Players of the Week, Harvard vs. Lehigh

Some quick notes before we enter the preview of the Georgetown game. First of all, here are this week's LFN "Players of the Week":

Offensive Hawk: Freshman QB Michael Colvin (career-high 74 yards rushing vs. Harvard, including a 55 yard scamper that set up Lehigh's first TD)

Defensive Hawk (tie): Senior LB Al Pierce (10 tackles, 1 sacks, 2 QB hurries) and sophomore DB/LB Colin Newton (10 tackles, 1/2 sack, 2 pass break-ups)

Special Teams Hawk: Sophomore P Alex Smith (6 punts, 39.8 yard average)

This week, some more bad news came down the pike in a season filled with it: news from the Express-Times that senior DT Phil Winett and senior LB Heath Brickner are officially done for the year with their injuries, and senior LB Troy Taylor is questionable as well. It seems like eons ago that we were worrying whether Lehigh could play all their senior talent at linebacker; now we're wondering which underclassmen will be suiting up on Saturday. With the notable exception of senior LB Matt Cohen, the other three preseason starting linebackers have sat out entire games due to injury.

Lehigh Athletics released two senior profiles that I haven't posted here yet, one for senior SS Jesse Sanchez and another for senior WR Jimmy Potocnie. And also announced this week was that senior OL Frank Giacalone is a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell trophy (formerly known as the Draddy trophy).

FCS East Wrapup: Nova Soars and James Madison Crashes

(Photo courtesy Hofstra Athletics)

Sometimes it doesn't make any sense. If you had one FCS game to go to this past weekend, you most certainly wouldn't have picked James Madison visiting Hofstra: you'd have gone to Villanova to see the No. 2-ranked Wildcats take on the No. 5-ranked William & Mary Tribe.

Trouble is, had you chosen the better game on paper to watch, you would have seen a yawner - the excitement, incredibly, was in Hempstead, Long Island. (No really, was that the first time those words have ever appeared anywhere?)

