Lehigh Football Nation

I just finished watching the replay of this game. Initial thoughts: * Mental miscues played way too big a part of this loss. Right out of the gate the special teams mistake on the initial punt put us on the back foot, and getting beat on pass coverage also was killer early. Twice kids got beat for big points. * Lehigh's offense and defense didn't appear totally in rhythm, though both showed flashes of brilliance at times. * Kwesi Kankam looks like a keeper. I'll get the stats later, but for a freshman who only got there a month ago he looked aweswome in the action he got into. * The same problems Lehigh had early last year are rearing their ugly heads again: inability to finish drives. End of first half could have maybe been a TD, while the offense got flummoxed late and we had to settle for a long FG that went just wide. * Villanova was losing people left and right, but the starters that did stick in the game had good days. But their lack of depth should have been a major

This be the hottest opening day ever with temperatures in the 90s. So make sure to bring plenty of water for the game (or bring plenty of money!). It seems like most of the pundits are taking Villanova in this, though David Coulson of the Sports Network picks Lehigh in a close game. Most pickers think this is going to be a close game. Let's just hope it goes Lehigh's way! GO LEHIGH

Pumped for Lehigh/Villanova yet? Excited about Volunteer day at the stadium? Happy about a projected sunny, 85 degree day that is perfect for tailgating? Looking forward to seeing a local rivalry with a team from the mighty Colonial Athletic Association? Tomorrow, at 1:07PM, it all begins (with, hopefully, 12,000 of your closest friends). It looks like it's going to be an absolutely perfect day of football, and I wish I could be there to experience it in person - but with my anniversary on the day of September 8th, I have to settle for watching the game on the Lehigh Broadcast . On the bright side, with my new schedule at the College Sporting News , I'll be attending more Lehigh games this year than I have in recent memory. The first game I'm very likely to show for is the 6PM game at Princeton next week, and I have other dates circled on the calendar as well. I'm looking forward to the chance of seeing four Lehigh games this year (including three home games, if

What you can definitely say about opening day at Murray Goodman this year is that it by all accounts will not be an easy game as they take on Villanova (0-1) of the Colonial Athletic Association who, for the second straight year, is coming off a loss to an FBS school before traveling to nearby Bethlehem . Last year, they hosted Lehigh a week after losing to FBS Central Florida 35-16. Central Florida last year was a 4-8 squad that didn’t eclipse that point total again in 2006. Villanova, meanwhile, ended with the same 6-5 record Lehigh did by rattling off four wins in their last four games. (This included a big win versus their biggest rival, Delaware .) This year, Lehigh had a bye week on Labor Day weekend which ended up being a blessing in disguise due to the number of injuries suffered in preseason camp, while Villanova this year lost 31-14 to a Maryland team that could also be a four-win squad in 2007 in a tough ACC. Conventional thinking would dictate that Villanova wil

Well, well. Before I could try to predict Lehigh's two-deep on the year, the game notes for the Villanova game came out and beat me to the punch. Interestingly, the "injury report" has been removed from the game notes, so it's hard to figure out who might be starting due to injury and who isn't. But without any further ado, it's time to print out the starting two-deep and to show how the starting lineup was different than mine (the differences are highlighted ) QB: Sedale Threatt (Sr.), Chris Bokosky (So.) RB: Josh Pastore (Jr.), Kwesi Kankam (Fr.) FB: Adam Watson (Jr.), John Piascik (Sr.) LT: Jimmy Kehs (Sr.), Frank Giacalone (So.) LG: Chris Tiefenthal (Jr.),Ricky Clerge-Appolon (Fr.) C: John Reese (Sr.), Ben Harden (So.) RG: Ben Caffery (Sr.), William Rackley (Fr.) RT: Kevin Bayani (Jr.), Alex Kuziel (Jr.) TE: Joe Sutherland (Sr.), Troy Healion (Jr.) WR1: Sekou Yansane (Jr.), Pete Donchez (Sr.) WR2: Mike Fitzgerald (Jr.), Nick Johnson (Jr.) DT: Kyle Adams

Since Lehigh didn't play this weekend, today is a good time to post some information on the games this weekend concerning the Patriot League and Lehigh's future opponents. Worthy of mention is that the Patriot League went 4-2 in their opening weekend, including wins over tough teams like Albany and Rhode Island, which goes a long way towards getting our league a lot more respect. Although UMass made mincemeat of Holy Cross' defense early in a 40-30 victory over the Crusaders, there are a few things to keep in mind about this game. First, senior all-American CB Casey Gough suffered an injury in the second quarter , which had to be a crushing blow to that defense. Also, Holy Cross really had something very positive to build on after overcoming an early 37-9 deficit to score 21 unanswered points... and had the ball with 6:01 left in the 4th quarter in a position to tie the game at 37. The Minutemen did end up getting the ball again on a 3-and-out and kicked a game-clinchi

By now you've heard that Appalachian State upset the #5 team in the nation from probably every single major College Football Announcer on the planet. Well, CSTV picked up the recap I do with Ralph Wallace from the College Sporting News and linked to it right from the main page. I could talk about it here, but why don't you just read the recap from the link, and the other major FCS upsets this weekend, like non-scholarship Drake upsetting Illinois State or Nicholls State upsetting Rice (who went to a bowl game last year)? You can also get tons of great coverage on College Sporting News (including exclusive commentary by Myron Hosea), and be sure to check out this exclusive photo gallery there , which includes a simply amazing shot of the final blocked FG and runback by Appalachian State (courtesy of the amazing Mark Campbell). Next week, we'll return you to your regularly-scheduled Lehigh stuff...