Archive For The “Chuck Priore” Category
At the very least, Stony Brook will be among the best defenses that Lehigh has played against all year, if not the absolute best.
Stony Brook is ranked 21st in the FCS in total defensive yards allowed, with 316.9 per game. This ties them with Colgate (also 21st) but is slightly behind Bucknell (294.6) and Yale (302.8) in that category.
But Colgate, Bucknell and even Yale did so with a schedule that isn’t nearly as taxing as the week-in, week-out struggle that Stony Brook had as a member of the CAA. It’s one thing to give up a combined six points to Marist and Georgetown, as Bucknell did; it’s quite another to hold New Hampshire and Richmond to 24 points, both resulting in wins.
Stony Brook is a physical football team – the closest equivalent that Lehigh has faced this season in that department has been Yale. Over the course of the season, they have run the ball more often than they’ve thrown it, but when they have thrown the ball, generally after setting up the run. their quarterback has amply proven that they can connect in the passing game for big plays.
It is unclear whether this will be the most complete team Lehigh has faced all season. But if you don’t read any more of this preview, probably the best way to think of Stony Brook is as a hybrid of Yale and Villanova. This will be a huge challenge.
At the very least, Stony Brook will be among the best defenses that Lehigh has played against all year, if not the absolute best.
Stony Brook is ranked 21st in the FCS in total defensive yards allowed, with 316.9 per game. This ties them with Colgate (also 21st) but is slightly behind Bucknell (294.6) and Yale (302.8) in that category.
But Colgate, Bucknell and even Yale did so with a schedule that isn’t nearly as taxing as the week-in, week-out struggle that Stony Brook had as a member of the CAA. It’s one thing to give up a combined six points to Marist and Georgetown, as Bucknell did; it’s quite another to hold New Hampshire and Richmond to 24 points, both resulting in wins.
Stony Brook is a physical football team – the closest equivalent that Lehigh has faced this season in that department has been Yale. Over the course of the season, they have run the ball more often than they’ve thrown it, but when they have thrown the ball, generally after setting up the run. their quarterback has amply proven that they can connect in the passing game for big plays.
It is unclear whether this will be the most complete team Lehigh has faced all season. But if you don’t read any more of this preview, probably the best way to think of Stony Brook is as a hybrid of Yale and Villanova. This will be a huge challenge.
At the very least, Stony Brook will be among the best defenses that Lehigh has played against all year, if not the absolute best.
Stony Brook is ranked 21st in the FCS in total defensive yards allowed, with 316.9 per game. This ties them with Colgate (also 21st) but is slightly behind Bucknell (294.6) and Yale (302.8) in that category.
But Colgate, Bucknell and even Yale did so with a schedule that isn’t nearly as taxing as the week-in, week-out struggle that Stony Brook had as a member of the CAA. It’s one thing to give up a combined six points to Marist and Georgetown, as Bucknell did; it’s quite another to hold New Hampshire and Richmond to 24 points, both resulting in wins.
Stony Brook is a physical football team – the closest equivalent that Lehigh has faced this season in that department has been Yale. Over the course of the season, they have run the ball more often than they’ve thrown it, but when they have thrown the ball, generally after setting up the run. their quarterback has amply proven that they can connect in the passing game for big plays.
It is unclear whether this will be the most complete team Lehigh has faced all season. But if you don’t read any more of this preview, probably the best way to think of Stony Brook is as a hybrid of Yale and Villanova. This will be a huge challenge.
I remember the last game Lehigh played on Long Island; I was there.
It also happened to be a FCS Playoff, or back then, I-AA Playoff, game.
It wasn’t against Stony Brook, who finished their very first season in I-AA that year with a 5-5 record and a win over St. John’s (NY), 28-6.
It was against a team that used to be the biggest college football program on Long Island – an East Coast independent, Hofstra, that was led by head coach Joe Gardi. Like Stony Brook, Hofstra had transitioned to I-AA football, but they had done so much earlier, and even with the challenge of scheduling as an independent, had developed into a playoff team quickly.
Hofstra used to have a national presence on the football stage. Jets fans marveled at the diminutive WR Wayne Chrebet, and fell in love with his story – the local boy who led the Dutchmen in receiving, but only was on the Jets because he hustled his way into a tryout. Legend has it that the security guard at Jets training camp stopped him on the Hofstra campus, not believing that he could possibly be a NFL wide receiver at 5 foot 10 – despite his success on that same field.
That was a big part of the story of Hofstra’s football program, and 1999, when Lehigh played the Dutchmen in Long Island might have been Hofstra’s peak not only as a football program but as an athletic program. Since then, Stony Brook has passed Hofstra in about every measurable way, but in 1999, Hofstra, who was still looking for a football conference after the Patriot League would still not offer them an invite, loomed as Lehigh’s opponent.
I remember the last game Lehigh played on Long Island; I was there.
It also happened to be a FCS Playoff, or back then, I-AA Playoff, game.
It wasn’t against Stony Brook, who finished their very first season in I-AA that year with a 5-5 record and a win over St. John’s (NY), 28-6.
It was against a team that used to be the biggest college football program on Long Island – an East Coast independent, Hofstra, that was led by head coach Joe Gardi. Like Stony Brook, Hofstra had transitioned to I-AA football, but they had done so much earlier, and even with the challenge of scheduling as an independent, had developed into a playoff team quickly.
Hofstra used to have a national presence on the football stage. Jets fans marveled at the diminutive WR Wayne Chrebet, and fell in love with his story – the local boy who led the Dutchmen in receiving, but only was on the Jets because he hustled his way into a tryout. Legend has it that the security guard at Jets training camp stopped him on the Hofstra campus, not believing that he could possibly be a NFL wide receiver at 5 foot 10 – despite his success on that same field.
That was a big part of the story of Hofstra’s football program, and 1999, when Lehigh played the Dutchmen in Long Island might have been Hofstra’s peak not only as a football program but as an athletic program. Since then, Stony Brook has passed Hofstra in about every measurable way, but in 1999, Hofstra, who was still looking for a football conference after the Patriot League would still not offer them an invite, loomed as Lehigh’s opponent.
