Patriot League Pick 'em Week 13

[carney2]

The end at last.

GEORGETOWN @ HOLY CROSS

LAFAYETTE @ LEHIGH (155)

BUCKNELL @ FORDHAM

Games of the week: Georgetown @ Holy Cross and Lafayette @ Lehigh to decide who gets totally humiliated the following week by a real football team.

[crusader11]

Holy Cross should be able to comport themselves well against a middling CAA team in round one, I think. Same goes if they get CCSU.

[bonarae]

Holy Cross
Lafayette
Fordham

Aren't we sure if this is the worst ever PL season?

[van]

looks like the week for home teams

GEORGETOWN @ HOLY CROSS

LAFAYETTE @ LEHIGH (155)

BUCKNELL @ FORDHAM

[Ivytalk]

Holy Cross
Lehigh
Fordham

[DFW HOYA]

Aren't we sure if this is the worst ever PL season?

A few people have said this for the last two years or so. Maybe this continues in 2020, too early to say this is the bottom.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

A few people have said this for the last two years or so. Maybe this continues in 2020, too early to say this is the bottom.

You and I have pointed out that the PL is ailing, that multiple PL policies are part of the cause, and we have proposed solutions that could at least be discussed. Will any Patriot League presidents discuss it?

If what we've written hasn't already set off any alarm bells amongst the halls of the PL presidents, perhaps this will. More and more, the Ivy League and service academies look a lot more similar than the Patriot League and the academies. Part of the appeal of football scholarships was to make the league more attractive for non-league games against Army, Navy, and Air Force. What if Army decides that a better test for their teams would be to schedule games against Princeton rather than Lafayette?

[TheValleyRaider]

Just like that it's almost over. Not counting playoffs of course, but let's enjoy (?) the remainder of a full slate. 4-0 last week, first perfect weekend of the season. Peaking at the right time, of course, now 38-20 for the year

Georgetown at Holy Cross Holy Cross The Crusaders bounced back after their tough Lafayette loss, and are once again in the driver's seat for the autobid. Even though they have a share of the crown wrapped up, I expect a good showing as HC tries to sew up their playoff birth and prepare for their post-Thanksgiving plans. Georgetown put together another decent start, but injuries and depth have caught up to them again.

Lafayette at Lehigh Lafayette I went back and forth on this one, and while I can't believe I would have been all that impressed with Lafayette's showing last week (had I been able to watch), I haven't seen anything really impressive from Lehigh so far this season. 3 straight close losses for the Mountain Hawks after 4 close wins screams inconsistency, which means unpredictable. The Leopards have been similarly inconsistent as of late, but that feels like momentum to me. Just feeling the Leopards to end Lehigh's streak, for this year at least.

Bucknell at Fordham Bucknell Two teams that feel like their seasons are going in opposite directions over the last month. The Bison look like they are putting things together, at little anyway, under Cecchini. The Rams have struggled, losing 4 straight, 2 close then 2 by increasing margins. Opposition talent is part of that, but momentum with college students is always fickle. Bison have a shot at sharing the title (only their second ever), and will be watching Worcester as well.

[carney2]

GEORGETOWN @ HOLY CROSS - I don't expect it to be competitive.

LAFAYETTE @ LEHIGH (155) - Not really convinced, but I had to pick one.

BUCKNELL @ FORDHAM - Bucky has less talent so why not?

