Lehigh VMI thread

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Game just started....

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

VMI 3 Lehigh 0 Flea-ficker got VMI inside the 10 but Lehigh's D settled down.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh was terrible on their first offensive possesion. Hopefully it's just rust from the bye week.

[TheValleyRaider]

Fumble returned by Lehigh for a TD

PAT is good

7-3 Lehigh

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh Deffesnive TD, leads 7-3 6:18 left in the 1st

[ChickenMan]

VMI moving well vs LU... 7-3 end of 1st

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh has to get their secondary healthy and playing better. Their making VMI's QB sound like Peyton Manning.

[ChickenMan]

VMI QB 8 for 9... Keydets 1st & goal at LU 3

[ChickenMan]

VMI TD... 10-7

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD VMI 10-3, this is terrible.

[TheValleyRaider]

VMI takes it in

10-7 Keydets

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD VMI 10-3, this is terrible.
10-7 VMI my bad

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Thank you Gerran Walker!! Lehigh first down at the VMI 38.

[ChickenMan]

LU driving... at the VMI 13

[ChickenMan]

now at the VMI... 1

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh 1 yard TD run Eric Rath, lead 14-10

[TheValleyRaider]

Eric Rath 1 yd TD run

14-10 Lehigh, 11:41 left in the 2nd

[ChickenMan]

LU offsides on Keydet punt gives VMI 1st down at LU 48

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh is playing god-awful. WAY too many mistakes.

[TheValleyRaider]

VMI drive stalls, FG with 35 sec. left in the half is good

14-13 Mountain Hawks

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

VMI FG, Lehigh leads 14-13 almost half. They better turn things around in the second half. Too many mistakes and their defense has been on the field the entire half.

[umassfan]

VMI FG, Lehigh leads 14-13 almost half. They better turn things around in the second half. Too many mistakes and their defense has been on the field the entire half.
Is Lehigh overrated? Is Delaware overrated? :confused:

[TheValleyRaider]

Borda picked on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the half

14-13 Lehigh at halftime

[ChickenMan]

Is Lehigh overrated? Is Delaware overrated? :confused:

maybe... but we'll still whip UMass... :D

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh 14-13 at halftime. Lehigh gets the ball to start the 2nd half and as to set the tone. Lehigh's stupid penalties are keeping VMI in the game. They have almost 10 of them.

[umassfan]

maybe... but we'll still whip UMass... :D
Dont count your chickens before they hatch

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh negative 20 yards to start 2nd half. This is terrible, they honestly might lose this game. VMI 1st down at Lehigh 37 yard line. :confused:

[ChickenMan]

Lehigh is playing AWFUL ball... mistake after mistake... VMI and their fans now realize that they can win this one. VMI 1st down at the LU 22... still 14-13 early in the 3rd.

[TheValleyRaider]

Good lord, it sounds like Lehigh is self-destructing out there. Two bad snaps in a row, one on a third down (shotgun set), then again on the punt, which allowed VMI to partially block it.

[umassfan]

Lehigh is playing AWFUL ball... mistake after mistake... VMI and their fans now realize that they can win this one. VMI 1st down at the LU 22... still 14-10 early in the 3rd.
Isnt it 14-13?

[ChickenMan]

VMI FG... no good... still 14-13

[TheValleyRaider]

Lehigh defense stiffens, VMI attempts the FG, no good

Still 14-13, 9:59 left in the 3rd

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

VMI misses FG, Lehigh still leads 14-13. The offense has to do something!! Their D has been on the field the entire game.

[ChickenMan]

LU three & out... VMI ball at mid field

[TheValleyRaider]

LU three & out... VMI ball at mid field

and the punt gives VMI the ball at their own 45

[keydet71]

Patiently listening & waiting....

[ChickenMan]

LU... 1st & goal at the one

[TheValleyRaider]

TD Rath

21-13 Lehigh with 5:20 remaining in the 3rd

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

TD Lehigh, Now up 21-13. Their D has played a lot better this half depsite not getting much help. Hopefully they can continue the momunetum and finish strong.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh has a 99 yard TD drive. Lehigh leads 28-13 beginning of the 4th. Rath has 3 rushing TD's.

[TheValleyRaider]

Lehigh fumbles the punt, VMI recovers the ball at midfield

[ChickenMan]

LU fumbles another punt... at LU 9

[ChickenMan]

VMI forth & goal from the 5...

