Patriot League Pick 'em - Spring 2021 Week 2

[TheValleyRaider]

Welcome back to Patriot League Spring Football, now with proof of concept!

Shout out to NY Crusader 2010, the only one to get both picks correct

A full slate of games this week (so far) as Bucknell and Fordham join the party.

Week 2, March 20
Fordham at Holy Cross
Lehigh at Colgate
Lafayette at Bucknell

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Fordham vs Holy Cross game cancelled/postponed?

[OhioHen]

Holy Cross (if it happens)
Colgate
Bucknell

[Sader87]

Fordham vs Holy Cross game cancelled/postponed?

Ugghhh....what are you hearing?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Ugghhh....what are you hearing?

Would be cancelled assuming Fordham decides to play this spring? Bucknell vs Fordham was already "set" as a makeup game. Granted, situations tend to be fluid during Covid.

This sucks on many levels. I believe the NCAA requires 4 games for at-large consideration. Then there's simply the competitive advantages/disadvantages that are starting to occur.

Summer camp is less than 5 months away...xcoolx

[Lehigh Engineer]

Lehigh (upset)
Laffy
Fordham

[Sader87]

Yeah...I'm starting to think that the best way to play this Spring is just to use this as "Spring Practice +"....not necessarily tank games but experiment more with personnel, playbook etc...this Spring regular season is looking more and more not like a real season.

[bonarae]

Lehigh
Lafayette
Fordham

[TheValleyRaider]

Week 2, March 20
Fordham at Holy Cross Holy Cross One of the biggest advantages you can have is in-game experience, having played when your opponents have not. COVID struck early in the PL, and Fordham is the one hurt by it here. Fordham has gotten some notable dark-horse love coming into this campaign, but the time to make the charge is now. Tough to do on the road against the League's favorite, especially with the delay. Crusaders were able to keep Lehigh at arms' length, expect a better showing from the Rams.
Not sure where the note about this game not being played is coming from. Both teams scheduled to have games in other sports, unless someone knows something football-specific.

Lehigh at Colgate Colgate Both teams coming off disappointing showings to start the season. Lehigh looked toothless against Holy Cross, while the Raiders were pushed around at Lafayette. It is easiest to show improvement from Game 1 to Game 2, so who has that in them? Colgate showed flashes against the Leopards, but not nearly enough or with enough consistency. Loser's season is effectively over, quite a descent for this matchup and its meaning.

Lafayette at Bucknell Lafayette This is an intriguing matchup. Repeat everything from above about playing the first vs second game, but consider that neither of these is the favorite like HC. Lafayette would be in very strong shape with a victory, likely needing one more win to take the South. Picking Lafayette, especially after a big win, always feels like a risk, but doing it here give a solid showing on the lines last week.

[Franks Tanks]

The Pard’s have one thing we haven’t had in about a decade. A high quality offensive line. These guys are big and relatively athletic and well coached. The LG, Olmstead, is a transfer from Notre Dame, and the LT and Center are both noticeably taller than him..these are big kids.

The front 7 on D is pretty darn good too. What the Leopards lack is guys that scare you at RB and WR. The QB is a bit of a game manager type, but I am encouraged by his decision making and command of the offense so far.

Lafayette over Bucknell

Colgate over Lehigh in a low scoring affair

Crusaders slay the Rams

[ngineer]

Missed this last week. Sort of not 'used' to the ritual at this time year.

With a game under its belt I think Lafayette beats Bucky, but Coach Chick may try to wing it around. LC has what appears to be a good OL and in the trenches is where it is usually won. 'Pards 28-24

Lehigh's defense was very good and 17 HC points came off turnovers and short fields. Hafner very impressive at LB and their safety #29 was all over the place.The offense was non-existent with a lot of youthful errors, which will be their song this Spring. Sort of a farcical season it appears. Get kids their reps and talent evaluation for the fall. Lehigh's OL is a major project in progress and until that gels, the O will be non-existent. Hawks were also without their two top WRs. They have some very nice, young talent, but this is the year for growing pains on O. 'gate off to a slow start as well. Who the hell knows. I'll be a homer and take my Mountain Hawks in a "defensive struggle", 15-14.

