With apologies to the NYC Lehigh Club of 2003, it's time for this weekend's Water Cooler... I mean, Happy Hour! Lehigh and Lafayette alumni are undoubtedly getting their final arrangements together to either head back to Bethlehem and Easton to catch the 142nd, or you can make like these folks did and go to a Lehigh/Lafayette telecast party anywhere around the country.
If you haven't gotten your plans ready, you can just surf on over to the Lehigh Alumni web site for information. A list of locations for the Lehigh/Lafayette telecasts are listed, directions to Lafayette, and a link to the best unofficial news source on Lehigh football. (One guess.)
As to tailgating at Easton, I only have a couple of suggestions, namely: Get there early. The parking garage next to Fisher is a great place to tailgate, but it's the pros that generally get there early (if it's not for season-ticket holders - I'm not sure). If you miss that (like I probably will), you'll have to park on the many streets in downtown Easton. (Click here for a Google Map of what I'm talking about.) If you're meeting people, get those cell phone numbers, since you'll need it!
Having said all that, tailgating this day is the best in America. The atmosphere will be electric, with boatloads of Lehigh folks there - students, fans, residents, it will be incredible. Add to this the fact that it's a 1PM start (NOT a 12:30 start like it has been in the past) should only make things even better.
Had Enough Lehigh/Lafayette Hype?
Then by all means don't listen to the I-AA Waves podcast this week, featuring audio interviews of Lehigh NT Eric Rakus and Lafayette QB Brad Maurer. And certainly don't browse my latest column on I-AA.org, talking about four rivalries, but saving the best for last. (No, it's not Pitt/West Virgina, the most cloying, artifical faux-rivalry I've ever seen in print.) The best part? Calling "The Rivalry" Armageddon.
Friday Happy Hour: Patriot League, Week 12
Fordham over Georgetown. Hoya Coach Kelly will get the turnaround started, but it will be clear that the Rams are further down the road to getting back to Patriot League championships. Also-Rams 20, Humbled Saxa 10.
Bucknell over Colgate. This is really for the one Bucknell fan on the Any Given Saturday message board that picked this game in the preseason. It seems like it could happen. What the hell! Bison Burgers 30, Out-Run Raiders 17.
Friday Happy Hour: Top 25, Week 12
#13 Montana State over #2 Montana. Bank on it. The 'Cats always have more to play for than the Griz, and they will embarass the Griz. Again. Cats 30, Griz 10.
#3 UMass over Hofstra. The Minutemen simply have too much talent to lose this game, and I'm sure they want to secure a seed. ZooMass 34, Ooof!-stra 8.
#4 North Dakota State over #17 South Dakota State. "The Dakota Marker" is becoming quite a rivalry, and there is just no stopping a stampeding herd of Bison. Stampeding Bison 49, Jumpin' Jacks 12.
#6 Illinois State over #21 Northern Iowa. I have a feeling I will regret this, but I think the Redbirds want some momentum carrying over into the playoffs, and even though it's a last-gasp game for the Panthers, I think they just fall short. Rallying Redbirds 29, Plucky Panthers 26.
#24 Towson over #6 James Madison. Why not? Why not have Towson in the I-AA playoffs this year? They have the QB to put them in, and they simply thrashed Richmond last week. Why not? Tremolo Tigers 42, Duked Dukes 35.
#25 Maine over #9 New Hampshire. I just get the feeling that if the Black Bears can slow down this game enough, and get the "Black Hole" working, Santos-to-Ball will just be a memory. Man-Eating Killing Machines 27, Wounded Wildcats 17.
#10 Southern Illinois over Southern Utah. Should be a formality. Saluki Salute 49, Chunderbirds 7.
#12 Tennessee-Martin over Murray State. The Skyhawks will emphatically tell Murray State what they think about their former coach jumping ship. Carrier Pigeons 49, Run-Over Racers 3.
#14 Princeton over Dartmouth. The Tigers get the silver dollar here, and clinch that Ivy championship. Top Tigers 49, Green With Envy 7.
Charleston Southern over #15 Coastal Carolina. Methinks that the Chanticleers are confident going into this game. They shouldn't be. Chuck South, the anti-Coastal, gets this rivalry going right with another last-second upset. You heard it here first. The Anti-Coastal 31, Beach Chickens 30.
#16 Cal Poly over Savannah State. Poor Tigers. Mad Mustangs 70, Tamed Tigers 0.
#19 Eastern Illinois over Jacksonville State. This game will be interesting early, until the Tennessee State and Murray State scores start rolling in. Then, the Panthers will start pouring it on, looking for that at-large bid. Proud Panthers 49, Game Gamecocks (for a half anyway) 21.
