Patriot League - Week 2

[carney2]

The powers that be at AGS have arbitrarily and arrogantly moved our Patriot League PREDICTIONS thread to the Lounge. They did so without notification and, so far, without explanation. Perhaps they object to the use of the term "poll." We have dropped it. Perhaps they object to our "keeping score." I will therefore cease that. (I will however "save" your submissions because uh - er -um - uh - I will. Of course, I shall not collate, tabulate, disseminate or otherwise infuriate our hosts with this information, shall I?xsmiley_wix ) I have requested an explanation of how our discussion differs from "SLC Week Two Predictions" and "SoCon week 2" which are apparently acceptable threads in this FCS Discussion forum, but it is, shall we charitably say, slow in forthcoming.

Enuf. We are now doing Patriot League PREDICTIONS. I will begin week 2:

Villanova @ LEHIGH: I would love to see the Squawks stuff this one down Andy Got-No-Respect-For-The-Patriot-League Talley's throat. First game (vs. Nova's second), replacing 17 starters, a CAA opponent - if my calendar said October, rather than September however, I'd be all over the feather heads in this one. Still, Talley will be sending forth his fifth consecutive edition of Mediocre Mildcats. Reality over wishful thinking in a close one: Villanova.

LAFAYETTE @ GEORGETOWN: The Leopards will be picking on someone more their own size this week and objective observers may get a peek at exactly what holes have/haven't been filled. LB has predicted that his Hoyas will "surprise one of the big kids" this year, and this is probably their best shot - early in the season against a team with some of those "holes." Still, ya gotta ask how far spirit and dreams can take you when you are outmanned at virtually every position and you don't have a Hollywood writer scripting your ending. Still competitive in the 4th quarter: Lafayette.

Massachusetts @ COLGATE: Before you get carried away with the final score of last week's UMass win over Holy Cross, bear in mind that, at one point, the score was 37-9 in favor of the FBS transfers. Biddle's Boyz may have gotten past their first game curse, but they have now been thrown into the deep end of the pool. Over early and over often: Massachusetts.

Albany @ FORDHAM: I was almost as thrilled with the Rams' first week OOC triumph as our old friend, Fordham. Perhaps the timetable for "wait til next year" has been advanced a little. Albany however, is a step up from a sorry-ass bunch of Rhodies. They went toe to toe with Colgate and were not embarrassed. Here's hoping that the Rams put up a real fight, but: Albany.

Stony Brook @ BUCKNELL: Tim Landis's bunch is still the most interesting, perplexing and mysterious group of footballers in this League. The win over OOC Duquesne was pretty much what I expected, even though I have no idea what to expect from this team. This is another tough call, but Stony Brook did not live up to expectations in beating Georgetown, while Bucknell came through: Bucknell.

HOLY CROSS is idle this week.

[carney2]

PREDICTIONS from BobbyMo:

I hate to make these so early, but I am not certain if I will have time later in the week. So here goes.

Villanova
Lafayette
UMass
Albany
Stony Brook

Hopefully I will do better than last week, but I sticking with NEC and former NEC homerism so who knows.

[carney2]

PREDICTIONS from LUHawker:

I think this week has some "easy" picks a couple of more difficult ones.

Here goes:

Lehigh over Villanova - Home field advantage, an experienced senior QB and a team and coaching staff that has figured each other out trumps a red-shirt freshman QB, a scholly-program and the benefits of having played a game already. Lehigh by 10.

Lafayette over G'Town - LC has too much for the Hoyas, although the Hoyas seemingly give Lafayette trouble, just not enough to win. LC by a couple of TDs.

UMass over Colgate - Colgate's defense should be more stout than that of Holy Cross, but Colgate's offense probably doesn't have the firepower to keep up. UMass pulls away in the fourth quarter. I'm sure many of the Gaters on this board will remind us that Colgate gives UMass fits, which is true, but at this early season juncture Colgate is probably not ready to steal this game.

Albany over Fordham - I picked against the Rams last week too and they surprised me, but I think a game Albany squad will be tough and looking for a win to prevent an 0-2 start. Albany by 3.

Bucknell over Stony Brook - Georgetown kept it close against SB, but Bucknell is better.

[carney2]

PREDICTIONS from Seawolf97:

Villanova @ Lehigh - Lehigh has too much - Lehigh 31 Villanova 20
Lafayette @ Georgetown- Georgetoown loses another tough one - Lafayette 38 Goergetown 17
UMass @ Colgate - UMass 34 Colgate 21 - Minutemen too much for Gate.
Albany @ Fordham- Albany needs this - with Hofstra and Montana ahead of them - Albany 24 Fordham 14

Stonybrook@ Bucknell- Non scholarship Stonybrook beat Bucknell in 2005.
Seawolves defense improves -Stonybrook 34 Bucknell 17

[carney2]

PREDICTIONS from TheValleyRaider:

Villanove at Lehigh Lehigh This first week showed some signs the PL might have snapped out of their OOC funk a bit. If Lehigh wants to justify that Preseason #1, beating a mediocre 'Nova side at home should continue the pattern

Lafayette at Georgetown Lafayette I toyed heavily with taking the Hoyas in the upset here, given their strong performances vs. the Pards and their good showing against Stony Brook. All that being said, Leopards survive an early scare to grab the early PL lead

Massachusetts at Colgate Colgate You might as well call me A-Rod, cuz I'm gonna HOMER all season long . Seriously though, Relph looked serviceable under center, and Colgate's exhibited a strong improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 in the past. UMass still winless in Hamilton

Albany at Fordham Albany Much tougher D than URI gives the Rams difficulties. Add to that the fact that Albany is smarting from blowing the Colgate game and losing to the Rams last year, and the Danes take this one. Combined with URI, a pair of good tests for us to see where Fordham really is this year.