[ngineer]

Crusaders should be able to over come 'the rocks', though rocks can cause a stumble. Holy Cross..27-20

Bucky with a chance to share a championship??!! Who'd a thought? I sense Chick will have them 'up' and ready. Bison 28-24

Lehigh likely to start Beesmer who shows better mobility than either Monaco or Shoup. Banged up OL getting few back, but will they be enough? Likewise, Hill should return to the backfield. Defense has been excellent and that should be the key. Leotard's Pearson was out last week which put a big crimp in their game against 'gate. I suspect he'll be ready. Key is keeping Shoemaker to Person under control. Great stage for Beesmer to show he's "the man" heading into next year. Rain is supposed to hold off until 4-5 p.m. Lehigh 32 Laughyette 24

[SUPharmacist]

Georgetown
Lafayette
Fordham

[Southsider]

Crusaders should be able to over come 'the rocks', though rocks can cause a stumble. Holy Cross..27-20

Bucky with a chance to share a championship??!! Who'd a thought? I sense Chick will have them 'up' and ready. Bison 28-24

Lehigh likely to start Beesmer who shows better mobility than either Monaco or Shoup. Banged up OL getting few back, but will they be enough? Likewise, Hill should return to the backfield. Defense has been excellent and that should be the key. Leotard's Pearson was out last week which put a big crimp in their game against 'gate. I suspect he'll be ready. Key is keeping Shoemaker to Person under control. Great stage for Beesmer to show he's "the man" heading into next year. Rain is supposed to hold off until 4-5 p.m. Lehigh 32 Laughyette 24

Where in the hell will LU find 32 points?

[PAllen]

Where in the hell will LU find 32 points?

16 self imposed Lafayette safeties?

[RichH2]

32 points is just 1 shy of the points we've scored over the last 3 weeks. What the hell. Why not. I'm guessing we're due.:)

[RichH2]

I have stored my rose colored glasses for use next year.I Therefore I have decided not to post my opinion that Lehigh will indeed emerge victorious on Saturday. :)

I do hope Hoyas can beat Holy Cross but that seems very unlikely.
Likewise I hope Ceech can end his 1st year at Bucknell with a W.

[Sader87]

Fordham.....home field prevails in a "pride game"
Lafayette.....Engineers seem to be spiraling at season's end
HC....it would be just like HC to screw this up, but there seems to be a new sheriff in Wisstah these days

For the record, 42-15 is the leading score right now in our (Crossposts) pick 'em...held by our crusader11 here

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Any thoughts on postseason awards?

Coach of the year? Bob Chesney, no real competition given how bad everyone is
OPOY? Dom Cozier, considered Tim DeMorat, Devon Bibbens, Nick Davis (the offensive stats this year are pretty bad, especially the QB play)
DOY? Ryan Greenhagen, I don't think it's close
ROY? Keegan Shoemaker, maybe Ayir Asante?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Any thoughts on postseason awards?

Coach of the year? Bob Chesney, no real competition given how bad everyone is
OPOY? Dom Cozier, considered Tim DeMorat, Devon Bibbens, Nick Davis (the offensive stats this year are pretty bad, especially the QB play)
DOY? Ryan Greenhagen, I don't think it's close
ROY? Keegan Shoemaker, maybe Ayir Asante?

Chesney (should be unanimous)
Degenhardt
Greenhagen but having watched Lehigh all year, Woetzel should get it
Shoemaker (should be unanimous)

[Sader87]

I'd go Cozier ovah Degenhardt

LB Dobbs (frosh) was very good too...

[crusader11]

Eve of the final week of the regular season and we are on page two. Yeesh.

Degenhardt as OPOY? Doubt it. Cozier much better and the better choice.

[ngineer]

Crusaders should be able to over come 'the rocks', though rocks can cause a stumble. Holy Cross..27-20

Bucky with a chance to share a championship??!! Who'd a thought? I sense Chick will have them 'up' and ready. Bison 28-24

Lehigh likely to start Beesmer who shows better mobility than either Monaco or Shoup. Banged up OL getting few back, but will they be enough? Likewise, Hill should return to the backfield. Defense has been excellent and that should be the key. Leotard's Pearson was out last week which put a big crimp in their game against 'gate. I suspect he'll be ready. Key is keeping Shoemaker to Person under control. Great stage for Beesmer to show he's "the man" heading into next year. Rain is supposed to hold off until 4-5 p.m. Lehigh 32 Laughyette 24

Going to modify my prediction on #155: Lafayette 16 Lehigh 20. I heard the O/U is 33, which makes sense in considering all the issues both offenses had this year, and both defenses kept their teams in games.

