Lehigh Football Nation

Lehigh put another listless performance today in falling 21-7 to rival Colgate this weekend. It was not pleasant to watch, although it seemed to start out well. After the defense did a good job forcing the punt, the Mountain Hawks had an impressive drive, subbing in sophomore QB Chris Bokosky and senior QB Sedale Threatt , with Threatt actually catching a pass and getting some tough runs including a touchdown. Freshman RB Jaren Walker also had some very impressive runs too, getting tough yards to the outside. But then, not much went right. After Colgate drove to a touchdown off a 34 yard pass to a wide-open Pat Simonds, freshman WR John Kennedy had a fantastic return, and a blocker with only the kicker to beat. But the blocker fell asleep to let the kicker make the play to stop Kennedy from finding the end zone. A play that could have truly shifted the momentum back to Lehigh was completely foiled by an inexcusable mental error - and two plays later, a fumbled QB-to-RB exchange

If you're reading this, chances are you have plans to watch the game on TV (Channel 69, WFMZ), listening to the game on the radio (ESPN AM 1230 or 1320 in the Lehigh Valley) or watching/listening on Lehigh Broadcast and are not some of the heartier souls taking the bus up to Hamilton. I'm going to be catching the replay myself as I'm almost ready to go to see the "Rumble In The Bronx" as Holy Cross plays Fordham. Before I go, however, I wanted to post the press links and my Patriot League picks this week. Patriot League Picks As always, some of these are cross-posted over at the College Sporting News . It's interesting times in the FCS as, quite possibly, a SWAC team may qualify for the playoffs. Read the article to find out how. Holy Cross over Fordham The “Rumble In the Bronx”, a battle between unlikely Patriot League co-leaders in Holy Cross and Fordham, may not determine the eventual Patriot League champion, but it will go a long way in doing so. The Crus

Rivalries. It's what college football is really all about, and Lehigh will be facing one of its biggest league rivals as the Mountain Hawks travel to Hamilton, NY to face Colgate in their annual brawl. Giving credit where credit is due, last year linebacker Matt Mohler crowned the week before the Colgate game as "Hate The 'Gate" week, and it has stuck. All week, Lehigh fans have been "hating the 'Gate", showing exactly how far this rivalry has come since 1922. And this Lehigh football team has gotten into it. At the press luncheon this week, senior Rashaun Gasaway ("Our goal is to win football games, not to lay down so teams can win championships.") and senior TE Joe Sutherland ("We don't like Colgate very much. I know we hate going up there because it’s in the middle of nowhere. Every year, it's a big game." ) talked about it. This rivalry has come a long way from that first game in 1922, which was played in Johnson City

This week, it wasn't even close. On defense, game ball goes to junior DL Brian Jackson winning the defensive honors, with three tackles but that included 1 1/2 sacks for 10 yards. Well overdue honor for Jackson as he has had a great year so far, which hopefully will continue in Hamilton this weekend. Special teams ball goes to senior KR Brannan Thomas this week. 6 punt returns for 87 yards, including a 27 yarder, gives him the nod this week. But the big winner this week was the landslide choice by you, the fans, of junior RB Matt McGowan for Player of The Week. He had the day that Lehigh fans were looking for: the first 100-yard rushing performance (128 yards, on 24 carries) and 2 touchdowns. Finally healthy, his performance gives Lehigh fans a lot of hope going into Hamilton, NY to face an old rival in Colgate. Congratulations to all the winners, and look tomorrow for the Lehigh/Colgate preview.

I figure by now you're sick of watching the Democratic debate by now, and are instead hungry for the weekly roundup of other games and items of interest. (And of course checking out the YouTube thing in the side panel over there.) But before I get into that, I cannot understand the latest Sports Network Poll, although it's worthy of mention that Holy Cross is on the brink of entering the poll in the "Others Receiving Votes" section (putting them, in effect at No. 27 in the nation). But how does undefeated Yale *drop* two spots by beating 1-5 Columbia by 21 points, yet Wofford *gains* one spot by squeaking by 1-6 Western Carolina by three points? It simply makes no sense. Granted, Yale grants themselves no favors by being in the Ivy League, with only ten games and no playoffs. But Yale is one of the best teams in the country, and they could end up not even being in the Top 10 by the end of the year unless voters pick their heads up out of the sand. That's a

(Photo courtesy of Andrew Maier, Brown & White) Some interesting things in the press links, but first I'd like to call your attention to the "Media" Links on the left and the Webshots Albums . That's a holding area for all the pictures I've taken during the games I've attended, including the Lehigh/Fordham game that I just uploaded. Due to popular demand, I'll be uploading the Holy Cross/Lehigh pictures too soon as well. (For those of you who prefer looking a pictures of Lehigh victories, Lehigh/Princeton is there as well.) Junior RB Matt McGowan , who was day-to-day early in the week, suddenly was available to go later this week for the Georgetown game, while some reports hint that senior QB Sedale Threatt was more banged up than was originally let on, which led to sophomore QB Chris Bokosky to get more reps in practice and get the start. A good piece, incidentally on how Threatt took the news of splitting time with Bokosky, and some questions as

Ever think you'd ever see a Lehigh game where there were only five pass completions (out of 12 attempts) for the Mountain Hawks... and that Lehigh would win by their biggest margin of victory on the year? It's because Lehigh has become a "smash" team. Now more than ever, it seems clear what coach Coen wants Lehigh to be: a team which dominates the line of scrimmage, beats up the opponent physically, runs the ball effectively, and flies to the ball on defense. "Smash" the opposing offense with our linebackers and defensive linemen, and our O-line needs to "smash" the defensive fronts of the opposing team. With junior RB Matt McGowan finally healthy, and a team which is undersized at the line of scrimmage, we saw what a "smash" offense is capable of. It's capable of 5.3 yards per carry. We also saw what a "smash" defense is capable of: shutouts. The team played with pride yesterday, played much better, and delivered the resou