Stony Brook at Bucknell Bucknell Bison finally win two games in a row, as they're a better side than the Hoya team Stony Brook hung on to beat last week.

[carney2]

PREDICTIONS from IvyTalk:

Lehigh
Lafayette
UMass
Albany
Bucknell

[carney2]

PREDICTIONS from Go Lehigh TU owl:

Did pretty good last week, hope to continue it this week.

Villanova at Lehigh: Lehigh-I think playing at home against a team that is coming in a little beat up after the Maryland game, per the 'Nova boards, should swing things in Lehigh's favor. If the hawks can avoid dumb mistakes, penalties turnovers and other mental errors i think they have the slightly better players. The inexperience factor will be very minimal especially in crucial area's, OL, QB, LB and Secondary, remember all the redshirts. Lehigh 34 Villanova 28

Umass at Colgate: Umass- Colgate will present Umass's offense a much stiffer test but i think the Raiders offense will struggle to move the ball. Colgate plays the Minutemen tuff but the defense eventually wears down. Umass 24 Colgate 10

Albany at Fordham: Albany- Fordham had a nice win last week but one has to believe Albany is a better team than URI. Albany's defense is legit and will give the Rams "O" fits all game. Albany 17 Fordham 6

Lafayette at Georgetown: Lafayette- Georgetown has always played the 'Pards tough and i believe they'll give them a little this time too. The Hoya's showed life in their game against a decent Stony Brook team moving the ball suprisingly well. Unfortunetly their D was terrible giving up over 500 yards. Lafayette 41 Georgetown 24

Stony Brook at Bucknell: Bucknell- Stony Brook's a competitive test for Bucknell and this game to me is almost a toss-up. However, i'll take the Bison at home just because. They get one step close to a 3-0 start. Bucknell 27 Stony Brook 21

[Seawolf97]

Thanks for staying with this !

I still see Lehigh over Villanova
Lafayette wins but not by much-Georgetown in it to the end.
Umass at Colgate - Umass has too much for the Gate-Minutemen win .
Albany at Fordham- Albany needs this win - Hofstra and Montana still ahead for them . Albany wins but close again.

Stonybrook at Bucknell- Seawolves defense needs to step in this one. Stonybrook but another close one.

[carney2]

PREDictions from ngineer:

Fearless predicitons for week 2:

1. Lehigh over Villanova in a close game. Lehigh will probably show some rust and the one concern is how recovered some of the walking wounded are. A number of leg injuries seem to be plaguing the Hawks early on. But Wildcats seems to have problems, too. Did nothing against Maryland, but then, were they expected to? Chip on the shoulder from last year will have Talley revving their engines. Still I see Lehigh winning, 27-20.

2. Lafayette will get a more spirited opposition this week at Georgetown, which has been improving on defense each year. The lack of offensive fire power is a concern, and against a Leopard defense that got hungry against Redd Fox, I don't see the Hoyas putting much on the board. Lafayette wins in a struggle, 21-7.

3. Colgate sounds like it's offense has only one cylinder--Scott; which will mean UMass will force Colgate to throw. So the unseasoned QBs will be put to the test. Raiders 'D' should be much stouter than what the Crusaders offered, so the game should be close, but the tundra won't be frozen,yet, so one has to give the nod to the Minutemen, 20-12.

4. Fordham proved many of us wrong last week, and I hope they prove me wrong this week, since I have to go with a stronger opponent than "Little Rhody" turned out to be. Having seen Albany last year, they will be a tough nut to crack. If this were later in the season, I might be inclined to go with the Rams, but at this point, I yield to the 'Dane Curse', Albany 17-14.

5. Stony Brook beat the Bison before, and is good enough to do it again; but I detect a resurgence in Lewisburg and what appeared to be a team that is getting comfortable with its system. Didn't panic against the Dukes who scored early and often, but then shut them down. I go with Bucknell in their home opener, 24-17.

[BobbyMo]

Thanks for doing this Carney, for a SECOND TIME :)

[letsgopards04]

Here are my predictions:
1. Villanova
2. Lafayette (I'm probably heading to DC for the game and I hope it goes well.)
3. UMASS (Although Colgate had a nice OOC win against Albany, UMASS has too much.)
4.Albany
5.Bucknell

[Pard4Life]

Here are my predictions:
1. Villanova
2. Lafayette (I'm probably heading to DC for the game and I hope it goes well.)
3. UMASS (Although Colgate had a nice OOC win against Albany, UMASS has too much.)
4.Albany
5.Bucknell

Wow you are a more dedicated fan than I am...

I HATE the drive through Maryland.... instead, I am going to Lehigh-Villanova and listening to the Pards on the walkman radio at the game.. I did this exact same scenario in 2004 (same tems no less) and it worked well!


The only long trip I might consider is HC if it is worth it, or a one-day Acela jaunt to Boston.

[Pard4Life]

Also, I am hoping for a repeat of that scenario... Lehigh was up 16-0 at the half and blew it 23-16... Pards won a tight game, 19-10 in DC.

[Pards Rule]

Pards need to put Georgrtown away early..And then need to focus on Penn. Must beat Penn.

[carney2]

Must beat Penn.

