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 serious work, even Lafayette. There's plenty of time to right the ship, but it has to be soon. Last I checked, the Patriot League champion gets the autobid for the I-AA playoffs, and it doesn't get taken away for losing a bad game in September. As long as Lehigh corrects their problems with "unforced errors", they can still compete for championship rings.
Work still needs to be done, obviously. Fortunately, there's still lots of time to get it done with ten games left, and a chance to get an impressive win over an A-10 opponent. It will not be easy against a Villanova squad that will also be eager to avoid a 0-2 start, but if Lehigh pulls off the upset, the truth will be that they will own the best out-of-conference win in the Patriot League. It's a challenge, but not impossible.
In a way, I'm eager to see Lehigh play on a slop field one more time this year to prove that they can get the job done. From this game, Lehigh has to prove that it can win this type of bad-weather game after having lost the last two (Albany, last year's Holy Cross game). I know I'll be watching closely to see if Lehigh can play well in adverse conditions.
If we learn anything from this game, it's that Lehigh has to prove itself again. Gone are the days when wins were automatic, or when they were always the most talented guys on the field. Every week, Lehigh needs to prove itself. That can be a great thing.
Of course it's way too early to write coach Coen, the offense, the defense, and the special teams off after one game this season. Nobody should be writing the athletic department complaining that coach Coen should be run out of town on a rail. (Speaking of which, anybody notice that coach Lembo got his first win with Elon yesterday, downing nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina 23-20?)
The bottom line is it's one game in September that will be forgotten by November if Lehigh can right the ship. The key to this season will be how the Lehigh players and coaching staff responds to this game next week, and the game after that. And it only gets harder, and more is at stake, from here.
Football fans are funny - you can make them forget really easily by winning the next week. Every fumble or bad snap will be forgotten. We all want to forget it. Here's hoping, next Sunday, we will.
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 serious work, even Lafayette. There's plenty of time to right the ship, but it has to be soon. Last I checked, the Patriot League champion gets the autobid for the I-AA playoffs, and it doesn't get taken away for losing a bad game in September. As long as Lehigh corrects their problems with "unforced errors", they can still compete for championship rings.
Work still needs to be done, obviously. Fortunately, there's still lots of time to get it done with ten games left, and a chance to get an impressive win over an A-10 opponent. It will not be easy against a Villanova squad that will also be eager to avoid a 0-2 start, but if Lehigh pulls off the upset, the truth will be that they will own the best out-of-conference win in the Patriot League. It's a challenge, but not impossible.
In a way, I'm eager to see Lehigh play on a slop field one more time this year to prove that they can get the job done. From this game, Lehigh has to prove that it can win this type of bad-weather game after having lost the last two (Albany, last year's Holy Cross game). I know I'll be watching closely to see if Lehigh can play well in adverse conditions.
If we learn anything from this game, it's that Lehigh has to prove itself again. Gone are the days when wins were automatic, or when they were always the most talented guys on the field. Every week, Lehigh needs to prove itself. That can be a great thing.
Of course it's way too early to write coach Coen, the offense, the defense, and the special teams off after one game this season. Nobody should be writing the athletic department complaining that coach Coen should be run out of town on a rail. (Speaking of which, anybody notice that coach Lembo got his first win with Elon yesterday, downing nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina 23-20?)
The bottom line is it's one game in September that will be forgotten by November if Lehigh can right the ship. The key to this season will be how the Lehigh players and coaching staff responds to this game next week, and the game after that. And it only gets harder, and more is at stake, from here.
Football fans are funny - you can make them forget really easily by winning the next week. Every fumble or bad snap will be forgotten. We all want to forget it. Here's hoping, next Sunday, we will.
Comments
The defensive line (never liked the 3-4 myself) was being pushed all over the field. Lehigh was waiting for the Albany backs to come to them. By then they had already picked-up 5 yards.
They didn't look at all ready to play, but I'll reserve judgement until Villanova.
The upside is this: after a game like saturday's that problem will be fixed very quickly. I would wager there will not be another snap over Leo's head this season.
The D also looked out of sorts all day, maybe that is the adjustment to the 3-4. I remember in 1986 and Hank Small's first game against Holy Cross we made a lot of mistakes. They need to work hard to get back on track.
My biggest concern is that Coach Coen is trying to implement a more run oriented offense with a team that is built for speed and finesse passing game. Maybe they have to wait for a couple of recruiting classes to come through before they make the full switch to a running team.
I watched the replay of the Easton teams game agianst Sacred Heart and they looked bad. Maybe it was PAtriot league first game jitters. Let's hope a good week of practice leads to a better performance at Villanova.
Royce Morgan did not play.
Travis Stenson was limited in action due to past injuries.
The team is as young and inexperienced as any Lehigh Team in the last 4-8 yrs. Not to mention, the defense has to adjust to a new defensive system in GAME situations.
As a past and recent member of the football team, this weekends lost was disturbing, to say the least. Nonetheless, with my understanding of the players and Coach Coen, the team will play MUCH better in the weeks to come.