[Leopard Loyalist]

GEORGETOWN @ HOLY CROSS
LAFAYETTE @ LEHIGH (155)

BUCKNELL @ FORDHAM

[Lehigh'98]

Lafayette still sucks! Go Lehigh

[carney2]

I'm giving the same Joe Willie Namath guarantee here that I gave on the Lafayette board - Lafayette's first offensive play this year will NOT involve the Lafayette QB handing off to a Lehigh defensive lineman for a TD. With Garrett as both head coach and offensive coordinator however, all bets are off on anything else that's dumber than dirt.

Quick summary of plusses and minuses:

LAFAYETTE:
The better QB.
Lehigh issues in both lines, particularly offense.

LEHIGH:
Superior defense.
Lafayette issues with injured wide receivers.
Lafayette has Garrett.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 27 Georgetown 17 - The Hoyas will battle but Holy Cross emerges with the crown.
Bucknell 31 Fordham 17 - The Rams defense is dreadful. Bucknell states their case a perhaps the preseason favorite heading into 2020....
Lafayette 20 Lehigh 13 - Lafayette has the better QB and is more sound in the trenches. Plus, they're due to beat Lehigh....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Looks like HC's top WR Ayeni suffered an ugly leg/ankle injury.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC's kicker doinks a 49 yard fg off the upright....

0-0 9:08 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

80 yard Cozier TD run called back because of holding. Seemed like a legit call....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Crowd to start the Lehigh-Lafayette games appears to be in the 2-3k range.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Georgetown appears to running some variations of the Tom Osborne triple-option and the Tubby Raymond Wing-T. It's hard to tell exactly what they're trying to do..

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

The offenses in the Holy Cross-Georgetown and Lehigh-Lafayette games might set football back 75 years. O/U combined points could be less than 40....

[PAllen]

Crowd to start the Lehigh-Lafayette games appears to be in the 2-3k range.

Yeah, it's pretty embarrassing. Of course, so has the play on the field so far. Just showed a shot of the tailgating field and it's almost empty. WTF.

BTW, how did Lehigh get a stadium announcer from Dundalk, MD?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Yeah, it's pretty embarrassing. Of course, so has the play on the field so far. Just showed a shot of the tailgating field and it's almost empty. WTF.

BTW, how did Lehigh get a stadium announcer from Dundalk, MD?

It's filled up to an extent. Lehigh is getting outplayed so far. Shoemaker is going to eat the defense up....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Leopards! Simpson 18 yard run right up the gut. Lafayette completely blew Lehigh off the ball

Lafayette 7-0 0:47 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross looks awful against Georgetown. My goodness...

[PAllen]

It's filled up to an extent. Lehigh is getting outplayed so far. Shoemaker is going to eat the defense up....

Still looks like no more than 6K from the aerial shots.

When does Joe start to feel some heat to fix this crap?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lafayette 7 Lehigh 0 End of 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lehigh!

7-7 10:40 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross stops Georgetown on 4th and less than one at the HC 30. I have no idea what type of play of the Hoyas were trying to run. This is ugly...

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Degenhardt drops a dime for a huge play on third down, HC scores on the next play. That might be enough if they protect the ball. The Hoyas offense is that bad.

HC 7-0 2:08 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Gunther Johnson throws a horrific pick that's returned for a TD. This game is ovah!! Congrats Crusaders for not being too terrible!!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 14 Georgetown 0 Half

This game turned on the 4th and 1. Holy Cross stuffed it but the Hoyas didn't even try to run a legitimate play or they completely screwed it up. After that it was all Crusaders to close out the half.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh and Lafayette exchanging turnovers for the holidays.

