Lehigh Football Nation

I've been doing this long enough to know that every Lehigh football team is different.  The dynamics running through every team is different; what motivates one team has no impact on the team of the following year. But every big win this 2016 team gets, many of the fans who have been here a while keep whispering: 2011 . Like an Adele Spotify channel, you can't help but be reminded of 2011 when you go to Murray Goodman Stadium or Fitton Field or wherever they're playing.  The popular online game between fans on the Lehigh football message board is: Who was better, 2011, or 2016? The answer is still, beyond a shadow of a doubt, 2011 - for now - but the only reason for that is that 2016 is still in the midst of writing their story.  Yet it can hardly be helped that fans look at the potential of this 2016 team and think, with apologies to Adele, that they are rolling in the same sort of wins that they were in 2011.

We break down the Yale game - and we give our fearless prediction, below the flip. All week everyone's been tracking the progress of a potential superstorm, hurricane Joaquin.  While the main concern, of course, is the safety of everyone in the hurricane's path, people are also wondering whether the storm will be affecting the game this weekend in the form of wind or rains. It turns out, if the tracking goes the way the majority models are indicating, that Lehigh's 12:30 game at Murray Goodman might not only escape the rain, but there might not be any showers to speak of. In the latest hour by hour at Weather.com , the forecast actually only has modest showers in the morning, ending by 11:00 AM (just in time for tailgating), and remaining partly cloudy all the way until 4:00 PM on Saturday, an absolute perfect window for the football game and Goodman stadium homecoming activities. In short, it's increasingly looking like the storm will either move very slo...

It's starting to become a habit. For the second straight year, Lehigh hosted a Pro Day for three athletes, QB Chris Lum, WR Jake Drwal , and TE Troy McKenna , as well as some other athletes from the area as well. While it wasn't the same as last year, where Will Rackley had a slew of NFL scouts travel to Bethlehem to see his numbers, the trio did bring a very solid performance on a beautiful day in front of a crowd of well-wishers and fans.

When you're a 6'4, 280 lb offensive tackle in college, the three letters "NFL" don't usually enter your thought process. Unless, of course, you're senior OT Troy McKenna . When many players at all levels of football were hanging up their cleats for good after the season, Lehigh's FCS All-American tackle never stopped working to pursue a dream - making it to the NFL. As a tight end. The dream of making an NFL training camp continues for three former Lehigh football players tomorrow with a Pro Day at the University: McKenna, QB Chris Lum , and WR Jake Drwal .

In the end, not having junior WR Ryan Spadola didn't matter. In front of more than 18,000 loud North Dakota State fans, and a fearsome Bison defense, the Mountain Hawks couldn't overcome the injuries, the noise, and their own miscues in the 24-0 defeat in the FCS Quarterfinals. It would be the furthest Lehigh had made it in the FCS playoffs since 2001, when they travelled to Furman and were defeated 34-17 by the Paladins.

(Photo Credit: Doug Kapustin, The Baltimore Sun) If past performance were indicative of how things are going to go this Saturday, Lehigh would have nothing to worry about. In eleven meetings with the Tigers, Lehigh   has gone 10-1 against Towson, and lit them up for more than 40 points in five of those meetings. But nobody at Lehigh has any illusions that this Towson team will resemble those Tiger teams from the 1990s and 2000s. The Tigers' story is an easy one to admire: from a 1-10 season to a 9-2 record in the SEC of FCS, Towson is easy to like, too recently a member of the FCS "haves" to be hated by anyone.  But even though they're a feel-good story, there's a reason these Tigers are CAA champions.  They are loaded with talent.

(Photo Credit: Stephen Flood/The Express-Times) Lehigh's success in the Patriot League has been well documented, as this year is the tenth league championship the Mountain Hawks have achieved. When it comes to success against the champions of the most dominant FCS football in the East, however, Lehigh has enjoyed a few good battles - but have almost always lost. Lehigh has gone on the road and beaten the champion of that conference only once, the famous 24-23 win in 1998 over Richmond.  (They then lost a heartbreaker at another opponent from that same conference the following weekend, 26-20 to the eventual FCS National Champion UMass Minutemen.) If you think the scope of the task of going on the road and defeating the CAA champion is going to intimidate this group of Mountain Hawks, though, think again. "People look at us as a non-scholarship program and maybe think we're a fluke; but we're looking forward to proving people wrong," junior WR Ryan Spado...