I have been lighting candles, burning incense and sticking pins in little Ben Franklin dolls since May.

[flea]

Villanova
Lafayette
UMass
Fordham :) why not :)
Bucknell

[Ken_Z]

carney or carnac?

you have made predictions for about six other posters so far. i eagerly wait to see who i am predicting this week. will you post my choices soon?

[Lafayette71]

Week 2 Predictions

Nova at LU-I really want to take Lehigh in this one, but I can't bring myself to do it, even in the spirit of PL comraderie. I've got a feeling the visitors will be fired up for this one. Villanova


UMASS at Colgate-the purple people eaters rallied late to make the score look close. I don't think that the Raiders can throw the ball around enough to do the same. UMASS

Lafayette at Georgetown-Did we learn anything about the 07 edition saturday? Probably not, but I still have to think they handle the Hoyas on the Road. Lafayette

Albany at Fordham-I was impressed by the Rams last week despite the prevailing opinion that URI may now go 0-fer. The Danes showed off the D last week, But not much going on for the offense. I think this one may be a coin flip Albany in the PL OOC game of the week.

Stony Brook at Bucknell-Bison did as expected in week 1. Brook got all they could handle from the Hoyas. Bucknell

[Pards Rule]

UMASS at Colgate-the purple people eaters rallied late to make the score look close. I don't think that the Raiders can throw the ball around enough to do the same. UMASS

[/B]

Did UMASS have the second and/or third string in when this comeback occured?

[breezy]

Re: the HC - UMass game. As has occurred too many times in prior years, HC gave up too many rushing yards and some easy scores -- a kickoff return for a TD, a two-big-plays 75-yard TD drive, a fumble that set up a short TD drive, and a shanked punt that resulted in the final FG. At the same time, HC mounted 3 long TD drives and scored the fourth on one play following a UMass fumble. Dropped passes hurt the HC offense in the first half. In sum -- some real negatives but some positives as well. (I listened to the UMass broadcast and the announcers never indicated that the first string defense was not in the game; on one occasion [early in second half, as best I recall] they even confirmed that the first string defense was indeed still in the game.)

For the coming week:

Villanova over Lehigh
Lafayette over Georgetown
UMass over Colgate
Albany over Fordham
Bucknell over Stony Brook

I don't understand the thinking of the AGS administrators -- they should be encouraging discussion of FCS games.

[Engineer91]

Views from the Pool

Villanova @ LEHIGH: Lehigh dives into their home opener, trying for a big splash over ‘Nova. Villanova gets out early while Lehigh works out the kinks. Villanova

LAFAYETTE @ GEORGETOWN: If the Pards keep their eyes off the gals sunbathing they should avoid being underwater at the end with a rock around their ankles. Lafayette

Massachusetts @ COLGATE: 'Gate’s venture into the deep end this week ends in a belly-flop. umASS

Albany @ FORDHAM: Ram’s kept their head above water despite 3 INT last week. Keep down the miscues else the Great Danes doggy-paddle to a victory. Fordham

Stony Brook @ BUCKNELL: Seawolves won their first heat over the Hoya’s but now must keep up with Bucknell. Bison put on a surge on the 4th lap to touch the wall first. Bucknell

HOLY CROSS treading water while idle

[carney2]

carney or carnac?

you have made predictions for about six other posters so far. i eagerly wait to see who i am predicting this week. will you post my choices soon?


Oh, Ken_Z, you have become my 2008 version of DFW, my 2007 AGS nightmare. I merely copied and moved the posts that were made in the Lounge while this thread was on hiatus.

I am, as I "speak," holding the envelope up to my head.

The answer: "Zero."

I now open the envelope to reveal the question:

"How many games will Ken_Z have picked correctly when I post his choices at midnight Saturday?"

[Lafalumni29]

My 'predictions' :
Nova
Lafayette - We learned the defense is pretty damn good. I don't care who we're playing. Holding any team to negative rushing yards is impressive. D-line looks a bit slow off the ball (scares me for HC) but stuffs the holes well.
UMASS
Albany
Stony Brook
Not a good week for the PL.

[carney2]

Did UMASS have the second and/or third string in when this comeback occured?

It's tough to get ole Mo back into your color Jersey once you've packed it in. Besides, Ricky Santos notwithstanding, Dominic Randolph is one of the best that the Minutemen will see this year.

[Ken_Z]

Oh, Ken_Z, you have become my 2008 version of DFW, my 2007 AGS nightmare. I merely copied and moved the posts that were made in the Lounge while this thread was on hiatus.

but DFW always seems so serious in his posts. how can you compare me to him?



I am, as I "speak," holding the envelope up to my head.

The answer: "Zero."

I now open the envelope to reveal the question:

"How many games will Ken_Z have picked correctly when I post his choices at midnight Saturday?"

i guess i should be thankful that keeping score in this game is not permitted.

my (extremely accurate and insightful) predictions for this week shall remain hermetically sealed on the porch of Funk and Wagnalls until Thursday.

[bison137]

My 'predictions' :
Nova
Lafayette - Holding any team to negative rushing yards is impressive.



This has always been one of my pet peeves about NCAA stats. Unlike the NFL, all sacks are recorded as negative "rushing" yards, so looking at the bottom-line rushing stats often isn't helpful. In Lafayette's case, they did do an impressive job vs the rush - holding Marist to +45 rushing yards on their 26 carries. (Marist also had sacks that accounted for -59 yards.)