7-7 1:35 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh 7 Lafayette 7 Half

Two bad teams equal a compelling pillow fight.....

[CHIP72]

Still looks like no more than 6K from the aerial shots.

When does Joe start to feel some heat to fix this crap?

The stadium has definitely filled up. There was a steady stream of people STILL filing into the stands in the middle of the 2nd quarter.


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[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

The stadium has definitely filled up. There was a steady stream of people STILL filing into the stands in the middle of the 2nd quarter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Filled up relative speaking. The "away side" is maybe half full? Definitely the smallest LU-LC crowd I've ever seen.

[PAllen]

Filled up relative speaking. The "away side" is maybe half full? Definitely the smallest LU-LC crowd I've ever seen.

Yeah, still maybe 8-9K butts in seats.

[CHIP72]

I’m on the east side. The west side has filled up with a few empty seats here and there. It does look like there are some empty seat areas in the NE corner of the stadium.


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[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Pards following a turnover

14-7 Lafayette

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Georgetown driving, Johnson throws a pick at the goal line. Second time he tried throwing across his body.....

Lehigh with another fumble! 4 turnovers!!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross gets stuffed 4th and goal at the 1. Outside of Cozier they have nothing on offense. Not like it matters. The Hoya "O" ain't going 99 yards. They'll be lucky to avoid a safety....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 14 Georgetown 0 End 3Q

Just a lot of blah football in this one. Both offenses are struggling mightily.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lafayette 14-10 4:24 3Q
Bucknell 14-10 1:30 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Following a strip fumble HC has to settle for a FG...

Holy Cross 17-0 12:31 4Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Georgetown misses a 42 yard FG

HC 17-0 with about 7 minutes left....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC closes the door with another Cozier TD. HC will mercifully clinch the PL with a 7-5 record. For the third year in a row 6 out 7 PL teams will finish with a losing record.

Not surprised Chesney led HC to a title. I just figured it would be with a better team against better competition. This HC team is maybe average? I think they're in trouble next week....

[Sader87]

HC is in Year 2 of a reclamation project....the D is there, O needs a lot of work moving forward.

That being said, it's nice to say the title is back in Wisstahh! :)

[DFW HOYA]

HC is in Year 2 of a reclamation project....the D is there, O needs a lot of work moving forward.


Georgetown is in year 19 of its reclamation project. No estimate for completion.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Fordham 24 Bucknell 14 2:48 4Q

[BNiche]

Fordham 31, Bucknell 14. That should do it. 2:40 4Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Fordham 31, Bucknell 14. That should do it. 2:40 4Q

Fordham, the PL's biggest enigma....

[carney2]

I haven't seen it posted , so ... Lafayette 17, Lehigh 16. The teams traded field goals in the last 3 minutes or so, with Lafayette's coming with about 50 seconds to go. Two truly inept offenses trading powder puff blows for 60 minutes. Lehigh's 4 turnovers were probably the difference. The Lafayette field goal kicker was awarded the game MVP trophy for his one play. That just about says it for the effectiveness of the others wearing pads. (Two linebackers - senior Keith Woetzel for Lehigh and freshman Marco Olivas for Lafayette had great games, and deserved better than watching a kicker walk off with the MVP trophy.)

[DFW HOYA]

I haven't seen it posted , so ... Lafayette 17, Lehigh 16. The teams traded field goals in the last 3 minutes or so, with Lafayette's coming with about 50 seconds to go. Two truly inept offenses trading powder puff blows for 60 minutes. Lehigh's 4 turnovers were probably the difference. The Lafayette field goal kicker was awarded the game MVP trophy for his one play. That just about says it for the effectiveness of the others wearing pads. (Two linebackers - senior Keith Woetzel for Lehigh and freshman Marco Olivas for Lafayette had great games, and deserved better than watching a kicker walk off with the MVP trophy.)

Solid game for Lafayette.

