Patriot League Pick 'Em - Week 9

[DFW HOYA]

All games on ESPN+, with Holy Cross-Lafayette the big game that was projected at the start of the season.


Fordham (0-7, 0-2) at Lehigh (3-3, 0-1), 12 noon EDT
Colgate (2-5, 1-1) at Merrimack (3-4), 1:00
Holy Cross (3-5, 2-0) at Lafayette (4-3, 1-1), 1:30
Bucknell (3-4, 1-0) at Georgetown (4-3, 1-1), 2:00

[bonarae]

Lehigh
Merrimack
Holy Cross
Georgetown

[Wolffan]

Lehigh
Colgate
Holy Cross
Georgetown

[The Cats]

Fordham (0-7, 0-2) at Lehigh (3-3, 0-1), 12 noon EDT
Colgate (2-5, 1-1) at Merrimack (3-4), 1:00
Holy Cross (3-5, 2-0) at Lafayette (4-3, 1-1), 1:30
Bucknell (3-4, 1-0) at Georgetown (4-3, 1-1), 2:00

[ngineer]

Colgate at Merrimack should be a tight game. I expect a defensive struggle with the occasional big play and think 'gate has more explosive ability. 'gate 24-21

Cross at LC should be the week's "marquis" game that could likely go to the wire if not OT. LC cannot afford a second PL loss, which I would think would be the biggest motivator and leads me to pick the 'pards, 27-24.

I am going with the home-field advantage in this one. Should be close and Hoyas "still have a shot"...Goin' with the Rocks 27-23

I am expecting Lehigh to come out on fire after having fumbled away two games back to back. They are moving the ball and the defense has been significantly improved from last year. With Fordham's woes, Lehigh needs to come out and jump on the Rams quick and take them out early and not let them hang around that could turn dangerous. Lehigh 35-17.

[Pards Rule]

Colgate at Merrimack should be a tight game. I expect a defensive struggle with the occasional big play and think 'gate has more explosive ability. 'gate 24-21

Cross at LC should be the week's "marquis" game that could likely go to the wire if not OT. LC cannot afford a second PL loss, which I would think would be the biggest motivator and leads me to pick the 'pards, 27-24

I am going with the home-field advantage in this one. Should be close and Hoyas "still have a shot"...Goin' with the Rocks 27-23

I am expecting Lehigh to come out on fire after having fumbled away two games back to back. They are moving the ball and the defense has been significantly improved from last year. With Fordham's woes, Lehigh needs to come out and jump on the Rams quick and take them out early and not let them hang around that could turn dangerous. Lehigh 35-17.


Good picks. I still see our game as tossup

[NY Crusader 2010]

Lehigh
Colgate
Holy Cross
Georgetown

[NY Crusader 2010]

Good picks. I still see our game as tossup

I agree. 'Pards took care of business against Sacred Heart after the skunk against Georgetown. Lafayette has their backs against the wall as far as winning the auto-bid. Meanwhile, Holy Cross has the revenge factor at play from last year. We were outplayed by Lafayette in both 2022 and 2023, two of the strongest teams we've had in modern times. Do you guys just have our number, like we have Fordham's number? We'll find out. Let it be noted that Lafayette was also the only PL team to beat us in 2019 when our run of titles began.

Slight edge to Lafayette => I see this as 'Pards -2.5 or so. If I were totally impartial, I'd likely pick you guys to win this one at home. We've definitely had our share of key wins at Fisher over the years, hope for our sake we have another coming this Saturday.

[Wolffan]

Lehigh
Merrimack
Holy Cross
Bucknell

Holy Cross’ 4 FCS losses were by a total of 12 pts and each one of those teams (URI, UNH HAR, YALE) is stronger than the PL competition. Including Laffy, IMHO.

[bonarae]

Meanwhile... as things currently stand, will the PL champion be the lowest ranked full-scholarship team in the Road to Frisco? I'm afraid you may face the PFL champion in the first round.

[Pards Rule]

Meanwhile... as things currently stand, will the PL champion be the lowest ranked full-scholarship team in the Road to Frisco? I'm afraid you may face the PFL champion in the first round.

What Im thinking...oh boy

[Southsider]

Does it really matter? Other than those who visit this site, very few know or care. I've said it here before, just enjoy the games on Saturday's.

[crusader11]

Meanwhile... as things currently stand, will the PL champion be the lowest ranked full-scholarship team in the Road to Frisco? I'm afraid you may face the PFL champion in the first round.

