Lehigh and Villanova locked in a barnburner

[kardplayer]

3 minutes to go, Lehigh just had two long runs and scored a TD to 3 point lead.

[kardplayer]

3rd and 7th - incomplete

[RadMann]

Nova QB sacked.... big play

[kardplayer]

yee ha - turnover on downs - LU ball 1 minute to go

[kardplayer]

I love CN8, BTW

[kardplayer]

3rd down lehigh, 1:01 remaining, Nova takes its last time out

[kardplayer]

4th and 5 - stopped Nova ball

[kardplayer]

1st down - incomplete 4.4 to go, on their own 20

[kardplayer]

Hail Mary broken up by Ahye - LU wins

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Yes!!!!!!! Never lose the faith baby, never lose the faith!!!!

[kardplayer]

I officially hate the fact that the clock starts on change of possession. Nova took over with 13.9 but couldn't get the snap off for 2 seconds. Seems like a dumb rule to me - glad I could say it when it helped LU so it wouldn't look like sour grapes...

[kardplayer]

For those that believe in the transitive properties of football scoring...

Monmouth beat Fordham
Fordham beat Albany
Albany beat Lehigh
Lehigh beat Villanova

The NEC gets a win over the A-10 ;)

[Fordham]

Great rebound, Engineers!!!

Good week for the PL.

[Fordham]

For those that believe in the transitive properties of football scoring...

Monmouth beat Fordham
Fordham beat Albany
Albany beat Lehigh
Lehigh beat Villanova

The NEC gets a win over the A-10 ;)
HA! you stole the post I wanted to make!

Although I was going to credit my Rams with apparently being 6 points better than 'Nova.

[Dane96]

Nice win....wow...what a topsy turvey start to the year.

[Pard94]

I really thought Lehigh was going to get spanked. I know nothing. Nice job by Lehigh. Good win against the A-10.

[RadMann]

Not taking a thing away from Albany but I think the weather conditions affected their offense in that game. Lehigh looked good today against a Nova squad that played I-A UCF very well the week before.... Congrats Lehigh...

[Dane96]

Not taking anything at all. As shown by CCSU, Monmouth, and Albany in the past two years, a win over the NEC isnt a bad thing...and a loss is starting to become the same.

[DFW HOYA]

PL goes 3-1 in non-conference today--well done.

[colgate13]

Nice rebound Lehigh!

[Lehigh Football Nation]

OK, I'm a *little* excited.

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

I was cursing out the CN8 announcers all game for falling over themselves praising Villanova, and then, after Lehigh wins, they couldn't suck up to Lehigh enough! HA!!

[carney2]

Way ta go, Squawks! 9-2! Keep chuggin'.

[colgate13]

Way ta go, Squawks! 9-2! Keep chuggin'.

8-3 carney, if you want Lafayette to win that last regular season game... ;)

sorry, thread hijack...

Lots of PL love here. Go Engineers!

[LEHIGH61]

See you overconfident people in November. We will certainly SHOW UP!!!!!!!!!!

[ChickenMan]

For those that believe in the transitive properties of football scoring...

Monmouth beat Fordham
Fordham beat Albany
Albany beat Lehigh
Lehigh beat Villanova

The NEC gets a win over the A-10 ;)

The NEC didn't get a win over A10... but they sure got one over the SoCon

CCST 17 GSU 13... :eek:

[ngineer]

Thank you's to everyone. For 'good luck' purposes, though I really don't believe in such matters, I'm going to save my '5,000th post' for my report this evening after arriving home from what I hope will be , in the eyes of many, a surprising victory over Villanova. Forever the optimist, I am....
__________________
LEHIGH WILL SHINE TONIGHT, LEHIGH WILL SHINE!