For the second straight season, Lehigh's football team will be playing after Thanksgiving. And for the second straight season, Lehigh will also be playing in a second-round game in the FCS Playoffs. For these two reasons alone, there is plenty to be "thankful" for this holiday season, for Lehigh fans and players alike.  As we run-up to the playoff showdown against Towson, though, it's worth taking a look back from where Lehigh was, and where they are now.

This year, I had the good fortune to attend my 23rd  "Rivalry", the most-played  rivalry in college football with 147 meetings. And as a Lehigh fan, I was immensely pleased with the outcome. And yet, I cannot recall a stranger edition of this game in my experience. To the seniors who played in this historic game, it was a shining moment in their football season - something they had wanted to do since they came to Lehigh in the first place. But I don't think anybody thought it would go down like this.

A warm and windy day in the Bronx could not stop the Lehigh machine from rolling this weekend. This potential "letdown" game?  Hardly a letdown for the guys in the brown pants. And the "game before the bye week" curse that has afflicted Andy Coen -coached teams could not slow the Mountain Hawks down, either. While - once again - Lehigh had some mistakes that led to Fordham scores, they shouldn't obscure a smothering performance by the No. 8 team in the country, a fairly comprehensive 34-12 victory that shows that the Mountain Hawks have the answers to an awful lot of questions out there on the field.

This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to: Offense: Senior QB Chris Lum (30/37 passing, 368 yards passing, 30 yards rushing, 4 TDs) Defense:  Senior DE Ben Flizack (6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass-breakup) (tie) Defense:  Senior LB Colin Newton (5 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass break-up) Special Teams:  Sophomore P/K Tim Divers  (1-1 FGs, 35 yards, 3-4 XP (kick blocked), 6 points scored, 4 punts, 38 yard average) Underclassman: Freshman RB Jason Suggs (77 kickoff return yards, including a 34 yard return) And - I forgot last weekend's winners, for Yale vs. Lehigh! They are: Offense:  Junior WR Ryan Spadola  (11 catches, 148 yards) (tie) Offense: Senior WR Jake Drwal (10 catches, 112 yards, 3 TDs) Defense: Junior LB Sam Loughery (8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass break-up) Special Teams: *None* Underclassman:  Sophomore DB Tyler Ward (6 tackles, 5 solo tackles, 1 pass break-up) Congratulations to the winners!

Lest anyone think I'm succumbing my popular "Sunday Word" column to commercialism, I haven't yet gotten any checks to sell out my weekly editorial page yet.  (None that have cleared, anyway.) But when Lehigh folks think of "Combos", do they think of the crunchy, delicious, oven-baked pretzels with a spicy, cheese pizza-flavored filling made with real cheese? Or do they think of the other, many, "combos" at the disposal of head coach Andy Coen ?   (more)

(Photo Credit: Leah Kulp/Brown & White Photo Staff via Express-Times) Head coach Andy Coen posed with the Yank Townsend trophy, given to the winner of the Lehigh/Yale clash, after the win this weekend. It was the first time that Lehigh had been allowed to keep the trophy in Bethlehem, since it was the first time that Lehigh had beaten Yale since 2005, the first year that the trophy was offered. In fact, the good news has kept pouring in  for the Mountain Hawks since winning the trophy, as the team recently rejoined the Top Ten in the Sports Network and Coaches' Polls, and senior QB Chris Lum was also formally added to the Walter Payton Award watchlist, which is essentially the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in FCS football. Meanwhile, Yale head coach Tom Williams brought some... Febreze... into Yale's team meeting on Monday.  To see why, check out the Press Roundup below the flip.   (more)

On Yale's first offensive drive of the game, Bulldog senior QB Patrick Witt was pressured in the pocket and hurried a pass, which floated right into the hands of junior CB Gabe Johnson . He returned the ball four yards, where Yale sophomore TE Kyle Wittenauer made a pro-style tackle from behind, popping the ball out of Johnson's hands and into the belly of Yale's center. It was that sort of turnover-filled dogfight that typefied the first half of this game, before Lehigh's offense and defensive units would take over the game in the second half and pull away for an extremely comfortable 37-7 win over the Eli.  (more)

