Lehigh Football Nation

It's the Patriot League Championship game, it's being played in Bethlehem on a spotless November Day, and it's bound to be a great game. Below the flip, see Georgetown broken down, as well as my "Keys to the Game" - and, of course, the "Fearless Prediction".

Going into this weekend, there was one team that the casual sports fan might associate with the words "Big Red Machine": the Cincinnati Reds, who were anything but a well-oiled operation after feebly, among a host of errors and strikeouts, falling to the Phillies in three games. More immediately to the Patriot League, though, is a Big Red Machine that is currently running on all cylinders. After two straight annihilations, of Georgetown two weeks ago and of Princeton last weekend, Colgate emphatically sent notice that they are The. Machine. To. Beat. This. Year. (more)

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you probably already know that my "Sunday Word" this week was " Assumption ", so selected because of the shocking 30-24 win by the Division II Greyhounds over the Fordham Rams, (who are still a member of the Patriot League despite their decision to offer full football scholarships starting with the current freshman class). Ultimately, the wordplay of the tiny college from Worcester, Mass was too great to pass up.  (Read it, and I hope you agree.)  But a close second as to my selection of "Sunday Word" wasn't far off from that, either: that word would be "Apocalypse". What else could explain a September that is simply jam-packed with improbable outcomes that might have one looking in the scripture or historic documents to see if, say a 3-1 Georgetown team or a 2-0 Dartmouth team might be a sign of the Rapture? (more)

(Photo Credit: Jane Therese/The Morning Call) With apologies to Prince , you have to believe that Georgetown, fresh off their 28-24 upset over Lafayette, have at least thought about putting that classic song in their iPods. The upset victory gave them only the second time the Hoyas sat atop the Patriot League standings - something they did for only one week in 2005, when they beat Bucknell 16-13 to start the year.  Their reign only lasted one week, however, when they were spanked 48-6 by Holy Cross the following week - and never sat atop the Patriot League standings until this week. How did they pull off their first 2-0 start since Prince 's favorite year, 1999, when they were a part of the non-scholarship MAAC?   (more)

(Photo Credit: Sports Newscaster ) Normally I wouldn't lead my "FCS East Wrapup" with a battle from the Deep South.  But Jacksonville State , aside from thrilling folks nationally as ESPN cut to their game, has enough of a history with Lehigh to justify them being the lead this week. And boy did they earn their place atop my column, with a brass balls performance in their 42-41 upset win over Darth Miss .  The plucky Gamecocks ended up strangling the Rebels, much the same way a little team from Boone, North Carolina captured the imagination of the sporting world a couple of years ago.   (more)