Well, above is my 4,999th post from the Lounge I made early this afternoon. What a way to turn the odometer.
I was there. It did start pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly. Stupid penalties, dropped passes by wide open receivers (although there was a very nasty setting sun at 6 p.m.)
But all of a sudden 'things' settled down. The players and coaches get a lot of credit for hanging in when it went 14-0 in just 3 minutes early in the second.
Lehigh ran TOUGH when it had to. And Threatt shows he is the 'package'.
Villanova has some very good players, but they, too made some crucial mistakes--a cheap late hit on Threatt when we were facing 2nd and 30 to give us a first down was unreal. There were times I thought we were either manhandled or out of position on defense when 'nova ran very well on the left side. I think the coaches got more aggressive in calling up the backers since I was not impressed with Burroughs as a passer. He's a great athlete and can maneuver and run, but a number of wide open receivers were horribly underthrown.
This is a big win for the 'young' program of Andy Coen. We did what he said he wanted his teams to do. Run effectively in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. The nice dry turf also showed off our team speed wth Threatt, Thompson and the quick linebackers. There is a lot of work to do, though. Hard to say how good 'nova is. They played a decent UCF last week tough last week. Perhaps they were looking past us to UMass. But this has to be a big confidence booster to the Brown and White.
Oh, yes. Royce Morgan did play a little. In fact, he was in at the end pressuring Burroughs very well.
Good week for the PL to bounce back. And, after seeing some other eye-opening scores from the NEC--maybe a 'loss' to those upstarts is no longer cause for such angst....As 'they' say A-G-S!

[LUHawker]

I really thought Lehigh was going to get spanked. I know nothing. Nice job by Lehigh. Good win against the A-10.

Pard94,
We debated at some length this week and I think this win shows that old Lehigh won't easily relinquish its status in the PL. To adopt a Frank Tavani quote from two years ago after Lafayette defeated Richmond at Richmond, Lehigh re-learned how to win tonight. It's been 5 years since Lehigh beat an A-10 team (Hofstra 2001 playoffs) and even if Villanova isn't in the top grouping of A-10 teams, it's a big win, particularly at Villanova. PL teams are tough and the league race should be a good one this year. It's been a while since Lehigh has been able to celebrate a big win. Don't let anyone kid you, Coen was under pressure to win tonight and he came through - something we all thought was possible, but given his new status, impossible to know. We Lehigh fans have big expectations from Coen and I think tonight was a damn fine start. Late November in Easton will be a hell of a game!

[Pard94]

Pard94,
We debated at some length this week and I think this win shows that old Lehigh won't easily relinquish its status in the PL. To adopt a Frank Tavani quote from two years ago after Lafayette defeated Richmond at Richmond, Lehigh re-learned how to win tonight. It's been 5 years since Lehigh beat an A-10 team (Hofstra 2001 playoffs) and even if Villanova isn't in the top grouping of A-10 teams, it's a big win, particularly at Villanova. PL teams are tough and the league race should be a good one this year. It's been a while since Lehigh has been able to celebrate a big win. Don't let anyone kid you, Coen was under pressure to win tonight and he came through - something we all thought was possible, but given his new status, impossible to know. We Lehigh fans have big expectations from Coen and I think tonight was a damn fine start. Late November in Easton will be a hell of a game!

The more things change the more they stay the same. Looks like the season will remain very interesting! Let's see if Colgate can get thier train moving down the track with some speed. Look for a three way head on collision in November.

GO PARDS!

[Catsfan]

I was at the game and it certainly appeared to be a battle of 2 very mediocre teams. Nova's O-line and defensive secondary play were very disappointing. Lehigh's chief problems seem to be their safeties-- and their receivers--if they could catch, they would have won going away. Can't speak for the Patriot league, but this Nova team looks like they would be lucky to win three A-10 games this year.

[Ken_Z]

congrats to the Engineers on a big win. always great to get a win over the A10.

[LUHawker]

I was at the game and it certainly appeared to be a battle of 2 very mediocre teams. Nova's O-line and defensive secondary play were very disappointing. Lehigh's chief problems seem to be their safeties-- and their receivers--if they could catch, they would have won going away. Can't speak for the Patriot league, but this Nova team looks like they would be lucky to win three A-10 games this year.


