Patriot League Pick 'em - Spring 2021 Week 1

[TheValleyRaider]

Is it risky? Is it speculative? Is it even going to happen? Yes, yes, and (for now) yes!

Spring football in the Patriot League is ready to get started in just a few days. Quick recap of the rules:
- Two divisions, North (CU, FU, HC) and South (BU, LC, LU)
- 4 games over 4 weeks: March 13, March 20, March 27, April 3
- Postponed games hopefully made up on April 10 (already one possibly happening)
- League title game at the team with the better record on April 17
- Winner gets autobid to the 16-team FCS playoffs

Week 1, March 13 (all games still on as of this post)
Holy Cross at Lehigh
Colgate at Lafayette

[Lehigh Engineer]

Holy Cross over Lehigh
Colgate over Laffy

[bonarae]

Holy Cross
Colgate

[melloware13]

Good thing I'm no longer just miles north of the Lehigh Valley because I suspect the stink of those two would have caused problems.

Holy Cross
Colgate

[TheValleyRaider]

Making my own picks in my own thread

Holy Cross at Lehigh Holy Cross The Crusaders are the defending champs and likely the best team in the League, with plenty of talent returning on both sides of the ball. Lehigh...is not those things. Strange thing think of, or even say out loud, but Lehigh might well be the worst team in the League this year. They have some offensive players returning, but in a season where experience will likely help the Hawks don't have quite as much. Gilmore is not a bad coach, but Lehigh might need a year or two to be in position for a league title again.

Colgate at Lafayette Colgate In a season likely to be even more unpredictable than usual, that sets up perfectly for Lafayette: Agent of Chaos. Were the Leopards actually coming on at the end of the year? Finding a QB will help. Colgate returns their starter, as Breneman is back for one more go-round. He's been limited by injuries the last few seasons, but if he can stay healthy, the Raiders hopefully gained enough experience to grow from last year's disastrous start and get back in the title race.

[OhioHen]

Holy Cross
Colgate

(or not)

[RichH2]

Holy Cross
Colgate

[Bill]

Will anyone NOT pick HC & Colgate????

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Will anyone NOT pick HC & Colgate????

LOL...I was thinking the same thing. The "league is wide open" talk ends quickly when you need to actually put your chips into the middle of the table. Granted, I think "most" people believe it's going to come down to HC/Colgate. Everyone seems to have a "wildcard" in mind. Mine is Bucknell. It's a shame the Bucknell-Fordham game was postponed. That was honestly going to be the most intriguing game of the week imo.

Honestly, how far has Lehigh fallen? There is ZERO positive mojo heading into the spring season. And if it doesn't go well I can't imagine how bleak the short turn around to the fall will be. These next 8 months are huge imo. Their next 7 games are Holy Cross, Colgate, Bucknell, Lafayette, Villanova, Richmond and Princeton. I think 0-7 is possible which would put them on an 11 game losing streak. I'm not trying to be overly negative. I just see a "program at the crossroads" type moment developing here.

And not to beat a dead horse but my faith in Gilmore is slim and could be at none in a few weeks. Or he'll get the ship headed back to the top. Starting with the Crusaders is a great opportunity. No where for him to hide either; be prepared and ready to roll or risk getting run off the field. He should be extremely motivated to exact revenge on the school who fired him HC, the "favorite son" Cecchini and Bucknell, and the evil rival Lafayette. Then there's "Hate the Gate". If there's 4 opponents that Lehigh should be motivated to due battle with it's that quartet....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 30 Lehigh 10 - Chesney will have his guys ready to roll. Lehigh has major question marks on offense at QB and OL plus their best, most proven WR will be out. The Crusaders defense will feast all afternoon.

Colgate 20 Lafayette 7 - The Pards have some serious talent on defense but the offense remains a disaster. Without Shoemaker things might get worse. The Raiders posses something no one else in the league does, a proven QB. The question is, can Breneman stay healthy? He's the Jimmy G of the Patriot League...

