Lehigh Football Nation

(Photo Credit: The Williamsport Sun-Gazette) "While 9-2 and a deep run in the playoffs might seem to be a bit unrealistic at this point," I  wrote back in August ," there's still a lot of bullishness that the Bison can re-find their winning ways in 2011 - and maybe, just maybe, beat a Top 25 team in Year Two of the Susan era." Boy, was  that  ever right. It's not just that the Bison already have three more wins than they had all of last season.  It's the toughness they've shown, the explosive offense they've displayed, and the disruptive force their defense has been. All this means is that weekend's matchup with the Bison will hardly be the walkover that such games have been in the past.  (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)

(Photo Credit: The Daily Item ) By any measure, it was a rough year for the Bucknell Bison and head coach Joe Susan in 2010. A 1-10 record, with the only victory a freaky 24-21 win at Georgetown, was certainly not the dream of the young Bison team that stepped onto the football field on Saturdays in the fall. But the mood is still, in general, upbeat in Lewisburg about the Bison's hopes in turning things around.  While 9-2 and a deep run in the playoffs might seem to be a bit unrealistic at this point, there's still a lot of bullishness that the Bison can re-find their winning ways in 2011 - and maybe, just maybe, beat a Top 25 team in Year Two of the Susan era. (more)

(Photo Credit: Bison Athletics) When the Bison hired Joe Susan away from Rutgers this offseason to replace Tim Landis , they were looking to change history in Lewisburg. A recent history that included: no Patriot League title since 1997, the Tom Gadd years. No postseason FCS playoff appearances. Three straight years of losing records. And seven out of eight consecutive years where the offense didn't score as many points as the defense relinquished. It also includes another ignominious historical record for the Bison - twelve straight losses to Lehigh. Since beating Lehigh 21-14 in that title year of 1997, Bucknell hasn't beaten the Brown & White since. Most haven't even been close. In their last seven meetings, Lehigh has scored 30 or points in every single contest. It's Homecoming for Lehigh, and the Mountain Hawks are coming off a heartening 21-19 win at Harvard. They'll be faced by a rebuilding Bison team that will almost certainly count this...

One thing is abundantly clear about the Bucknell Bison: things are changing. New head coach Joe Susan - a guy that cuts an imposing figure - came to Lewisburg like a Scarlet Knight galloping from Rutgers.  With the royal endorsement from famous Bucknell alumnus (and former recruit) Greg Schiano , Susan came to instill something new in a country more accustomed to following basketball schedules than football schedules. And even though it's early, he is - beyond a shadow of a doubt - succeeding in his quest to change things at Bucknell. It's a new dawn in Lewisburg - and Patriot League coaches had better be paying attention, or they could become victims of a Bison stampede. (more)