More to the point, I have seen games where teams rushed for over 100 yards and yet ended up statistically with negative rushing yards due to poor pass protection. Talk about mixing apples with oranges.

[letsgopards04]

Pards need to put Georgrtown away early..And then need to focus on Penn. Must beat Penn.

I concur. Lafayette often gets good efforts from the Hoyas. For example was the Columbus Day weekend game a few years back in the crappy weather. Lafayette needs to pound away and grind the Hoyas into submission.

[Fordham]

Villanova @ Lehigh - Lehigh comes out of the gates strong - the extra week of preparation as well as a full year of Coen's system under their belts help scare the crap out of the rest of their PL brethren.

Lafayette @ Georgetown- G-town puts the PL on notice to NOT overlook a game against the Hoyas.

UMass @ Colgate - The one dimensional CU offense is obliterated by a UMASS D that is getting reamed this week for letting HC back in the game last week and is able to bunch up the line and just sit and wait for another handoff to Scott.

Albany @ Fordham - picking URI worked for me last week and I'm not one to tempt the PL/FCS gods. On a serious note, I'm still ecstatic about last week's win. It's also interesting to me that in the lead up to the URI game all I read was about how improved URI was supposed to be and how much they're returning, etc., and pretty much everyone picked us to not just lose but get trounced. Now I'm seeing a lot of posts saying that 'URI' is not too tough and will likley go winless ... and all just b/c of a loss to us. Look, I'm expecting a very choppy season this year but I will tell you that URI won't be the last team we'll surprise this year. After listening to the game I can tell you that we lead almost the entire time and, despite giving up the lead right at the end, we had the fortitude to pull out the 'W.' Both of these things are important b/c it's not like we were in it for a few fluke plays AND it also showed we have a QB who can win in crunch time. Those two things bode VERY well for such a young team. Again, I'm expecting some ups and downs and we could very well get pasted in one of these games but I really do think this is going to be a fun season in Ramland.

Stony Brook @ Bucknell - I have alot of respect for SB and I do think Bucknell will be in the PL 'mix', meaning that like us they may surprise a team or two but I do think that scholly SB knocks them off and will prove tougher than Duquesne was last week.

Regardless, GO PL!! Great start last week for the league.

[hc12]

predictions: VILLANOVA IN A CLOSE GAME WILL WIN DOWN THE WIRE BY 7LAFAYETTE WILL WIN BY 10 THE FRENCHY'S ARE TOUGH IN THIS GAME. UMASS WILL BLOW COLGATE OUT BY 20 THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE RUN ON THE MINUTEPUNKS,COLGATE WILL HAVE TO AIR IT OUT BUT THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN,THE BLITZ HAPPY UMASS D WILL THROW THE SINK AT THE QB,AND LAST I SAW THEY DO NOT HAVE A RANDOLPH CALLING THE SIGNALS.UMASS WILL HAVE 150 YARDS IN PENALTY'S.ALBANY BY 3 FORDHAM WILL GIVE THEM A FIGHT.STONYBROOK BY 3. GO HC SADER NATION

[colorless raider]

Colgate
Lafayette
Nova
Bucknell
Fordham

[DFW HOYA]

but DFW always seems so serious in his posts. how can you compare me to him?

You'd be serious too if you see what lies ahead for Georgetown for the next 10 weeks, much less the next five (Lafayette, Yale, Holy Cross, Cornell, Penn).

[dpd]

PL Prognostication:
villanova over lehigh
umass over colgate
bucknell over stony brook
albany over fordham
lafayette over georgetown

[LeopardFan04]

Lehigh
UMass
Stony Brook
Albany
Lafayette

[Pard4Life]

I concur. Lafayette often gets good efforts from the Hoyas. For example was the Columbus Day weekend game a few years back in the crappy weather. Lafayette needs to pound away and grind the Hoyas into submission.


We lost that game though..

[Pard94]

Villanova
Lafayette
Umass
Albany
Bucknell

[PeacockRaider]

Villanova @ Lehigh...In a close matchup, having already played a game this year is the difference Cats 24-21

UMass @ Colgate...In what has become a nice rivalry 'gate has always played umass tough, but running Scott 40+ will not be enough in this one Minutemen 24-10

Albany @ Fordham...The Yankees will score the most points in the Bronx on Saturday as Disch and co shutdown the Rams; Danes 10-3

Lafayette @ Georgetown...Leopards continue the trend of road team victories and defeat the Hoyas @ beautiful Multi Purpose field, hey at least they don't play on the roof anymore. Pards 27-7

Stony Brook @ Bucknell...Bison go to 2-0 with a last second field goal 20-17, inmates in Lewisburg go crazy!

[Fordham]

Hey - our favorite PL curmudgeon has now become THE AGS curmudgeon.

[Ken_Z]

You'd be serious too if you see what lies ahead for Georgetown for the next 10 weeks, much less the next five (Lafayette, Yale, Holy Cross, Cornell, Penn).


DFW, nothing wrong with being serious, just can't see my posting style being confused for being such. that's a rough schedule, but i see something very good happening for the Hoyas during that stretch. hey, wait a minute, this sounds like a serious post, i've got to cut this out and get back to form.

[letsgopards04]

We lost that game though..


I know that. I'm saying that we can't take the Hoyas lightly.

[JoltinJoe]

We will win this week. xthumbsupx

[LUHawker]

Not much love for Lehigh this week from our fellow PL posters. :(

[TheValleyRaider]

Not much love for Lehigh this week from our fellow PL posters. :(

Lehigh? What about Colgate xbawlingx xsmhx xnonono2x ;)

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Not much love for Lehigh this week from our fellow PL posters. :(

I noticed that too. The funny thing is if you read the CAA thread a lot of their fans are picking Lehigh. It should be a good game.