Don't think you'll see PL v. PFL, unless it totally makes sense regionally.

Committee are not going want to to place two of the lowest ranked teams together, thereby having higher ranked teams play.

As it seems to happen most years, think you'll see PL vs. CAA in the first round (so long as there's a CAA team ranked outside of the top 16).

[Remise]

Maybe it will be the PL vs. the LFL. Just kidding, of course!

[Lehigh Football Nation]

It would be great to see a team like Holy Cross play some overhyped SoCon team in the 1st round that they would beat handily, but I agree, they will probably be assigned a tougher local game vs. Villanova, Maine, CCSU or the like. Seeing the PL in a week to week basis any talk of the league being worse or on par with the PFL is dumb talk.

[kdinva]

Fordham 13; Lehigh 35
Colgate 24; Merrimack 14
Holy Cross 20; Lafayette 30
Bucknell 31; Georgetown 21

[Go Green]

Merrimack is a strong team. They took Dartmouth down to the wire a few weeks ago.

I expect them to handle Colgate just fine.

[bonarae]

Meanwhile... Lafayette fans, Oregon State has finally confirmed your 2025 OOC and with a playdate coinciding with the Ivies' last OOC day.

[crusader11]

Holy Cross -1.5

Georgetown -6.5

[Pards Rule]

Meanwhile... Lafayette fans, Oregon State has finally confirmed your 2025 OOC and with a playdate coinciding with the Ivies' last OOC day.


YEAH

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Lehigh 31, Fordham 26 (https://www.college-sports-journal.com/fordham-at-lehigh-10-26-2024-exactly-what-do-we-have-here-mountain-hawks/) - This game absolutely terrifies me. I'm picking Lehigh to win a nail-biter, but I'm nervous AF about it.
Colgate 35, Merrimack 20 - Colgate making their typical Fall Run, and Merrimack's rush defense won't be able to stop a Raider offense that has finally returned.
Holy Cross 34, Lafayette 13 - The big dog eats. Holy Cross has circled this game since December.
Georgetown 20, Bucknell 10 - This is completely contingent on whether Rucker is able to go for Bucknell. On the game notes it says either Rucker or Hardyway might play. I cannot recall a player that changes a team's fortunes as much as Rucker. No Rucker, Georgetown wins handily.

[RichH2]

Lehigh
Merrimack
Pards
Bison

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Merrimack 27 Colgate 20: I like Merrimack at home to win a hard fought contest....
Georgetown 24 Bucknell 16: So much is predicated on the health of Ruckner. These are two teams I can't trust....
Lafayette 34 Holy Cross 30: I trust Troxell's preparation and game management more than Curran at this point....
Lehigh 31 Fordham 28: This is a defining game for Lehigh and Cahill. Lose this one and the program's trajectory comes back into question imo. The Rams have proven to be feisty at times...

[Go...gate]

Lehigh 27, Fordham 23

Merrimack 20, Colgate 13

Holy Cross 28, Lafayette 24

Georgetown 21. Bucknell 17

Bonus Pick: Harvard 26, Princeton 21

[Pards Rule]

Over/under Lafayette vs Holy Cross 55.5??

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Has Cahill stated why he remains committed to Perri starting? The offense at this point is being hamstrung by not playing the more physically gifted option, Johnson imo...

- - - Updated - - -


Over/under Lafayette vs Holy Cross 55.5??

Over seems logical given the weather and both teams ability, for the most part, to put points on in the board.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Fordham converts a lengthy FG...

Rams 3 Mountain Hawks 0 6:18 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lehigh! Green breaks free for a long run. Lehigh has the running game going. Hunt's fingerprints are all over the style of play at this point...for better, or for worse...

Lehigh 7 Fordham 3 2:17 1Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh adds a 40+ yard FG of their own. Drive stalled when Perri started throwing....overall, Lehigh does look pretty good. Can they get some separation and test Fordham's will? Or will mistakes, inconsistencies keep the Rams in the game? Fordham has a history of coming back and winning against Lehigh in recent years...

Lehigh 10 Fordham 3 13:30 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lehigh following a Fordham INT! Lehigh's OL is dominating the game...

Lehigh 17 Fordham 3 8:09 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lehigh! Lehigh has displayed some legit dominance at times this year. It's about consistency at this point...

Lehigh 24 Frodham 3 1:41 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lehigh! Great pass and catch! Johnson with a dime! Mountain Hawks are taking a month's worth of frustration out on the poor Rams...

