MY thoughts LU-UD

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Home from the game, collected my thoughts and still not sure what to say. I think Lehigh has the talent and potential to be a very good team. THey played their hearts out and in the end came up short. Borda, Rath were awesome, as was for the most part everyone else for 53 minutes. Very few teams win at the Tub and to come "that" close sucks. With the said the PL is looking a little better today than it was last Saturday. The top 3 i think have seperated themselves and i think we're waiting to see on Holy Cross next week. They haven't really played anyone yet.I think Lehigh has the capability if they play their best ball to win out or go not worse then 8-1. I think they'll get in the playoffs with 2 losses. Tonight convinced me their a top 15 team if not maybe a little high than that. They have a week off to recoup and hopefully will heal up, get their mind straight and beat up on VMI. These guys are going to start winning these games i have to believe it. Between JMU and UD tonight it's been 2 tough pills to take.

[RadMann]

I couldn't make it to the game but saw it on TV. Lehigh looked very good. Below are some articles on the game from today's papers:

Cuff's five TDs key Hens comeback - News Journal
News Journal (http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050911/SPORTS07/509110336/1002/SPORTS)

Blue Hen finds hometown motivation - News Journal
News Journal (http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050911/SPORTS07/509110334/1002/SPORTS)

After slow start, offense comes to life - News Journal
News Journal (http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050911/SPORTS12/509110337/1033/SPORTS)

Delaware rallies for 34-33 OT win over Lehigh - Morning Call
Morning Call (http://www.mcall.com/sports/college/all-lehighsep11,0,6694006.story?coll=all-sports-hed)

Lehigh denied in OT thriller - The Express Times
Express Times (http://www.nj.com/sports/expresstimes/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1126429546122590.xml&coll=2)

Mountain Hawks give Delaware a taste of the Patriot League - Morning Call
Morning Call (http://www.mcall.com/sports/college/all-reinhardsep11,0,618791.column?coll=all-sports-hed)

Hens rally for OT win; UD scores TDs on final four possessions - Delaware State News
Delaware State News (http://www.newszap.com/articles/2005/09/10/dm/central_delaware/sports/dsnspt01.txt)

[Tubby Raymond]

Borda had great #'s BUT he threw the ball over the head of a receiver at least 7 times, 3 of them could have been TD's. He was good, NOT great. If he had been great you would have won the game. He is tough as they come. Kept getting up after some seriously violent hits, to his credit.

[RadMann]

Both QBs played well under pressure. The play where Riccio scrambled under intense pressure and got a pass away to Cuff who ran in for the TD was key as well.

[ChickenMan]

Both teams should be playoff contenders... Lehigh appears to have an easier path... but I believe that UD has more 'upside' potential. After seeing Colgate... it appears that only Lafayette could challenge LU in the Patriot... while UD has the usual A10 mine field to navigate if they hope to make the playoffs. If LU plays like they did vs UD... I really don't see any more loses on their schedule... while UD will have to improve as the season goes forward if they hope to make the playoffs. However... I do expect marked improvement... on both sides of the ball... on the part of UD as this young UD squad gets some additional game experience. Who knows... LU and UD could meet again in '05... back at the Tub... of course... ;)

[Delaware Ghostrider II]

I am gonna pick up where I left off last season....I can not stand Riccio. It seems that everygame last year when Delaware was gettin beat.....ole Sonny starts "having cramps" ( as he did last night)....or feeling sick...like many games last year. Yah he had a few good plays, but I think the bad far out wieghed the good. Like the one he threw way over the WR head...almost into the visitors stand. Then the one in the endzone that was way too high...Sonny your recievers arent 7' foot tall. Last week in the News Journal they (the UD coaching staff) were saying the Riccio had gotten better with his passing, he is stronger and faster. These qualities...I really didnt see....they guy cannot rush. I did however like the one..I repeat one LONG ball drop that got UD down to the Lehigh 3-5 dont know exactly. It was the pass to Cauthen. Anyway I feel that Keeler needs to have Riccio coached as a pocket passer. I just dont see where he haves the legs to be much of a scrambler. The defense needs to work on tackling. Saw alot of guys doing arm tackles. Any of you whom have played the game....you know..NO ARM TACKLES...wrap them up!!! I think the D coulda put more pressure on Borda. Yah they laid a few good licks on him in OT but IMO it was a lil too late for that. You have to RUSH RUSH RUSH and HIT HIT HIT! Rath is a little stick of TNT. For a little guy he can get the job done!! Back to the D though....they were gettin beat witht the same play all night. They send a WR in motion....he cuts back across the field for a 4-7 gain...ALL NIGHT!!!!! Yes I knwo...we are still young...and yes we had an awesome 4th quarter (which is where games are won) but if UD keeps playing like that...we are gonna have our butts handed to us!!!

