2014 Week 1 Viewing Guide And Fearless Predictions

This weekend's Lehigh football game, if you can't make it, will be broadcast on Service Electric 2 in the Lehigh Valley, and simulcast online via the Patriot League Digital Network.

Six Patriot League teams play this weekend, with Colgate having a bye week after last week's loss to Ball State.

Interestingly, future Mountain Hawk opponents Monmouth and New Hampshire also have bye weeks this week (as does Yale and Cornell, of course, as the Ivy League football season has not started yet).

Unquestionably the "big game" after the one at Murray Goodman is the clash between Fordham and Villanova, a good game vs. Top Ten teams that will be broadcast on The Comcast Network locally, a bunch of affiliates nationally - and, thankfully, on the Patriot League Network too.

Here's the PLN preview of this week's games.

Saturday, September 5th

1:00 PM : Georgetown at Dayton

Video Stream: A-10 Network ($$)
Audio: WHIO (free)
Stats: Stat Broadcast

I thought the Hoyas might give Wagner a good game, but they struggled in a 21-3 loss. The Flyers are probably better than the Seahawks.

Flyers 28, Hoyas 13.

1:00 PM: Morgan State at Holy Cross

Stream: Patriot League Network
Stats: Live Stats
Audio: 95.9 FM (IHeartRadio)

I keep reading that the Crusaders should rebound this week and beat a team from the MEAC. But I'm not sure they're over the brutal way they lost against Albany last week, and Morgan State is much closer to Holy Cross in talent than people think.

Bears 21, Crusaders 17

3:30 PM: No. 10 Fordham at No. 7 Villanova

TV: The Comcast Network, or check your local listings (American Sports Network)
Stream: Patriot League Network
Stats: GameTracker
Live Audio: StretchInternet

Is it too late to get a projection screen in Murray Goodman's parking lot? A dandy of a game featuring two of FCS' top QBs, this time Fordham will not have the element of surprise in their favor.

Wildcats 45, Rams 43

6:00 PM: Lafayette at Sacred Heart

TV: Lafayette Sports Network (check local listings)
Stream: ESPN3/Watch ESPN (free with many cable providers)
Stats: Live Stats
No Audio

It sure didn't feel like a battle between two FCS playoff teams when I swung by the matchup between these two teams last season, but it most certainly was. Leopards probably should have won last year in Easton. This year, they get revenge in Fairfield.

Leopards 31, Pioneers 27

6:00 PM: Bucknell at Marist

Stream: Live Video from Bucknell's Site (free)
Stats: Live Stats
Live Audio: 107.3 audio via Bucknell's Site

The Bison were supposed to mop up VMI last weekend, but squeaked by 42-38. What might Marist do? Come close, but not quite, pull off the upset.

Bison 31, Red Foxes 28

Other interesting games of note at TV/streaming information:

Saturday, 12:00 PM:
Akron at Penn State (ABC, ESPN3/Watch ESPN)
Buffalo at Army (CBS Sports Network, CBS ULive)
Howard at Rutgers (Big 10 Network, BTN2GO)
Stony Brook at UConn (SNY, ESPN3/Watch ESPN)

Saturday, 1:00 PM:
Navy at Temple (ESPN3/Watch ESPN)

Saturday, 3:00 PM:
No. 2 Eastern Washington at Washington (Pac 12 Network, Pac 12 Live)

Saturday, 3:30 PM:
No. 20 Richmond at Virginia (ESPN3/Watch ESPN)

Saturday, 6:00 PM:
No. 24 William and Mary at Hampton (Free video Stream)

Saturday, 7:00 PM:
No. 25 Southern Illinois at No. 14 Eastern Illinois (OVC Digital Network, Free)
No. 9 Jacksonville State at No. 15 Chattanooga (SoCon Digital Network, Free)

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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