Lehigh 31 Fordham 3 0:31 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh 31 Fordham 3 Half

Complete dominance in all aspects, 304 total yards to 110. How much longer does Conlin have?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC off to a hot start in Easton....

Crusaders 14 Lafayette 0 4:41 1Q

[Sader87]

No offense to the Lehigh effort today, but I think the Rams have basically quit on this season

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

No offense to the Lehigh effort today, but I think the Rams have basically quit on this season

When they lost by 30 to CCSU, 32 to Dartmouth, and 42 to Monmouth was that Fordham quiting on the season? Or a better team clobbering them? How and why HC and Lafayette struggled with Fordham I do not know. But both did after Fordham had already been beaten down by others....

[Lehigh Football Nation]

The big dog is eating in Easton.

[RichH2]

When they lost by 30 to CCSU, 32 to Dartmouth, and 42 to Monmouth was that Fordham quiting on the season? Or a better team clobbering them? How and why HC and Lafayette struggled with Fordham I do not know. But both did after Fordham had already been beaten down by others....
+1

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Pards put together a nice scoring drive. Their defense has to step to put legit game pressure on HC

HC 21 Lafayette 7 9:24 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Merrimack 37 Colgate 17 End 3Q

Conlin and Dakosty both need to go for the sake of the league...

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

The big dog is eating in Easton.

And now choking on a cat bone. Don't trust a Curran team until the clock strikes zero...

Holy Cross 21 Lafayette 14 5:37 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC strikes right back! I hope our Pard friend put some money on the over...lol. Defenses are struggling...

HC 28 Lafayette 14 4:48 2Q

- - - Updated - - -

Lehigh's offense has been sleepwalking the second half. Fordham just scored on 4th and goal. Cahill will have plenty to discuss after a dominant 30 minutes. Offense still needs a drive to put this one on ice...

Lehigh 33 Fordham 11 10:27 4Q

[DFW HOYA]

A few Hoyas may have stayed out too late last night. Bucknell is dominating the line of scrimmage in this game : 134-42.

Hoyas have 18 yards passing and a midfield fumble in three series.

Bucknell 14
Georgetown 0
14:46 2nd

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Boom, TD Pards! Gees, defense optional mode is in full effect...

Holy Cross 28 Lafayette 21 2:25 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Merrimack 44 Colgate 17 2:21 4Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

It's amazing Lehigh stopped LIU on 4th down to win the game because it seems like teams are about 90% going for it against the Mountain Hawk defense in do or die situations....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 31 Lafayette 21 Half

Having some visions of Holy Cross's 63-53 win in 2001.....

- - - Updated - - -

Fordham has not quit! At the same time, Lehigh has not maintained their execution/energy for 60 minutes....

Lehigh 33 Fordham 19 1:44 4Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Merrimack 51 Colgate 17 Final

Worst Raider loss since?.....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh 33 Fordham 19 Final

Credit to Fordham for coming out of the locker room and competing. Lehigh's ceiling is title worthy but their inconsistencies will cost them if not careful. When you rely on so many fr and soph mistakes are inevitable. It comes to avoiding the "big ones"....

[RichH2]

A W. Lehigh coasted thru the 2nd half unfortunately. Kinda deflates the total domination of the 1st half.

[CHIP72]

I didn’t watch Fordham/Lehigh (or the first half of Holy Cross/Lafayette), but looking at the scores of the various PL games, the first thought that comes to mind is “the Patriot League isn’t very good this year”. Not exactly a news flash I know.

The league’s weakness in 2024 is probably part of the reason why various non-league teams have crushed Fordham while the PL teams the Rams have played so far this year have had to work to get the W.

EDIT: one positive note I should add though is the league is very balanced this year. Just about everybody has been competitive and has a shot at the league title (at least coming into today). That includes teams like Bucknell and Georgetown. It’s good to see actually; I just wish the overall league was better.


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[DFW HOYA]

I didn’t watch Fordham/Lehigh (or the first half of Holy Cross/Lafayette), but looking at the scores of the various PL games, the first thought that comes to mind is “the Patriot League isn’t very good this year”. Not exactly a news flash I know.


It's not getting better. Let's ask why.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

It's not getting better. Let's ask why.

Coaching....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lafayette squandered two opportunities to score in the 3rd quarter...

Holy Cross 31 Lafayette 21 End 3Q

[DFW HOYA]

Coaching....

Recruiting...

