Lehigh Football Nation

Lehigh has never played Wagner in football, despite the fact that the schools are separated only by an hour and a half drive and that the institutions both sponsor FCS football in an area of the country where nearby opponents are sometimes hard to come by. Long-time Patriot League fans might remember Wagner as legendary Lafayette head coach Bill Russo 's coaching stint before he came to Easton to coach the Leopards for an 18 year stretch from 1981 to 1999.  Back in those days, Wagner was a Division III school, playing local schools like Iona, Pace, Seton Hall and Fordham, during a time when it was OK to field a Division III football program and a Division I athletics program (this is something that is no longer allowed today). Since then, though, many Lehigh fans may not know that much about Wagner College, the Seahawk football program, and their ascent to becoming, eventually, and FCS playoff team.

Most of the teams on Lehigh's football schedule have become so familiar that it seems like they are on the Mountain Hawk football schedule every single season.  Ivy League teams, Villanova, Monmouth... to anyone following Lehigh football over the last decade, they are names fans have heard of. Not so Wagner. That's nothing against the Seahawks, who have played many Lehigh opponents in the last five years (Lafayette, Central Connecticut State, Monmouth, Georgetown, Holy Cross, and Colgate in the FCS Playoffs in 2012). But, strangely for a school so close to Bethlehem, Wagner has never played Lehigh in football.  That will change this season, when the Mountain Hawks travel to Staten Island to compete in their only night game of the year.

Lehigh's bowl game comes next weekend, of course, as they take on Lafayette in the 152nd meeting of The Rivarly in Easton.  After that bowl game, though, comes the FCS playoffs, and until the FCS Playoff Bracket is announced on Sunday at 11:00 AM after the Lafayette game, we don't know where, or when, Lehigh will play their playoff game. Don't fret, football fans.  LFN is here with a warm cup of chicken noodle soup, a nice grilled cheese sandwich with the crusts cut off, and a schedule, complete with links, involving the most important FCS games on the schedule that will impact Lehigh's postseason schedule the most. Sit back.  Enjoy your soup.  LFN's here to help you for this Saturday.

For us Patriot League diehards, we know what the FCS playoffs are all about.  We know who's in line for the autobid, we know who the No. 1 teams are, and we have a pretty good idea about who can get in, and why. But you, dear Reader, might not be as dialed into the FCS playoff scene as the rest of us.  You know that Lehigh will be practicing on Thanksgiving, and will be playing a football game after the 152nd meeting on the gridiron between Lehigh and Lafayette. In the span of one blog post, let me tell you, new or old Lehigh fan, what you need to look for in regards to the FCS playoffs.

You didn't ask for them, but here's my pick for this week's FCS Top 25. "Back to Normal" seems to be the theme of this week's Top 25, with my top 9 unchanged from last week. The biggest team to fall in my poll was definitely Montana , whose 45-34 defeat to Northern Arizona was even more resounding than the final score might indicate.  The Lumberjacks in this one held a 45-20 advantage before letting up two touchdowns at the end of the game. The Griz have frankly underwhelmed all year to me, allowing a team like St. Francis (PA) to hang around for no good reason, running up the score against hapless competition like Mississippi Valley State and Sacramento State.  With their second loss to a Big Sky opponent and nothing all that impressive in their schedule, it was an easy call to drop them more than 10 points in my poll.

You didn't ask for them, but here's my pick for this week's FCS Top 25. This week's candidate for the LFN Top 25 curse?   Sacred Heart , with Colgate a very close second, but there were a lot of teams in the lower reaches of my Top 25 that suffered defeat, in a list that includes Fordham, Southern Utah and (again) William and Mary , who suffered a second straight crushing defeat in two weeks, this time at the hands of New Hampshire . Never in a million years did I ever think Tennessee State, Cornell and North Carolina A&T would simultaneously be in my Top 25, yet there they are.

You didn't ask for them, but here's my pick for this week's FCS Top 25. (Photo Credit: Elon Athletics) Let's see, are there any other teams I can curse into losses this week? Last time I was here, I was extolling the virtues of William and Mary and Stony Brook in this space.  This week?  Um, not so much.