I was there as well. If Lehigh's receivers caught some wide open balls, LU wins this by 14-17. As it is, it was close. Lehigh showed it could move the ball against Nova. A couple of turnovers kept Nova in the game. Burroughs is really good, but he is all of Villanova's offense. It might seem to be an obvious comment given the outcome, but this game showed Nova has some real problems. Lehigh's problems seem fixable and I think LU showed it is picking up some cohesiveness and momentum. Nova needs to address the lack of a passing game.

[carney2]

All joking aside (I rarely miss a chance to dump on the Squawks), this was something of a statement game for Lehigh. You wouldn't think that a program like their's needs to make any "statements," but the end of the Lembo regime was played, let us say, without the requisite enthusiasm, and last week's Albany bump in the road caused some doubters to surface. Lehigh insiders knew that the program would be in good hands with Andy Coen. The rest of us needed some reassurance. This was the most satisfying of any Patriot League win so far in this young season. The Squawks are, as we feared, a force to be reckoned with.

[JohnG]

Wow, that game was absolutely amazing. After standing in the rain last week for 3+ hours, I was thinking about just staying at home and watching some games on TV this week. But I came to my senses mid week and decided I would head down to the game and am I ever glad I did, in my four years here at Lehigh I would have to say that was one of the most exciting games I’ve been too.

Although it wasn’t very pretty at times with the offense dropping a lot of passes, including 2 that would have been touchdowns. And the defense missing a lot of tackles both sides stepped up when they needed to to come out with a huge win over an A-10 scholarship team.

Next week should be an interesting game against a Princeton team who has yet to play a game this year. And it is most certainly true that this year on Any Given Saturday anybody can win.

GO LEHIGH!

[colgate13]

This was the most satisfying of any Patriot League win so far in this young season.

I'm actually happier to see Fordham and Georgetown gain wins - and against NEC teams. The PL has always been behind the A-10 in the hierarchy. More NEC over PL wins and we could see that dynamic shift to someplace the PL doesn't want to see.

[Pard4Life]

I'm actually happier to see Fordham and Georgetown gain wins - and against NEC teams. The PL has always been behind the A-10 in the hierarchy. More NEC over PL wins and we could see that dynamic shift to someplace the PL doesn't want to see.

Yeah... seriously... you better beat Monmouth in two weeks! We don't want that arguement surfacing, and being bombarded by the ignorant critics calling for the PL autobid being retracted would be annoying to hear.

Lehigh's win was nice, but if they lost I would have been equally happy. As odd as it sounds, a Lehigh win (except Lafayette game) and a Lehigh loss, usually make me happy. xlolx

I still think Lehigh is a mixed bag. They played horrible in the early portions that I witnessed, with their line being pushed around and no apparent energy. However, later in the game, they put together some solid plays that have me thinking ahead to November... could be more trouble yet again. Sedale creates so many options.

However one quote by Coen really struck me at the end... "We will go as far as Seadale will take us"..... so you are saying he is the whole team at this point? You are one dimensional? If I were an LU fan, I wouldn't be happy with that comment...

[ngineer]

Yeah... seriously... you better beat Monmouth in two weeks! We don't want that arguement surfacing, and being bombarded by the ignorant critics calling for the PL autobid being retracted would be annoying to hear.

Lehigh's win was nice, but if they lost I would have been equally happy. As odd as it sounds, a Lehigh win (except Lafayette game) and a Lehigh loss, usually make me happy. xlolx

I still think Lehigh is a mixed bag. They played horrible in the early portions that I witnessed, with their line being pushed around and no apparent energy. However, later in the game, they put together some solid plays that have me thinking ahead to November... could be more trouble yet again. Sedale creates so many options.

However one quote by Coen really struck me at the end... "We will go as far as Seadale will take us"..... so you are saying he is the whole team at this point? You are one dimensional? If I were an LU fan, I wouldn't be happy with that comment...