• Every year there seems to be that senseless CAA upset - Rhode Island putting everything together to upset UMass, say, or Towson winning against Villanova. This year's first CAA upset came at Hofstra - the yes, the same Hofstra that struggled against Stony Brook and scored a grand total of 10 points against Richmond and FBS Western Michigan - where the Pride didn't fall against James Madison in a shock 24-17 upset. While in retrospect it looked like a chance for the Dukes to let down after a tough 24-13 win at Liberty, the Pride put it all together by jumping out to a 21-10 lead by the end of the first half for starters, happily grinding out the end of the first half with a time-consuming drive ending with a 4 yard TD pass from Pride senior QB Cory Christopher to freshman TE Dave Wilson. After that, Hofstra's "D" took over: after the Dukes would take the opening drive of the second half for a touchdown, junior DE Deron Mayo and company would hold James Madison to two 3-and-outs and force an interception by freshman DB Jordan "Don't Call Me Rodney" Dangerfield which led to the final FG. Hofstra seeks to build off the momentum of this huge win at home versus Maine this weekend - and have to be thinking they have a real chance to build some steam towards a playoff shot. Meanwhile James Madison gets to "cool off" with a tough matchup at home with the No. 1 team in the country, Richmond - which feels like it could be a must-win. (Such is life in the CAA.)
• Meanwhile, the "clash of the titans" at Villanova stadium started with junior QB Chris Whitney hooking up with senior WR Brandyn Harvey for a 57 yard TD strike - on a flea-flicker - and the Wildcats never looked back in a 28-17 laugher. (Just think - the Versus Network and the CAA could have had a thriller in Hempstead instead of a game that was a dominating Villanova performance.) The Wildcats' defensive performance featured four sacks and two turnovers, and sophomore DB James Pitts featured in both: one tipped ball that led to an interception, and a fumble recovery. (Not to mention 15 tackles.) Not to be forgotten either was a monster performance by junior LB Terence Thomes with 14 tackles in a defensive effort that yielded 472 yards of Tribe offense - most of it coming through the air - but only yielded 17 points, including only one touchdown and three FGs by Tribe senior PK Brian Pate. No rest for 'Nova as they travel to New Hampshire for another Sports Network Top Ten battle - while William & Mary travel to Northeastern to take on the winless Huskies. (Of course, can you count any CAA conference game as a gimme after seeing what Hofstra did?)
• Two weeks ago, St. Francis (PA) and Wagner battled to the highest-scoring game in NEC history, a 56-48 triple-overtime win by the Seahawks. What do both teams do for an encore? Not score an offensive touchdown, of course: Wagner must have given up a late grand slam in their wet 6-2 defeat to Bryant, while the Red Flash would go down 27-6 to last year's NEC Champions Albany. Week four, 104 combined points; week five, 8 combined points. I mean, what are the odds?
• I love rivalry games, and one I want to see someday is the Rhode Island "Governor's Cup" pitting Brown and Rhode Island. This year's game wasn't a joy for the spectators - playing in rain and mud - but at least Brown came away happy with the trophy in a 28-20 victory over the Rams. It was not, by any account, a pretty game to watch: URI junior QB Chris Paul-Etienne went out with an injury on the first play, and the Rams never seemed to get in scoring synch with a whopping 17 penalites and a failure to convert on third down until late in the 3rd quarter. In a sloppy game, it was Brown's two offensive stars - senior WR Buddy Farnham and senior WR Bobby Sewall - that shined. Farnham's eye-popping 274 all-purpose yards - of which 97 were a punt return for a touchdown - and Sewall's 50 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns and 2-point conversion - made the difference for the Bears. Rhode Island faces off against Towson this weekend, while Brown will play Holy Cross this weekend in the biggest Ivy/Patriot matchup of the week.
• It won't go down in the annals of history as a program-defining win, but Holy Cross will gladly paint their 42-21 win over Northeastern as a win over a "big, bad, scholarship CAA" school - even if the Huskies are 0-4 and haven't eclipsed 21 points in four tries. Senior QB Dominic Randolph tossed 5 touchdown passes in limited action as the Crusaders coasted to a 42-7 lead before head coach Tom Gilmore lifted him in the fourth quarter. Twelve different Holy Cross receivers caught passes: junior DL Mude Ohimor notched four tackles and two sacks: and Holy Cross got a nice tune-up before facing off against Brown this coming weekend.
• I had a feeling when Cornell entered Colgate this weekend - with the Big Red coaching staff playing down this rivalry game as "just another game" - that this one might be a blowout. The 94th meeting between Cornell and Colgate in the "white-out" involved the Raiders "plowing" through Cornell, 45-23. If you're a Patriot League opponent on Colgate's schedule, you have to fear a comment like this from Cornell head coach Jim Knowles: “You’re looking for answers and when they take what you’ve practiced and ram it right back down your throat and score, that’s a little unnerving. We did everything we could to regroup but they’re a great team. We could not match up today, that’s for sure.” Yikes. And that's before he said “[Colgate’s] line is the best line that I’ve gone against at this level. Junior QB Greg Sullivan does an outstanding job of reading things and managing the offense (298 all-purpose offense, 3 TDs) and they’ve got great running backs (like sophomore RB Nate Eachus) that break tackles and get extra yards. When you can’t stop the run or slow them down, you’ve got very little chance to win.” Cornell tries to regroup against Harvard this weekend in a big Ivy League showdown, while the Raiders will bask in a rare nationally-televised appearance this Thursday at Princeton, to be broadcast on ESPNU.
• In Lafayette's long history, they had never beaten Yale. Head coach Frank Tavani challenged his team to be "legends" and make "history" to be that first team to beat the Eli, and they did to the tune of a 31-10 domination. While Lafayette's defense was predictably stunning - senior DL Andrew Poulson had two sacks, and senior LB Mark Leggerio had 12 tackles and was Patriot League Defensive player of the week, more worryingly for all Lehigh fans was the way Lafayette's offense came together: senior RB Maurice White has 21 carries for 121 yards, and senior QB Rob Curley went 20 for 28 passing with 241 yards and 1 touchdown. The Leopards will look to continue their winning streak at home against Columbia next weekend, while Yale will host Dartmouth and attempt to break their two-game skid. (Against 0-3 Dartmouth, they'll have an excellent chance to do just that.)
• While this blog has chronicled the frustrations of Lehigh's season so far, less has been said about Fordham's excruciating 0-3 start with a loss to URI, an loss to their crosstown rival, and a brutal loss to Colgate. But Fordham managed to pull one out against FCS newbie Old Dominion rallying for a 35-29 victory. The key for the Rams was to get some running game going: junior RB Xavier Martin and sophomore RB David Whiting both ran for over 100 yards, and the offense led by Patriot League player of the week senior QB John Skelton broke a school record by gaining 687 yards of total offense. Still worrying for the Rams, however, was how two of their three fumbles directly led to Monarch touchdowns - not to mention two missed extra-points and 11 penalties for 105 yards. Still, Fordham has something Lehigh does not have yet - a win - as they host Bryant this weekend.
• Finally, the Georgetown defense would play extremely strong for a half - only allowing 90 first-half yards and allowing the Hoyas to hold onto a 6-0 halftime lead. But backup sophomore QB C.J. Hopson's entrance into the game in the second half would allow the 3-2 Bison's triple-option offense to get moving - and score just enough in a 14-6 victory. The Hoya defense would only allow 262 yards of offense on the afternoon - and be led by junior QB Travis Mack's 11 tackles - but ultimately they'd be let down by an offense that ended up getting 3's instead of 6's. "In my mind we should have had 21 points (at halftime)," Georgetown head coach Kevin Kelly said. "In my mind we need to score touchdowns in the red zone and we didn't get any." The Hoya offense - with only 219 total yards on Saturday, and one offensive touchdown in four games - is still struggling mightily.
  

Press Roundup: Harvard 28, Lehigh 14

(Photo courtesy Kevin Mingora, The Morning Call)

Unsurprisingly, the press this week was not kind to the Mountain Hawks in the write-ups of their 28-14 loss to Harvard. The Morning Call has a photo gallery up from the game, of which this picture to my left featuring freshman QB Michael Colvin is a part. (There have been others this year from the Morning Call as well, but today was the first day I felt enterprising enough to post them.)

Look soon for my photos to be posted to the Lehigh Football Nation Facebook page as well. If fans would like me to post them to Webshots as well I will do so, though I have been too bummed to post any so far this year. They're currently on my computer at home, waiting for me to get some time to upload them.

Lehigh Athletics: Mountain Hawks Drop 28-14 Decision to Harvard

"Obviously we're not happy to be 0-4," Mountain Hawks head coach Andy Coen said afterwards. "I thought sophomore QB Chris Lum did some nice things out there today, but he made his fair share of mistakes, too. We'll go back and watch the tape to determine where we go from here (with the quarterback position)."

The Mountain Hawks took an early first quarter lead when Lum connected with junior TE Alex Wojdowski on a one yard touchdown pass. It was the first time this season that Lehigh was able to score a touchdown on its first possession and only the second time this season the Mountain Hawks have scored in the first quarter. Lehigh drove 83 yards on its opening drive which included a 55 yard run by backup freshman QB Michael Colvin out of the wildcat formation. "Mike's been doing a great job for us all season whenever he gets an opportunity. He's a very good athlete and showed that once again today," Coen said.

