Lehigh Football Nation

Wow! Wow! Hard to know where to begin. Oh, I know. Sedale? You're "The Total Package" now. Get used to it: Sedale "The Total Package" Threatt. I don't know the exact stats, but I think that he's responsible for 2,308 yards passing, 1,699 yards rushing and about 10 TDs, or so it seems. Sophomore RB Matt McGowan - a huge run right to put the game away, with senior G Jim Petrucelli making the sealing block to get it done. (Thanks, CN8, for pointing that out postgame.) Great playcalling by the coaching staff to get it done, with a huge assist by senior RB Marques Thompson getting the monster gain down the left sideline. The defense? Well, let's start with a huge goalline stand, down by 4 late in the 4th quarter, with the defense getting a huge 3-and-out. Two tough hits, one by senior FS Ernie Moore, and another big hit on Villanova's QB Marvin Burroughs by senior DT Royce Morgan (in his first game back against the team that injured him - talk about r...

WHAT A SACK!!! LEHIGH, 1ST AND 10, ON VILLANOVA'S 20!!!!!

BOO-YA!

Wide Left! Under 5 minutes to play!

A huge 3rd and goal by Villanova at the 6 yard line. A stop here, limiting them to 3 points, would be huge.

Admittedly a nice drive by Villanova to go back ahead. Senior SS Julian Austin laid some awwsome hits on the drive, but on a broken play Villanova's QB Burroughs plowed in on the right side. I have confidence Lehigh can get this done, however.

Great quarter. Can we get a TD here to really heap on the pressure?

First lead of the game for Lehigh. Awesome, awesome offense. Actually, it's been a great quarter so far as everything seems to be coming together. For now. It's still way early to celebrate, but I'm elated by what I'm seeing.

Wow! Awesome drive! Big shout-out to the offense!!!

I keep wondering how the game would be had the troops not dropped three huge passes, one in the end one near the end of the half. The missed FG was a big disappointment after the offense did such a valiant job driving the length of the field and getting an opportunity to tie the game by halftime. Lehigh is playing extremely well, and is unquestionably in this game. Play has improved immensely from last week to next, and Sedale has been spectacular. The "D" started tough but has faded in the second quarter. Of some concern was at the end of the quarter, the Wildcats were able to muscle it in with two runs with their senior RB Dicken. Lehigh has proven it can hang with Villanova, and I am pulling hard for these guys to pull off the "upset" win. It's frustrating with a ton of questionable calls (one of the TDs, where the Villanova's FB went down at the 3 but he was credited with the TD, for one simple example). We are looking lots better out there this wee...

Quote the CN8 "C" Announcing team: "Boy, Lehigh has 1st and the state of Pennsylvania to go!" [30] "Down 14-0, Lehigh will either fight back or pack it in. Um, whahppun? A great drive led by Threatt, and an awesome punt return for TD? And it's 14-14? YEAH BABY! "New Game!" Thank you CN8 "C" Team!

Hopefully you're not listening to the idiotic call by the CN8 homers in favor of Villanova, where Villanova chop blocks are called "good blocking", every mistake is "bad execution by Lehigh" and Villanova's play are all as divine as Knute Rockne. In REALITY-WORLD, Lehigh has played very well, especially defensively. Two missed opportunities by Lehigh are the key difference, a 4th-and-1 fumble by Threatt (followed by a phantom foul on sophomore RB Matt McGowan), and a heartbreaking drop by senior WR Lee Thomas on a flea-flicker. This feels like a matchup between even teams. I'm getting a feeling this one will be close if it keeps up.

The "Friday Water Cooler" returns with some more spirited discussion on the weekend ahead. There's lots of Patriot League, I-AA, and Lehigh/Villanova tailgating action that's not to be missed! Broadcast Info Aside from listening or watching the game over the internet through lehighsports.com (click on Yahoo! College broadcast), this week's 6:00PM start will be carried by Channel 69 Allentown and by CN8 (Comcast) through most of the northeast. (There, you can catch Holy Cross/Northeastern at 1PM, and then Lehigh/Villanova at 6PM.) I am really regretting the fact that I simply cannot go to this game live - family comes first. But I will also be here at home by 6PM (hopefully) watching the game live, blogging about it as well. Unfortunately, my Yuenglings will have to be enjoyed at home rather than at Villanova. For those alumni going to the game, don't miss the alumni tailgate at the Law Department Parking lot starting at 3:30PM. It sounds like it will be an all...

This week, Lehigh will be travelling down to the Main Line to take on Villanova in a battle that takes on new proportions with last week's disappointment against Albany. Both Lehigh and Villanova enter this game at 0-1 and are looking to establish themselves in any title discussions in their respective leagues. Villanova last week lost 35-16 against a I-A school in Central Florida and will be just as eager as Lehigh to not start the season 0-2. There are a lot of links between Lehigh, Villanova, coach Talley, and coach Coen in this game. Coach Coen faced Villanova quite recently in 2002, 2004 and 2005 as Penn's offensive coordinator. The last two games were nailbiting affairs going down to the final seconds that Penn barely lost (16-13 in 2004, 28-24 in 2005). In 2004, Lehigh barely lost to Villanova by a 22-16 score. In that game, Lehigh lost a 16-0 lead. Further controversy surrounded that game as well. First of all, when Lehigh was up by more than a TD early in the second ha...

A day late from the holiday, but here we'll round up what the press thinks of last weekend's game, I'll add some comments, I'll make a shameless plug for my I-AA.org column, and you'll have your chance to comment on the weekend as well. Good deal, yes? (Photo courtesy of the Morning Call.) The Press Allentown Morning Call: Groller: Lehigh Defeated, Not Deflated McGowan Comes Up Big Upshot: "Lehigh's passionate fan base, which was never shy in expressing its displeasure with preceding coach Pete Lembo, will likely give Coen a pass on this one because of the bad weather. The honeymoon will not last much beyond next week's game at Villanova, however." Easton Express-Times: Lehigh's Choices Backfire In Defeat Fierro: Coen Can Blame This One On The Rain Upshot: "Coen and all Lehigh fans have to know deep down that this one doesn't count. Maybe Albany wins this game in more pleasant conditions as well. But to make any kind of judgment on th...

I read my own harsh words on the Lehigh/Albany game from yesterday, and sad as the result was, contrary to any previous reports, it's not the end of the world. I can't say I'm particularly happy, but it's not the end of the world either. First of all, looking at yesterday's scores, did any Patriot League teams look like world-beaters? Colgate played a great team in UMass of the A-10, but managed under 200 yards of offense in a 28-7 loss. Lafayette was trailing to Sacred Heart of the NEC at halftime, and needed late-game heroics to ice the victory - hardly a championship moment. Bucknell needed a last-gasp drive to squeak by non-scholarship Duquesne 31-28 in overtime. Holy Cross, predictably, had troubles scoring in a 26-13 win over Georgetown, and Fordham never really was in their game versus Monmouth of the NEC, losing 20-9. Did any of these teams look like "the team to beat" in the Patriot? The scores betray the fact that every team seemed to need...