[CHIP72]

Lehigh actually outplayed Lafayette for much of the game IMO, but the turnovers (Lehigh had 4, Lafayette had only 1; also three of LU’s turnovers were in their own territory and the other was at the 50 yard line) were big. To Lafayette’s credit though, after not moving the ball most of the game, when the Leopards needed to score after falling behind 16-14 late in the 4th quarter, they put together their best drive of the game and got to the Lehigh 11 yard line and short FG range.


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[Southsider]

Georgetown is in year 19 of its reclamation project. No estimate for completion.

Abolish PL football! Teams need to go there separate ways before it’s too late. That day is coming sooner rather than later!

[Sader87]

Abolish PL football! Teams need to go there separate ways before it’s too late. That day is coming sooner rather than later!

It's not going anywhere obviously....the thing is, to many admin. it's seen as just another of the 20 or so sports played at their schools...rightly or wrongly

[ngineer]

Crowd to start the Lehigh-Lafayette games appears to be in the 2-3k range.

Horrendous security screening delayed everyone. Always a late arriving crowd due to the massive tailgates, it took 20 minutes to get through the gate once in line. Official attendance was 13,295. But for once most everyone stayed to the end. Exciting, though not the best played, still an exciting game.

[ngineer]

I haven't seen it posted , so ... Lafayette 17, Lehigh 16. The teams traded field goals in the last 3 minutes or so, with Lafayette's coming with about 50 seconds to go. Two truly inept offenses trading powder puff blows for 60 minutes. Lehigh's 4 turnovers were probably the difference. The Lafayette field goal kicker was awarded the game MVP trophy for his one play. That just about says it for the effectiveness of the others wearing pads. (Two linebackers - senior Keith Woetzel for Lehigh and freshman Marco Olivas for Lafayette had great games, and deserved better than watching a kicker walk off with the MVP trophy.)

Excellent point. I thought the decision horrible. Probably made by the PL officiating crew!

[Gater]

Something that got lost in Laf-Lehigh (saw Owl mentioned it in game thread) was that at one point the refs thought it was fourth down instead of third for Lafayette. Garrett tried to argue and they were called for a delay of game. Lafayette punted the ball and then the refs realized they had messed up on downs. After five or ten minutes of debating what had happened (and figuring out down, distance, and time of game) they gave the ball back to Lafayette and had them run the third down play. Can't think of a time when two plays were ignored to right the officials' wrong.

Also, congrats to Holy Cross. Certainly the most deserving team. 7-3 in FCS games with a solid win against UNH. As for their loses, Yale and Harvard are both capable of beating good teams and they had five turnovers against Lafayette and only lost by three. Hopefully Cozier runs the way he did against Colgate and they win a couple o' four games.

[TheValleyRaider]

Congrats to Holy Cross on the League title xthumbsupx

Good luck in the playoffs

[Ivytalk]

Congrats to Holy Cross on the League title xthumbsupx

Good luck in the playoffs
I second that!:)

[crusader11]

Can anyone remember a year where the collective QB play was so poor across the league?

There were a combined 45 passing touchdowns in PL games this year. I haven't compared it to other years, but that seems awfully low.

[DFW HOYA]

Can anyone remember a year where the collective QB play was so poor across the league?

There were a combined 45 passing touchdowns in PL games this year. I haven't compared it to other years, but that seems awfully low.

Ten years ago, a lot more.

https://patriotleague.org/documents/2009/12/16/PLLeagueOnly121609.pdf?id=157

[bulldog10jw]

Congrats to Holy Cross on the League title xthumbsupx

Good luck in the playoffs

Good luck to HC

[ngineer]

Something that got lost in Laf-Lehigh (saw Owl mentioned it in game thread) was that at one point the refs thought it was fourth down instead of third for Lafayette. Garrett tried to argue and they were called for a delay of game. Lafayette punted the ball and then the refs realized they had messed up on downs. After five or ten minutes of debating what had happened (and figuring out down, distance, and time of game) they gave the ball back to Lafayette and had them run the third down play. Can't think of a time when two plays were ignored to right the officials' wrong.