Morning Call: More Gloom at Goodman as Harvard Dumps Lehigh

''Chris competed as I knew he would and he made some mistakes like I knew he would,'' said Lehigh coach Andy Coen. ''I was disappointed in the interceptions, but I'm not going to kill the kid because he came out and competed. He's going to make mistakes and you're going to have to live with them, but some of them hurt.''

''It was not the day I envisioned,'' Lum said. ''But I gave it my best. I'm looking forward to doing better next week.''

''It gets tough when you're throwing the ball as much as we did, but that kind of took on a life of its own when you get down 21-7 in the fourth quarter,'' Coen said. ''We were winging it around as much as possible trying to get a big play.''

...

''I thought the defense played very well today,'' Coen said. ''They kept a very explosive offense on their heels and got some big stops. We left them on the field probably too long, but I was proud of how they played.''

''I thought we did a good job and played solid, but there were mistakes we need to clean up,'' senior LB Al Pierce said. ''We have to make more plays on defense and take better advantage of the opportunities when they're given to us.''

Express-Times: Andy Coen Not Fazed by Winless Start

When a member of the media asked Lehigh University football coach Andy Coen how he feels to be 0-4 after the Mountain Hawks' 28-14 loss to Harvard on Saturday, Coen was quick to point out the obvious.

"How do you think?" he asked back. "I’m very disappointed being 0-4. I told the kids at the end of the game we can act like an 0-4 team or act like a team who wants to compete for the Patriot League."

"It hurts. It hurts everybody involved with us," Coen said of the winless start. "Certainly not anything I envisioned at this point and time. I’m not the first football coach in the history of the world who’s been 0-4. I have to work hard to right this ship and that’s what im gonna do. I can’t blame these kids on their effort, at all."

Morning Call: Winless Mountain Hawks Have 'A Lot of Work to Do'

''After the game, I told the kids we can act like an 0-4 team or we can act like a team that wants to compete in the Patriot League. We've got a lot of work to do to do that. But I know these guys. They're going to hurt tonight as they have the last couple of weeks, but they'll come back and be ready to go.''

'Coaches coach, that's what we do,'' [Coen] said. ''I'm not the first football coach in the history of the world to be 0-4. I've got to work hard to right the ship and that's what I'm going to do.''

He was asked about how he'll go about changing the direction of this season.

''The way I coach is to challenge the kids to do the right thing and get better,'' he said. ''I certainly praise them when they do something right and critique them when they have done something wrong. That never changes. It's harder to accentuate positives when you're an 0-4 team. At the end of the day, the defense has gotten better and is playing well enough, even with injuries, to keep us in every game.

''Offensively, it hasn't happened. When we can get everything going, we can be pretty good. That was my expectation for this year. I've seen flashes of things, but nothing consistent.''

...

Coen said Lum, who threw four interceptions and was sacked four times, went through a learning process.

But Coen didn't rule out a return to original starter junior QB J.B. Clark, saying that he would again go back and examine the film.

Coen again noted that Clark has handled his demotion with class.

''You want your children to grow up and be like that guy,'' Coen said. ''I have more respect for him now than I ever have and I've always held him in high regard. He was the first guy telling me coming off the field to keep my head up. That's the type of person he is. And there are a lot of those kids in our program who are like that.''

Groller's Corner: Struggling to Find Positives for Lehigh

At the moment, it's real hard to find positives in this 0-4 start. Based on what happened today, you can't say that Chris Lum is the answer at quarterback, although he showed some nice flashes.

Lum wouldn't use excuses, but it's not easy breaking into the starting lineup against a good team like Harvard and his four interceptions -- a combination of bad throws and bad decisions -- were not all that surprising.

...

Overall, there was not a lot to smile about, and there really hasn't been much all season. The crowds are down -- just 5,457 today -- and those who are showing up are increasingly voicing their displeasure.

Georgetown, a team that is 0-5 and averaging just 7.4 poings per game, comes to Bethlehem at just the right time. Lehigh has defeated the Hoyas eight straight times and none of those games have been competitive.

In some years, a game with Georgetown offers potential for a letdown.

That will not be the case this year. It better not be.

Lehigh has a chance to taste success and must seize it on Saturday with a blowout win and then build momentum against Yale and Bucknell before the trip to Colgate on Halloween.

As bad as it's been, it's not too late for this team to turn it around.

From all accounts, the kids haven't quit. They maintain a good attitude. They just need a reward at some point. It should come against Georgetown.

But if you've followed this team at all, you know it won't be easy.

Harvard Crimson: Defense First in Crimson Victory

“I think it really starts with our defensive staff—[it] has really done a great job of getting some young kids ready to play, that we hadn’t thought we’d be playing so soon, especially at the defensive end position,” Murphy said. “You also factor in that we have a lot of veteran linebackers but not many have been front-line players. I think they’ve done a good job.”

The defense notched four interceptions Saturday, with junior FS Collin Zych picking a pair of passes, senior SS Ryan Barnes snatching one of his own, and senior LB Jon Takamura returning an interception for 60 yards and a touchdown.

“[Defensive coordinator Scott] Larkee had us well-prepared this week,” Takamura said. “So I just saw the fullback flare out for a screen, and I just read it, got under it, got lucky. The quarterback threw the ball, and I just surrounded the ball and ended up in the endzone.”