(Photo Credit: Lauren Gordon / The JMU Breeze ) You gotta give credit to head coach Jeff McInerney and the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils - they won't back down from anybody. A week after taking on nationally-ranked James Madison in their home opener last weekend, CCSU turns their bus to Bethlehem to visit Murray Goodman Stadium. The Blue Devils, who struggled to a 2-8 season last year, are hoping that the old football adage is true that you improve the most from Game 1 to Game 2. That's how they hope to break up a three-game losing streak dating from last season.

(Photo Credit: Monmouth Athletics) In a way, you really have to feel for the football players of the Monmouth football program. A year ago today, Monmouth was preparing for a season where the Hawks were going to be in competition for the NEC title. A challenging schedule beckoned, with a trip to nationally-ranked Lehigh and Rhode Island of the CAA heading to Kessler field, but there was a battle with teams like Albany, and nearby rival Wagner, for the NEC championship and an autobid to the FCS playoffs. But many had no way of knowing that Realignmentaggeddon would hit the Hawks, having them leave their longtime home, the NEC, and in the process find the Hawks scrambling for a new conference home. It might have even come about thanks to the Patriot League.

"With a newly-revamped Arute Field,", I wrote last season , "which will be able to hold upwards of 6,500 fans, Central Connecticut State will be looking to one message on their home opener against the Mountain Hawks September 8th: that they have arrived." This year, the Blue Devils repay Lehigh the favor, serving as the Mountain Hawks' home opener in the first weekend of their football season on September 7th. So what can we expect from the Blue Devils this season?

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that sometime Lehigh opponent Monmouth recently made a move to leave the Northeast Conference (NEC) in all sports to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in all the sports that they sponsor.  As it turns out, the MAAC does not sponsor three sports in which the Hawks compete: women's field hockey, women's bowling, and football, which meant that Monmouth president Paul G. Gaffney II needed to apply back to the NEC to become an associate member in all three sports to remain. It didn't seem impossible that Monmouth would remain in the league in these three sports. But today, Monmouth got their reply from NEC commissioner Noreen Morris , returning the will of the NEC presidents: yes to field hockey, and no bowling and football . With Monmouth's "Plan A" going by the wayside, the Hawks are now certainly looking at their "Plan B"'s - one of which could very well be the ...

(Photo Credit: Lehigh Valley Live/Brown & White) Back in November, I released a tentative version of Lehigh's 2013 football schedule , which included 11 games. There's nothing earth-shattering about that, either.  Most seasons FCS football teams play 11 regular-season games. But thanks to a quirk in the calendar next season, 2013 offers a rare opportunity for Lehigh: to play a 12th game. For Lehigh or other schools in the Patriot League, is it a good idea to play a 12th game? Absolutely.

(Photo Credit: Staten Island Live) While the news has broken that Quinnipiac and Monmouth will be accepting bids to the MAAC conference and leaving the NEC in all sports, nothing is official just yet.  The MAAC's presidents will be conducting a formal vote on the matter tomorrow, and until then, it's technically speculation. So is the thought of Wagner and Monmouth headed to other football conferences - something that seems fairly logical, should their moves to the MAAC be confirmed.  The MAAC does not sponsor football, and while the Hawks and Seahawks could spend $250,000 in exit money and then re-apply for associate, non-voting membership in the NEC for next season, it's far from clear whether either party would welcome the arrangement. If Wagner is thinking about joining the Patriot League in football, what could that mean to them? It could open up an interesting concept I've felt has been a missed opportunity for years - annual contests to see who'...

According to sportswriter Mark Blaudshun , a 30+ year beat veteran of college football now residing in New Jersey, a key move was made by two schools, Monmouth University and Wagner College, that affects the FCS football landscape next season. "Conference reconfiguration continues on all levels," the short blog post stated.  "According to the sources familiar with the process, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will add Quinnipiac, Wagner and Monmouth from the Northeast Conference. The announcement will be made on Friday." In and of itself the announcement doesn't directly affect the Patriot League.  But it might. With their move to the MAAC, a conference which does not sponsor football, the Seahawks and Hawks now have to make a decision on their football programs.

