As we enter play on September 26th……..

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Football As we enter play on September 26th……..

This topic contains 3 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by ngineer ngineer 15 years, 4 months ago.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #714

    LU65
    Participant

    ….here are the only numbers that count as coaches, players and fans look ahead to the games to be played on November 28th – the start of the FCS Playoffs:

    HC 1-0
    LC 1-1
    LU 0-0
    BU 0-0
    FU 0-0
    CU 0-0
    GT 0-2

    If you agree, don’t despair. Come in off the ledge, Lehigh fans. The "true" season as yet to begin for us and three other teams. We are, after all, only a half-game out of first place. In my mind, the OOC preseason is just that – a string of five exhibition games scheduled to iron out the wrinkles. No doubt Lehigh has a few of them but time is on our side. Our first meaningful game is still 17 days away (Georgetown, 10/10) and if you believe those who write off the worth of Bucknell and Georgetown (not that I do), you gotta like our yearend slate of games that doesn’t kick into gear until Halloween (10/31) with a trip to Hamilton followed by games against: HC @ home, FU on the road, and LC @ home. More than enough time for us to get healthy and prep for what might be a four week run to the Playoffs. Hey, as a die-hard Met fan, you gotta believe.
    One more thing, take your mind off the 3 and 0 Crusaders of Holy Cross and the 3 and 0 Raiders of Colgate for awhile. Nice, but consider the source. First, remember there are 125 FCS teams. Then, know that Holy Cross shot down the 119th ranked, 0 and 2, Sacred Heart Pioneers – a team that hung 21 points on the Fitton Field scoreboard. That doesn’t impress me. Nor does their win over the 112th ranked, 0 and 3 Hoyas of Georgetown – a team that went into the 4th quarter of that game leading 7 to 6. OK, I’ll recognize the Crusader win over Harvard yet quickly point out that while they knocked off a Top 25 team, the Crimson hadn’t lined up to take a snap in the ’09 season before venturing out to Worcester last weekend. Still to come for the gang in purple that have yet to board a bus for a road game are: Northeastern (91 ranked, 0-2), Brown (57 ranked, 0-1), and Dartmouth (102 ranked, 0-1) – not necessarily what you’d call a "murder’s row" lineup. How about Colgate and their 3-0 start? Let’s see, you have Monmouth, Stoney Brook, and Dartmouth – none ranked in the Top 60 of all FCS schools. The three did, however, combine to score 51 points on the Raiders. Still to come in OOC play are: Cornell and Princeton. Are we possibly looking at two highly one-dimensional teams in HC and CU? Again, have some may have suggested, there’s no way in my mind that either team should be thinking of a Wild Card berth in the Playoffs should one or both they fail to take home the PL Crown and say finish 10-1 or 9-2. The PL is the lowest ranked "auto bid" conference in the FCS. To think Wild Card you better post a win over a ranked member of either the CAA, Southern or Big Sky conference.

    Enough rambling, here are the Patriot League Sagarin Numbers entering play this weekend and a closer look at Princeton vs. Lehigh spread.
    Sagarin (245 ranked D-I Teams)
    CU 161
    LU 174
    LC 175
    HC 193
    FU 216
    GT 233
    BU 234
    Awarding three rating points to the home team in this weekend’s play, the "line" for the Princeton game would be: LU – 3 1/2 points.

    Other polling data (thanks to guys on the Holy Cross Board) would include:
    1. CSL Ratings (125 FCS teams)
    CU 8
    HC 10
    LU 66
    LC 71
    FU 112
    BU 114
    GT 116

    2. The 16 FCS Polls (combined) – 125 teams
    HC 23
    CU 24
    LC 47
    LU 66
    FU 112
    BU 114
    GT 116

    Let the games begin! Oh, I’ll go with Lehigh 28 / Princeton 17.

    #716

    Wizard
    Participant

    65, LC should be 1-0. Loss was to Liberty.

    #719

    LU65
    Participant

    Oooops. Sorry about that. LC is indeed 1-0 in PL play.

    #722
    ngineer
    ngineer
    Participant

    Agree with you 65. However, how well we do against Princeton and Harvard will be a very good insight into the soul of our team. I believe you cannot just ‘turn it on’ at will. Winning is contagious and playing to win and getting a confidence ‘high’ is important.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.