[Ivytalk]

PREDICTIONS from LUHawker:

I think this week has some "easy" picks a couple of more difficult ones.

Here goes:

Lehigh over Villanova - Home field advantage, an experienced senior QB and a team and coaching staff that has figured each other out trumps a red-shirt freshman QB, a scholly-program and the benefits of having played a game already. Lehigh by 10.

Lafayette over G'Town - LC has too much for the Hoyas, although the Hoyas seemingly give Lafayette trouble, just not enough to win. LC by a couple of TDs.

UMass over Colgate - Colgate's defense should be more stout than that of Holy Cross, but Colgate's offense probably doesn't have the firepower to keep up. UMass pulls away in the fourth quarter. I'm sure many of the Gaters on this board will remind us that Colgate gives UMass fits, which is true, but at this early season juncture Colgate is probably not ready to steal this game.

Albany over Fordham - I picked against the Rams last week too and they surprised me, but I think a game Albany squad will be tough and looking for a win to prevent an 0-2 start. Albany by 3.

Bucknell over Stony Brook - Georgetown kept it close against SB, but Bucknell is better.

Nailed it, square!xreadx

[Seawolf97]

Hopefully everyone is wrong about Stonybrook this Saturday. It would be good to go into the Youngstown game 2 and 0.xnodx

[BobbyMo]

Hopefully everyone is wrong about Stonybrook this Saturday. It would be good to go into the Youngstown game 2 and 0.xnodx

I've got your Seawolf back xnodx xnodx

[kardplayer]

This should be an easy week...

Lehigh
Georgetown loses
UMass
Albany
Bucknell

[Pard 82]

This should be an easy week...

Lehigh
Georgetown loses
UMass
Albany
Bucknell

kardplayer,
I like your picks, but not your team. xazzx

Villanova loses
Lafayette
UMass
Albany
Bucknell

[carney2]

Not much love for Lehigh this week from our fellow PL posters. :(

Not sure what you mean by "love," but at this point 12 have picked the Main Line Mildcats vs. 10 choosing the Fictitious Fowl. Seems to indicate that this should be a close game with no "sure" winner.

At this point 20 of last week's fearless forecasters have not been heard from. Ken_Z is leading this pack into his Friday Fog.

[Ken_Z]

At this point 20 of last week's fearless forecasters have not been heard from. Ken_Z is leading this pack into his Friday Fog.

have no fear, i am here to lead us out of the fog and into the darkness. by the way, i was supposed to be exaggerating when i said the number of Georgetown posters would return to two after last weeks loss.

anyway, moving forward, i share my week 2 visions:

Villanova 14 @ LEHIGH 21: maybe some Lehigh love, but really more Andy Talley hate. Talley swore no A10 team he coached would ever lose to one of those weak Patsy teams. welcome to the CAA Andy.

LAFAYETTE 16 @ GEORGETOWN 17: a bit of a reach? maybe, but we must try to save our newbie Hoya posters before they become extinct. besides, this pick just makes me feel good.

Massachusetts 24 @ COLGATE 14: unless there is some secret plan for artificial snow on the artificial turf. even in Hamilton, it's a week or two too early for real snow isn't it?

Albany 31 @ FORDHAM 17: by mid third quarter Dane96 is on the phone with the CAA commisioner demanding that he unilaterally and immediately replace Rhode Island with Albany in the CAA. when the commish says "no can do", the unflappable Dane immediately counterpunches with the threat to "start an America East conference and rip the CAA apart limb by limb."

Stony Brook 23 @ BUCKNELL 24: the Bison hit a three pointer from downtown at the buzzer to win the game. the diaper dandies improve to 2 - 0. that's awesome baybee.

HOLY CROSS 0 v. Bye 0: Nobody, not Southern Cal, not Texas, not the Buckeyes, not even App State, NOBODY has fared better against Bye than Holy Cross will this weekend. a second consecutive moral victory for the Crusaders. this is a team on the rise.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

HOLY CROSS 0 v. Bye 0: Nobody, not Southern Cal, not Texas, not the Buckeyes, not even App State, NOBODY has fared better against Bye than Holy Cross will this weekend. a second consecutive moral victory for the Crusaders. this is a team on the rise.

The real question is, Ken_Z, will any more Holy Cross posters show up after their impressive performance against "IDLE"?

BTW, I think you're nuts with your feel-good pick of Georgetown over Lafayette. I'm thinking if they lose by less than 21 points it would be a major upset.

[carney2]

BTW, I think you're nuts with your feel-good pick of Georgetown over Lafayette. I'm thinking if they lose by less than 21 points it would be a major upset.

Are you feeling the love? DFW? LB?

[njhoya2]

Ken Z is now the man with that pick.

[LUHawker]

Villanova 14 @ LEHIGH 21: maybe some Lehigh love, but really more Andy Talley hate. Talley swore no A10 team he coached would ever lose to one of those weak Patsy teams. welcome to the CAA Andy.


When did Talley say that? I know he's said some dumb things and looks down his nose at the PL, but how long ago was that. I hope we can stick it to the Cats again.

[CSU Girl]

Lets go Gate!

[bison137]

OK, I can make my picks now that I've had a chance to see those of KenZ:

Villanova by 3 over Lehigh
Lafayette by 20 over Georgetown
UMass by 17 over Colgate
Albany by 3 over Fordham
Bucknell by 6 over Stony Brook


Hope I'm wrong on each of the first four games.