Also, congrats to Holy Cross. Certainly the most deserving team. 7-3 in FCS games with a solid win against UNH. As for their loses, Yale and Harvard are both capable of beating good teams and they had five turnovers against Lafayette and only lost by three. Hopefully Cozier runs the way he did against Colgate and they win a couple o' four games.

Yes, it was bizarre. Of course the 14,000 or so who were there were never told anything, but I figured that was the problem, because I remember on the prior play the yardline marker was set at '4', but the scoreboard had 3rd down. Never saw a 'do over' before. In the past if mistakes were made, it has been "we are sorry. too bad," but the play was run. PL refs were horrible this year, but I guess you get what you pay for.

[CHIP72]

Yes, it was bizarre. Of course the 14,000 or so who were there were never told anything, but I figured that was the problem, because I remember on the prior play the yardline marker was set at '4', but the scoreboard had 3rd down. Never saw a 'do over' before. In the past if mistakes were made, it has been "we are sorry. too bad," but the play was run. PL refs were horrible this year, but I guess you get what you pay for.

It was VERY annoying that those of us at the game weren't told what was going on.

As ridiculous as that situation was with the lengthy delay, I'd prefer to see the officials handle things the way they did (in terms of giving the downs back to Lafayette to correct the officiating error) than to ignore the error and play on.

[Southsider]

It was VERY annoying that those of us at the game weren't told what was going on.

As ridiculous as that situation was with the lengthy delay, I'd prefer to see the officials handle things the way they did (in terms of giving the downs back to Lafayette to correct the officiating error) than to ignore the error and play on.

Disagree Chip. For me, the technology has ruined the game. Let the refs call the game. More often than not they make the right calls. The replays and delays take all the momentum away. For fans, perceived “bad calls” especially in big rivalry games, keep the fires burning for next year! And btw, Brisson needs to go. TODAY!!!

[Fordham]

Something that got lost in Laf-Lehigh (saw Owl mentioned it in game thread) was that at one point the refs thought it was fourth down instead of third for Lafayette. Garrett tried to argue and they were called for a delay of game. Lafayette punted the ball and then the refs realized they had messed up on downs. After five or ten minutes of debating what had happened (and figuring out down, distance, and time of game) they gave the ball back to Lafayette and had them run the third down play. Can't think of a time when two plays were ignored to right the officials' wrong.

Also, congrats to Holy Cross. Certainly the most deserving team. 7-3 in FCS games with a solid win against UNH. As for their loses, Yale and Harvard are both capable of beating good teams and they had five turnovers against Lafayette and only lost by three. Hopefully Cozier runs the way he did against Colgate and they win a couple o' four games.
That's crazy. Have never heard of the refs doing that in any game at any level either.

Congrats Holy Cross!! Good luck this week v Monmouth!

[carney2]

Horrendous security screening delayed everyone. Always a late arriving crowd due to the massive tailgates, it took 20 minutes to get through the gate once in line. Official attendance was 13,295. But for once most everyone stayed to the end. Exciting, though not the best played, still an exciting game.

I was at first not surprised by the huge areas of unoccupied seats, especially on the visitors' side. That used to indicate that you have to purchase a seat to get into the game, but the "kids" don't sit in them. They get drunk on the large grassy knoll in the end zone opposite the scoreboard and merely use their ticket to get access to the stadium. Then I noticed that there was absolutely no one on the knoll. I understand the "tickets still available" apathy, particularly from my fellow Pards where lack of institutional support is now translating to lack of fan support, but what happened on the knoll? The powers-that-be seem determined to suck all the life out of this game.