[Pards Rule]

Congrats to Cross. Winner of Pat League

[Sader87]

Not ovah....believe me, if anyone can find ways to lose. it's Holy Cross

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

HC settles for a short FG. Lafayette is learning the value of a good FG kicker today...

HC 34 Lafayette 21 8:58 4Q

[Southsider]

Just got home from LU. Check this out. I purchased 2 tix at the posted $10 each. I put a $20 on the counter and the attendant said I owed another $5 “processing fee”. I PAID CASH! Just another reason nobody goes anymore!,

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lafayette inside the HC 20 again. Can they score?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Pards....

Holy Cross 34 Lafayette 28 6:41 4Q

[Southsider]

HC now 34-28

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lafayette color guy is losing his mind over Lafayette's pass defense....

[DFW HOYA]

Just got home from LU. Check this out. I purchased 2 tix at the posted $10 each. I put a $20 on the counter and the attendant said I owed another $5 “processing fee”. I PAID CASH! Just another reason nobody goes anymore!,

Send that straight to the athletic department. By law, you can't charge a fee for accepting cash.

[Southsider]

LU notorious for the same big cushions!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Wow the Lafayette WR drops a TD! HC will survive this one!

[Pards Rule]

Avery Jones drops a winning TD in end zone on 4th down... Pards lose 34-28

[Pards Rule]

Congrats to Cross...rep us well folks

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Bucknell misses a reasonable length go-ahead FG...

Georgetown 21 Bucknell 20 4:31 4Q

[Sader87]

Georgetown and Bucknell are not going to beat HC...if HC beats Lehigh, it's ovah

[Franks Tanks]

Most frustrating Pard team in recent memory. The talent is there, but they do all the little things wrong. Atrocious defensive effort in the 1st quarter in particular.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Hoya defense holds on 4th and 10!

Georgetown 21 Bucknell 20 Final

[crusader11]

Curran has proven to be an extraordinarily conservative coach and it nearly cost HC today.

Took the air out of the ball in the second half. Felt like he was playing not to lose.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Why did Bucknell essentially try three Hail Mary's with 1 timeout left and a FG wins te game for them? They had plenty of time for several 1st downs!

[CHIP72]

Georgetown and Bucknell are not going to beat HC...if HC beats Lehigh, it's ovah

I don’t know…both Bucknell and Georgetown have been competitive this season, particularly the Hoyas, and Holy Cross plays in DC for that G-town game.


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[crusader11]

I don’t know…both Bucknell and Georgetown have been competitive this season, particularly the Hoyas, and Holy Cross plays in DC for that G-town game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Georgetown will have to win at Lehigh and against Georgetown to keep themselves alive for the PLC.

A two loss team isn’t winning the league.

[DFW HOYA]

Why did Bucknell essentially try three Hail Mary's with 1 timeout left and a FG wins te game for them? They had plenty of time for several 1st downs!

The middle of the field was open throughout the fourth quarter.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Georgetown will have to win at Lehigh and against Georgetown to keep themselves alive for the PLC.

A two loss team isn’t winning the league.

Lehigh travels to DC next week...

[crusader11]

Lehigh travels to DC next week...

Right you are.

Lehigh is definitely dangerous.

Need to win out and traveling to Georgetown and HC and then finishing up against Lafayette is a brutal stretch. Factor Colgate in there, too.

Holy Cross, who can heal up with their bye week upcoming, and getting Lehigh and Bucknell at home, is in prime position. They may have this league wrapped up after the Bucknell game.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

I think Lehigh's schedule breaks reasonably well. Georgetown is not a tough place to play and there wil be a strong Lehigh contingent there. Holy Cross is a long bus ride (quite a bit further than Yale) so that will not be a picnic. That said, playing on the road at Army and Yale helps for mental conditioning. Colgate at home and Lafayette at home (payback is needed!) is a nice bonus to conclude the year.

If Lehigh can put together 60 minutes of relatively mistake free football I think they'll push Georgetown around setting up a showdown in Worcester. They have the talent to win the league. I just don't know if a bunch of fr and sophomores can get them over the hump.

[crusader11]

I think Lehigh's schedule breaks reasonably well. Georgetown is not a tough place to play and there wil be a strong Lehigh contingent there. Holy Cross is a long bus ride (quite a bit further than Yale) so that will not be a picnic. That said, playing on the road at Army and Yale helps for mental conditioning. Colgate at home and Lafayette at home (payback is needed!) is a nice bonus to conclude the year.

