Housekeeping before the 148th Meeting

I have some things to do before the 148th this weekend in Easton - namely, two weeks of players of the week (since I forgot for Holy Cross in my zeal to cover the Colgate game) and some links wrapping up last week's game.

Something that has muted the party this week has been the heartbreaking story of Lafayette QB Zach Zweizig, whose father, 56, tragically died from complications of a stroke earlier this week.

My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. I love "The Rivalry", I really do. But some things transcend it.

For the Holy Cross game, the LFN Players of the Week were:

Offense: Senior QB Michael Colvin (24/34 passing, 362 yards, 3 passing TDs, 59 yards rushing, 2 rushing TDs, 0 INT)

Offense: Senior WR Ryan Spadola (8 catches, 202 yards, 2 TDs)

Defense: Senior LB Billy Boyko (17 tackles - astoundingly, all solo tackles)

Defense: Senior DE Tom Bianchi (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 huge fumble recovery)

Special Teams: Senior PR Marcus Dormevil (2 returns, 74 yards, 1 73 yard return setting up first score)

Underclassman: Freshman LB Noah Robb (2 special teams tackles)

And against Colgate, the week's LFN Players of the Week go to:

Defense: Senior LB Billy Boyko (12 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 QB hurry)

Defense: Senior LB Sam Loughery (14 tackles)

Special Teams: Junior P Tim Divers (5 punts, 44.4 average, a booming 72 yarder)

Underclassman: Sophomore TE Tyler Coyle (1 catch, the 4 yard TD off the deflected pass)

Congratulations to the winners.

Morning Call: Colgate Chews up Lehigh, Wins 35-24
Morning Call: Lehigh Has No Time To Feel Sorry For Itself
Express-Times: Lehigh Falls in Bid for Third Straight Patriot League Championship
Brown & White: Lehigh Falls to Colgate in Patriot League Championship Game

“I think we should be a playoff team right now," Lehigh coach Andy Coen said. "I know if we win 10 games our chances are a lot better to get an at-large bid.”

"This season isn't over. I plan on playing a lot more football."

The Hawks will have to recover physically and mentally from their heartbreaking loss if they hope to add a 10th win to their season over rival Lafayette College next Saturday. Doing so will increase their chances of earning an at-large bid for the FCS playoffs.

"Obviously, this is a very tough loss because winning the Patriot League is our first goal," senior QB Michael Colvin said. "We have to refocus, but the Lafayette game is a season within itself. That's how we approach it. Whether we were 0-10 going into that game, Lafayette has always been very important for our seniors, and for our team. We'll get that message across. That won't be a problem."

"I think we're blessed, and their kids are blessed as well, that we have this game to play at the end of the season," Coen said. "This game is always the most important one on the calendar. Now we have to come back and get ready to play."

How The Ivy League Is Able To Break the NCAA's Scholarship Limits and Still Consider Themselves FCS

By now you've seen the results. In 2018, the Ivy League has taken the FCS by storm. Perhaps it was Penn's 30-10 defeat of Lehigh a couple of weeks ago . Or maybe it was Princeton's 50-9 drubbing of another team that made the FCS Playoffs last year, Monmouth. Or maybe it was Yale's shockingly dominant 35-14 win over nationally-ranked Maine last weekend. The Ivy League has gone an astounding 12-4 so far in out-of-conference play, many of those wins coming against the Patriot League. But it's not just against the Patriot League where the Ivy League has excelled. Every Ivy League school has at least one out-of-conference victory, which is remarkable since it is only three games into their football season. The four losses - Rhode Island over Harvard, Holy Cross over Yale, Delaware over Cornell, and Cal Poly over Brown - were either close losses that could have gone either way or expected blowouts of teams picked to be at the bottom of the Ivy League. W

Made-Up Midseason Grades for Lehigh Football

We are now officially midway through the 2023 Lehigh football season. The Mountain Hawks sit at 1-5 overall, and 0-1 in the Patriot League. I thought I'd go ahead and make up some midseason grades, and set some "fan goals" for the second half. The 2023 Mountain Hawks were picked to finish fifth in the seven team Patriot League. In order to meet or exceed that expectation, they'll probably have to go at least 3-2 the rest of the way in conference play. Their remaining games are vs. Georgetown, at Bucknell, vs. Holy Cross, at Colgate, and vs. Lafayette in The Rivalry. Can they do it? Culture Changing: B+ . I was there in the Bronx last week after the tough 38-35 defeat to Fordham, and there wasn't a single player emerging from the locker room that looked like they didn't care. Every face was glum. They didn't even seem sad. More frustrated and angry. That may seem normal, considering the agonizing way the Mountain Hawks lost, but it was a marked chan

Fifteen Guys Who Might be Lehigh's Next Football Coach (and Five More)

If you've been following my Twitter account, you might have caught some "possibilities" as Lehigh's next head football coach like Lou Holtz, Brett Favre and Bo Pelini . The chance that any of those three guys actually are offered and accept the Lehigh head coaching position are somewhere between zero and zero. (The full list of my Twitter "possibilities" are all on this thread on the Lehigh Sports Forum .) However the actual Lehigh head football coaching search is well underway, with real names and real possibilities. I've come up with a list of fifteen possible names, some which I've heard whispered as candidates, others which might be good fits at Lehigh for a variety of reasons. UPDATE: I have found five more names of possible head coaches that I am adding to this list below. Who are the twenty people? Here they are, in alphabetical order.

Lehigh Football Nation

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