I think the quote can be taken in different contexts. Obviously, watching Sedale last night, he is anything but one dimensional. His running threat really opened up some passing lanes, which a more 'traditional' QB would not have. He clearly can make something out of nothing at times with his feet. His arm is excellent as well as accuracy. As someone pointed out, above, without the dropped passes, Lehigh wins in a rout. WR's have to step up. But I think Coen's reference goes to having opposing defenses focusing on Threatt. He IS the man. But it doesn't mean we don't have other weapons, as McGowan and Thompson showed last night.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

That was a big win last night in terms of confidence but it was only one game. Villanova is "ehh" at best and before the season most people were considering this a win if Lehigh were to be in the hunt for a PL championship and a playoff spot. The one nice thing is this is 'Nova's first loss against a PL team which maybe will humble some of their fans a little bit. I didn;t get discouraged after last weeks loss and i'm not dancing on my head after last nights win. There is still a lot of work this team has to do if they want to maintain their streak of 8 win seasons and battle Lafayette and Colgate for the league title. The pieces are in place though. The return of Morgan will be huge as he gets back in game shape. Threatt is every bit as good as i thought he would be and the RB's look very good. The OL came together last night after a less than stellar performance against the Albany. The biggest question comming into the season was at wr and that question still remains. Threatt can only get the ball to the wr's, the rest is up to Thomas, Travato and the others to make the plays. Next weekend should give a better indication as to where the big 3 sit. Lafayette, Colgate and Lehigh all didn't play well last week but the 'Pards and Hawks showed improvement this week while Colgate had the week off. Next week Lafayette gets nemesis Penn at home, Lehigh host Princeton and Colgate will look to get revenge against Dartmouth in Hamilton.

[LetsGoNova]

Where on earth have you encountered cocky Villanova football fans?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Where on earth have you encountered cocky Villanova football fans?

A lot of 'Nova fans talk down on the PL and think they are above it. I've been reading the rivals board for years and atleast once a month there's talk about how 'Nova should be in 1-A and when discussion about the PL arises 90% of the people on the board think it's sacrilege.

Here's a quote from last night
"Villanova (or most A10 teams) shouldn't be losing to Patriot League teams. They don't give scholarships. Not a good sign."

I think a lot of your fans are very uniformed when it comes to the PL.

[LUHawker]

Where on earth have you encountered cocky Villanova football fans?

I think it's a little bit of the fans and a little bit of Andy Talley. Until last night Talley hadn't lost to a PL team since the mid-80's against Holy Cross and he has always displayed a disdain and a superiority attitude towards the PL.. Two years ago in reference to the Villanova-Lehigh game, he made some sarcastic comment that Villanova was just this little school from the Main Line in regards to Lehigh's football tradition. It smacked of arrogance. So I was especially happy that Lehigh was the first to end his streak of wins over PL teams. As to Villanova fans, I think the cockiness derives from the basketball program. If VU wins in football then it's "ha, see we can beat in you football as well", and if VU loses in football, then it's, "well, we don't care, because it's only football, and you're bb team isn't as good as we are."

It just occurred to me that you meant that comment faceitiously, but then I'm not sure.

[ngineer]

Where on earth have you encountered cocky Villanova football fans?

Actually, last night I did meet a few that expressed a little 'smugness'--perhaps due to VU's decent battle with UCF and our looking not so intimidating due to Albany. But I learned there was some trash talking on the field that Trovato alluded to in his post game remarks that he and few other teammates weren't good enough to be offered scholarships by the 'bigger' schools. Can't say I ran into any 'arrogance' but it was somewhat of a patronizing attitude, "you have a nice little team, but you're out of your element down here." With UMass on the horizon, Talley has a big job this week to get the 'cats focused. Good Luck. It would be nice to throw a little more upheaval into the rankings.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Concerning Villanova fans:

#1: If you listened to the CN8 announcers yesterday for abot 90% of the game, the A-10 (Villanova) nose was stuck higher than Cybil Shepard's. Paraphrasing their banter:

Announcer #1: Oh my GAWD, Lehigh looks like they're going into the tank. Did you see the abs on LB Bryan Adams?