If Lehigh can put together 60 minutes of relatively mistake free football I think they'll push Georgetown around setting up a showdown in Worcester. They have the talent to win the league. I just don't know if a bunch of fr and sophomores can get them over the hump.

Can’t say I agree with you.

Have to play at the best team in the league, going on the road to a Georgetown team that has proven formidable, and still having to play Lafayette — that’s brutal, IMO. Lehigh is dropping some game in here, knocking themselves out of contention.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Can’t say I agree with you.

Have to play at the best team in the league, going on the road to a Georgetown team that has proven formidable, and still having to play Lafayette — that’s brutal, IMO. Lehigh is dropping some game in here, knocking themselves out of contention.

Who is really in the drivers seat then? Georgetown? Holy Cross barely scaped by 0-8 Fordham and needed a drop TD against Lafayette to win.

It's hard to see HC not losing one of their remaining three with how they play with fire virtually every week. Curran ball is a bit of Russian roulette.

[crusader11]

Who is really in the drivers seat then? Georgetown? Holy Cross barely scaped by 0-8 Fordham and needed a drop TD against Lafayette to win.

It's hard to see HC not losing one of their remaining three with how they play with fire virtually every week. Curran ball is a bit of Russian roulette.

Holy Cross is the only 3-0 team in the league and the only team to have not dropped a game. Couldn’t be more obvious who’s in the driver’s seat.

[Wolffan]

Who is really in the drivers seat then? Georgetown? Holy Cross barely scaped by 0-8 Fordham and needed a drop TD against Lafayette to win.

It's hard to see HC not losing one of their remaining three with how they play with fire virtually every week. Curran ball is a bit of Russian roulette. Holy Cross’ four FCS losses (by a TOTAL of 12 points) are to teams superior to PL teams. They’ll be favored in their remaining PL games.

[Go...gate]

Dreadful day for Colgate.

[KnightoftheRedFlash]

Why did Bucknell essentially try three Hail Mary's with 1 timeout left and a FG wins te game for them? They had plenty of time for several 1st downs!

Because their kicker can't make a field goal when it matters.

[Go Green]

Merrimack is a strong team. They took Dartmouth down to the wire a few weeks ago.

I expect them to handle Colgate just fine.

Last week, someone downgraded my rep for an (admittedly wrong) comment I made in 2014.

I hope he upgrades me for the above prediction. :)

[DFW HOYA]

Because their kicker can't make a field goal when it matters.

Matt Schearer is 3-10 on field goals this season.

Both of today's kicks were from inside 40 yards: made the first from 32, missed the second from 36.

[ngineer]

Georgetown will have to win at Lehigh and against Georgetown to keep themselves alive for the PLC.

A two loss team isn’t winning the league.

Lehigh is at Georgetown next week.

[ngineer]

I think Lehigh's schedule breaks reasonably well. Georgetown is not a tough place to play and there wil be a strong Lehigh contingent there. Holy Cross is a long bus ride (quite a bit further than Yale) so that will not be a picnic. That said, playing on the road at Army and Yale helps for mental conditioning. Colgate at home and Lafayette at home (payback is needed!) is a nice bonus to conclude the year.

If Lehigh can put together 60 minutes of relatively mistake free football I think they'll push Georgetown around setting up a showdown in Worcester. They have the talent to win the league. I just don't know if a bunch of fr and sophomores can get them over the hump.

They have shown they can. Eliminate the turnovers as they did today, and one can see their ability to to score and score suddenly .

[ngineer]

Lehigh really showed a continuation of their surprising ground game attack . Controlling the ball is keeping the opponent,s offense on the sideline. The best defense there is. And the running game is multi-faceted between the power running of Yoder and blazing speed of Green. The OL has been opening beautiful holes, but the backs are getting significant YAC. The health of the OL was a serious problem last year, and so far, the dings have been minor. Lehigh’s freshman punter put on a nice display, as well, with some boomers and a few brilliantly placed inside the ten. Another aspect of defense that gets overlooked. These next two weeks with two tough road games will be defining. Who thought last year at this time that Lehigh would even be part of the conversation about who the next PL champ would be?!

PS—Last week I lamented about the lack of using the screen pass to get the ball in Green’s hands in space. Today in the second quarter a screen pass and it goes for about 50 yd to😁!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

K-State survives Kansas in the Sunfllower Showdown to make it 16 straight over the Jayhawks, Lehigh is playing meaningful football in November and Temple absolutely stinks as we head towards the stretch run of the season. The Owls performance against ECU today was a disgrace... but I digress. As it is, this football season is starting to become familiar to me. Heck, my high school alma mater (who has been down for the last 6-7 years after being relevant in the state for 20 years) is good again! Should be a wild sprint to Thanksgiving!