'Cross had a slow start as well. I was expecting much more from them, or Lehigh's D was better than anticipated. No idea how the layoff will impact Fordham, but with game under belt, figure Crusaders to be more 'tuned' than the Rams to win 20-10.

[NY Crusader 2010]

Still nothing on either official athletic site regarding Holy Cross-Fordham cancellation or postponement.

Any further news?

FWIW, every time I've driven up Southern Blvd during the afternoon the past 2 weeks, football practice appears to be carrying on normally.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

The Fordham vs Holy Cross game has OFFICIALLY been postponed until April 10th....

[RichH2]

Pards
Lehigh
Holy Cross

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh vs Colgate postponed...

Please, just call the spring season and focus on the fall.....

[Sader87]

Lehigh vs Colgate postponed...

Please, just call the spring season and focus on the fall.....

I think we're quickly approaching this....I could see it just evolving into an extended Spring practice at this point.

[Pard4Life]

Any Pards know what is going on with the Lafayette Sports Forum tapatalk board? I cannot view any of the threads because 'This board requires membership to view the forums.' I am logged in too. Makes no sense - have not viewed pages since December but never saw that before.

[Gater]

Colgate's next two games postponed after a Tier 1 positive test in the program.

[IslandPard]

Any Pards know what is going on with the Lafayette Sports Forum tapatalk board? I cannot view any of the threads because 'This board requires membership to view the forums.' I am logged in too. Makes no sense - have not viewed pages since December but never saw that before.

The admin of the board deleted it. Me thinks he was planning it for a while. But it was just before the passing of Paul Reinhard which makes it extra sad. The reasoning was too many belly aching parents with agendas.

[Pard4Life]

But it was just before the passing of Paul Reinhard which makes it extra sad.

Thanks for sharing - was not aware. Very sad news indeed. The Call had a very nice write-up. He will be missed by all.
https://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-spt-paul-reinhard-dies-20210314-4yaissbzb5bjjofukgr3p7sebq-story.html

[Pard4Life]

The admin of the board deleted it. The reasoning was too many belly aching parents with agendas.

I could see that - I don't know if that is a reason to scrub it though. It looks like it still 'exists' but hidden.

[IslandPard]

Alrighty so it's Pard's vs. Bison as the only game of the week...so far. Pards were impressive on the ground AND left a lot out there vs. Colgate as both Sutton and Simpson bounced too many runs instead of following their big uglies. They could have easily had a 100 a piece!! The long passing game is still a question mark and that's how we beat BU last year.

The problem is...the Pards secondary looked VERY suspect last week. Last year we had an experienced secondary and STILL could not cover Sanders. It's lining up to look worse this year. I think we blow this one 21-14.

[IslandPard]

Thanks for sharing - was not aware. Very sad news indeed. The Call had a very nice write-up. He will be missed by all.
https://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-spt-paul-reinhard-dies-20210314-4yaissbzb5bjjofukgr3p7sebq-story.html

As annoying as he was on the board sometimes, he will definitely be missed. We needed someone to make Garrett a little more transparent. There were multiple key players missing last week and we'll never know why.

[Sader87]

Hearing now it looks like a Lehigh @ HC round 2 this Saturday. Someday we'll look back and laugh at this.... bettah than no game I suppose.

[RichH2]

Rumors abound. Heard last night that it may be a Lehigh-Bucknell game this week with a shakeup of PL season schedule. Go figure 😳

[TheValleyRaider]

That stinks for all involved. A full re-shuffle isn't surprising, though missing two games with only one potential makeup date is less than ideal. Perhaps they dump the title game in favor of getting in as many games as possible and hoping for not having to use tiebreakers.

That is, of course, assuming they choose to go through with the rest of the schedule. It would be disappointing to have gotten to this point only to drop the season, but we'll see.