Announcer #2: Yes, and look at that great blocking on the line. Oh, they are simply the greatest players at the I-AA level.

Of course, after Lehigh WON it was all "Wow, Sedale looks great! What a good player!" :rolleyes:

#2: Absolutely Talley is a part of that "arrogance". I didn't have the pleasure of hearing the trash-talk after the game but last year there sure was - from Talley himself. I do know the postgame quote from Talley in the Inquirer was that "[Villanova] didn't play with enough heart". Typical arrogant Talley. It wasn't HIS fault -- the head coach -- they lost the game, it was his PLAYERS didn't have heart? Give me a freakin' break. It's basically implied that THEY ['Nova] have all the talent and WE [Lehigh] had all the heart - impossible to acknowlege that maybe Lehigh has talent too.

[LUHawker]

Concerning Villanova fans:

#1: If you listened to the CN8 announcers yesterday for abot 90% of the game, the A-10 (Villanova) nose was stuck higher than Cybil Shepard's. Paraphrasing their banter:

Announcer #1: Oh my GAWD, Lehigh looks like they're going into the tank. Did you see the abs on LB Bryan Adams?

Announcer #2: Yes, and look at that great blocking on the line. Oh, they are simply the greatest players at the I-AA level.

Of course, after Lehigh WON it was all "Wow, Sedale looks great! What a good player!" :rolleyes:

#2: Absolutely Talley is a part of that "arrogance". I didn't have the pleasure of hearing the trash-talk after the game but last year there sure was - from Talley himself. I do know the postgame quote from Talley in the Inquirer was that "[Villanova] didn't play with enough heart". Typical arrogant Talley. It wasn't HIS fault -- the head coach -- they lost the game, it was his PLAYERS didn't have heart? Give me a freakin' break. It's basically implied that THEY ['Nova] have all the talent and WE [Lehigh] had all the heart - impossible to acknowlege that maybe Lehigh has talent too.

Regarding Talley, I watched the game again tonight on-demand and had the pleasure of hearing Talley's half-time comment that "we have the better team" That was after VU escaped a game-tying drive at the end of the first half, which would have tied the game. I think he's full of crap. Lehigh's O was much better than Nova's. LU surrendered 14 pts on a short field after turnovers and IMO the refs blew a very obvious hold that allowed VU to get their third TD. Talley has always had this "we're better than the PL" attitude, so I was doubly thrilled when Lehigh won.

[MR. CHICKEN]

FIVE DEGRESS....O' KEVIN........1. LEHIGH.....LOST TA..ALBANY........2. ALBANY...LOST TA...FORDHAM............3. LEHIGH....BEATS....'NOVA..(THANKY LEHIGH).......4. ALBANY....INVADES....DUH TUB.......5. ALBANY'S...MASCOT.....LOOKS...LIKE.....SCOOBY-DOO!....:p....BRAWK!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Regarding Talley, I watched the game again tonight on-demand and had the pleasure of hearing Talley's half-time comment that "we have the better team" That was after VU escaped a game-tying drive at the end of the first half, which would have tied the game. I think he's full of crap. Lehigh's O was much better than Nova's. LU surrendered 14 pts on a short field after turnovers and IMO the refs blew a very obvious hold that allowed VU to get their third TD. Talley has always had this "we're better than the PL" attitude, so I was doubly thrilled when Lehigh won.

As a Temple alum i've learned to hate 'Nova and their snotty attitude towards everyone. They thought they were too good for the Big Five and ruined that historic series for a number of years. I don't know where they get off thinking their ***** don't stink especially considering their only athletic achievement came as their starting gaurd was coked up. I have all the respect in the world for Penn, La Salle, and St. Joe's but zip for 'Nova.

[ngineer]

Concerning Villanova fans:

#1: If you listened to the CN8 announcers yesterday for abot 90% of the game, the A-10 (Villanova) nose was stuck higher than Cybil Shepard's. Paraphrasing their banter:

Announcer #1: Oh my GAWD, Lehigh looks like they're going into the tank. Did you see the abs on LB Bryan Adams?