When Lafayette president Daniel H. Weiss announced to the world that the Patriot League would be allowing schools to allow merit-based aid - i.e., allowing the same types of athletic scholarships that other FCS schools can offer - there was a lot of rejoicing  with Patriot League fans for a variety of reasons. "We make this decision in recognition that we believe that it will help the league to remain strong and competitive." he mentioned in his opening statement, "We believe over time what this decision is in the best interest of the league because it will help us with future membership prospects." This past week, a subtle change to the Patriot League website seems to indicate that perhaps, just perhaps, that future membership prospects might be happening sooner rather than later. Could a new member be joining the Patriot League by the 2013 season?

Anyone who has followed the Patriot League in any capacity has some sort of opinion on the decision to allow football scholarships.  ( Including myself, of course. ) But in the end, it was only the opinion of ten men and women who mattered - the eight presidents of the full-time Patriot League schools, and the two presidents of the football-only members. Shortly after history was made , there were a flurry of different documents released - including an official Patriot League release of comments from all seven of the football-playing schools - as well. The varied documents provide a fascinating glimpse at a process that was, over the course of the past five years, basically closed to the public, save the occasional leak to the local press. It also gives a look as to which schools are enthusiastic about the move - and which ones are not.

My "Friday Water Cooler" discussions, when I've had them this year, have been notorious for being unplanned affairs, with the idea for the topic only coming together on Friday Morning. And this Friday is no exception, thanks to an intriguing column in this morning's Asbury Park Press by Stephen Edelson . In the article, Mr. Edelson, whose paper covers Monmouth Hawk athletics (the team which Lehigh opened with this year with a 49-24 victory ), talked about the upcoming matchup between Monmouth and Colgate this weekend , of course - but also talked about the Patriot League and NEC being at a "crossroads". Is he right?  (more)

When most people think of West Long Branch, New Jersey, you don't necessarily think of Monmouth University. You're more likely to think of reality shows. You might think about the Jersey Shore - and, if not Snooki , perhaps Monmouth alum  Anthony Beltempo , the creator of the mega-hit TV series on MTV . You might even think of fellow Monmouth alums Stephenie LaGrossa or Katie Gallagher , who were runners-up on Survivor: Palau  among other Survivor shows - and further cementing Monmouth University with the unenviable title of Reality Show U. There's another legacy in West Long Branch, however, that's of much more concern to Lehigh football fans. That legacy is Monmouth's growing football program - that lately has been producing a lot more than reality-show entertainment. Their reality show is played on Sundays, and it gets a heck of a lot more viewers than any show on MTV. (more)

(Photo Credit: AP/Boston Herald) The Pat Toomey / Joe Sestak race isn't the only race that's too close to call right now. In the CAA, NEC and Big South - playoff conferences all - there are a number of races for FCS playoff autobids and (potentially) at-large invites that are also hotly contested. The CAA, with seven teams in the Top 25 of the GPI , are guaranteed their autobid (of course) and also are guaranteed a couple of at-large bids, with the potential of having even more.  But let's take a closer look which teams could be playoff-bound from the East - and, by extension, could be possible opponents of the Patriot League champion. (more)

(Photo Credit: The Providence Journal) Two days ago, I blogged about Rhode Island's thoughts on leaving the CAA in order to join the NEC . Yesterday, I talked about the impacts on that move on the CAA and NEC .  Today, I'll talk about whether the Patriot League is affected at all by this move by Rhode Island - because as things stand right now with the league and their stance on offering largely need-based aid, it doesn't appear to be. The problems are neatly summed up by a member of the Providence Journal 's URI Forum , a meeting place for fans of the URI program.  Reaction to the Rams' football move to the NEC have been mixed there, and some members were motivated to ask the Rams' athletic director, Thorr Bjorn , about his thought process.  He was specifically asked, "why the NEC?  Wouldn't the Patriot League be a better option for URI, with games versus A-10 leaguemate Fordham and nearby Holy Cross?" "I would have preferred URI going...