[Franks Tanks]

Nova 21 Lehigh 17 -- I actually hope Lehigh wins, but I think they will lose a close one

Lafayette 33 Georgetown 14 --G-town talent is just inferior

UMass 28 Gate 7 -- Not too many folks will beat UMass this year

Fordham 17 Albany 14 -- Flip a coin here this one is close, I will go with the PL bretheren

Bucknell 28 Stony 21 -- I like Bucknell and the triple option

[Ken_Z]

When did Talley say that? I know he's said some dumb things and looks down his nose at the PL, but how long ago was that. I hope we can stick it to the Cats again.


sorry, it's not a real quote, just something he could easily have said given other comments. sticking it to Talley and the cats is always a noble objective.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

sorry, it's not a real quote, just something he could easily have said given other comments. sticking it to Talley and the cats is always a noble objective.

Ken_Z, what you did is called "paraphrasing". I certainly believed that coach Talley said something along those lines in the past. I DO remember coach Talley promising a Sunday practice for his team after the loss to Lehigh last year.

[Ken_Z]

BTW, I think you're nuts with your feel-good pick of Georgetown over Lafayette.

i'm comfortable with that psychiatric assessment of my condition. feel free to provide a weekly update on my level of insanity, i'm just getting started. my visions become clearer each week.

[LBPop]

Are you feeling the love? DFW? LB?

I'm feeling very concerned about Ken Z's mental health. xlolx

Thanks for the kind thoughts Mr. Z, but I hope we're not confusing sympathy for love. I'll put up my picks (spell that g-u-e-s-s-e-s) a bit later.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

My picks (and the press mash-up) is up on the blog.

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

I think some folks who live around the Botanical Gardens will be very happy to read my picks. xnodx


no Ken_Z, farms do not count as botanical gardens

[carney2]

i'm comfortable with that psychiatric assessment of my condition. feel free to provide a weekly update on my level of insanity.

Paranoid, schizoid, mild psychosis, but not yet a danger to himself and others - well, not others. Recommended treatment: Strict surveillance and the subject should repeat the following over and over until it sinks in:

"I will never again pick against the Pards."

[CrusaderBob]

Villanova
Lafayette
Massachusetts
Albany
Bucknell

And while HOLY CROSS may not be playing this week, they are most definitely not idle!

Gilmore and crew are busy getting their "one trick" refined to astonish the rest of the schedule, not to mention Penn and freakin' Teller! xsmiley_wix

[carney2]

With 23 hours to go until the first kickoff of week 2, here's what Kid Konsensus has to say:

Villanova over Lehigh
Lafayette over Georgetown
Massachusetts over Colgate
Albany over Fordham
Bucknell over Stony Brook
and
Holy Cross will not lose this week

27 people have recorded their opinions. Still looking to hear from lots of Colgate, Georgetown and Lafayette people.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Ol' Kid Konsensus doesn't think too highly of the Patriot League - he has them going a whopping 1-3 in the out-of-conference games, and I'm not sure by the time we hear from "midnight madness" in Worcester and Lewisburg that it won't be 0-4. If we go 2-2 this week in those games, do we crack open champagne? 3-1, does Carney streak naked through the streets of Easton?

If we go 4-0, do we tear down the goalposts in Hamilton?

[carney2]

Ol' Kid Konsensus doesn't think too highly of the Patriot League - he has them going a whopping 1-3 in the out-of-conference games, and I'm not sure by the time we hear from "midnight madness" in Worcester and Lewisburg that it won't be 0-4. If we go 2-2 this week in those games, do we crack open champagne? 3-1, does Carney streak naked through the streets of Easton?
If we go 4-0, do we tear down the goalposts in Hamilton?

The good citizens of Easton pray it aint so.

[LBPop]

Here goes... I write this with a total lack of conviction, but also with a tear in my eye:

Villanova just nips Lehigh. The one game of experience and the number of new faces at Lehigh tipped the scales for me.

Lafayette over Georgetown. The Hoyas played with heart and made virtually no mistakes. However, the size of the Stony Brook offensive line was the difference. The Pards score big against a game, but undersized Georgetown defense.

UMass over Colgate. UMass will be just too much for Colgate who ultimately will be outmanned.

Fordham over Albany. I would have picked the reverse if this were the opening week. But I'm sensing something good going on in the Bronx.

Bucknell over Stony Brook. I would love to see this go the other way and raise some optimism for Georgetown. However, my head tells me that Stony Brook's defense has some holes and that the Bucknell offense can give anyone headaches.

[Go...gate]

UMass over Colgate (with my head, not with my heart)

Fordham over Albany

Bucknell over Stony Brook

Lehigh over Villanova

Lafayette over Georgetown

[Andy]

Villanova over Lehigh--walking wounded gather three deep on both sidelines

Lafayette over GT--with our KOs coming down around the 15, watch out for Mitchell. Long, time consuming Pard drives kill clock, minimize spread offense. I hope.

FU over SUNY--feeling silly having not picked Rams last week

BU gets by SBU--set Landis era record eight straight quarters w/out QB suffering grievous bodily harm

UMASS over Gate--redshirts, transfers, admissions--the whole schmear, too much.

[DFW HOYA]

I'll share a lot of LBPop's picks this week.

Villanova over Lehigh. The Wildcats are in a bit of a downturn but the Maryland game gives them some experience ahead of Lehigh's season opener.