[ngineer]

I was at first not surprised by the huge areas of unoccupied seats, especially on the visitors' side. That used to indicate that you have to purchase a seat to get into the game, but the "kids" don't sit in them. They get drunk on the large grassy knoll in the end zone opposite the scoreboard and merely use their ticket to get access to the stadium. Then I noticed that there was absolutely no one on the knoll. I understand the "tickets still available" apathy, particularly from my fellow Pards where lack of institutional support is now translating to lack of fan support, but what happened on the knoll? The powers-that-be seem determined to suck all the life out of this game.

They let anyone sit there during the regular season, but for some reason, fenced it off this year forcing the students to sit in the stands from the end zone up to the 20 yard line. Probably some concern over 'liability' considering the sobriety level of many. My granddaughters love rolling down the hill during the games I take them to, but I can see some injuries with much heavier people rolling down into the cyclone fence!

[carney2]

They let anyone sit there during the regular season, but for some reason, fenced it off this year forcing the students to sit in the stands from the end zone up to the 20 yard line. Probably some concern over 'liability' considering the sobriety level of many. My granddaughters love rolling down the hill during the games I take them to, but I can see some injuries with much heavier people rolling down into the cyclone fence!

What's next?; Don't walk to the stadium. You might stub your toe. As I said, sucking all the fun out of what used to be a truly great event.

Reminds me of the times (it Happened twice) that the weenies at Lafayette decided that a 10:00 AM kickoff would reduce alcohol consumption. The kids treated it as a late Friday, instead of an early Saturday, game and drank around the clock.

Give some otherwise "normal" human being a six figure salary and a title of college administrator, and he becomes an instant useless jackass.

[PAllen]

Something that got lost in Laf-Lehigh (saw Owl mentioned it in game thread) was that at one point the refs thought it was fourth down instead of third for Lafayette. Garrett tried to argue and they were called for a delay of game. Lafayette punted the ball and then the refs realized they had messed up on downs. After five or ten minutes of debating what had happened (and figuring out down, distance, and time of game) they gave the ball back to Lafayette and had them run the third down play. Can't think of a time when two plays were ignored to right the officials' wrong.

Also, congrats to Holy Cross. Certainly the most deserving team. 7-3 in FCS games with a solid win against UNH. As for their loses, Yale and Harvard are both capable of beating good teams and they had five turnovers against Lafayette and only lost by three. Hopefully Cozier runs the way he did against Colgate and they win a couple o' four games.

It was a 20 minute delay, which was just asinine. That said, they only technically went back one play. The officials had administered an error on the previous down by declaring it 4th down. Before the next play from scrimmage, the error was confirmed, so you go back to where you were at the end of the play prior to the punt. Of course, there is no reason that should have taken 20min, there is no reason an announcement shouldn't have been made to the stadium crowd, and there is absolutely no reason not to get the down and distance correct (which I'm fairly certain they screwed up).

Replay is fine when handled correctly. Years ago when I was in the evaluation program for the NFL, officials were graded on how quickly they could get a call correct on replay. Anything over 2 minutes required an interview with the league office the following week.

This was a perfect example of how replay in the hands of bad officials just exacerbates the problem. I really wish they would go the route men's lacrosse did a long time ago. Let all challenges be coaches challenges. You get to be wrong once for free. Once you've been wrong once, any subsequent challenge found not in your favor costs you a time out. No more time outs? The most severe penalty is enforced (in football that would be a 15 yd penalty with a loss of down/automatic first down depending on who is in possession).

[ngineer]

xthumbsupx

[Franks Tanks]

It was a 20 minute delay, which was just asinine. That said, they only technically went back one play. The officials had administered an error on the previous down by declaring it 4th down. Before the next play from scrimmage, the error was confirmed, so you go back to where you were at the end of the play prior to the punt. Of course, there is no reason that should have taken 20min, there is no reason an announcement shouldn't have been made to the stadium crowd, and there is absolutely no reason not to get the down and distance correct (which I'm fairly certain they screwed up).