[ChickenMan]

I think you are overstating the problems... first give Lehigh some credit... they are a real 'good' 1AA program and will likely be in the playoffs again this year. A young and inexperienced UD squad playing LU in their opener was a tough assignment and any win in that situation is a dam good win. I also think you're being a little too hard on Riccio... he played pretty well last night... no turnovers and under pressure in OT... he stepped up and made the big play to Cuff which turned out to be the game winner. Riccio also had perfectly thrown long bomb (that would have been an 80 yrd TD) dropped. Riccio may not be Andy Hall... but UD can win a lot of games with him at QB.

[Doc Blue Hen]

I agree that Lehigh has a good football team that will likely make the playoffs this year again. I also think that Ghostrider II is being hard on Sonny. He made some very good decisions and was having some very real cramping problems. (Perhaps you missed him getting IV fluids on the sideline while the ball was getting snapped over Ryan Carty's head). We were quite spoiled with Andy Hall in '03, but Sonny is coming along. I was also frustrated with the soft coverage that allowed a lot underneath but I think this young football team found out a lot about its heart last night.

[Delaware Ghostrider II]

That's my point about Sonny....why is it everytime we are getting beat he starts feeling sick or starts getting cramps? I knkow for a fact that at least 5 games last year he had to set out for a bit and "get fluids". As the starting QB maybe he isn't taking as care of himself as much as he should be. I would love to see him bloom into an awesome leader...I just don't see it. Yes we were spoiled with Andy. Matter of fact I told my wife that I feel that I am still living in Andy land. It just seems that Keeler is trying to run the same offense with Sonny that he did with Andy, I don't see it working. With Andy we were a serious threat with running the option. Last night we went to it 5-6 times and it worked how many...maybe 1...if that. I know I knwo you said Sonny had the one long pass that was dropped and he had 1...count them one that was completed right in front of me.....but a running QB he is NOT...more than anything I think it was our defense that made more mistakes then our offense. Like I said I hope Sonny does get better. I just don't see it....sorry if I am hurting anyones feelings.

[Go...gate]

There were a lot of games on yesterday, and that was the best - even surpassing LSU - ASU. Neither team deserved to lose.

[LUHawker]

Borda had great #'s BUT he threw the ball over the head of a receiver at least 7 times, 3 of them could have been TD's. He was good, NOT great. If he had been great you would have won the game. He is tough as they come. Kept getting up after some seriously violent hits, to his credit.

Borda was very workman-like, but he definitely missed a couple of key passes, where LU receiver had a step or two. Most of these were early on when the opportunity to pull away was there. Still, he was solid and I expect that we'll see better games from him as the season progresses.

[89Hen]

Borda had great #'s BUT he threw the ball over the head of a receiver at least 7 times, 3 of them could have been TD's.
Agreed on the good but not great, but those overthrows were extremely well covered. It would have had to be an incredible throw to be caught and not picked off.

[Doc QB]

Not sure I agree with 89Hen on those Borda overthrows being well covered...that DB for UD, #15, was getting beat all night, and Borda never made that big throw to put the game away earlier and give the Hens a bigger deficit to surmount. Having played it some at LU, that was a throw we HAD to make, or you didn't play. Kempa '91, Semptimphelter '94, and Stambaugh just did not miss those plays, they made the big throw. Borda makes a living on great decisions, but just doesn't seem to have a big arm. I still love the guy because he is local like me, and a competitor.

Great game overall, but I would love to see LU FINISH one of these classics (like JHU last year). They just don't seem to have enough gas to close the door and grab the huge win against the A-10 elite. Best of luck to the Hens for the rest of the year.