UMass over Colgate. Give Colgate scholarships and this is a different story; for now, go with the Minutemen.

Fordham over Albany. Another good win for the Maroon.

Bucknell over Stony Brook. SBU's defense is porous--heck, Georgetown put 28 on them! Seriously, I think Bucknell wins at home.

Lafayette over Georgetown. Three numbers in this one: 53, 2 and 2. Fifty three is the disparity between the Lafayette O-line (297 lb. average) and the Georgetown defensive line (244). Two is the number of yards PL Rookie of the year Charlie Houghton got last week, and he'll need a lot, lot more against a tougher LC defensive line. Finally, two is the number of wins GU has posted since the end of October, 2005, a by-product of the league's highest AI, the nonexistent facilities, and the inability to maintain any depth. At this point, Georgetown will not be favored in a single game all year, but you still hope for the best.

[Pard4Life]

Villanova 28, Lehigh 17 - I am going to this one tomorrow
UMass 37, Colgate 14
Albany 24, Fordham 20
Lafayette 24, Georgetown 14
Bucknell 17, Stony Brook 16

..then the Ivy massacre starts next week.. terrifc

[VT Wildcat Fan53]

Don't know much about the Patriot other than GT turned down Rob Reis because they thought he was "sloppy" whatever that means. I guess Fordham knew otherwise since Rob's been starting at LG since game #10 last year as a true freshman.

Villanova 24 @ LEHIGH 21. This is an upset, but it is going to happen
LAFAYETTE 38 @ GEORGETOWN 7: GT goes 1-10 this year.
Massachusetts 41 @ COLGATE 14. Colgate may be the most well coached team in the PL, but UMASS has too much. Coen goes wild without a pass rush in his face.
Albany 14 @ FORDHAM 17 Another upset. Call it the Reis Factor. xthumbsupx
Stony Brook 23 @ BUCKNELL 24 SB is good -- and is going to become extraordinarily good under Chuck Priore. However, he's only in Year #2. Bucknell pulls out a win in dramatic fashion at home.

[DFW HOYA]

LAFAYETTE 38 @ GEORGETOWN 7: GT goes 1-10 this year.


One? No guarantees on any game on this schedule, unless you're already penciling in that big win at Penn... xlolx

[NYHOYA]

One? No guarantees on any game on this schedule, unless you're already penciling in that big win at Penn... xlolx

The gurantee is Marist, disagree if you like but Gtown will win that game. As for the rest of them well they wont be favorites but coming out with a few wins is a completely reasonable prediction. Did you happen to see the Stony Brook game? Our offense had little to no run game and was still borderline phenomenal. I believe we were stopped once by the clock (on our last drive of the game) and once by the SB defense on our first drive. If our defense steps up and the O continues its succes (with possibly a little better run game) there are few teams in the PL that we can't at least compete with.

[NYHOYA]

Almost forget about the picks.

Nova over Lehigh: As someone previously mentioned the fact that this is Nova's second game and Lehighs first gives the cats a big advantage (as does there superior talent).

UMass over Colgate: wont be as close as the HC game was last week.

Albany over Fordham: Fordhams win last week was impressive, but Albany is a good team that should play better than they did last week, they win a close one.

SB over Bucknell: Some may argue that SB's D was poor against Gtown, their pass D may have been but their run D was not. I dont see Bucknell airing it out here so SB wins by a couple scores.

Lafayette over Gtown: I'd love to go for the homer/ upset pick here (even though you'd think I'd learn my lesson after last week). But my gut says were not gonna pull this one out. However, all you guys out there picking Lafayette by 30 or 40 points are way off. The talent gap is a lot smaller than you'd think, Lafayette has more depth and size but other than that their talent advantages are minimal. Gtown will be very competetive in this game but will end up losing by a TD.

[DFW HOYA]

Honestly, I think even the Marist game is a toss-up at this point. Four of the last five in the series have been settled by a TD or less, and Marist lost by only three last season in DC.

Marist is a much better team at home. In the last two games at Poughkeepsie, GU won on a blocked extra point in OT and lost by three two years later.

We can talk a few weeks from now as to why Georgetown is deep in the hole right now, and there are a lot of reasons why. Suffice to say that the impact players just aren't getting in the door.

[Rjm7272]

Alright, I think I'm gonna get in on this fun... (not that I'm expecting much out of myself...)

Villanova over Lehigh

Fordham over Albany

Lafayette over Georgetown

Bucknell over Stony Brook

Colgate over UMass (I'm not sure I'll ever be able to pick against the Raiders...)

[Franks Tanks]

Honestly, I think even the Marist game is a toss-up at this point. Four of the last five in the series have been settled by a TD or less, and Marist lost by only three last season in DC.

Marist is a much better team at home. In the last two games at Poughkeepsie, GU won on a blocked extra point in OT and lost by three two years later.

We can talk a few weeks from now as to why Georgetown is deep in the hole right now, and there are a lot of reasons why. Suffice to say that the impact players just aren't getting in the door.

Marist looked so terrible last week I cant imagine G-town losing to them.

[DFW HOYA]

Marist looked so terrible last week I cant imagine G-town losing to them.

Last season on the road, Marist was up 21-10 early in the fourth and was at midfield when it coughed up the ball with 1:39 to go, down only three.

I'm just saying that any team at home gets some intangibles in a close game.

[umassfan]

UMass over Colgate. Give Colgate scholarships and this is a different story; for now, go with the Minutemen.



