Lehigh Football Nation

I have a confession to make: there is something I really like about Liberty University. As a guy who writes about college football an awful lot, I end up drawing on my own college experiences on South Mountain frequently. And compared to hard-working, hard-partying, casual Lehigh, Liberty is just incredibly different. It makes for good writing. And when the Flames come to Lehigh in September, fans of both dissimilar teams are hoping that they and the Mountain Hawks share one thing, and one thing only: a ranking in the FCS Top 25. (more)

(Photo Credit: Jim Middlekauff/The Express-Times) When you talk to senior LB Mike Groome , you know you're going to get straightforward answers. Groome's straightforward talking style extends to the football field, where the Byram, NJ native jumped into a defensive starting role with both feet to have one of the best defensive statistical seasons in recent memory: 131 tackles, including 73 solo tackles and seven tackles for loss. The senior linebacker who wasn't even anointed the starting linebacker in preseason camp last year ended up being a big reason for Lehigh's turnaround in 2010. And in 2011, as defensive captain, he hopes to maintain the high bar he and his teammates set with last year's spectacular season. (more)

By any measure, times have not been great for the remaining "Northeast Four" of the old Yankee Conference. Now competing in the Colonial Athletic Association, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and UMass were the final teams remaining north of the Big Apple when Northeastern and Hofstra decided to fold their football programs within a week of each other . Since that fateful day a year and a half ago, Rhode Island announced their intention to join the limited scholarship NEC in 2012 , and this summer UMass announced their intention to join the MAC conference in FBS , where they'll attempt to kindle a football rivalry loosely based on the Temple/UMass basketball showdowns in the days of John "Darth Vader" Calipari and John " Knock Your Kids in the Mouth " Chaney . That has left New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano (pictured), and Maine athletic director Steve Abbott, feeling more and more isolated in football. And in the past few da...

In effect, this is the final weekend before football season officially begins. Tomorrow, technically, is the first day that Mountain Hawk football players will be reporting to camp, and the 2011 football season ceases to be just a theory. To celebrate the weekend before I self-embark on yet another Lehigh football season, I decided to do something I've never done before. That is "smoke" some beef brisket. (more)