[ChickenMan]

VMI... TD

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh is doing everything in their power to keep VMI in this game.

[JMU Duke Dog]

How much time is left? Will VMI go for an onside kick?

[ChickenMan]

LU has made enough mistakes in this one to lose three games...

[ChickenMan]

VMI TD on INT... 90 yrds... going for two to tie it

[ChickenMan]

Penalty pushes two point attempt... back to the 18... attempt no good... 28-26 Lehigh

[TheValleyRaider]

Holy Cow!! :eek:

VMI picks it off, then returns it 90 yds for the TD

The defender does a flip going into the endzone, their 2 point conversion taken from the 18, no good

Lehigh still leads 28-26

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh leads 28-26, VMI's bid for 2 fails. This has to be the worst Lehigh's played in 7 or 8 years.

[JMU Duke Dog]

How much time is left? Will Lehigh turn it over again and give the game to VMI? This shall be quite an interesting end.

[ChickenMan]

Lehigh don't do much worse if they were trying to give this game away

[ChickenMan]

LU fumbles KO!!! but recovers the ball... :p

[JMU Duke Dog]

It sounds as Lehigh has no confidence in their ability (right now it is inability) to hold onto the football.

[Engineer91]

3:23 left

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh 3rd and 6 with 1:50 left. If Lehigh gets the first down it's over.

[Engineer91]

D'oh lost my connection to the broadcast :mad:

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

D'oh lost my connection to the broadcast :mad:

Me too, now someone is dialing the phone!! What is going on.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

VMI has the ball near midfield under a minute. This is hard to listen to.

[TheValleyRaider]

It's back.

46 sec., but VMI moving the ball, and Lehigh takes a timeout

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

VMI ball at Lehigh 42 with about 50 seconds to go. I can't believe this.

[ChickenMan]

Lehigh had better hope VMI doesn't have a FG kicker... ;)

[Engineer91]

Interception Lehigh!!!!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

INT Lehigh!! Get on the bus and get the hell outta Lexington!!!

[ChickenMan]

INT Lehigh!! Get on the bus and get the hell outta Lexington!!!

Now I'm worried about Holy Cross... :eek:

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Now I'm worried about Holy Cross... :eek:

Lehigh couldn't have played any worse. Lehigh did most of the damage themselves. I think they'll respond and play well at Harvard next week. They cant play any worse and still win.

[JMU Duke Dog]

If any, how much will Lehigh drop in the rankings after being fortunate to come away with the win while playing poorly?

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

If any, how much will Lehigh drop in the rankings after being fortunate to come away with the win while playing poorly?

Depends what happens the rest of the day. They're a much better team than they showed today, they couldn't get outta there own way. I still wouldn't drop them outside the Top 15 that's for sure.

[hawkineer]

Now I'm worried about Holy Cross... :eek:
You only need to worry if UD plays as absolutely pathetically as LU did. That was freakin' embarrassing. How the heck do you fumble two punts in a row by having your own player run into the receiver? Why the heck are you not running Rath at 1st and goal from the nine late in the game? VMI couldn't stop him all day. It was without a doubt the worst effort by a LU team since '97. Not to dimish VMI's efforts, but LU give them at least 16 points (INT return, 2 muffed punts, offside on a punt followed by a personal foul face mask on a sack). Geez! :eek:

If they play like this next week at Harvard, the Patriot League is going to lose to the Ivies again. :mad:

[keydet71]

Patiently listening & waiting....

Much better than I anticipated. Lehigh, did you "keep us in the game" or did our defense play you tougher than you imagined?

Nonetheless, patience is still a virtue..

[lugo02]

Last time Lehigh had a bye week, fall 2002 they played just as bad, almost losing to Princeton. They went on to have the worst season that I've witness including losing for the first time to Lafayette. Lembo said back then that he would avoid scheduling a bye week. I guess he forgot.

[DTSpider]

Great to see VMI put up a fight. It would be nice to see them improve the program a little.

[hawkineer]

Last time Lehigh had a bye week, fall 2000 they played just as bad, almost losing to Princeton. They went on to have the worst season that I've witness including losing for the first time to Lafayette. Lembo said back then that he would avoid scheduling a bye week. I guess he forgot.
Me duth think you have your years mixed up. Lehigh went undefeated in 2000. That's the year the smoked W. Illinois and then got smoked by Delaware. 2000 was Higgins last year.

