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Lehigh 0, Yale 7, Final

I'm sitting here in front of my laptop, struggling to think of what to say.

All I can really say is that anyone who sat through this game, online or - Heaven forbid - in person, deserves a medal.

There is such a thing as a defensive struggle. And Lehigh's defense certainly battled bravely. But every time Lehigh's defense set the table, the offense and special teams could not score a single friggin' point.

That's something that hasn't happened against a Lehigh team since 1986. And Lehigh, before this afternoon, had only been shut out twice since moving from from Division II in 1979, both times by Navy. That means that Lehigh, for the first time ever, was shut out by an FCS team as an FCS team.

You could glorify a Lehigh defense that didn't quit - a defense that kept trying to set the table to score anything. But the offense was pure pain to watch failing again and again - and even field goal tries gave this reporter a sinking feeling that they wouldn't put points on the board.

You could try to pump up Yale as a latter-day Walter Camp-coached team, but they were nowhere near that level. Their ineptitude on offense equalled Lehigh's, as it was a fake punt that Yale senior LB Paul Rice took into the end zone in the only well-executed play for positive yardage all afternoon.

You could try to make excuses - that it was wet, or windy, or that Lehigh had a lot of injuries. But any excuses like that are pathetic. There is no justification for the hideous performance on offense this afternoon.

How hideous? Let me count the ways.

0 for 13 third down conversions.

197 yards of offense.

4 turnovers.

9 first downs.

0 for 2 in the red zone.

Special teams were hideous, too. An opening kickoff return to the 50 yard line. 11 punts, for a whopping 30.1 average net. Three times Lehigh had a chance to down the ball inside the 10, only to see the ball bounce in the end zone to bring it back to the 20. Two missed field goals - there's that 0 for 2 red zone conversion rate.

With a chance to tie the game in the last two minutes - Lehigh took a rare completion (Lehigh quarterbacks only had eight completions on the afternoon) and tried a hook-and-ladder play. It spectacularly misfired, as the ball flew in the air into the hands of Yale junior LB Sean Williams to end the game.

On a week where Lafayette had a historic 35-18 victory against Harvard, Lehigh failed to score a single point against Yale. If that doesn't sum up the state of the program right now, I don't know what does.

Comments

ngineer said…
Offense doesn't get any uglier than today. Some tough decisions need to be made now before our grand 'tradition' is a distant memory. I can't let my blood pressure go up again by reliving this debacle. Kudos to the defense for great heart and trying like hell to win the game themselves at the end. I can't stand it.
Anonymous said…
When was last time Lehigh was shut out at HOME?

This had to be the first time it was shut out at Goodman.

ATROCIOUS offensive coordination. How can Andy keep the OC around? This has gone on for several years and six games. Guess he's so ignorant of the obvious he's willing to take the fall at the end of the year.
Anonymous said…
Abyssmal. What else can you say? This program is in shambles, and we have a right to be pissed off about it. These kids work their asses off every week, and for what? To have some moron call a hook-and-ladder play given the circumstances late in the game. How about the screen play 10 yards deep in the pocket on 3rd and 10? I'll close by letting Andy Coen know that I've got some leftover U-Haul boxes that he's welcome to.
Anonymous said…
The AD has to act now, or we will be dealing with Coen for at least 1more year.

Recruiting time is just around the corner and we will have to have a head coach named( with a good record as a head coach) to have any kind of hope for a half decent recruiting year.

Someone said to put Kotulski in charge for the rest of the season, which isn't a bad idea, although I'm not sure he has the offensive experience and we all know the "O" coordinator needs to go with Coen.

It's going to be very interesting to see how long the AD takes to pull the trigger on this mess.

LFN is a "Hommer" and by his last post you can even tell he's finally taking the gloves off.

Good for you LFN, even though you've beea bit late.
Anonymous said…
This is also the first time in forever that Lehigh has gone winless in their non-conference schedule. Very painful to watch yesterday. I can only hope we can turn it around before November 21st.
Anonymous said…
I have no axe to grind..I'll just call this as I see it from the perspectve of a longtime fan (40+ years).

Lafayette's program was in a ditch by the late 90's; today they are a solid program. Holy Cross fell upon hard times for an extended period through most of the 90's and they are now a solid program. Colgate was 0-11 prior to the arrival of Coach Biddle and they are a consistent winning program. Lehigh was a consistent, winning program between 1998 and 2006, and now they are not. Let's sum this up - It's COACHING!