Announcer #2: Yes, and look at that great blocking on the line. Oh, they are simply the greatest players at the I-AA level.

Of course, after Lehigh WON it was all "Wow, Sedale looks great! What a good player!" :rolleyes:

#2: Absolutely Talley is a part of that "arrogance". I didn't have the pleasure of hearing the trash-talk after the game but last year there sure was - from Talley himself. I do know the postgame quote from Talley in the Inquirer was that "[Villanova] didn't play with enough heart". Typical arrogant Talley. It wasn't HIS fault -- the head coach -- they lost the game, it was his PLAYERS didn't have heart? Give me a freakin' break. It's basically implied that THEY ['Nova] have all the talent and WE [Lehigh] had all the heart - impossible to acknowlege that maybe Lehigh has talent too.

IMO Talley was a big reason they lost. I felt that 'nova moved the ball quite well against us on the ground--in fact, too well some times. But the passing game sucked. Going to the pass too often took them away from their strength.

[LUHawker]

As a Temple alum i've learned to hate 'Nova and their snotty attitude towards everyone. They thought they were too good for the Big Five and ruined that historic series for a number of years. I don't know where they get off thinking their ***** don't stink especially considering their only athletic achievement came as their starting gaurd was coked up. I have all the respect in the world for Penn, La Salle, and St. Joe's but zip for 'Nova.

I don't know where Nova gets their attitude from, but I assume its basketball. In my book it is definitely not from academics, because in my experience, I have never been impressed with a Nova grad in the workforce (I emphasize here, in MY experience only).

[blukeys]

As a Temple alum i've learned to hate 'Nova and their snotty attitude towards everyone. They thought they were too good for the Big Five and ruined that historic series for a number of years. I don't know where they get off thinking their ***** don't stink especially considering their only athletic achievement came as their starting gaurd was coked up. I have all the respect in the world for Penn, La Salle, and St. Joe's but zip for 'Nova.

Obviously as a UD fan I have no love of Nova. But what they did to a tremendous basketball tradition was totally beyond the pale. The Big Five games at the Palestra were one of the great experiences in sports, period. To have it ruined so that they could play games at a venue named after a homosexual murderer who wanted an Olympic wrestler to be his lover is beyond me.

On Second thought , it isn't beyond me Nova does this. They do in fact think they are better than everyone else despite what the evidence shows.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

FIVE DEGRESS....O' KEVIN........1. LEHIGH.....LOST TA..ALBANY........2. ALBANY...LOST TA...FORDHAM............3. LEHIGH....BEATS....'NOVA..(THANKY LEHIGH).......4. ALBANY....INVADES....DUH TUB.......5. ALBANY'S...MASCOT.....LOOKS...LIKE.....SCOOBY-DOO!....:p....BRAWK!

:lmao:

Zoinks! Albany down by 25? Hey Scoob, how about a Scooby Snack?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

The Villanova stuff will probably find its way into the blog tomorrow. Instead, here's the last word on the weekend: trust.

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

[Pard4Life]

As a Temple alum i've learned to hate 'Nova and their snotty attitude towards everyone. They thought they were too good for the Big Five and ruined that historic series for a number of years. I don't know where they get off thinking their ***** don't stink especially considering their only athletic achievement came as their starting gaurd was coked up. I have all the respect in the world for Penn, La Salle, and St. Joe's but zip for 'Nova.

What? No respect for Drexel? :rotateh:

[Lehigh Football Nation]

My press roundup & game balls for the game. Headline: Talley says Villanova didn't show enough heart.

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

[JohnG]

We're going to permit ourselves one little look back on the "week that was" before devoting ourselves 100% to the upcoming game at Princeton.

Good write up as usual LFN. I just thought I should mention that next weeks game is in Goodman.


BTW: Are we going to being seeing you at the games any time soon (hopefully as a fan and not a reporter;) )

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Good write up as usual LFN. I just thought I should mention that next weeks game is in Goodman.


