Lehigh Football Nation

(Photo Credit: Brian Freed/The Express-Times ) It's said an awful lot about the game of football: it's a game of momentum.  Sometimes, one play, or one series, give a team that mystical force that just carries them through the game and wins it for them. There are others, though, much like the game played this Saturday - an incredibly hard-fought, physical, matchup, ultimately won by Lehigh, where the momentum shifts back and forth so often you're wondering when the roller coaster ride is going to end. As head coach Andy Coen entered the postgame press conference, he simply sat down and said, "Whew!" - as if he had just gotten off the Green Lantern roller coaster at Great Adventure.  For in a way, he - and a whole legion of Lehigh folks - had been.  (more)

Foolish me, thinking that conference realignment might be put on hold while actual college football is being played. Almost a week ago today, the ACC made its latest school grab from the Big East, nabbing Pitt and Syracuse in a move that was destined to upend conference apple carts all over the country . The move has caused an earthquake of conference speculation - and set other potential moves in motion.  And those moves open up a lot of questions for anyone who cares about the Patriot League.   (more)

When folks around the Lehigh Valley think about "Liberty", they don't usually think of the Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia that hosts one of the most rabid fan bases in all of FCS. They're more likely to think of Liberty High School - home of the Hurricanes, and who count among their alumni an NFL Hall of Famer ( LB Chuck Bednarik ), a College Basketball Hall of Famer (former Lehigh basketball head coach Pete Carril ), and a Hall Of Fame college basketball agent provocateur (former CBS Analyst Billy Packer ). But that's not to say that when the nationally-ranked FCS matchup is complete at Murray Goodman stadium this weekend  that folks around the Lehigh Valley will associate Liberty with a great football team. This weekend's game will be broadcast locally on Service Electric 2, but also nationally on the Family Network, and online on ESPN3, thanks to the Flames Sports Network, allowing a national audience, once again, to see Lehigh's o...

This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to (who else?): Offense:  Senior QB Chris Lum  (28-for-38 passing, 384 yards, passing, 4 TDs, 0 interceptions ) (tie) Offense: Junior WR Ryan Spadola (9 catches, 214 yards, 3 TDs) Defense:  Junior LB Sam Loughery (14 tackles) (tie) Defense: Senior CB Gabe Johnson (6 tackles, 1 pass break-up, 1 INT) Special Teams: Sophomore DB Coutrney Jarvis (4 kickoff returns, 78 yards) Underclassman:  Sophomore RB Keith Sherman (52 yards rushing, including game-icing TD in 4th quarter) Congratulations to the winners!

(Photo Credit: Ben Rosales/The Daily Princetonian) This week's gut-check vitory at Princeton resulted in 0 what else? - another Patriot League Player of the Week award for senior QB Chris Lum ,with his 384 yard, 4 TD, zero interception performance in Lehigh's 34-22 victory . While the Morning Call folks might have found the award ho-hum , there was plenty of press surrounding this hard-fought game this weekend.  (more)

Much is still developing on the front of Asa Chapman's reinstatement, with a fair amount of people (including Liberty students and alumni themselves) electrifying the Flamefans forum over the issue.  In an effort to talk about this story, Lynchburg News and Advance reporter Chris Lang has written a detailed blog posting on the issue , which is a fantastic timeline and collection of quotes concerning the decision. I'll attempt to look at some of the quotes - though I'd strongly suggest anyone to read the whole blog posting - and give some pertinent background, below the flip.   (more)

Nationally-ranked Liberty's visit to Lehigh was never going to be any sort of picnic for the Mountain Hawks. And now, it just got even more challenging . Liberty senior NG Asa Chapman , suspended since Aug. 30 after being charged with two counts of drug possession — one felony, one misdemeanor — has been reinstated to the Flames’ football team, coach Danny Rocco announced Monday. Chapman was originally scheduled to appear in Lynchburg General District Court for an arraignment hearing on Sept. 12, but that hearing was postponed until Dec. 7. He’ll be on the field Saturday when the Flames face Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. Suddenly, Lehigh's job to win on Saturday got harder.  Like, 6'5, 385 lbs harder.   (more)

Below the flip, see my Top 25 for this week.  (more)

Princeton is known for a lot of things.  A founding member of the "Ivy League", of course.  World-class academics.  The team everyone hates to play in the NCAA Tournament in basketball.  The backdoor pass.  Co-inventor of the game of college football.  And a dominating college football team in the early days of college football. But Princeton is also know for something else - their eating "clubs". "For many juniors and seniors, Princeton's 10 historic eating 'clubs' -- the first opened in 1879 -- offer a hub for dining and social life. The clubs, which are located in architecturally distinctive houses along Prospect Avenue, serve daily meals prepared by a head chef and staff," Princeton website proudly tells us. Lehigh's win this weekend illustrates a dirty little secret about the world of collegiate athletics, too.  It's a series of "clubs", too.   (more)