I think it was actually 2002. That was the mediocre 8-4 year, losing to Penn, Towson, Colgate, and Lafayette.

[colgate13]

If any, how much will Lehigh drop in the rankings after being fortunate to come away with the win while playing poorly?

A win is a win. I can't see them dropping any. Good teams find ways to win even on days they're playing poorly.

[ngineer]

Mountain Hawks had 7 fumbles (lost 2), 3 interceptions, NINE penalties...and still win the game?!?!?!? Listened to the whole game on radio. Sounded to me that Lehigh was certainly superior in ability, but just played stupidly and without focus. When focused, they moved the ball at will. 99 yard drive was great to listen to. Just like at Delaware--Lehigh took control of game in third quarter to go up by 15 and should have put it away. Unbelievable fumbles on two punt returns, caused by LU's own blocker backing into the returner, back to back, to keep VMI in game. Rath is running roughshod, and they throw the ball inside the VMI ten, returned 90 yards.
I can't remember a worse played game in ten years--the only silver lining is still finding a way to win the game when the wheels have fallen off. Seems like all the Patriot schools have had this horrible turnover/shoot self-in-the-foot game, and today was Lehigh's turn.
Part of this is coaching issue--this many mistakes reveals the kids were not mentally ready to play this game. Clearly, after halftime, Lehigh took command of the game and good adjustments were made. Luckily, VMI made a few stupid mistakes of their own to help balance out Lehigh's.
I've always said if a team has 5 turnovers it will lose--but when the other team reduces the takeaway ratio to -2 by it's own miscues, then the opportunity for survival is there.
Now, onto Cambridge. I believe the importance of that game will help the focus to return. Not to dis VMI, but I think the kids read too much about how they would walk away with this game. We all know over confidence is a killer and it almost got another victim today.

[cosmo here]

Last time Lehigh had a bye week, fall 2000 they played just as bad, almost losing to Princeton. They went on to have the worst season that I've witness including losing for the first time to Lafayette. Lembo said back then that he would avoid scheduling a bye week. I guess he forgot.

Lafayette leads the series 73-62-5. Lehigh had lost a few more times to Lafayette before that game.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Mountain Hawks had 7 fumbles (lost 2), 3 interceptions, NINE penalties...and still win the game?!?!?!? Listened to the whole game on radio. Sounded to me that Lehigh was certainly superior in ability, but just played stupidly and without focus. When focused, they moved the ball at will. 99 yard drive was great to listen to. Just like at Delaware--Lehigh took control of game in third quarter to go up by 15 and should have put it away. Unbelievable fumbles on two punt returns, caused by LU's own blocker backing into the returner, back to back, to keep VMI in game. Rath is running roughshod, and they throw the ball inside the VMI ten, returned 90 yards.
I can't remember a worse played game in ten years--the only silver lining is still finding a way to win the game when the wheels have fallen off. Seems like all the Patriot schools have had this horrible turnover/shoot self-in-the-foot game, and today was Lehigh's turn.
Part of this is coaching issue--this many mistakes reveals the kids were not mentally ready to play this game. Clearly, after halftime, Lehigh took command of the game and good adjustments were made. Luckily, VMI made a few stupid mistakes of their own to help balance out Lehigh's.
I've always said if a team has 5 turnovers it will lose--but when the other team reduces the takeaway ratio to -2 by it's own miscues, then the opportunity for survival is there.
Now, onto Cambridge. I believe the importance of that game will help the focus to return. Not to dis VMI, but I think the kids read too much about how they would walk away with this game. We all know over confidence is a killer and it almost got another victim today.

I'm not panicing either. I just don't think the team was very focused and VMI came out playing very hard on homecomming. Most of what Lehigh's problems were, were self inflicted, although VMI did make some nice plays as well. If Lehigh gets their head on straight for next week they'll be good to go. Every team has a game like this during the course of the year against a team they should be handily. The ability to overcome adversity and escape with the win hopefully will be a character builder.

[lugo02]

Lafayette leads the series 73-62-5. Lehigh had lost a few more times to Lafayette before that game.
Yeah Lehigh lost a few more before then. but my relationship with Lehigh began in 98 and the 2002 lost was the first for me. At least my class '02 never lost to Lafayette.