[NY Crusader 2010]

Holy Cross 17 Lehigh 13
Lafayette 28 Colgate 20

I'm going to have some fun here and predict a surprise performance at QB for the Leopards.

[Bill]

Holy Cross 17 Lehigh 13
Lafayette 28 Colgate 20

I'm going to have some fun here and predict a surprise performance at QB for the Leopards.

There you have it! Or maybe 5:00 got here 12 hours early for the Crusader xdrunkyx

[TheValleyRaider]

LOL...I was thinking the same thing. The "league is wide open" talk ends quickly when you need to actually put your chips into the middle of the table. Granted, I think "most" people believe it's going to come down to HC/Colgate. Everyone seems to have a "wildcard" in mind. Mine is Bucknell. It's a shame the Bucknell-Fordham game was postponed. That was honestly going to be the most intriguing game of the week imo.

I think the week's schedule is part of that. Fordham-Bucknell was the most interesting matchup, and without it we are left with:
- the favorite taking on a bottom-dweller
- a historically one-sided matchup
Not conducive to much picking variety, but we've all be wrong before

[SUPharmacist]

Lehigh
Colgate

I am doing so poorly in the MVFC pick’em I may as well take a stab at doing poorly in the Patriot thread as well.

[Leopard Loyalist]

Holy Cross 17 Lehigh 13
Lafayette 28 Colgate 20

I'm going to have some fun here and predict a surprise performance at QB for the Leopards.

A Garrett-coached Leopard team scoring 28 points would be a surprise in and of itself--it doesn't happen very often.
I will go with the consensus: HC and Colgate. It would, however, be interesting if a new freshman quarterback emerges for Lafayette.

[Lehigh Engineer]

Very curious how Lehigh's University of Toledo sophomore QB transfer does in his first start.

[IslandPard]

A Garrett-coached Leopard team scoring 28 points would be a surprise in and of itself--it doesn't happen very often.
I will go with the consensus: HC and Colgate. It would, however, be interesting if a new freshman quarterback emerges for Lafayette.

No picks and our board has been deleted so here I am. All social media and video indicate O'Malley getting all the reps at QB. If that's the case, it's back to business as usual for our Leopards. Excellent D but the O'Malley-3-and-outs leaves our defense out to dry.

Perhaps our Notre Dame transfer makes an immediate difference? Doubt it.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

About 10 minutes until the spring season kicks off. It was in the low 20s this morning and temps are suppose to be in the mid 40s this afternoon here in Northern PA. It "feels" like early November. Except Easter is a couple of weeks away, not Thanksgiving....xrotatehx

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Very curious how Lehigh's University of Toledo sophomore QB transfer does in his first start.

Behind a suspect OL and without Lehigh's best WR to boot! The offense will be "interesting". Crusader LB Dobbs has to be licking his chops....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh gets an early fumble, drives to the HC 10 before things stall. End of up settling for a short FG which was missed by a country mile....

0-0 about 9 minutes left in 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh now with an interception, ball back inside the HC 10...lol.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh converts a FG this time. They had an easy TD on a RB flare screen but the QB threw the pass well behind back.

Both offenses look pretty bad. I was expecting it from Lehigh. The turnovers by HC at least can be corrected.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh QB holds on to the ball forever, on a rollout gets blindsided inside the 10 which leads to a fumble that's recovered by HC..

The Crusaders convert it into a TD! That's what good teams do!

7-3 Crusaders 2:56 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh tosses an INT! This is bad football!...lol

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC 7-3 End 1Q

Both teams with two turnovers. Basically a comedy of errors. The quarterback play looks like a competition for 3rd string at a D3 school. With that said, HC has a chance to go up 14-3 which could get the wheels heading towards ugly....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Asanti left wide open! TD Crusaders!

Time to see what Gilmore and company have!