[Wolffan]

It is hard to believe that last year’s co-champ (HC) could graduate all that talent to the NFL and FBS, bring in zero transfers, and still be at the top of the PL. It may speak to the weakness of the PL this year.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

It is hard to believe that last year’s co-champ (HC) could graduate all that talent to the NFL and FBS, bring in zero transfers, and still be at the top of the PL. It may speak to the weakness of the PL this year.

They've battled to be there. It's hardly been a walk in the park. I will say that success/winning does have residual positive equity in terms of finding ways to remain relevant when there's been a drastic transition; relatively speaking. Lafayette has clearly taken a step back from what I and many others believe was going to be a Top 20, Top 15 team. Their regression really surprises me. Fordham is 0-8! Their struggles, given Conlin's history, is not entirely shocking but the extent of their demise is nearing historic levels. Colgate flat out stinks! Dakosty was never the answer despite our Colgate friends telling me to give him time. It was apparent from the start he was not maintaining the standard. Bucknell is better but not better enough to really elevate their or the league's perception. Both Lehigh and Georgetown have taken steps forward.

I will not back down from Lehigh's talent level relative to the rest of the league. They have dudes again, just like they did for the better part of 25 years under Higgins, Lembo and Coen. HC/Chesney greatly benefited from the Coen tragedy and Gilmore debacle along with Colgate going in the tank following Hunt getting canned. Lehigh will not flake away so long as Cahill continues to grow as a head coach. I expect Lehigh to battle HC, Lafayette and whoever else wants to elevate themselves for at least the near future for supremacy.

I don't see how Colgate and Fordham can retain their coaches. Moves their will help the league. Although, there's a bigger issue at Colgate which I will get into this week....

[Sader87]

Holy Cross is really the only school that priotizes football in the PL now....hopefully with the addition of Richmond next year will help the league.

[Wolffan]

They've battled to be there. It's hardly been a walk in the park. I will say that success/winning does have residual positive equity in terms of finding ways to remain relevant when there's been a drastic transition; relatively speaking. Lafayette has clearly taken a step back from what I and many others believe was going to be a Top 20, Top 15 team. Their regression really surprises me. Fordham is 0-8! Their struggles, given Conlin's history, is not entirely shocking but the extent of their demise is nearing historic levels. Colgate flat out stinks! Dakosty was never the answer despite our Colgate friends telling me to give him time. It was apparent from the start he was not maintaining the standard. Bucknell is better but not better enough to really elevate their or the league's perception. Both Lehigh and Georgetown have taken steps forward.

I will not back down from Lehigh's talent level relative to the rest of the league. They have dudes again, just like they did for the better part of 25 years under Higgins, Lembo and Coen. HC/Chesney greatly benefited from the Coen tragedy and Gilmore debacle along with Colgate going in the tank following Hunt getting canned. Lehigh will not flake away so long as Cahill continues to grow as a head coach. I expect Lehigh to battle HC, Lafayette and whoever else wants to elevate themselves for at least the near future for supremacy.

I don't see how Colgate and Fordham can retain their coaches. Moves there will help the league. Although, there's a bigger issue at Colgate which I will get into this week....It is possible Holy Cross’ rise to FCS national prominence — as reflected in national FCS rankings, national player recognition/honors, and national FCS playoff wins — had nothing to do with issues at Lehigh or Colgate or Georgetown, etc.

Holy Cross’ roster is greatly diminished this year (and no longer a presence in the national polls). This decline has nothing to do with Lehigh or Colgate, etc. 35 seniors graduated (including a NFL draftee lineman, a wide receiver making catches on Sundays, a star lineman at Michigan State, and nationally known guys like Sluka and Dobbs…plus many more current FBS players).

On a different topic, the Patriot League is so weak this year that even a greatly diminished Holy Cross has an excellent chance to win. (This is directly related to the situations at other PL programs.)

[NY Crusader 2010]

Maybe not through and through, but the top of the NEC is better than the top of the PL this year. I'd be nervous to see Holy Cross play either CCSU or Duquesne in the playoffs.

[NY Crusader 2010]

Holy Cross is really the only school that priotizes football in the PL now....hopefully with the addition of Richmond next year will help the league.