[RichH2]

LU confirmed. Wonder how this will sort out. xconfusedxIs Bucknell now short a game? Do LU and Cross get an extra game by happenstance? Could LU win south and face Cross in Title game for a round 3? Unlikely scenarios but gotta wonder how PL will short this out.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I honestly feel terrible for Holy Cross. They already beat a bad Lehigh team. There's no reason to play this back and risk injury and compromising their current and future prospects. This is idiotic.

I'm a PL football player I'm opting out today. See you in the fall....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh with a positive test...Holy Cross game is off...sweet Jesus, hallelujah....

please put this thing out of its misery....

[Franks Tanks]

C’mon man. Players want to play. Coaches want to play. Many of these seniors aren’t coming back next year. We have football, and let’s be thankful for the games that are played.

An NCAA D1 football game is not and should not be considered a practice. Everyone involved wants to win. People make fun of Herm Edwards for saying “You play to win the game” years ago, but it’s true. The amount of effort, money and sweat put into this so players (and fans) having the opportunity is tremendous. Do everything possible to play the games. Allow everyone to feel normal for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. Patriot League players aren’t preparing for an NFL career. No reason to opt out, and I would be very surprised if more than a handful of players do so.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

C’mon man. Players want to play. Coaches want to play. Many of these seniors aren’t coming back next year. We have football, and let’s be thankful for the games that are played.

An NCAA D1 football game is not and should not be considered a practice. Everyone involved wants to win. People make fun of Herm Edwards for saying “You play to win the game” years ago, but it’s true. The amount of effort, money and sweat put into this so players (and fans) having the opportunity is tremendous. Do everything possible to play the games. Allow everyone to feel normal for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. Patriot League players aren’t preparing for an NFL career. No reason to opt out, and I would be very surprised if more than a handful of players do so.

The % of schools that played NCAA football this academic year is very small. The PL gave the spring season an honest attempt and it has turned out to be a disaster imo. This isn't basketball or baseball; it takes extended preparation to compete in a football game. I don't see how these student-athletes, coaching and training staffs will be able to legitimately navigate any semblance of a season. You have teams on completely different schedules and covid regulations/protocols. I try to be realistic and pragmatic; this is a dumpster fire. Summer/Fall camp is just over 4 months away....

When the Montana schools want no part of the circus it sent a significant message imo; at least to me.

I just hope (so far so good) this doesn't come back to effect Colgate's and Lehigh's NCAA Tournament status. Or any other spring sports for that matter.

[Franks Tanks]

Lafayette-Bucknell also postponed. Lots of other schools seemed to make it work, albeit at the FBS level. Not sure why we’ve had such bad luck, as I’ve watched a bunch of SoCon and other games this spring.

I still think it’s a worthy endeavor, and I hope the league makes a reasonable effort to get these games in.

[carney2]

Any Pards know what is going on with the Lafayette Sports Forum tapatalk board? I cannot view any of the threads because 'This board requires membership to view the forums.' I am logged in too. Makes no sense - have not viewed pages since December but never saw that before.

The Lafayette Sports Forum a/k/a the Lafayette Board has been shut down. The administrator had some sort of a negative moment and shut it down. Some of his "problems" were real and worth mentioning: attacks on individual student athletes, excessive negativism hiding behind the Board's anonymity, too many parents of athletes expressing obviously biased opinions, and a few more.

The administrator has, in my opinion, done a severe disservice to the College community. Following a long line of decisions that have negatively impacted Lafayette athletics (an endless line of Presidents with no interest in the College's athletic history - or present, influential athletic supporters resigning in a huff from the Board of Trustees, leaving athletics with virtually no voice in that body, and many more) this decision cuts off the last real source of news and and opinion. "The Maroon," as the administrator calls himself, is hereby appointed a conductor on the D-3 Express, as he has done a lot more than most in hastening its departure from the station.

[DFW HOYA]

There's a low barrier to entry to create another Lafayette board--whether on a bulletin board system, social media etc. With registration and a semblance of management to weed out spam and general spite, there's no reason why another site can't be as successful or even more. The Holy Cross board is a good example of this.