14-3 Crusaders 12:37 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Boom! Wilkinson gets blindsided again! This guy has zero pocket awareness...lol

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC looks about how I expected them to. They're playing "well" given the circumstances, executing a reasonable level etc. However, they need to figure out they got a QB. Degenhardt missed a wide open WR by 15 yards on a double-move into the end zone then took a sack on a 3rd down to make for a long FG. Which they convert...

This is about what a I expected. Holy Cross is good and Lehigh is bad, perhaps very bad. I really fear 0-4. Between coaching and the QB/OL situation there's very little hope for the offense...

17-3 1:55 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 17 Lehigh 3 HALF

Lehigh basically gave up with the 2 minutes left and 3 timeouts. I wonder if Gilmore will turn this into a glorified scrimmage in the second half?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh had 51 total yards in the first half but managed to possess the ball for 13+ minutes. Interesting....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh muffs a punt, HC turns it into 3 more points....

HC 20-3 3:28 3Q

The 51 yard FG was a Goodman Stadium record! That's both impressive and hard to believe....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Down 20-3 and Lehigh opts to run out the 3Q clock instead of executing a 4th and 8 play? Huh?!?!

[crusader11]

This should be a much more lopsided game if either Degenhardt was better or Chesney tried someone else (Considine, who looked good against Monmouth) at QB. Perhaps he knows HC can roll Lehigh and is playing things pretty conservative today.

Lehigh looks young, inexperienced, and just not very good. Some incredibly unimaginative play calling.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh has opted to put in their 3rd string QB.

Lehigh has definitely used the second half as more of a scrimmage/"see what we got" 30 minutes.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

This should be a much more lopsided game if either Degenhardt was better or Chesney tried someone else (Considine, who looked good against Monmouth) at QB. Perhaps he knows HC can roll Lehigh and is playing things pretty conservative today.

Lehigh looks young, inexperienced, and just not very good. Some incredibly unimaginative play calling.

If HC wants to seriously compete at a national level they need to be more explosive on offense. I'm not sure if they have a QB on the roster capable of being THAT guy. If Colgate can keep Breneman upright having a prove QB is a huge advantage for the Raiders.

Lehigh is terrible. The QB/OL situation is a mess and Gilmore is doing Gilmore things. The hope now is Lafayette is actually worse. Or the game gets cancelled...lol

[crusader11]

It's great having PL football back on during Saturdays...but this was a dreadful and boring game.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

It's great having PL football back on during Saturdays...but this was a dreadful and boring game.

Gilmore more or less threw in the towel in the second half. Chesney didn't seem too interested in forcing the issue and is going to happily take the "W".

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 20 Lehigh 3 Final

Basically exactly what I expected. Lehigh is inept on offense while HC simply executed well enough to win. Really looking forward to watching Holy Cross and Colgate battle it out for the PL title. I expect the Raiders beat up on Lehigh next week.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh's offensive production under Gilmore and OC Brisson

13, 10, 13, 10, 21, 30 (OT), 27, 17, 10, 6, 16, 3

That's atrocious!!

[Sader87]

Workman-like W for the Saders....hopefully they can shake some of the cobwebs out of their offense. Not to pick on the kid (but I will)....HC is a good/decent QB away from being a Top 20 FCS team right now.....

[TheValleyRaider]

Kickoff in Easton, Leopards kick into the end zone

Colgate 0
Lafayette 0

[TheValleyRaider]

LC moved the ball decently, but stalled in Colgate territory. Long FG attempt is not pretty to look at, a miss from 47

0-0
8:39 1st

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Looks like a significant leg injury for a Colgate OL. With the spring season these can be real double whammies....

[TheValleyRaider]

Big play got into Lafayette territory, but not much else. 47-yard attempt from the freshman Jaworski is wide left, no good

0-0
5:40 1st

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Really impressive drive for Lafayette.

First Pard points scored against Colgate in 3 years....