Harvard Crimson: Ho Takes Hold of His Opportunity

Harvard’s regular starting running back, junior RB Gino Gordon, was sidelined with an injury. Though Crimson coach Tim Murphy would not go into specifics, Gordon was dressed to play.

“He should be fine,” Murphy said of Gordon. “I mean, we could have used him today, but like I said, we’ve got the luxury of depth so we could rest him.”

Also, according to Murphy, Harvard’s second-string back, freshman RB Treavor Scales, returned home to Georgia to attend to a death in the family.

That left the Crimson’s offense with its number three, senior RB Cheng Ho. Ho, who missed most of last year due to injury, was Harvard’s starter two years ago, and on Saturday he returned to form. He rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown, and caught a 13-yard touchdown reception.

“We didn’t have our number one, we didn’t have our number two, and Cheng’s a guy we’ve always been able to count on,” Murphy said.

Coach Murphy came up to me after the Brown game [last Friday night] and said ‘Hang in there, your time will come,’ and I really listened,” Ho said. “I knew the team needed me today...And I know this: There’s one shot and this might be my only shot, and I just knew I had to take advantage of it.”

...

By the time Ho left the field with leg cramps late in the third quarter, he had led Harvard to such a commanding advantage that, while he could have returned, it was unnecessary to push him much further and his action was limited for the rest of the game. But even in an abbreviated showing, his line was impressive—132 rushing yards and a score on 21 carries along with a 13-yard touchdown reception.

“We certainly rode him today—not just his productivity but his emotion,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “He gave us a lot of juice on offense, a lot of leadership.”

Sunday's Word: Faith

At some point this year - I forget exactly when - my thoughts turned to my "Sunday Word" column, and I realized that it could be misinterpreted. Initially modeled after the "Word" from The Colbert Report, it finally got through my thick skull that when you stick the word "Sunday" in front of it it becomes something different - in the right context, it can be religious in tone, as if I'm delivering a sermon.

While I never intended it to become sermon-esque, I think, re-reading my "Words" for this year, that they have oddly veered into sermon-like territory. (Heck, last week I pitched a sermon for the Wildcat offense.)

It doesn't help that my "Words" tend to be more on the serious side when Lehigh is losing, and at 0-4 the Mountain Hawks are inviting me deeper into the sermonizing aspect of my "Words" and less into whimsical wordplay on, say, weather or weird Swedish words nobody has ever heard of.

Normally, I think it's ridiculous to bring the world of "faith" into my "Words". First of all, it tends to not be very amusing. Second, it's highly personal. And third, it has an uncanny and senseless ability to piss people off.

But I think in this case I'm going to make an exception.

*****

This morning, I was tired, achy, with a massive headache. Still grouchy from the loss yesterday, I didn't want to go to church. Somewhere, though, I found it in myself to grab a cup of coffee and head over to church in time. (The lady I live with also had a large part to play in my getting up to get over there, too.)

Today, the lesson was the book of Luke (verses 17:5-6, in case you were wondering). Without going into a lot of detail, the day's lesson was on "faith".

That's when I figured out that this should be this weekend's word. Because "faith" in the Mountain Hawks is hard to find right now.

In fact, if you looked around Murray Goodman this weekend, what you saw was an awful lot of pain, not "faith".

There are a lot of slouched shoulders. A lot of silence in the stands. They want to believe that Lehigh can turn things around. But after four losses, they've lost their "faith".

A lot has been made about the fact that this is the first time since 1982 that Lehigh hasn't won any of their first four games, and it's clear that not tasting victory since last year is having a stomach-twisting effect on everyone, from the top to the bottom. High hopes have turned into low expectations from some - and expectations that bad things will happen on the field.

(To go with the pain there's a touch of anger as well, with coach Coen in the post-game press conference coming close to barking at a member of the media - sitting inches from him - who asked a question that probably shouldn't have been asked ("How does it feel to be 0-4?").

Some fans genuinely seem baffled as to how this can happen - how a talented group of kids, a good group of kids, could be 0-4? They're, quite frankly, like me - they think that they have the silver bullet to fix the mental lapses or offensive or defensive schemes that can turn losses into wins. They want to fix the problems - start winning. They want to help.

With 1982 passed, some folks are openly worried if the spectre of another year- 1966 - might be invoked soon. Not only did Lehigh lose their first five games of that year, they went 0-9. All of a sudden losing to Georgetown at home next weekend - unthinkable when the season began - now doesn't seem so outlandish.

Nobody who is around this program wants to see that happen. There are a staggering number of people that do care very, very deeply about this program that want to see Lehigh win football games. (Numbers of people that, say, Villanova would drool over.)

But "faith" right now is at an all-time low.

*****

I went back to the last game Lehigh won - the "Rivalry" win to finally take one away from "that school in Easton" - to just remind myself how they won that game. Maybe there is a lesson - a Sunday school lesson, if you will - in how Lehigh can get back on the winning track.

For starters, what is striking was how few mistakes there were in this game: only 3 penalties. No turnovers. Another striking thing was that Lehigh won with only 13 net yards rushing. 13!

When I blogged about that wonderful win, junior QB J.B. Clark was the MVP, of course. But the win wasn't all on Clark's back: I singled out individual plays from nineteen other players who won the game for Lehigh. WR Nick Johnson's over-the-shoulder catch. RB Matt McGowan's tough efforts during the game, even though he was battling injury. FB Adam Watson's bulldoze in the end zone for a touchdown.

