Lehigh Football Nation

The picture is grainy, thanks to my video software and the video report from WFMZ 69 . But it's clear enough to show what happened: New Hampshire WR Joey Orlando , in overtime in one of the most thrilling games ever played at Murray Goodman stadium, was not in bounds when he made his game-winning catch. And it was deeply, unfortunate, too.  For it would have been great to see if Lehigh could have been beaten without the help of the guys in the striped shirts on Saturday.  (more)

(Graphic Credit: Bogus Megapardus, not-so-proud member of the Any Given Saturday Community) The definition of the word "kerfuffle" is a one-liner: a "commotion" or "fuss". This week, a kerfuffle broke out in the world of the Patriot League: a fuss over broadcast rights in regards to televising a Patriot League football game. Inadvertently, the commotion about the airing of a Patriot League football game highlights a lot more than the situation of the game itself: it also highlights the strange, twisted world of Patriot League football coverage nationally and the differences they have, say, with the television concerns of the big boys.   (more)

It's pretty hard to believe, but just two weeks ago Richmond head football man Wayne Lineburg wasn't even a head coach. It's because of a stunning turn of events over the past month, where former Spider head man Latrell Scott was dismissed from the school after being charged with a DUI offense for the second time in his career. It seemed to be the type of opening of the season that was better suited for a horror story than an FBS upset. But fortunately for the Spiders, it was Duke who was the victim of a Spider invasion, not a Blue Devil stomping on a CAA team in disarray. (more)

It's not like ranked opponents are a rarity at South Mountain - just last year, Lehigh laid out a welcome mat for the defending national champions, Villanova - and promptly got trounced, 35-0. And it's not even all that long ago that Lehigh was nationally ranked and playing at home, either.  In 2004, two Top 20 teams faced off at Murray Goodman stadium in a key conference battle - and Lehigh beat their "other" conference rival, Colgate, 21-14. But it's been an awful long while that a nationally-ranked Lehigh team hosted a CAA team at their place - as equals. This weekend, Lehigh players and fans will have a matchup that has a little bit of everything.  A big, bad CAA team facing off against an upstart Patriot League squad.  A battle between two nationally-ranked teams.  A chance for revenge after the Mountain Hawks' worst game of last year.  But for Lehigh, it's mostly a game about respect.  (more)

This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to: Offense: Senior QB Chris Lum (22-for-34 passing, 346 yards, passing, 4 TDs ) (tie) Offense: Junior RB Zach Barket (80 yards rushing, 3 TDs) (tie) Defense: Senior LB Mike Groome (10 tackles)  Special Teams: Junior RB Marcue Dormevil (29.4 yards in returns, 65 yards receiving, 1 TD) Underclassman: Sophomore OL Matt Lippincott (529 yards of total offense, 0 sacks) Congratulations to the winners!

(Photo Credit: Peter Ackerman/The Daily Record) Below the flip, see the press roundup of Lehigh's victory over Monmouth - and a peek at what's been happening with Lehigh's next opponent, New Hampshire.  (more)

Below the flip, see my Top 25 for this week.  (more)

The talk all this week in the lead-up to the opening of the 2011 season was about the right things - focusing on Monmouth. And despite my prediction that it was "extremely unlikely that Lehigh would put up a 50 spot on the Hawks", Lehigh came awfully close to doing so - falling just one point short in a stunningly resounding 49-24 win . For sure, this team - whose businesslike demeanor caught the attention of Morning Call columnist Keith Groller - took Monmouth seriously. But you can tell with this team that while beating Monmouth was a good thing and the desired outcome, the first game they circled on the calendar this past offseason was the contest against New Hampshire - the team from the "granite" state that was one of the few blemishes to the 2010 season.  (more)