[TheValleyRaider]

Lafayette runs the ball down Colgate's throat, first score for the Leopards against Colgate since 2016

7-0 Leopards
1:52 1st

[IslandPard]

LC Oline looking pretty dominant so far. The good news is Northrup is the QB. The bad news is our best receiver opted out of the season.

[TheValleyRaider]

Ball into Lafayette territory to close the quarter. Not a great showing, hopefully the two first downs right at the end get the offense going a bit more.

Colgate 0
Lafayette 7
End 1st

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

This looks like Lafayette's offense circa 2005. They haven't been able to run in years.....

[TheValleyRaider]

Running sets up the trick play, WR pass for a big touchdown. Raiders in a bit of trouble here early in the 2nd, really need to respond on this drive

14-0 Lafayette
10:15 2nd

[TheValleyRaider]

Passing game moved the ball deep into Lafayette territory, but they couldn't punch it in. FG attempt is off the post, another miss from the freshman

14-0 Lafayette
5:25 2nd

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I love Lafayette's offense! They're going for it! Creativity is a wonderful thing!

[TheValleyRaider]

Colgate stuffs Lafayette on a 4th down with less than a minute to go. About 70 yards away, let's see what they can do

- - - Updated - - -

One play went nowhere, the half ends

Colgate 0
Lafayette 14
Halftime

[TheValleyRaider]

Credit Lafayette's run game, moving the chains and controlling the clock. Raider defense has had a few plays, but really the offense's struggle to run the ball is really hurting. Breneman looks solid throwing the ball, but they really need to get some movement on the ground. Leopard defense is part of that, as is the RG DeSantis being out. Lafayette gets the ball to start the 2nd half.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Breneman looks very good, 11/14 132 yards but Gate just can't find their mojo when it matters.

I'm really impressed with Lafayette's preparation! Especially on offense!

[TheValleyRaider]

Second half underway with a kickoff through the end zone. Lafayette ball

Colgate 0
Lafayette 14

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Points are "good"...Colgate needed a TD there....

[TheValleyRaider]

A few big plays got Colgate deep, but they could not punch it in. Third time is the charm for a FG, Raiders on the board

14-3 Lafayette
3:51 3rd

[TheValleyRaider]

Colgate has the ball and appears to be driving. Clock moving swiftly in this game, will need to convert into points this drive, I think

Colgate 3
Lafayette 14
End 3rd

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I love watching Breneman but he's not going to live to see Thanksgiving with all the hits he takes. Colgate OL needs to step up. Pards front 7 is beastly but Raiders are known for the OL play traditionally.

[IslandPard]

Typical Garrett...trying out the entire playbook rather than sticking with what works. Complete lack of offense in the second half. We'll be lucky to escape with this one.

[TheValleyRaider]

Some delays, some close calls, but the Raiders finally punch it in, Breneman from 1 yard out.

14-10 Lafayette
11:44 4th

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Raiders! Their offense has been clicking this half. Breneman looks VERY good! Lafayette needs to gain some momentum back. Need to a few first downs...

'Pards 14-10 11:44 4Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

This is a very impressive drive for Lafayette...so far.

This game has been much better than Lehigh-Holy Cross imo. Both teams making plays, not a ton of "dumb" stuff. QB play has been solid to very good. I'm impressed with both teams.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lafayette!! Wow!! Break up the Pards!!

[TheValleyRaider]

A penalty gave Lafayette hope, and they converted, putting in a touchdown. Not the end of the game, but going to be really tough to come back here given how this game has gone.

21-10 Lafayette
6:44 4th

[TheValleyRaider]

Interception got Lafayette the ball deep in Colgate territory. They played it conservative, setting up a short FG

24-10 Lafayette
4:13 4th

[TheValleyRaider]

Raiders can't convert 4th down near midfield, Lafayette gets the ball back with a chance to finish off the game

24-10 Lafayette
3:27 4th

[Sader87]

This is a very impressive drive for Lafayette...so far.