Clark didn't win that game with an amazing, "Phil Simms in 1986" sort of pass efficiency rating. But he did have his players believing, and every time Lehigh needed a big play one was there. The huge reception to WR Sekou Yansane. Big sacks by senior LB Matt Cohen and senior LB Al Pierce. It was all about big plays, and Lehigh had almost all of them.

I was struck by the number of seniors on that team - which seem like they are sorely missed on this 2009 version of the Mountain Hawks - but I was also struck by the fact that it wasn't just one player who brought the victory. It was the whole team.

*****

Ultimately, I came to only one conclusion today. The only way that this ship can be righted is for the kids playing out there to have "faith".

"Faith" in each other, "faith" that they will fix their won individual problems and the coaching staff will make adjustments to theirs, "faith" that there will be fans out there to cheer them on. "Faith" that the win last November was not an illusion, and that the tools to bring back the wins are somewhere there on that game tape.

They have to believe that though mistakes were made in the beginning part of the season, lessons can be learned from them in order to get better - that mistakes only lose you games if you keep making the same ones over and over.

They have to look at that 2006 Lafayette team that lost five games in the middle of the year - but marched up to Hamilton, NY and upset the Raiders and ended up as Patriot League champions. It still can happen - and the players have to have the "faith" that they can do just that.

They have to come out one more week and work hard - and win the game in front of them, and then go on to the next week.

They have to have "faith" that they will make some folks regret giving up on them in early October.

Lehigh 14, Harvard 28, Final

I'm developing an uncanny knack for taking pictures that, unfortunately, tell the story of Lehigh games in 2009.

This one came late in the first quarter, with Lehigh holding a 7-0 lead and - by any measure - had some serious momentum in the early going. Against the heavily-favored Crimson, Lehigh had their first lead of the year, thanks to an opening drive sparked by a 55 yard run from freshman QB Michael Colvin and finished beautifully by an across-the-body touchdown pass by sophomore QB Chris Lum to junior TE Alex Wojdowski.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, Lehigh was in a position to really put the screws to Harvard. Out of the wildcat, the ball went to Colvin, flea-flickered back to Lum, and lofted downfield - an attempt to capitalize on the positive momentum that was created.

Instead - well, my picture tells the story. Harvard senior SS Ryan Barnes was not fooled, and grabbed the momentum from the Mountain Hawks with what would end up being the key interception of the game.

"We has some opportunities for some of these guys to seize the moment, but they did not," coach Coen said in the post game press conference. "My history is that the kids enjoy an up-tempo game, and things can build with that. The game plays faster when you do that, and you don't have to worry about a lot of other things. It doesn't work, though, when you're turning the ball over and giving up sacks."

After the first turnover, things weren't quite the same. You could feel the air coming out of the balloon even then.

Harvard senior RB Cheng Ho made some plays after the interception: ripping off two 13 yard gains, the second of which would become the Crimson's first touchdown on the afternoon. Ho would end up with 132 yards rushing, his best-ever rushing game. Going into this week, his grand total was 8 rushing yards.

Lehigh would get the ball back, and then give up a sack, an illegal procedure penalty, and then another interception - which junior QB Collier Winters then turned into a 3 yard touchdown pass to junior WR Adam Chrissis. Harvard would go up 14-7, have seized the momentum of the game, and never trail again.

After Harvard's go-ahead touchdown, Lehigh's offense couldn't get a lot of positive forward progress. One first down and two three-and-outs later, and Harvard driving to try to score, Coen would elect to go into the half with all three time outs rather than make an attempt to save some time for a stab at a score - even though Harvard would get the ball first in the second half. As it stood, the defense made a big stop - and Harvard would miss a 36 yard FG attempt - but Coen elected to take a knee and take their chances in the second half instead.

The defense battled gamely, with senior SS Jesse Sanchez picking a wounded duck in the corner of the end zone to stop one Harvard drive, and senior LB Al Pierce, in his first start of the year, coming up with a bunch of punishing hits with his 10 tackles and 1 sack. Sophomore DB Colin Newton also came up big with 10 tackles, 1/2 sack, a slew of quarterback hurries and two passes defended.

But Lehigh's offense tried hard to regain momentum but couldn't deliver against a Harvard defense who was in Lum's face all day. Harvard senior LB Jon Takamura would lead the charge with 7 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks - and ultimately would return an interception for a "pick six" that would put rest to any thoughts of Lehigh taking this game.

I don't blame Lum for the pick six - who at that point was trying to force stuff up trying to make a play. This game was lost well before then.

Friday Water Cooler: Emma Watson, And Harvard Football

(Photo courtesy switched.com)

I'm sure this won't be appreciated by the latest famous freshman to attend an Ivy League school. No, no, I'm not talking about Brooke Shields, I'm talking about Emma Watson, the actress who is best known for her turn as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies.

We always knew there was something, well, different about kids who went to Harvard - a bit of an upturned nose, perhaps, annoying arrogance, or maybe even some Brahmin-ness while we're at it. Turns out, though, that some students were up to something more sinister: stalking Ms. Brown University at the Harvard/Brown game last weekend, as reported by the New York Post:

Page Six reported on Tuesday that the "Harry Potter" starlet and Brown University freshman looked "quite shaken" on Saturday as Harvard beat Brown 24-21 in Cambridge. Watson was reportedly flanked by security guards to protect her from gawkers.

But her discomfort was actually the result of a targeted campaign by the Harvard Voice student magazine to draw as much attention to her as possible.

Before the game, a blog post on the mag's Web site said: "We will be Live-Tweetin' the game and possibly stalking Emma Watson, so keep your eyes peeled for that, too!" A succession of tweets posted on the Voice's Twitter account during the game followed, including, "Let's go Hermione! Lolz," a reference to Watson's character in "Harry Potter." It went on, "In enemy territory. Lookin for a certain witch," and, "WATSON FOUND. i repeat WATSON FOUND."

