In its tenth season under head coach Frederick Dunlap, the team compiled an 7–3–1 record.
[1] The Red Raiders spent four weeks in the national top 20 rankings, reaching as high as No.
This would be Colgate's final year as an independent, before joining the Colonial League.
Future league football opponents on the Red Raiders' 1985 schedule included Lafayette, Lehigh and Holy Cross.
The team played its home games at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, New York.