Replay is fine when handled correctly. Years ago when I was in the evaluation program for the NFL, officials were graded on how quickly they could get a call correct on replay. Anything over 2 minutes required an interview with the league office the following week.

This was a perfect example of how replay in the hands of bad officials just exacerbates the problem. I really wish they would go the route men's lacrosse did a long time ago. Let all challenges be coaches challenges. You get to be wrong once for free. Once you've been wrong once, any subsequent challenge found not in your favor costs you a time out. No more time outs? The most severe penalty is enforced (in football that would be a 15 yd penalty with a loss of down/automatic first down depending on who is in possession).

The whole sequence was an epic cluster. Shoemaker scrambled for a short gain to set-up what should’ve been a 3rd and 12 or 13. Then the play clock ran out as Garrett argued with officials and a 5 yard delay of game was assessed. I didn’t even see the officials throw a flag or announce the delay of game penalty. It appeared they just picked up the ball and moved it back 5 yards. Perhaps they threw the flag but I missed it.

After the long delay it was 3rd and 17 or so. They kept the delay of game infraction, which was probably the right call despite the circumstances. Again I could’ve missed it, but I also don’t recall the officials resetting the game clock to account for the “4th down” punt that was erased from history. The net result was another Lafayette punt and about 10 yards worse field position for Lehigh as the 2nd punt was better.

[LehighU11]

The whole sequence was an epic cluster. Shoemaker scrambled for a short gain to set-up what should’ve been a 3rd and 12 or 13. Then the play clock ran out as Garrett argued with officials and a 5 yard delay of game was assessed. I didn’t even see the officials throw a flag or announce the delay of game penalty. It appeared they just picked up the ball and moved it back 5 yards. Perhaps they threw the flag but I missed it.

After the long delay it was 3rd and 17 or so. They kept the delay of game infraction, which was probably the right call despite the circumstances. Again I could’ve missed it, but I also don’t recall the officials resetting the game clock to account for the “4th down” punt that was erased from history. The net result was another Lafayette punt and about 10 yards worse field position for Lehigh as the 2nd punt was better.
The play clock ran out at 11:58 at what should have been 3rd and 14. The refs did announce a 5 yard penalty for delay of game at 11:58 and stated that it was 4th down. The clock resumed, Lafayette punted, Lehigh returned the punt, and the play ended at 11:24. To Garrett's credit, he was arguing about the down marker even before the delay of game.

After the delay and return of possession to LC, the clock was set to 11:58 and it was 3rd and 14 again. I only caught the clock announcement and 3rd down. I don't believe the horrific mistake was explained.

Lehigh had another horrendous officiating crew against St. Francis in Week 1. I just checked and only the line judge from that crew did #155. On the second possession of the game, LU had a TD catch on 3rd and goal ruled out of bounds. The PL office later confirmed that it should have been a TD, but the replay equipment wasn't working. Lehigh settled for a field goal. At the other end of the game, Lehigh kicked what should have been the game-winning FG as time expired. SFU called a timeout to freeze the kicker AFTER the ball was snapped. That kick was good, but the subsequent kick was not. Lehigh lost 14-13.

[DFW HOYA]

Give some otherwise "normal" human being a six figure salary and a title of college administrator, and he becomes an instant useless jackass.

"I am obliged to confess that I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University. Not, heaven knows, because I hold lightly the brainpower or knowledge or generosity or even the affability of the Harvard faculty: but because I greatly fear intellectual arrogance, and that is a distinguishing characteristic of the university which refuses to accept any common premise."--William F. Buckley

[PAllen]

"I am obliged to confess that I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University. Not, heaven knows, because I hold lightly the brainpower or knowledge or generosity or even the affability of the Harvard faculty: but because I greatly fear intellectual arrogance, and that is a distinguishing characteristic of the university which refuses to accept any common premise."--William F. Buckley

An excellent quote to keep in mind whenever any "elite" expert is dictating what is and what must be.