Lehigh Football Nation

Down 20-14, and facing a critical 3rd-and-1 on the Liberty 38, Lehigh needed a big play. And in a big spot, senior QB Michael Colvin delivered. Fading back to pass, Colvin instead accelerated past the hole that senior C Tom Ruley and senior OL Vinny Pelligrini opened up, and saw nothing but green turf and white-shirted blockers in front of him. It didn't seem like a big thing at the time during the pregame when it was announced that Pellegrini and sophomore OL Matt Douglas would be switched on the depth chart as first-team right and left guards.  But in a game that seemed like it was going to turn on one or two big plays, it was one of the big plays for Lehigh, who took the game by the horns in that huge 68 yard TD run, riding the wave to a huge 28-26 win over Liberty in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Last week, before the Lehigh/Princeton game, I stopped in to check on a friend, who just happened to be at the Rust Pavillion. FB Brett Snyder , a hero of mine, was there to raise some funds for his ongoing effort to beating ALS, a disease he was diagnosed with nine years ago. Never one to shy away from challenges on the football field, after being given only 18 months to live eight years ago, Brett never gave up, and today he's still fighting.  I was thrilled to be just a very small part of the celebration and fundraiser this past Saturday.

(Photo Credit: Lauren Carroll/ The Missoulian ) We break down the Liberty game - and we give our fearless prediction, below the flip. Two weeks ago, Lehigh faced a team that was trying to find out whom their starting quarterback was: Central Connecticut State QB Andrew Clements or QB Nick San Giacomo . Last week, the Mountain Hawks faced another team trying to find out whom their starting QB was: Princeton, QB Brett Epperly or QB Connor Michaelsen . For the third straight week, Lehigh will not know whom they will be facing at QB.  Head coach Turner Gill , as is his policy, will start the guy who does the best in practice, as per Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News-Advance .

(Photo Credit: Liberty Athletics) Two top-notch programs in FCS. Two football programs that are on the map nationally. That's what the matchup down in Lynchburg, Virginia promises this Saturday evening when the Flames host the Mountain Hawks. It also happens to be a game of opposites. Lehigh, at 3-0, hasn't always looked like the No. 13 team in the country, but has done what it takes to win.  And 0-3 Liberty hasn't always looked like a winless team, but also hasn't gotten over the hump and made the one big play to get into the victory column this year.

(Photo Credit: Kevin Mingora / The Morning Call / September 15, 2012) Below the flip, find my choices for Players of the Week, and a list of the recaps of the game from around the internet.

My vote for the FCS Top 25 for the week ending 9/15/2012 follows below the flip.

All week it was out there. All week head coach Andy Coen , senior OL Mike Vuono and junior SS Rickie Hill said it to whomever would listen.  All week the word out of Lehigh was simple: "focus". It was easy to "focus" on Princeton's back-to-back 1-9 records, their struggles on offense, their pick to finish in last place in the Ivy League, their pick by non-Lehigh fans as yet another "cupcake" on Lehigh's schedule. Instead, Saturday proved that the Mountain Hawks won't be able to simply show up and scare off any opponent simply due to the "Lehigh" on the jersey or their Top 25 ranking. Worse, as a team, Lehigh's lack of "focus" came dangerously close to costing the Mountain Hawks the game.