Lehigh Football Nation

Below the flip, see my Top 25 for this week.

Last year, I used the word" "Fun" to describe a particular Lehigh victory , and in that "Sunday Word" I ended up recalling the Fun Bunch, the Washington Redskins' offensive players ( WR Virgil Seay , WR Charlie Brown and WR Alvin Garrett , along with TE Rick Walker and TE Don Warren ), that had their own unique celebrations after  touchdowns. It's funny that this year, I'm going to refer to a favorite quotation from their coach at the time, the legendary Joe Gibbs .  (Even though I'm not a Redskin fan.) Rich Tandler , author of the book " Gut Check ", says that "gut check was a favorite phrase of Gibbs’, as in 'it was a real gut check out there,' in referring to a particularly challenging game situation." After watching Lehigh battle Holy Cross last weekend, I knew almost instantly that I was going to go with "gut check" as a "Sunday Word". For if there was ever a "gut-check" ...

Going into the game, it was reasonable to believe that it was going to be a Brown & White offensive show over the team from Worcester in the White and Purple. It was reasonable to believe, too, that the outcome would have hinged upon the many Mountain Hawk offensive stars that have emerged over the course of the season: notably, senior QB Chris Lum, junior RB Zach Barket , or junior WR Ryan "The Answer" Spadola . But it did not. In a game where Lehigh would get shut out in the first half and not log a single passing touchdown, they would win the football game - thanks to three unlikely heroes.

Ever have such a good idea, that you're amazed you never came up with it before? That's what happened to me yesterday, when I discovered I could break up my game previews into two different blog postings: one for a more general look at the game, and the other a technical breakdown of the opposition. Below the flip, see Holy Cross broken down, as well as my "Keys to the Game" - and, of course, the "Fearless Prediction".

(Photo Credit: Associated Press via the San Francisco Examiner) It's been a strange week this week for the Lehigh football program. When they came home after their 45-25 win over Colgate, they came home to a dark campus.  A power outage had knocked most of the lights on campus - including the electricity in the Lehigh athletics office. Which, in the run up to the home game against the Crusaders this weekend, is par for the course. Since head coach Tom Gilmore became the head of the Holy Cross football program, whenever the Crusaders have come to Bethlehem, strange things have happened - and the Mountain Hawks have come out on the losing end of the deal.

Why do I keep forgetting to post my Players of the week each week?  Should I blame it on the power outage? This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to: Offense:  Junior QB Zach "Bracket Buster" Barket  (188 yards rushing, 224 all-purpose yards, 4 TDs, 2 TDs rushing, 2 TDs receiving) Defense:  Senior LB Mike Groome  (14 tackles, 1/2 tackles for loss, 1 big stop of Eachus on 3rd down) (tie) Defense: Junior LB Billy Boyko  (13 tackles, 1 key sack on 3rd down) Special Teams/Underclassman:  Freshman RB Jason Suggs  (122 kickoff return yards, and no Lehigh drives after kickoffs started behind the 35 yard line) For the Fordham game: Offense:  Senior QB Chris Lum  (32/47, 413 yards, 3 TDs) (tie) Offense:  Junior WR Ryan "The Answer" Spadola  (13 catches, 216 yards, 1 TD) Defense:  Senior DE Andrew Knapp  (5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss including 1 sack) Special Teams/Underclassman:  Sophomore P/K...

It's been a crazy week so far in the Lehigh Valley, with the freak October snowstorm that made its way through the area, and the resulting power outages on campus that continue to this moment. But that hasn't stopped the local press from churning out a host of different articles about the big Patriot League clash between Lehigh and Colgate this weekend. Even the relatively silent media around Utica took notice - with an actual written postgame story, and an actual quote from a Colgate player who played in the game . Who said gumshoe reporting is dying north of Binghamton and east of Buffalo?