Lehigh will enter the chat next year at the latest. Engineers will have the ability to show they're back now the next 2 weeks with games @ Georgetown and @ Holy Cross.

Fordham and Colgate will need to make head coaching changes this offseason. When the Rams have a bad season, they usually bounce back quick as talent never seems to be the issue in the Bronx. Here's what happened the last three times Fordham had really bad football teams:

2011 - Finished 1-10 with only win over Columbia => went on to go 6-5 in 2012 then went 12-2 in 2013 and 11-3 with a league title in 2014; won 1st round playoff games in both '13 and '14
2005 - Finished 2-9 in '05 and 3-8 in '06 => bounced back to win the Patriot League in 2007 with an 8-4 overall finish
2000 - Finished 3-8 in '00 => bounced back to finish 7-4 in '01 and a 3rd place PL finish out of 8 teams with Towson still in, then split league title in 2002 with Colgate, won the AQ, beat Northeastern in the I-AA playoffs before falling to Villanova in the quarters.

[Pards Rule]

K-State survives Kansas in the Sunfllower Showdown to make it 16 straight over the Jayhawks, Lehigh is playing meaningful football in November and Temple absolutely stinks as we head towards the stretch run of the season. The Owls performance against ECU today was a disgrace... but I digress. As it is, this football season is starting to become familiar to me. Heck, my high school alma mater (who has been down for the last 6-7 years after being relevant in the state for 20 years) is good again! Should be a wild sprint to Thanksgiving!

Did you see op=ed in Inquirer when author, a Temple alum, calls for discontinuing football?

[Wolffan]

Lehigh will enter the chat next year at the latest. Engineers will have the ability to show they're back now the next 2 weeks with games @ Georgetown and @ Holy Cross.

Fordham and Colgate will need to make head coaching changes this offseason. When the Rams have a bad season, they usually bounce back quick as talent never seems to be the issue in the Bronx. Here's what happened the last three times Fordham had really bad football teams:

2011 - Finished 1-10 with only win over Columbia => went on to go 6-5 in 2012 then went 12-2 in 2013 and 11-3 with a league title in 2014; won 1st round playoff games in both '13 and '14
2005 - Finished 2-9 in '05 and 3-8 in '06 => bounced back to win the Patriot League in 2007 with an 8-4 overall finish
2000 - Finished 3-8 in '00 => bounced back to finish 7-4 in '01 and a 3rd place PL finish out of 8 teams with Towson still in, then split league title in 2002 with Colgate, won the AQ, beat Northeastern in the I-AA playoffs before falling to Villanova in the quarters. At the end of last year Fordham had a really bad football team (going 1-3 over last 4 games and that was PL competition). This year has (essentially) been a continuation of that. Hopefully Fordham can get up to .500 in PL competition next year which might meet some definitions of a pretty good team.

[NY Crusader 2010]

At the end of last year Fordham had a really bad football team (going 1-3 over last 4 games and that was PL competition). This year has (essentially) been a continuation of that. Hopefully Fordham can get up to .500 in PL competition next year which might meet some definitions of a pretty good team.

Fordham is known for folding like a cheap suit once they've been eliminated from title/playoff contention, which happened the day we beat them 49-47 at Rose Hill. Pretty much the pinnacle of CJ Montes college career thus far. It's too bad they couldn't get up to score more than 23 points at Lafayette last year.

[Pard4Life]

Send that straight to the athletic department. By law, you can't charge a fee for accepting cash.

You sure about that? Probably varies by state. I went in person in 2016 to buy US Gold Cup tickets in Philly, at the Linc box office, and still charged me Ticketmaster fees.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross is really the only school that priotizes football in the PL now....hopefully with the addition of Richmond next year will help the league.

Back up that statement with evidence. I'll wait...

And if they are, it's not like they're getting a tremendous return on their investment outside of 2022. Otherwise, HC have not elevated themselves or the league beyond where others have been. Heck, Hunt had more playoff success at Colgate than Chesney had at HC.

[NY Crusader 2010]

Back up that statement with evidence. I'll wait...

And if they are, it's not like they're getting a tremendous return on their investment outside of 2022. Otherwise, HC have not elevated themselves or the league beyond where others have been. Heck, Hunt had more playoff success at Colgate than Chesney had at HC.

Chesney also picked up 2 FBS wins. Equally as important as Round of 16 playoff wins when it comes to program visibility, IMO. The Colgate NCAA wins over JMU in 2015 and 2018 were both huge for the league. 'Gate was the home favorite in the latter after earning a bye.