This game has been much better than Lehigh-Holy Cross imo. Both teams making plays, not a ton of "dumb" stuff. QB play has been solid to very good. I'm impressed with both teams.

Brenerman didn't look that good imo.... congrats to the Pards.

[TheValleyRaider]

Leopards almost run out the clock, but there's not enough time for Colgate to do anything

Colgate 10
Lafayette 24
Final

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Brenerman didn't look that good imo.... congrats to the Pards.

19/31 for 237 with a desperation pick. I thought he moved around pretty well too. Colgate couldn't run which over 4 quarters was their demise. Their OL looked rather suspect too although Lafayette's DL is probably the best in the PL.

I'll still take Breneman over anyone in the league.

Colgate vs Lehigh next week will be interesting. Both teams/programs have been taking on water lately. Time to get something positive going...

[TheValleyRaider]

That was a pretty poor showing, particularly on the lines. Credit to the Leopards, especially their O-Line generating the run game and D-Line for getting pressure, but Colgate did not look ready for it. Breneman was probably the best player on the field for Colgate, but he can be better as well. Things were a little better after halftime, but they followed up the score by letting Lafayette march down the field in response.

Never want to get too high or too low after the first game, and I expect improvement, but that leaves a sour taste. Lehigh at home next. Even if the Hawks aren't that good, I'll need to see more before I say Colgate is

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

That was a pretty poor showing, particularly on the lines. Credit to the Leopards, especially their O-Line generating the run game and D-Line for getting pressure, but Colgate did not look ready for it. Breneman was probably the best player on the field for Colgate, but he can be better as well. Things were a little better after halftime, but they followed up the score by letting Lafayette march down the field in response.

Never want to get too high or too low after the first game, and I expect improvement, but that leaves a sour taste. Lehigh at home next. Even if the Hawks aren't that good, I'll need to see more before I say Colgate is

Those two OL injuries in the first half were brutal. To start the spring season like that is a punch to the gut.

This spring season is fascinating for many reasons. For Lehigh I just want to see some improvement and reason for hope come fall. They never had a chance today. I think most people knew that. My issue is I have my doubts things are going to get better under this staff....

[Gater]

No one on Colgate had more than five carries. Wonder if that has ever happened.

[The Boogie Down]

Congrats to HC, Lafayette and I dunno, football! Wasn't 100% sure this day was really going to happen until reading the earlier game descriptions on this thread. Great read regardless of outcome. Fordham still needs to hit the gridiron (Bucknell too of course) to really have it all hit home but this was a great start.

[Sader87]

Not to make excuses (but of course, I will :) )....HC did not have their OC in Bethleham yesterday (some sort of family emergency I believe)...might have led to some of ineffectiveness offensively.

Really need to see Degenhardt step up his game though this week against Fordham though....

[Fordham]

Congrats HC and Lafayette. All anyone will remember from this weekend is who won and who lost.

From Fordham's standpoint (and Bucknell's) I find it a huge disadvantage to not have a game under our belt while playing a team that does, our first time out there. My guess is we'll be very rusty but hope we can do ok.

[ngineer]

Those two OL injuries in the first half were brutal. To start the spring season like that is a punch to the gut.

This spring season is fascinating for many reasons. For Lehigh I just want to see some improvement and reason for hope come fall. They never had a chance today. I think most people knew that. My issue is I have my doubts things are going to get better under this staff....

I was impressed with our defense. Flew to the ball and some big plays. I have always had my questions bout Brisson. I have never seen anything imaginative from him. Too predictable. The OL is a work in progress, and unless there are some holes and/or protection, not much will happen regardless. The new QB shows a good arm, but not ready mentally. Held the ball too long. Shoup at least has some presence of mind to take off. Summerville can run some, but his arm is not near as accurate. Luckily, the "long" Spring will be short.