BTW: Are we going to being seeing you at the games any time soon (hopefully as a fan and not a reporter;) )

Fixed - thanks. :)

Not sure when I'm going to get up to Lehigh for a game, unfortunately. This month is tough since I've got a game I'm covering for I-AA.org every remaining weekend. Knowing me I'll probably sneak in a game somewhere. Worst case, pencil me in for Lehigh/Colgate... in the press box :eek: :D

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Talley still really doesn't "get it", even a week after Lehigh beat them. From Bruce Dowd, I-AA.org, the A-10 den:

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=80741


This is a very interesting topic and one that I will expand on in future columns. It has to do with getting the players emotionally ready for the games and how much impact that has on the outcome....

One of the best explanations, and honestly, one of the most insightful interviews of the year so far, came from Villanova’s head coach, Andy Talley, who really opened up about the problem and the challenge of motivating today’s players. Andy called his team’s performance against Lehigh last week “emotionless” and was at a loss at to why it happened. When asked “if it is a different type of player now that need other ways to get motivated than maybe what has been used in the past”, Talley responded with “I think right now, I would love to outlaw headphones and cell phones, because nobody talks to anybody anymore ... players walk in with their own music on their head, in the locker room everybody has got their own stuff going ... it is really an interesting deal”.

“I do think the kids are less emotional now then they have ever been.” He then reverted back to the game against Lehigh, which was their home opener with many ceremonies before the game, and he went on to say “ ... a beautiful night, almost a sellout crowd. We come out and waltz through the game ... I don’t get it ... some weeks they're up and some weeks there down ... you almost have to go back to the blood and guts day when, you know, you are just after people every second and a lot of the coaches don’t coach that way because you cannot get on the goal line with them and get them excited ... they’re out there on the field and it has to come from within. So we are in constant search for leadership and motivation in guys who can push people. It’s a different era right now.”

Two observations.

1) Could coach Coen and coach Talley be more diametrically opposed?

Coen after Albany loss: "I'll take the hit because I didn't call plays that let our QB play his game."

Talley after Lehigh loss: "The players weren't motivated enough."

2) Could it be that it's the coaching staff's fault if his own troops aren't up for the game? Isn't it the coaches job to get the team to play their best to win football games?

I'd just love for coach Talley to say, "Lehigh is a strong, talented football team, and that's why we lost. I will do better next week against UMass, and these guys will be ready to play." Would it have killed him to make that acknowlegement?

[blukeys]

Talley still really doesn't "get it", even a week after Lehigh beat them. From Bruce Dowd, I-AA.org, the A-10 den:

http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=80741



Two observations.

1) Could coach Coen and coach Talley be more diametrically opposed?

Coen after Albany loss: "I'll take the hit because I didn't call plays that let our QB play his game."

Talley after Lehigh loss: "The players weren't motivated enough."

2) Could it be that it's the coaching staff's fault if his own troops aren't up for the game? Isn't it the coaches job to get the team to play their best to win football games?

I'd just love for coach Talley to say, "Lehigh is a strong, talented football team, and that's why we lost. I will do better next week against UMass, and these guys will be ready to play." Would it have killed him to make that acknowlegement?

LFN, Did the interview in question occur right after the game? The writer said he was at the UMASS - Navy game. He did not say that he caught the Lehigh - Nova game. I agree with your assessment if Talley made these comments right after the loss. Immediately after the loss he should credit the opponent for their skill and playing a well played game. But as I read the article it appeared to me that this interview occurred a day or two after the game and that the topic was not the recent game but, "how do you motivate today's players?" It appeared to me that Talley was using the Lehigh game as an example of his confusion about today's players (He could have used Central Florida as well) and not using the motivation issue as an excuse for losing to Lehigh.

Perhaps you could contact your fellow I-AA columnist and get the details of how this conversation evolved. I'm not in the business of excusing Talley for anything but it is unclear to me about the context of this interview. I believe in trying to be fair to everyone. EVEN Nova.xidiotx xidiotx xidiotx


Although it hurts trying to be fair to Nova!!!!