Lehigh Football Nation

Villanova, 38. Monmouth, 46. Yale, 56. Now Penn, 65. Lehigh's defense has given up 203 points in 4 games, and has given up more than 200 yards rushing to four straight teams. This week's Ivy League player of the week will undoubtedly be Penn RB Karekin Brooks , who ran for 268 net yards, and scored 3 touchdowns, two on the ground, and one through, of all things, a pass.  It will be the second straight week that an offensive opponent will become a first-time Ivy League Offensive player of the week, the honor last week going to Yale QB Kurt Rawlings . The Mountain Hawks' opponents have scored in all 16 quarters this year, and they've allowed at least 13 points in every quarter. The defense hasn't forced a turnover all season, while the offense turned over the ball four different times today, and after each turnover, the defense would yield a score each time, including a brutal one to start the game when Lehigh desperately needed to jump out to a quick...

Not going to the game today? First of all, what's wrong with you?  The weather is perfect! OK.  So there's a family party, there's a protest to attend, or there are grilled cheese to dunk in ketchup.  They're all good reasons to follow the game from elsewhere. So how do you catch the game? Never fear.  LFN's here.

Dominating the narratives in the run-up to the Penn game was a particularly insightful preview article from The Morning Call's Keith Groller, on how the need for changes is urgent amongst everyone in the program. It's a theme throughout all the preview pieces, but Keith's key excerpt appears below. "Head coach Andy Coen said that Sunday wasn’t a pleasant day for anyone around the football offices or practice complex as the team tried to regroup from one of its worst losses in recent seasons. “This was the first game where we couldn’t draw any positives from it,” Coen said. “It was just a bad performance … soup to nuts. “No surprise, we jumped on them [the players] pretty good. But the kids understand it. They’re not crying about it. They understand why.” “On Sunday, I got the staff together and just told the guys that we have to make changes whether it’s personnel, whether it’s scheme … we just can’t keep doing what we’re doing,” Coen said.

(Photo Credit: The Daily Pennsylvanian) We break down the Penn game - and we give our fearless prediction, below the flip. Last week, head coach Andy Coen made a big deal about the many changes Yale made to their approach on both offense and defense.  Penn will not have the same element of surprise this week - to some degree. Certainly Penn head coach Ray Priore , who has his main staff intact from last year with offensive coordinator John Reagan and defensive coordinator Bob Benson , will likely have a similar approach to what they want to do on both sides of the ball from last season - after all, they were Ivy League co-champions. But last week wasn't a normal type of opener for the Quakers. Playing a Division II school for the first time in program history, Division II Ohio Dominican allowed Penn to play a sort-of experimental setup.  Though Penn got a win that counts in the standings just like any other win, 42-24 , using it as a hard and fast rule on how...

(Photo Credit: Alex Fisher/The Daily Pennsylvanian) Both Penn head coach Ray Priore and Lehigh head coach Andy Coen aren't necessarily focused on the numbers and the exploits of individual members of their offense. Priore, focused on finally beating Lehigh for the first time in his head coaching tenure, and Coen, trying to right the ship after a very shaky 0-3 start, have different things to worry about. But this weekend's affair at Murray Goodman, if the past is any guide, could have the potential of a highlight reel of tremendous catches by some receivers that are getting looks by NFL teams. Twice before Penn WR Justin Watson and Lehigh WR Troy Pelletier have played against each other, and both times Watson and Pelletier have lit up the opposing secondaries for some tremendous catches and some amazing numbers. For Penn, it's allegedly about building off the win over Division II Ohio Dominican last week.  For Lehigh, it's supposed to be about getting...

I don't officially vote in any of the FCS Top 25 polls, but I do share who I think deserves to be in the Top 25, and let's just get all the drama out of the way now - James Madison is my clear-cut No. 1. I know, right?   Shocking. This week saw two Top 10 teams of mine last week go down - and Virginia, the games weren't close.  One might not have been too much of a surprise, as it came against a nationally-ranked team at their place.  But the other stunned a lot of people, including myself, and frankly, I hate missing the call of a Patriot League team upsetting a CAA team.

I know it's not the most mature of responses, but I weeded yesterday. Our garden, so clean and so perfect back in May, was in mid-September form when I went out there Sunday after Lehigh's loss to Yale.  In this case, mid-September form means the grass and weeds were as high as my thighs, and it was time for me to rip them out. I'm well aware that I love Lehigh football too much; that it overly affects my mood, sometimes lingering for days or even weeks after particularly bad losses.  That love allows me to summon a passion for the game that sets me apart from others, I think, but the flipside of that love is a frustration that can sometimes only be vented by pulling up grasses and wild growth from a garden that has been growing there unchecked for months. Yeah; I was frustrated with the loss.  But in the garden, I don't sit there and assign blame to anybody.  I don't grumble about kids, players, attendance numbers, coaches, the weather, the athletic departm...

Stop me if you've read this before. "Lehigh gives up a couple of early touchdowns.  The Mountain Hawks rally, but mistakes doom them - they turn over the ball on offense, give up some big plays on defense, and special teams miscues make it harder to come back, and they get blown away in the second half." It describes the Villanova game, it describes the Monmouth game, and now, unfortunately, it also now describes the Yale game this weekend. On Saturday, the Mountain Hawks gave up a couple of early touchdowns.  Undeterred, Lehigh would get a couple stops and take advantage of good special teams play, and rally to make it a one point game.  Then, a pass interference call would resurrect a Yale touchdown drive, then a Yale sack and fumble recovery would set up another Yale score at the end of the half for a 28-13 edge at halftime. At the beginning of the second half, Lehigh would score a quick-strike touchdown, but would give up a touchdown in response, getting out...