Anyone else might have been coaxed into an apology after such a stunt, one that obviously shook Ms. Watson to the core. However, the article continues, the writers at the Voice were unrepentant:

The Harvard Voice also posted a picture of Watson on its Web site and proclaimed its stalking mission a "success." Some readers were furious. "There is a locatable cause of Watson's experience at Harvard Stadium and a blameworthy party," read one online rebuke. "Anybody can do anything unfeelingly to anybody in this day and age, especially if they feel imbued with entitlement from membership in Harvard College."

The Voice eventually attached an editor's note to its post of Watson's photo, saying, "There seems to be much ado about nothing over this photo and liveblog. Understand that these live tweets were made to be intentionally outrageous and overblown."

While Heaven knows I'm all for a certain amount of collegial hijinx, like Don Imus a few years ago these students didn't (and still don't) seem to get that they've crossed some sort of line - that the game itself was immaterial to stalking Emma Watson like greasy fan boys and fan girls. "Football on a Friday night, eh. But Hermione was there! Wow!"

Once you've made it completely about Hermione and Harry Potter - something fictional - instead of something real - the football game - you've entered stalking territory. Hijinx are fine. But when you do something like this - and you don't let Ms. Watson in on the joke - you've become stalkers.

Of course, there is a bright side to all this. Perhaps Harvard students need a Hermione sighting to get students to actually care about their games.

*****

To close out this bewitched week, I bring you my Patriot League picks, reprinted from my CSN Way column this week about "Close (Conference) Shaves". Enjoy: and see you at the game tomorrow.

No. 21 Holy Cross at Northeastern. Quarterback Dominic Randolph and the Crusaders should not have much trouble with the Huskies, who don’t seem to have figured out how to score points or prevent other teams from scoring, either. Not a good recipe for a upset of a ranked team.

Crusading Goliath? 41, Bostonian David? 14

(Note on game above: While early in the week I looked at Northeastern to give the 'Cross a good game, I looked closer, and yeesh, I didn't like what I saw. Cross wins big.)

Cornell at No. 25 Colgate. Speaking of emotional rivalries, you’d think this upstate New York rivalry, the 92 meeting between these two schools - the first in recent memory between undefeated Colgate and undefeated Cornell, no less - would be the source of an emotional press conference. Not so. Cornell defensive coordinator Clayton Carlin told the Cornell Daily Sun “We’re so much different this year than last year in every way, shape and form,” he said. “We don’t circle any game. … The focus is on us and how we can get better.” While admirable, to this reporter that sounds like the recipe for a blowout loss. Never, ever underestimate the factor of emotion here.

Big Maroon (Raider) Machine 37, Broken Down Big Red Machine 6

Lafayette at Yale. Led by Mark Leggerio, Lafayette’s defense is one of the best in the nation. The question is: with starting quarterback Rob Curley out with an injury, can Ryan O’Neil helm the offense to score enough points to take on another tough defensive team in Yale? (Don’t ever say I avoid picking tough games.) I’m thinking this is one of momentum: Yale, after their heartbreaking 14-12 last weekend, will not reverse their slide against the Leopards, who gutted out a 20-17 overtime win against Penn. Take the hot team.

Hot Steaming Leopards 15, Ice Cold Bolldogs 11

BONUS GAMES:

Old Dominion at Fordham. I'd love to take the Rams here, but with that emotional loss last weekend versus Colgate - and the fact that the Monarchs pretty much have zero pressure this year - I think Fordham lays an egg big enough for ODU to come away with the victory.

Baby Kings 28, Skelton's Skeletons 27

Georgetown at Bucknell. The Hoyas would love to build off their first offensive touchdown and ride that to another league win over the Bison, Bucknell still has designs on making a run at this Patriot League title thing. When in doubt - though it sounds cruel - take the team that knows how to win.

Balanced Bison 24, "Beat By Bison Times Two" 12

---

PS. Other games of note: I picked Brown to beat Rhode Island in the 93rd edition of the "Governor's Cup", and in the big game on Versus this weekend, I have Villanova beating William & Mary.

Game Preview: Harvard at Lehigh

"The game was lost in the first half; we made too many mistakes and didn't make the big play."

While this might seem like a quote from last week's postgame press conference, it wasn't: it was coach Coen's comments following a tough 27-24 loss to Harvard last year in Cambridge. Looking back on that game, it sounds eerily similar to last week's loss at Princeton.

Like last week, Lehigh dug themselves in a hole early in that game with an interception returned for a touchdown that was a great individual play by a linebacker. Two turnovers directly resulted in points. Those errors - along with key defensive injuries - didn't keep Lehigh down forever, however: the Mountain Hawks came roaring back with some offensive momentum, while the defense made some huge stops. Yet during their final offensive drive, Lehigh simply couldn't make a big play to come away with the victory.

It's a script that has played out too many times in the last few years - and it's happened twice already in the first three games this year.

But this weekend provides a chance for Lehigh to rewrite the script against one of the teams that handed them a bitter three point loss last year. It would undo some of the bad vibes generated by a forgettable September, and maybe even be some revenge for last year's game against Harvard, too.

Technically, this isn't a "must-win" game. Harvard isn't (right now, anyway) a Top 25 team; many folks are picking the Crimson to trounce the Mountain Hawks; and it's not an important game to Lehigh's ultimate goal, which is a Patriot League championship.