[Pard4Life]

The Lafayette Sports Forum a/k/a the Lafayette Board has been shut down. The administrator had some sort of a negative moment and shut it down. Some of his "problems" were real and worth mentioning: attacks on individual student athletes, excessive negativism hiding behind the Board's anonymity, too many parents of athletes expressing obviously biased opinions, and a few more.

The administrator has, in my opinion, done a severe disservice to the College community. Following a long line of decisions that have negatively impacted Lafayette athletics (an endless line of Presidents with no interest in the College's athletic history - or present, influential athletic supporters resigning in a huff from the Board of Trustees, leaving athletics with virtually no voice in that body, and many more) this decision cuts off the last real source of news and and opinion. "The Maroon," as the administrator calls himself, is hereby appointed a conductor on the D-3 Express, as he has done a lot more than most in hastening its departure from the station.

Agree with you C2 - a great source of news on all things Lafayette, even insight into our credit rating. Poor move to censor the board - the idiots are idiots, who cares what they say, and they have no power to influence things. If he had issues, just kick those people off the board.

DFW - sure low barrier, but can we get momentum? The latest board started as a success because we told everyone from the old voy board to move. How can the old core find the new one? Not all show up at AGS.

[Pard4Life]

Not sure this has been already discussed, but I am happy with our future OOC schedules the next few seasons: FBS games vs Air Force, Temple, Duke. UNH at Easton. Throw in Penn, Princeton, Harvard... Columbia is back. Would be nice to see Dartmouth. Now we just need to win some %#(@! games.

[DFW HOYA]

DFW - sure low barrier, but can we get momentum? The latest board started as a success because we told everyone from the old voy board to move. How can the old core find the new one? Not all show up at AGS.

Three thoughts:

1. If "the Maroon" is willing, ask him to post a forwarding address on the old site.
2. If he is further willing and it is available from the message board provider, he can send an blast e-mail with the new site.
3. Independently promote the new address on LC social media.

[Sader87]

Any word on who's playing whom this weekend yet? Will anyone play?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Any word on who's playing whom this weekend yet? Will anyone play?

You would think the conference would make a statement?! I'm not a big pile on the PL, pile on the NCAA etc. but this is a bit ridiculous. Wouldn't some sense of direction and a hint of leadership be nice right about now? I know a specific game plan is impossible but at least a general "hope" or "our goal given the circumstances" would be welcomed.

It's officially another "game week" and no one has a clue or so it appears....xcoffeex

[DFW HOYA]

You would think the conference would make a statement?! I'm not a big pile on the PL, pile on the NCAA etc. but this is a bit ridiculous. Wouldn't some sense of direction and a hint of leadership be nice right about now? I know a specific game plan is impossible but at least a general "hope" or "our goal given the circumstances" would be welcomed. It's officially another "game week" and no one has a clue or so it appears....

The PL lacks direction. Worse, it lacks authority. And one of these days, one of the core schools is going to get tired of it and start looking in other directions.

[Sader87]

The PL lacks direction. Worse, it lacks authority. And one of these days, one of the core schools is going to get tired of it and start looking in other directions.

Don't tease me like that.... xlolx

[Baron Sardonicus]

Need a new Patriot League board too.

[Sader87]

Need a new Patriot League board too.
The HC board at Crossports.com is really sort of the de facto PL football board....easily the most trafficked of all the PL football boards with regular postahs from other PL schools.

[ngineer]

Bucknell is supposed to visit Lehigh. Weather forecast looks glorious. Even if it's a scrimmage, would be nice to get out to Goodman and watch some college football.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Bucknell is supposed to visit Lehigh. Weather forecast looks glorious. Even if it's a scrimmage, would be nice to get out to Goodman and watch some college football.

The Lehigh-Bucknell game is slated for the weekend of April 10-11. I wouldn't put too much faith in a forecast that far out. With that said, hopefully it's a nice day and the game actually happens! Perhaps people will even be allowed to attend!

[Fordham]

The Lehigh-Bucknell game is slated for the weekend of April 10-11. I wouldn't put too much faith in a forecast that far out. With that said, hopefully it's a nice day and the game actually happens! Perhaps people will even be allowed to attend!

Fordham @ HC now on the schedule for this Saturday