[MR. CHICKEN]

GOTTA AGREE WHIFF DOC........BORDA MISSED SEVERALAH DEEP BALLS DAT WOULD BECOME INSURMOUNTABLE SCORES..................AT 12-6......BEIN' OUTPLAYED IN VIRTUALLY EVERAH ASPECT.......DUH HENS....WERE STILL HANGIN' AROUND.........LEHIGH MOVED DUH PIGGY WELL ALL NIGHT........BUT DELAWARE DUG IN INSIDE DUH RED-ZONE..ON SEVERAH OCCASIONS.......LATE THIRD & FOURTH Q'S...TURNED INTA UH COMPLETELY DIFFERNT GAME AN' BECAME UH TRACK MEET......BLUEHENS GREW IN DUH FOURTH..........HENS CROWD GOT INTA IT....AN' MO.....FOUND DUH HOMERS...........UH LITTLE LUCK DIDN'T HURT WHEN MOUNTAINHAWK KICKER...WENT INTA DUH FREEZER!..........HATS OFF TA LEHIGH FO' COMIN' INTA DUH TUB......AGIN' UH ROARIN' STUDENT SECTION....AN' GIVIN' US UH BARNBURNER!.......................BRAWK!

ps......BORDA WILL HIT DUH LONG ONES IN UH GAME OR TWO.....AN' DUH HAWKS WILL BE ON DERE WAY!..........AWK!

[ChickenMan]

Not sure I agree with 89Hen on those Borda overthrows being well covered...that DB for UD, #15, was getting beat all night, and Borda never made that big throw to put the game away earlier and give the Hens a bigger deficit to surmount.



I agree that Borda missed a couple of chances to hit big plays... but so did UD. However Riccio did make the "big throw" to a wide open UD receiver that should have resulted in an 80 yrd UD TD... but the freshman WR dropped the ball. In a game like that... both teams can point to quite a few what 'ifs'... but the missed chances always loom much larger for the losing team.

[LEHIGH61]

It's in times like these that I wish Overtime was not in the rules. But Lehigh seems to be getting the respect they deserve in the aftermath. Hopefully, this loss TIE) will not hurt them if for some reason they don't get the automatic bid. However, barring injuries, this team should get the automatic PL bid.
I'll be forever haunted by the 3 passes to wide open receivers (well behind the UD secondary) that were just a little too long. Don't get me wrong, Borda was magnificent.! It's just a shame that at least one of those judgement throws was on the money. Then we would not have had to worry about overtime.
But Delaware was gutsy in their rally. A truly great comeback!. I think they had only 138 yards after 3 quarters.

[Tubby Raymond]

Not sure I agree with 89Hen on those Borda overthrows being well covered...that DB for UD, #15, was getting beat all night, and Borda never made that big throw to put the game away earlier and give the Hens a bigger deficit to surmount. Having played it some at LU, that was a throw we HAD to make, or you didn't play. Kempa '91, Semptimphelter '94, and Stambaugh just did not miss those plays, they made the big throw. Borda makes a living on great decisions, but just doesn't seem to have a big arm. I still love the guy because he is local like me, and a competitor.

Great game overall, but I would love to see LU FINISH one of these classics (like JHU last year). They just don't seem to have enough gas to close the door and grab the huge win against the A-10 elite. Best of luck to the Hens for the rest of the year.

#15 has a new nickname in Section J, guess what it is? Starts with a T and you have it for breakfast with your eggs. I thought the LU guys, particularly #5 (?) were killing Woodard each time they matched up, especially after Woodard fumbled that kickoff. And he ain't one of the new guys either. :confused:

[Doc QB]

My earlier comments never got through...congrats to UD for making big plays. It disappoints me that again, LU was not able to make enough big plays and finish off an elite A-10 team (including the playoffs last year against JMU). I am not sure if it is better coaching, better depth, or just better athletes. This could cause some more discussion, clearly, but I think overall LU matched up pretty well, speed, size, schemes.

I don't think I agree with the last post, where a reply stated that the receivers overthrown by Borda were well covered. Having played some QB at LU, you are expected to make those throws, or you don't play, and you don't win the huge games. Borda has a fair to average arm, slow release, but makes excellent decisions. The Qbs I played behind, Kempa '91 and Semptimphelter '94 ALWAYS hit those guys who shook free on a blitz. Had hit any one of three, UD would have had a bigger defecit to surmount.

Hats off to a great game, good luck to UD...playoffs will hopefully be interesting for all.