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Lehigh 7, Yale 23, final

Coach Coen said earlier this week the following quote: "The next two weeks will define who we are as a football team."

So we lost 23-7 to one of the best football teams in the nation. So how did this game define Lehigh?

In my opinion, we're a team that is defined by:
  • That one drive a game on offense when we can move the ball on anybody (Scoring drive: 8 plays, 58 yards - Sedale 1 yard TD run, 3-3 passing, good mix of run and pass).
  • A defense that will not give up in their punishment. They smacked McLeod all day and did their level best to try to give Yale a pounding. Although McLeod got a lot of yards, it wasn't really due to major mistakes in tackling or anything. He had two touchdowns today: one on a long run, he got the blocks and showed his acceleration, and the other on a shorter run where we put eight in the box and McLeod showed his vision to pop to the outside and accelerate for the TD.
  • A team that cannot convert 3rd downs. 4-for-12 today.
  • A team that cannot get into the red zone, and is not all that efficient (50% today) when they get there.
  • A team that has a good chance to win a field position-type game (41.6 yard punt average).
  • A team that cannot get the running game going: 80 yards rushing. As a result, we are losing the battle of time of possession on a consistent basis.
  • A team that can get decent pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and get a decent number of tackles for loss. That we got five of them against a team that runs as much as Yale did is a credit to the defense.
  • A team who can move the ball within the 20s at times, but then - twice in this game - has turned over the ball in key spots with two crushing interceptions. The deflating feeling that happened when the interception was thrown at the goal line when Lehigh was in a position to go ahead or at least tie - a huge killer.
  • A team who drops passes, one of which was a sure touchdown.
  • A team who cannot dominate the line of scrimmage on offense. I couldn't count how many times our quarterback was flushed out of the pocket.
So that's what type of team we are. For what it's worth, in my estimation this team played better than they did against Fordham. But this team desperately needs to find some sort of answers on offense. We need a playmaker.

Fortunately, Lehigh has a chance to not be defined by this game offensively. They have a chance to be defined in next week's game versus Holy Cross.

Every game from now on may as well be a playoff game.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Stop the sugar coating. This team is pathetic. They don't even play like they care. With the score still relatively close Yale bobbles the punt return and in the ensuing scrum both teams dive for the ball. NO ONE on Lehigh even pretends they recovered the ball. No emotion at all.

And as pathetic as Sedale has looked, I put more blame on his bumble-fingered receivers who dropped ball after ball after ball. This team is regressing week after week. I have my doubts whether they'll be able to compete with Georgetown.

And Elon continues to win.
Anonymous said…
As does The Citadel...(;-)

Yes, we can't lose another game if we are to even have shot at the League championship. Major questions for the offense. Some plays were there for the taking but we failed to 'step up'. Defense lived on the field. Can't be expected to take such a continual pounding. If told before the game that we'd hold Yale to 23, I'd take it in a heartbeat thinking we 'should' be able to score enough to make it close, then who knows with a break. The opportunities were there. We just didn't execute. The season either 'restarts' next Saturday, or ends.
Anonymous said…
I have resigned myself to no post season. Fordham is playing very well, and I don't think Lehigh can be consistent enough to sweep the rest of the PL. At most, if some miracle happens, we'll once again share the PL title, but there is no chance at an at-large bid.

I am just hoping they can pull it together to at least beat Laf-at-it. It has been three painful years losing to the girls from Easton. I saw somewhere this would be the first senior class since sometime in the fifties to have NEVER won a Leh-Laf game in their four years.
Anonymous said…
good thing sedale is the best quarterback of all-time 3 moreints really helped your cause chuck
Anonymous said…
I think Lehigh will rise to the occasion this week against a weak defensive team, weak enough to let Lehigh outscore Holy Cross by 10 points. This will be the springboard for the rest of the season. I see Fordham losing to both Lafayette and Holy Cross - and that will take care of that issue. Lehigh runs the table and things will get back to the way they should be for Lehigh football.

Sedale has been a disappointment, but I think the main problem is that Matt McGowan has not played and Josh Pastore has been injured too often. I felt that the key player going into this season was Matt McGowan, not Sedale Threatt and he has not played AT ALL. What a shame.

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