[JMU Duke Dog]

A win is a win. I can't see them dropping any. Good teams find ways to win even on days they're playing poorly.

I think Lehigh deserves to drop after playing poorly.

[colgate13]

I think Lehigh deserves to drop after playing poorly.

I don't think any team that wins deserves to drop. A win is a win. Should we drop Delaware because Holy Cross hung with them for a good portion of the game?

[GannonFan]

I don't think any team that wins deserves to drop. A win is a win.

Nah, still early in the season - a poor win can drop you - all depends on the circumstances.

[colgate13]

Nah, still early in the season - a poor win can drop you - all depends on the circumstances.

So should UD drop for not beating HC to a pulp? HC, much like VMI, has been a down program. Shouldn't a top program like UD have smashed HC? I didn't listen to the game, but following the score it was close for 3+quarters.

[ngineer]

So should UD drop for not beating HC to a pulp? HC, much like VMI, has been a down program. Shouldn't a top program like UD have smashed HC? I didn't listen to the game, but following the score it was close for 3+quarters.

Agreed there, 13. I'm very frustrated after having listened to our numerous attempts to throw away this game today. However, after sober reflection tonight, the fact we won this game against a team that was psyched to knock us off on homecoming--a senior laden team looking to go out with something to remember--to make so many mistakes, physically and mentally, and still win says alot about the physical ability of this team. Based upon what else is going on I don't think Lehigh should be penalized for winning the game. However, I don't think we should be rewarded, either.

[GannonFan]

So should UD drop for not beating HC to a pulp? HC, much like VMI, has been a down program. Shouldn't a top program like UD have smashed HC? I didn't listen to the game, but following the score it was close for 3+quarters.

Like I said, it's all circumstances - who won and lost around them, exactly how did the close win come about, things like that. Just looking at the final scores and decding from there is silly. If you did that you would think WKU had a better game today versus Auburn than they did just because they tacked some scores at the end to make the game look a little more respectable. In the games we're talking about here, Lehigh did a lot to keep VMI in the game with tons of turnovers in bad spots, but also had to have VMI shoot themselves in the foot with a celebration penalty before trying the missed game tying 2 pt conversion, and yet still stopped Lehigh on the next possession to eventually get the ball back and drive into Lehigh territory in the last minute before turning it over. UD and Holy Cross were tight for awhile but UD did manage to go up 35-17 until HC scored a late TD and even with that UD let the clock run out at the end of the game indies HC's 5. There's always a lot more to the game than the final score. With that said I'm not sure I'll drop Lehigh at all - I haven't looked at the other teams around them to see if I should. But, at this point in the season, it's certainly a possibility. If this happened deep in November with 9 games already in the bank, I'd be much, much less likely to do the same. It's all about the circumstances.

[Tribe4SF]

I don't know what I'll do with Lehigh this week. If you'd told me VMI would be in this game without Sean Mizzer, I wouldn't have believed it. The turnovers hurt, but Lehigh returned a fumble for a TD and two of their scoring drives were less than 40 yards. The Mountain Hawks join the Tribe as a "jury's still out" team.

[ChickenMan]

The 'jury' is out on most of I-AA... ;)

[ngineer]

I don't know what I'll do with Lehigh this week. If you'd told me VMI would be in this game without Sean Mizzer, I wouldn't have believed it. The turnovers hurt, but Lehigh returned a fumble for a TD and two of their scoring drives were less than 40 yards. The Mountain Hawks join the Tribe as a "jury's still out" team.

The reason for the short field drives was due to kickoff and punt returns of 60 and 40 yards. I don't think we need apologize for having some speed this year. ;) The fourth td was at the end of a 99 yard drive in 10 plays. HOwever, I do agree, there are unanswered questions about this team--which should be addressed this weekend in Cambridge, Mass.

[lugo02]

I think Lehigh deserves to drop after playing poorly.
Me thinks JMU Duke Dog is still mad that they had to travel to Bethlehem for the playoffs last year. You had the last laugh by winning the championship.
Get over it!

[HensRock]

So should UD drop for not beating HC to a pulp? HC, much like VMI, has been a down program. Shouldn't a top program like UD have smashed HC? I didn't listen to the game, but following the score it was close for 3+quarters.

YES! Normally, I think Lehigh and Delaware should both drop. However, there is so much mediacrity elsewhere in I-AA this year, I'm not sure what to do.