#22 Harvard over Yale. RB Clifton Dawson in his last collegiate game simply won't let the Crimson lose. Crimson 29, Yale 28.
If you haven't gotten your plans ready, you can just surf on over to the Lehigh Alumni web site for information. A list of locations for the Lehigh/Lafayette telecasts are listed, directions to Lafayette, and a link to the best unofficial news source on Lehigh football. (One guess.)
As to tailgating at Easton, I only have a couple of suggestions, namely: Get there early. The parking garage next to Fisher is a great place to tailgate, but it's the pros that generally get there early (if it's not for season-ticket holders - I'm not sure). If you miss that (like I probably will), you'll have to park on the many streets in downtown Easton. (Click here for a Google Map of what I'm talking about.) If you're meeting people, get those cell phone numbers, since you'll need it!
Having said all that, tailgating this day is the best in America. The atmosphere will be electric, with boatloads of Lehigh folks there - students, fans, residents, it will be incredible. Add to this the fact that it's a 1PM start (NOT a 12:30 start like it has been in the past) should only make things even better.
Had Enough Lehigh/Lafayette Hype?
Then by all means don't listen to the I-AA Waves podcast this week, featuring audio interviews of Lehigh NT Eric Rakus and Lafayette QB Brad Maurer. And certainly don't browse my latest column on I-AA.org, talking about four rivalries, but saving the best for last. (No, it's not Pitt/West Virgina, the most cloying, artifical faux-rivalry I've ever seen in print.) The best part? Calling "The Rivalry" Armageddon.
Friday Happy Hour: Patriot League, Week 12
Fordham over Georgetown. Hoya Coach Kelly will get the turnaround started, but it will be clear that the Rams are further down the road to getting back to Patriot League championships. Also-Rams 20, Humbled Saxa 10.
Bucknell over Colgate. This is really for the one Bucknell fan on the Any Given Saturday message board that picked this game in the preseason. It seems like it could happen. What the hell! Bison Burgers 30, Out-Run Raiders 17.
Friday Happy Hour: Top 25, Week 12
#13 Montana State over #2 Montana. Bank on it. The 'Cats always have more to play for than the Griz, and they will embarass the Griz. Again. Cats 30, Griz 10.
#3 UMass over Hofstra. The Minutemen simply have too much talent to lose this game, and I'm sure they want to secure a seed. ZooMass 34, Ooof!-stra 8.
#4 North Dakota State over #17 South Dakota State. "The Dakota Marker" is becoming quite a rivalry, and there is just no stopping a stampeding herd of Bison. Stampeding Bison 49, Jumpin' Jacks 12.
#6 Illinois State over #21 Northern Iowa. I have a feeling I will regret this, but I think the Redbirds want some momentum carrying over into the playoffs, and even though it's a last-gasp game for the Panthers, I think they just fall short. Rallying Redbirds 29, Plucky Panthers 26.
#24 Towson over #6 James Madison. Why not? Why not have Towson in the I-AA playoffs this year? They have the QB to put them in, and they simply thrashed Richmond last week. Why not? Tremolo Tigers 42, Duked Dukes 35.
#25 Maine over #9 New Hampshire. I just get the feeling that if the Black Bears can slow down this game enough, and get the "Black Hole" working, Santos-to-Ball will just be a memory. Man-Eating Killing Machines 27, Wounded Wildcats 17.
#10 Southern Illinois over Southern Utah. Should be a formality. Saluki Salute 49, Chunderbirds 7.
#12 Tennessee-Martin over Murray State. The Skyhawks will emphatically tell Murray State what they think about their former coach jumping ship. Carrier Pigeons 49, Run-Over Racers 3.
#14 Princeton over Dartmouth. The Tigers get the silver dollar here, and clinch that Ivy championship. Top Tigers 49, Green With Envy 7.
Charleston Southern over #15 Coastal Carolina. Methinks that the Chanticleers are confident going into this game. They shouldn't be. Chuck South, the anti-Coastal, gets this rivalry going right with another last-second upset. You heard it here first. The Anti-Coastal 31, Beach Chickens 30.
#16 Cal Poly over Savannah State. Poor Tigers. Mad Mustangs 70, Tamed Tigers 0.
#19 Eastern Illinois over Jacksonville State. This game will be interesting early, until the Tennessee State and Murray State scores start rolling in. Then, the Panthers will start pouring it on, looking for that at-large bid. Proud Panthers 49, Game Gamecocks (for a half anyway) 21.
#22 Harvard over Yale. RB Clifton Dawson in his last collegiate game simply won't let the Crimson lose. Crimson 29, Yale 28.
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