Joe Sterrett needs to acknowledge the fact that this time, he screwed up in his choice for head man. I said in prior posts that he rolled the dice with young, inexperienced head coaches twice before (Higgins, Lembo) and he lucked out. He rolled the dice again and this time it is blowing up in his face. He needs to pull the plug immediately, and not at the end of the season. If not, he will lose another crucial recruiting year, which was the case following Lembo's departure. This is the worst senior class in recent history, in my opinion. We not only have a guy who is a poor game day coach, but his ability to recruit talent is also called into question. He managed to take Lembo's talent, talent that averaged 8-9 wins a year, and turn it into a five win (or worse) team. Incredibly, he came on board with a glowing resume as an "offensive mastermind". The offense is atrocious! In addition, further proof of his lack of ability as a leader is the LU record in close games. Look it up! In 22 loses, check out how many have been decided by 10 or fewer points. He's ofer! Not as much as a single win in games deemed as "winnable". The jury may be out on whether we have talent (I feel that we do), but the verdict is in on Andy's coaching ability, and it is not very good.

To me, it's like we handed the keys to a Ferrari to a teenager. He has not maintained it and now after four years, the wheels are wobbling. As I pointed out earlier, the answer is not "let Andy work through this), because there is no proof he can. Admit his hiring was a mistake, and get the right coach in here NOW!

Voice of Reason
Anonymous said…
Well, the good news is that at least now we can now honestly say- IT CAN'T GET ANY WORSE THAN THAT.
With the attainment of the lowest point in the most forgettable football era of modern LU football, comes optimism that the AD finally now GETS IT. I am only happy that my father, one of the most enthusiastic, longest running LU alumni and fans, was not around to witness this fiasco.
Anonymous said…
The Lembo record:

2001
Lehigh (PA)
11
1
0
0.91667
427
216


2002
Lehigh (PA)
8
4
0
0.66667
319
216


2003
Lehigh (PA)
8
3
0
0.72727
330
185


2004
Lehigh (PA)
9
3
0
0.75000
345
193


2005
Lehigh (PA)
8
3
0
0.72727
399
228

2006
Elon (NC)
5
6
0
0.45455
253
256


2007
Elon (NC)
7
4
0
0.63636
400
334

2008
Elon (NC)
8
4
0
0.66667
323
256



Totals
64 28 0 0.69565 2796 1884 912
Anonymous said…
Lembo's Lehigh record in close (decided by 10 or fewer)games:

15 wins 10 losses

Lot's of blow out wins.

Andy stinks...get rid of him now!
Anonymous said…
Andy's record in close ones -

1 win 13 losses

Writing on wall Sterrett.

Get rid of Andy NOW!!!!
Anonymous said…
Andy's idea of innovative offensive play calling:

Put 15 in and let him run the ball up the middle.

Good call Andy (the offensive genius)

So far, the only thing offensive is your play calling.

Sterrett--- Are you listening??? Get rid of Andy!!!
Anonymous said…
Open letter to Sterrett:

Admit that you f***ed up NOW!!!

Andy's no coach.

Andy must go NOW!!!

Joe....are you listening??? Anybody home???


BTW- Nice homecoming crowd.

The worst is yet to come....
Anonymous said…
To president of Lehigh:

If Joe does not get rid od Andy (I wanted to be a Head Coach badly) Coen, do the right thing - -

Fire Ad Joe Sterrett...he is delusional!!!


Andy and Joe may both have to go!!!!


Disgruntled in Bethlehem
Anonymous said…
Chuck-

Stop foolin' around. get something started... don't tell us "it's not too late... the PL game are coming".

Who on God's green earth can we beat? Tell me... please. The Bison...maybe?

We are looking at 1 - 10 Chuck.

Andy must go NOW!!!!
Anonymous said…
Anonymous said...
Well, the good news is that at least now we can now honestly say- IT CAN'T GET ANY WORSE THAN THAT.


Hmmmm....really?

How about when Andy loses the "D" and the close, frustrating losses turn into 59-10 thrashings like the 2007 debacle at home against HC? Will that help you to bottom out?

Let's not wait...rise up, lend you voices in unison...all together now:

"Andy must go", "Andy must go", "Andy must go", "Andy must go", "Andy must go", "Andy must go", LOUDER..."Andy must go"...
Anonymous said…
Comom guys....... Give me a break

They weren't my recruits the first few years

We have had a lot of injuries

We had to play a few of those games in the rain

We have a lot of young kids playing

I tried to throw my QB's under the bus, but it didnt work

I thought playing 3 QB's would give our O a jump start

I have to go back and look at tape

I let Brown call the offense so I can manage the game. It's not my fault we have to many players on the field, or not enough, I was contemplating what QB to put in the game

I didn't call that hook and ladder, Brown did and my headset wasnt working

Joe and I are "Buds" so Brown and I aren't going anywhere. so suck it up.

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