But this game could be a huge one in terms of "rewriting the script". If Lehigh can win this game, it would be a huge boost of confidence going into league play that all their hard work is paying off. It would be an affirmation that they can still go toe-to-toe with anybody.

Game Notes
This week's game notes holds the worst-kept secret of the year: sophomore QB Chris Lum will get the start in front of junior QB J.B. Clark. Will Lum be on a short leash? Will Clark get into the game, either as a Wildcat quarterback or if Lum struggles early? It's difficult to say; the only way to find out will be to wait until 12:30 this Saturday.

Aside from the huge news at quarterback, what once seemed like a huge strength for the Mountain Hawks going into the season is slowly turning into a M*A*S*H unit. Senior LB Heath Brickner is out this week with a shoulder injury, so junior LB Ben Fliszak, who himself just came off the injured list last week, stars in his place with sophomore LB/DB Colin Newton backing him up. Senior LB Al Pierce, who recovered from his preseason injury and played limited time last week, is now back in his expected position starting in the middle, and senior LB Tobi Showunmi is still listed behind senior LB Matt Cohen on the depth chart, though Tobi's status for Saturday is uncertain as well. Senior LB Troy Taylor, another linebacker who has lost time with injury, is back this week as well.

Senior DT Phil Winett is still out this week - he hasn't gotten into a game all year - while senior FB Anthony Fossati is once again listed as the primary fullback though he went out of the Princeton game with an injury, being replaced by sophomore FB Bryce Arruda. It's worth seeing if Arruda gets the start on defense over Fossati, though Fossati, one of the strongest members of the team, will most certainly get the start if he's healthy.

Harvard's game notes can be found here.

Weather Report
Not the best possible forecast for a sophomore in his first start at quarterback: the weather report today is calling for isolated thunderstorms and a high in the low 70s. Lehigh fans have to be hoping that game time will be dry so he will put his best foot forward. Stay tuned.

A Word on Harvard
Two weeks ago Harvard's student newspaper tried to pull a fast one on the rest of the nation. (For some reason this reminds me of the economic mess we're still sort-of in, but I digress).

In that article that could have come out of The Onion, a certain Ms. Amor of the Harvard Crimson tried to paint Harvard as some sort of David to Holy Cross' Goliath in the Crusaders' thrilling 27-20 win over the Crimson. This is abjectly ridiculous; by any measure on this planet, Harvard is always by definition the Goliath, and especially so in football.

You can start with Harvard's endowment - measured in the billions, and the largest endowment of any school on the planet. As a result, Harvard can offer "full scholarships" to any student - which happens to include athletes - whose combined income is under $180,000 a year. No other school can come even close to offering this - certainly not Holy Cross.

Furthermore, it's not like Harvard has been a sister of the poor in Ivy League football under Tim Murphy. In the last seven years, Harvard has won at least seven games every single year, including one co-championship (last year) and three outright Ivy League championships including two undefeated seasons. Murphy's record as head coach is one anyone would drool over - 97-52, or a 62% winning percentage (with many of those losses coming in the 1990s).

Harvard's athletes are from all over the country, and frequently Murphy has out-recruited FBS schools to get them. His starting quarterback is from Oklahoma. In recent memory one of his quarterbacks transferred to LSU (yes, that LSU) where he would have a legitimate shot at becoming the starting QB.

What's next? A headline stating Massive Economic Screw-Up Not Caused by Harvard Grad? (Onion: Take note.)

Last Time Out for Harvard
In stark contrast to Lehigh's problems at quarterback, Harvard's signalcaller achieved the New England Football Writer’s Gold Helmet Award last week after Harvard held on to beat Brown 27-24. Under the lights at Harvard stadium, he accounted for all three Harvard touchdowns, completing 18 of 27 passes for 223 yards while also averaging 5.1 yards per carry rushing.

While their quarterback was getting all the accolades, worthy of mention is the defense who nabbed the game-winning interception, held Brown to 117 yards rushing, and sacked Brown junior QB Kyle Newhall three times. Harvard shows clear signs that they are still the team to beat in the Ivy League - as they seem to be every year.

LFN's Drink of the Week
It's come to this: in a completely misguided effort to try to break Lehigh's losing streak, I actually took the effort to look up the "Drink of the Week" that I wrote up prior to Lehigh's last faceoff against Harvard in 2007. And - just to pre-emptively answer the question that will arise as a result - yes, I believe that this actually can work. Otherwise I wouldn't have done it.

"I think the best possible drink for this day has to be something ... that shows the average Lehigh fan that they can show these stiff Ivy Leaguers how to host a party. The answer? Bloody Mary Lobster Shooters. The easy way is to mix 1 inch of poached lobster pieces in your portable blender, add Bloody Mary Mix and vodka, blend and enjoy on the rocks with a celery stick as a stirrer, but if you're more ambitious you can try to make a real one following these guidelines. My preference, of course, would be one not from mix, but instead heavy on the celery, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice."

As always, drinks of the week have a place in responsible tailgates: that means being over 21 and drinking responsibly. Please do that. And for God's sakes kill the lobsters before you get to Murray Goodman.

Breaking Down Harvard
Offense
Coach Tim Murphy, 3-5 lifetime vs. Lehigh, kills you on offense with all the options that he has available. The offense hasn't changed that much since the days that Dave Cecchini (Lehigh '91) was assistant coach here, with a balanced rushing and passing attack and a dizzying array of targets to throw to on offense. In the first two weeks of Harvard's season, the Crimson have discovered a brand-new way to move the ball down the field: with an extremely athletic, speedy quarterback that will pose problems for Lehigh on defense.