[Wolffan]

Holy Cross is really the only school that priotizes football in the PL now....hopefully with the addition of Richmond next year will help the league.

That is a nuanced point. HC does more of a “participation” model with other men’s sports (lax, hoops, baseball, etc.) so in that regard I agree.

Of course the failure to pursue football transfers (which I agree with) really puts a limit on rebuilds after huge graduations (as we are seeing this year). But that is another story.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Chesney also picked up 2 FBS wins. Equally as important as Round of 16 playoff wins when it comes to program visibility, IMO. The Colgate NCAA wins over JMU in 2015 and 2018 were both huge for the league. 'Gate was the home favorite in the latter after earning a bye.

Joe Moorhead won two FBS games at Fordham. I look at Chesney's and Moorheads tenures in a similar light; the caveat being Moorhead had the "advantage" of scholarships. Yet Moorhead never really elevated the Rams program beyond where others have been or surpassed what Coen/Hunt were doing in the grand scheme of things.

I don't see any proof that suggest HC prioritizes football more than Lehigh or Lafayette NOW (Troxell has the trust of the admins which is huge on College Hill!). Lehigh had a tragedy, the school's all-time leader in wins passed away then they made an epically bad hire who they got rid of in a reasonably prompt manner. Now they're back on track! I think that's an absurdly comical standpoint which given 87, isn't surprising. It's weird because that is an individual whose thought processes, or "hot takes" does not always align with the stereotypical HC graduate. They're "out there"....

[Pard4Life]

As of today, Lehigh will beat Lafayette on Nov 23. We are not prepared for games. Defense cannot tackle a kitten. Offense may show up depending on their mood.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

As of today, Lehigh will beat Lafayette on Nov 23. We are not prepared for games. Defense cannot tackle a kitten. Offense may show up depending on their mood.

Long way to go yet a short time to get there for both teams!

[Lehigh Football Nation]

HC was robbed of a playoff at-large last year, a point I will make repeatedly, most likely, til I die. That was a great team that was a rain delay and fumble away from beating Boston College, had one bad game against a very good Lafayette team, and deserved to be in. Had they not tested themselves against 2 FBS teams that year and instead scheduled Stetson at home, they'd have been in the playoffs. They had playoff history, playoff success, and were a great team. Cannot convince me otherwise.

I look at this Holy Cross team and see easily they are the team to beat, still. They are a typical Holy Cross team that is solid across the board, have few overall weaknesses and while they have a dropoff without Sluka and Coker (I mean, who wouldn't? Both are all-time Patriot League players) Pesansky has been quite good and is still on track to be first team all-PL at QB. I thought losing Fuller might be an issue but they have picked up right where they've left off with his backup. They look like a formidable opponent for Lehigh, even more so since they play them at home.

The only other issue I thought about with Holy Cross is the effect of their brutal out-of-conference schedule. Syracuse was always a big ask. Harvard and Yale have very good teams this year (which I knew going in) and Holy Cross could have won either. URI has emerged as the class of the CAA - and they almost beat them. They should have beaten UNH, who is also quite solid in the CAA, and they beat Bryant handily, which frankly should be expected with this team. At some point I was wondering if the close losses against really, really good teams might play on this team's psyche, but it doesn't seem like it - they're getting it done when they need to in the league.

Holy Cross would easily beat half of the CAA I believe - and I think they would definitely beat Stony Brook. I'd be more worried about Holy Cross playing Duquesne or CCSU than Stony Brook.

[Wolffan]

…

I look at this Holy Cross team and see easily they are the team to beat, still. They are a typical Holy Cross team that is solid across the board, have few overall weaknesses and while they have a dropoff without Sluka and Coker (I mean, who wouldn't? Both are all-time Patriot League players) Pesansky has been quite good and is still on track to be first team all-PL at QB. I thought losing Fuller might be an issue but they have picked up right where they've left off with his backup. They look like a formidable opponent for Lehigh, even more so since they play them at home.
... Coker (who had his first NFL touchdown reception Saturday) and Sluka were certainly spectacular Patriot League players. Others who graduated and departed with that same class were similarly talented such as Dobbs (2-time PL Defensive Player of the Year now tearing it up FBS) and CJ Hanson (drafted, NFL). Plus many other graduating stars (All-America OL Newman, etc).

I’m not sure we’ll see another PL roster like that for a long time. A VERY disappointing season considering the roster.

This year may prove to be a pleasant surprise for the Crusaders.