday, the Crusaders put them in perspective.

"You get these pre-season rankings and you don't look at it," said offensive lineman Nick Olsofka. "We know we're going to go toe-to-toe with them."

"I just take it one day at a time," said running back Peter Oliver. "I don't think about what could be, I think about what I can do in this moment right now to be the best that I can in future. If you start thinking about what might happen, it causes problems."

"You have to recognize it," said quarterback Matthew Sluka. "It's a great thing to have publicity. It's a little motivation, but it's good to keep it under the rug and just keep working."

Holy Cross opens the regular season on the road at Merrimack on September 2. The Crusaders' home opener is September 17 when they host Yale.