Lehigh Football Nation

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, well, was I completely wrong about Villanova and Richmond , who were two of my Top 10 teams that got upset this week? CAA fans will say that conference games in their conference are hard, but... Albany and Elon aren't known as being the giant-killers in the conference, let's just say.  It's great to see Albany do well, who were awful close to an FCS playoff team last season, and Elon as well, former home of former Lehigh head coach Pete Lembo as well as  the new home of former Lehigh offensive coordinator Drew Folmar .  But are they Top 25 teams?

If you'd like, you can check out my FCS Top 25 vote below. It was a crazy week no matter how you look at it, with four Top Ten teams falling from the ranks. But none was more shocking than 3-5 Mercer upsetting 6-2 Chattanooga , 17-14. The Bears, who only resumed football three years ago, have only offered football scholarships over the last two years, which makes the upset just that much more stunning of a team that was considered the prohibitive favorite from the SoCon this season. Mercer's three wins came against non-scholarship Stetson, under-scholarshipped Austin Peay, and winless East Tennessee State, themselves in their first season resuming football. The Bears' first win against a fully-funded school symbolized the craziness of last weekend's scores.

If you'd like, you can check out my FCS Top 25 vote below. This week was a huge one in the Missouri Valley conference, as two battles between ranked teams took place. While North Dakota State beating South Dakota State might not have been surprising, the relative ease of which the Bison dispatched the Jackrabbits was, a 28-7 game that really wasn't all that close . And Illinois State , in a true "show-me" game, at least to me, really did show that they are as advertised, beating Northern Iowa 21-13 .  While controversial RB Marshaun Coprich did play for the Redbirds, his 143 yards and 2 touchdowns were instrumental in their key conference win. These two wins cleared a logjam in my Top 10 and established two clear frontrunners in the Missouri Valley race.

My vote for the FCS Top 25 for the week ending 11/4/2013 follows below the flip. But first, check out this great picture from the crazy Delaware/Towson game this weekend, courtesy of Towson Athletics. Three times, Towson had a chance to put away Delaware up by 2 touchdowns.   Three times, the Tigers didn't convert. With 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the third quarter, Towson (8-2 overall and 4-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association) had a chance to pad a 28-10 advantage, but senior PK Drew Evangelista ’s field-goal attempt from 33 yards banged off the left upright.  On the ensuing possession, Tigers LB Monte Gaddis put enough pressure on Blue Hens senior QB Trevor Sasek to incite him to float a deep pass that junior CB Tye Smith intercepted at Towson’s 26-yard line. Smith wove his way 74 yards into the end zone, but the Tigers were flagged for clipping, which nullified the touchdown with 2:27 remaining.  And on Delaware’s penultimate series of the contest...

My vote for the FCS Top 25 for the week ending 10/21/2013 follows below the flip. But first, check out this great picture from New Hampshire of OL Ricky Archer and OL Joe Coccia celebrating what may have been the most thrilling game of the weekend, a thrilling 29-28 win by New Hampshire over Villanova that featured a tie and two lead changes in the final two minutes.  (Photo Credit: John Tully / Concord Monitor ) From the article: The season’s playoff hopes were about dead after Villanova (4-3) scored two touchdowns in a span of 46 seconds to take a 28-21 lead with 1:09 left in the game. But UNH got a 35-yard kickoff return from RS Dalton Crossan , plus 15 yards on a late-hit personal foul, to take over at the 50 with 1:02 on the clock. New Hampshire survived a fumble on an attempted hook-and-ladder play, got a pair of catches from RB Chris Setian for 24 total yards, and then QB Sean Goldrich (21-for-28, 236 yards, touchdown) turned a broken play into a 4-yard touch...

My vote for the FCS Top 25 for the week ending 9/23/2013 follows below the flip. But first, by all means, enjoy this great shot of a big Top 25 game last week, McNeese State at Northern Iowa.  (Photo Credit: Matthew Putney / The Waterloo Courier ) The picture tells the story of the game pretty well, as the Panthers in the UNI Dome took apart McNeese, 41-6.  In my poll last week, both were Top 10 teams.  Not this week, though I didn't drop the Cowboys too far.

My vote for the FCS Top 25 for the week ending 9/3/2013 follows below the flip.

More and more, college football is becoming more of a lifestyle than a diversion. The experiences are more immersive; college football days don't just take place on one day a week, it's a three, or sometimes four, day weekend.  It involves tailgates.  Parties.  Maybe a night out. Most importantly, there are games on TV - or, now, the internet - all the time.  There are literally hundreds of matchups available to watch, or stream, every day of the Experience Weekend.  Whether you watch it a home, your butt firmly on the couch, or out with friends, it's becoming an all-encompassing affair. Who will cut through all the channels showing Godspell, or Robinson Crusoe, and point you to where the Week 1 Experience Weekend games are being broadcast? More to the point, where's a Lehigh football fan - old or new - to start? The answer is - of course - you come here.  You've come to the right place. Starting on Thursday, there are plenty of football games...

Did I forget to vote?   Of course not.  In a week where everyone should remember to do their civic duty and vote, here's my ballot... for this week's FCS Top 25.

My vote for the FCS Top 25 for the week ending 10/13/2012 follows below the flip. And I'll answer the expected question: No, I did not vote for Lehigh as the No. 1 team in the nation, as three voters in the Sports Network poll did this week .