Junior QB Collier Winters, the 5'11 Oklahoman golden boy for the Crimson, gave no doubt that he's the heir apparent to last year's Ivy League player of the year QB Chris Pizzotti on the offense. He's acheived it as much with his feet (106 yards, to lead the Crimson) as with his arm (40 of 64, 448 yards passing, 4 TD, 0 INTs). He resembles Colgate junior QB Matt Sullivan in that he's fast, athletic, a great decision maker, and will unhesitatingly turn into a speedy running back at a moment's notice. Uncommonly for a quarterback in his first two games, he hasn't thrown an interception and has only turned over the ball once - fumbling after a sack in the Holy Cross game. He will be difficult to fool - and will need a spy at all times.

When Winters isn't running the ball, the Harvard rushing attack has two change of pace backs: junior RB Geno Gordon and senior RB Cheng Ho. Both are smallish, speedy backs that the Crimson seem to grow on trees: if a situation arises where "tough yards" are needed, Murphy will probably go to the senior. Like Winters, all are under six feet and rely on the ability to "disappear" behind a large offensive line to get yards.

Harvard has at their base offense a three-wideout set, and already seven different players have caught passes from Winters. The premier receiver is 6'6 senior WR Matt Luft, who despite his modst numbers so far this year (4 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD) he poses all sorts of matchup problems for all of Harvard's opponents on defense due to his size and speed. 6'4 junior WR Chris Lorditch (14 receptions, 164 yards, 1 TD) has emerged as Winter's possession guy, and the General's son, 6'4 junior TE Nicolai Schwartzkopf (2 receptions, 38 yards, 1 TD) and 6'2 sophomore WR Adam Chrissis (8 catches, 65 yards) complete the receiving corps. Year in and year out, the Crimson have one of the best, deepest receiving corps in all of FCS.

The bad news doesn't stop there. A big, talented "O" line, led by NFL prospect senior OL James Williams and senior C Alex Spisak, both all-Ivy League picks last year, have only allowed 2 sacks and given Winters plenty of time to settle in and be a good decision maker.

Defense
As good as Harvard is offensively, on defense they are equally challenging to play against. The Crimson play a basic 4-3 defense, but then again they don't need to be fancy with the sort of athletes they have.

Senior DT Carl Elrich and junior DT Chucks Obi (pictured) have already combined for 13 tackles on the year, are a mammoth defensive tackle tandem that stuffs the middle well - it will be difficult to get tough, interior rushing yards against this tandem. Something to watch for as well are tipped passes on the "D" line - this front four gets their hands up and tip and bat down balls often.

When a back gets through the line, the linebacking unit traditionally has been outstanding hitting the gaps and getting tackles. This year, however, Harvard doesn't have the punishers they've had here in the past. So far this year, senior LB Nick Hassleberg (9 tackles) has been the best linebacker on this unit.

Harvard does have an ace in the hole, however, junior FS Colin Zych, who is the enforcer in the run game and leads the Crimson in tackles (with 14). The rest of the secondary, however, is fairly green - and hasn't nabbed an interception yet this year. Matter of fact, the whole defense has only forced one turnover in two games.

Special Teams
Senior K Patrick Long had a terrific leg last year, but hasn't been asked to do that much yet this year - he's made one field goal, a 29 yarder, so far. Freshman P Jacob Dombrowski so far has been a below-average punter, averaging 35.2 yards per punt.

Murphy has speedy junior CB/RS Matthew Hanson and junior WR/RS Marco Iannuzzi return kicks. While Harvard's punt returns have been nothing to write home about, their return game has been solid on kickoffs, averaging 20 yard per return and holding opponents to 15 yards per return.

Keys to the Game
1. Two hands on the football. The emphasis has to be this week to minimize mistakes. In order to stay in this game, Lehigh will need to hold onto the football and not kill drives with unforced errors from any position on the field. If they don't, Harvard has more than enough talent to make Lehigh pay for their mistakes.
2. Make a big play - or three. Having said that, it would be a huge plus if the Mountain Hawks could get a big play - from any unit, offense, defense or special teams - to get kick-started in the early going. In 2007, Lehigh won the game with a big strip-and-scoop for the game-winning touchdown - such big plays have been lacking for Lehigh since that game, and will need to return if Lehigh's going to make a run at a win here.
3. Spy Winters. Winters is too much of a weapon to run to give him space to take off. Senior LB Al Pierce and senior LB Troy Taylor will need to have their eye on him always, and will need to punish him if he does run with the football.
4. Field position game. One area where Lehigh may have an advantage over the Crimson is special teams. If Lehigh gets locked in a defensive battle, the return game of junior RS/DB Jarard Cribbs and junior DB/RS John "Fear Itself" Kennedy may play a huge role in giving Lehigh a great chance to win.

Fearless Prediction
If I'm pulling out my "LFN Drink of the Week" from 2007 for good luck, you know two things: 1) that I think Lehigh has had more than their share of bad luck in this early going, and 2) I think this is a really tough spot for Lehigh this week. (And 3) I'm crazy, of course.)

There are so many questions that Lehigh needs to answer this week. Will the quarterback change make a difference in the ability of the offense to make plays? Is Harvard, with their always-tough team, the best spot for an essentially brand-new quarterback to get his first start? Can Lehigh play a clean game with fewer errors? Most importantly, can Lehigh finally break the familiar script where they dig themselves in a hole early, battle back to almost retake the lead by the end of the game but just fall short?

The Mountain Hawks may be better, but there are too many questions to pick them to win this game. They'll be better - just not better enough to beat Harvard.

Lehigh 17, Harvard 23