Lehigh Football Nation

(Photo Credit: Justin Lafleur /Lehigh Athletics) It was a real Yankee crowd in the Bronx this afternoon - a sellout, overflow Bronx crowd of over 7,800. Without a Yankee postseason to worry about, the nationally-ranked Fordham Rams had something they hadn't had on an October afternoon in a very long time: the undivided sports attention of the local area, playing against another Top 25 team on national television. When the calls didn't go the Rams' way, the fans stood up the same way they might in New Yankee Stadium, arguing the call.  And when a play didn't have yellow laundry on the field, indeed, the "Bronx Cheer" the Borough made famous did indeed ripple through the crowd. Not that Fordham needed help from the refs. The Rams may have had some doubters going into this weekend with their 5-0 record, but there sure aren't any more after a resounding, offensive clinic that made Lehigh pay desperately for two turnovers and ultimately had Fordham ...

(Photo Credit: WFUV) We break down the Fordham game - and we give our fearless prediction below the flip. Though this game doesn't officially count towards the Patriot League standings, make no mistake about how big this game is for both programs. Look no further than the ticket sales for this game. Fordham's Jack Coffey field is sold out, all 7,000 seats, and even on StubHub.com this game is a hot ticket, with no tickets available as of right now.  (Check back if you still need tickets!) A sold-out, 7,000 seat venue for a meaningful football game is what FCS football is all about, and whatever happens it's going to be a fantastic ambassador for Patriot League football broadcast across the country on CBS Sports Network.

In 2010, Fordham limped to a 1-10 record, ending head coach Tom Masella 's time as head coach on Rose Hill. In the offseason, outgoing active athletic director Frank McLaughlin introduced Fordham's next head coach, Joe Moorhead , and exclaimed to all present, "This is not a rebuilding program.  We expect to be successful this coming year." After turning things around to the tune of a 6-5 record this past season, few would argue that first-time head coach Moorhead was indeed a large success last season, allowing the Rams to put their 1-10 season well in their rear-view mirror. For the Rams, the challenge will now be to increase their win total again, and return to the FCS playoffs.

I don't know why, but there were an awful lot of echoes to me, for some inexplicable reason, of the Lehigh/Hofstra playoff encounter at Murray Goodman Stadium this weekend. Well before senior PK Jake Peery 's walk-off 23 yard game-winning field goal this Saturday, I was getting flashbacks to RB Trevor Dimmie 's fumbled toss, QB Luke Ciannello 's improbable march downfield to tie the Pride with 19 seconds to play, and PK Brian Kelley 's game-winner in overtime - one of the most exciting games I've ever witnessed at Murray Goodman stadium. It's a game in the past - a happy memory for Lehigh fans. But something else fans should remember, too, is that there "ain't going to be no rematch" of that fateful game in 2001. For Hofstra's football program is "gone".

In the game of football, it's not easy being the placekicker. Frequently, it comes all down to you - the guy with the relatively-clean uniform, who trots in from the sidelines, to attempt to deliver the game-winning points. He's the guy who could come in, at the peak of the offense's big drive, and get "iced", the guy who shanks the kick, who keeps the breath of hop alive for the other team. The kicker is the ultimate finisher - one way or another.. With two seconds lef tof the clock, senior PK Jake Peery , a perfect 4-for-4 on kicks on the afternoon, lined up on the 13 yard line - the exact spot where he nailed a 23 yard field goal midway through the second quarter.  Hero or goat.  There was no third option. It was clear that the soft-spoken Baltimore, Maryland native was at a loss for words in the postseason celebration and the postgame interviews, after he was mobbed by teammates after his 23 yard boot gave Lehigh a last-gasp 34-31 win. It yet ano...

(Photo Credit: Fordham Athletics) We break down the Fordham game - and we give our fearless prediction, below the flip. It's strange that this is a conference game - yet not a conference game - for Lehigh, which actually makes this a difficult game to analyze. Against, say, Bucknell, a loss would be devastating to Lehigh's Patriot League title chances (and autobid chances).  A loss against Fordham - whom Lehigh has played every year for the last 25 years, most counting in the Patriot League standings - would still be awfully tough to swallow, but not fatally so.  There's more history there than against, say, Liberty, yet a tiny bit less at stake than against, say, Colgate. How dangerous are the Rams, really, in the end?  Let's dive in.