(Photo Credit: Brian Freed/The Express-Times ) It's said an awful lot about the game of football: it's a game of momentum.  Sometimes, one play, or one series, give a team that mystical force that just carries them through the game and wins it for them. There are others, though, much like the game played this Saturday - an incredibly hard-fought, physical, matchup, ultimately won by Lehigh, where the momentum shifts back and forth so often you're wondering when the roller coaster ride is going to end. As head coach Andy Coen entered the postgame press conference, he simply sat down and said, "Whew!" - as if he had just gotten off the Green Lantern roller coaster at Great Adventure.  For in a way, he - and a whole legion of Lehigh folks - had been.  (more)

This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to: Offense:  Senior QB Chris Lum  (36-for-54 passing, 401 yards, passing, 6 TDs ) (first 400 yard passing game by Lehigh since QB Phil Stambaugh did it) (tie) Offense: Senior WR Jake Drwal (11 catches, 142 yards, 2 TDs, including slipping free of defender for go-ahead score) Defense:  Junior CB Bryan Andrews (1 tackle, 1 interception, 4 passes defensed) Special Teams:  Junior LB Sam Loughery (4 tackles, critical forced fumble to kick-start comeback) Underclassman:  Sophomore P Tim Divers (5 punts for 42 yards, 4 inside the 20, longest: 51 yards) Congratulations to the winners!

It was an amazing display of football this Saturday at Murray Goodman stadium, and while there were plenty of great pictures from the game, one of the best came from the muscle grab by sophomore RB Keith Sherman as taken by one of you, the Nation. The weekly wrap features a writeup from the Sports Network , a whole host of articles from the local publications, and some extra wrap-up from an active media up in New Hampshire.  Oh yeah, and senior QB Chris Lum won Patriot League Player of the Week honors for the second straight week with his 6 TD, 401 yard passing performance. Did you know that Lum now has more passing touchdowns than any quarterback in the country right now - FCS or FBS?  Now, you do. (more)

The picture is grainy, thanks to my video software and the video report from WFMZ 69 . But it's clear enough to show what happened: New Hampshire WR Joey Orlando , in overtime in one of the most thrilling games ever played at Murray Goodman stadium, was not in bounds when he made his game-winning catch. And it was deeply, unfortunate, too.  For it would have been great to see if Lehigh could have been beaten without the help of the guys in the striped shirts on Saturday.  (more)

(Photo Credit: Matt Smith /The Express-Times) Senior QB Chris Lum has found himself in a very unfamiliar place this spring - the unquestioned starter as signalcaller. It's been a long road for Lum, who competed hard for the position against  QB J.B. Clark , the quarterback that broke Lafayette's four game winning streak. As a freshman, he was MVP of the scout team.  As a sophomore, he worked his way to backup, and when Clark struggled, Lum came in.  And last spring, he was faced with an open tryout with the senior Clark for the starting nod. Now, he's probably the one position on the field where he's the unquestioned starter. And with targets like senior WR Jake Drwal and junior WR Ryan Spadola to throw to, he's looking to this spring to allow him to have a breakout senior year. (more)

(Photo Credit: Mark Campbell/Delaware Athletics) So the first team to 21 points indeed was the team that ended up winning, as I predicted. And Delaware - to their immense credit - put up 40 points on Lehigh's defense. (So much for my bold prediction that the Blue Hens wouldn't put up 40 on the Mountain Hawks.) But heading down the tunnel off the field after the Lehigh football season came to a cold end in the FCS playoffs in Newark, Delaware, there were no hung helmets from the Lehigh players. Some disappointment, sure. But no tears. No humiliation, as a different type of swarm came around the Lehigh players - a group of Lehigh fans, who silently gave their support for a season that exceeded all fans' expectations. Lehigh came out of the gates with some momentum and kept the game close early on - but Blue Hen QB Pat Devlin , who looked an awful lot like a first rounder in the NFL draft this afternoon, kept making play after play to shred Lehigh's defense. (...