Are you on crack? Colgate may not have scholarships but its not like their players pay to go there. If Colgate gave ships... they would be getting the same type of players they get now.

[carney2]

Marist looked so terrible last week I cant imagine G-town losing to them.

I'm with FT. After spending 60 minutes (actully 3 hours) with the Red Foxes last Saturday evening, I can't see them beating anyone outside of the MAAC, and particularly not any of their 4 PL opponents. Unless something really drastic happens, I'll be picking the Hoyas in that one.

[NYHOYA]

Are you on crack? Colgate may not have scholarships but its not like their players pay to go there. If Colgate gave ships... they would be getting the same type of players they get now.

Imagine your a HS football player looking to play in college, your choices are down to Colgate and UMass. UMass offers you a partial schollie, say half, Colgate offers you full. Where do you go? Now this is not a no brainer but if you have any sort of a head on you shoulders Colgates the choice due to the significantly better education. Hell I'd even pick Colgate if they both gave half or even if Colgate offered half and UMass full.

And yes it like their players pay to go there (at least a good portion of them do).

[TheValleyRaider]

Why is everyone so high on Bucknell? SBU has a much better team this year than they did when they beat Bucknell a few years ago.

Well, it is a Patriot League thread, so we're sticking by our boys, mostly.

Besides, Bucknell is a much better team than the 1-10 squad SBU beat in 2005 xreadx

[colgate13]

Imagine your a HS football player looking to play in college, your choices are down to Colgate and UMass. UMass offers you a partial schollie, say half, Colgate offers you full. Where do you go? Now this is not a no brainer but if you have any sort of a head on you shoulders Colgates the choice due to the significantly better education. Hell I'd even pick Colgate if they both gave half or even if Colgate offered half and UMass full.

And yes it like their players pay to go there (at least a good portion of them do).

Yea, that's about right. Colgate, and any PL team with scholarships, would have a much deeper pool to work with. Teams would get better.

[bison137]

Are you on crack? Colgate may not have scholarships but its not like their players pay to go there. If Colgate gave ships... they would be getting the same type of players they get now.



Based on that statement, I think you might want to get tested for hallucinogens. You may understand UMass football, but you clearly don't understand Colgate or the Patriot League.

Probably half of football players don't qualify for aid at Colgate, and many more only qualify for partial aid - and this is on top of the fact that at least 75% of the pool of players don't qualify for admission to Colgate on academic grounds. Also consider that many of their players are paying at least part of their education - and the cost of a Colgate education is about 3x the cost of a UMass education (more than 4x compared to in-state UMass students). A Colgate player receiving 50% of a full ride (tuition, room, board, fees, etc) is still paying over $23,000 a year.

If one assumes that Colgate is giving 57 equivalencies to their 90 players, then that means the CU players are paying more than $1,500,000 a year to go there.

[carney2]

Why is everyone so high on Bucknell? SBU has a much better team this year than they did when they beat Bucknell a few years ago.

No one was impressed with the performance of the Soggy Doggies vs. Georgetown last week. In fact, just the opposite.

and

Bucknell took care of business vs. Duquesne.

When in doubt, support Homer. Marge always does.

[LehighIn2007]

My Predictions for week 2:

Lehigh over Villanova
Lafayette over G-Town
UMass over Colgate
Albany over Fordham
Bucknell over Stony Brook

[carney2]

My Predictions for week 2:

Lehigh over Villanova
Lafayette over G-Town
UMass over Colgate
Albany over Fordham
Bucknell over Stony Brook

The original "rules" stated that all predictions had to be posted by midnight Friday. It's all for fun, after all, so you're in.

I guess this means that henceforth anyone beating the opening kickoff of the first game of the day is "in."

[Seawolf97]

Well, it is a Patriot League thread, so we're sticking by our boys, mostly.

Besides, Bucknell is a much better team than the 1-10 squad SBU beat in 2005 xreadx



HalfTime
Stonybrook 27 Bucknell 17

[Seawolf97]

Late in the 3rd quarter Seawolves 41 Bisons 20:) :)

[Seawolf97]

Once again Stonybrook doesnt meet expectations. So on to Youngstown St next Saturday night Oh! almost forgot

Stonybrook 48
Bucknell 20

I think we were a little tougher than the Dukes:D :D :D

[mainejeff]

Very impressed with Stony Brook so far!

[Seawolf97]

Very impressed with Stony Brook so far!



Thank You !

[carney2]

Once again Stonybrook doesnt meet expectations. So on to Youngstown St next Saturday night Oh! almost forgot

Stonybrook 48
Bucknell 20

I think we were a little tougher than the Dukes:D :D :D

Two Gs are forbidden on this board: gambling and gloating.

Still, a very nice win for the water logged lobos.

[Seawolf97]

Two Gs are forbidden on this board: gambling and gloating.

Still, a very nice win for the water logged lobos.



Sorry for a little gloating- we could very well get pounded next week against Youngstown State .
Good Luck for the rest of the seasonxpeacex

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

0-4 in OOC today by the PL, not a good week by any means. Next week a lot of the PL teams open up with the Ivy's. Hopefully everyone can get back on track.

[colgate13]

Eh, not a bad week either. Being realistic, there are plenty of positives coming out of the Colgate loss.

[ngineer]

Eh, not a bad week either. Being realistic, there are plenty of positives coming out of the Colgate loss.

I feel the same with our loss today against Villanova. Like last year's Albany game, we made some early mistakes that virtually handed VU their first score. THe way the team fought back from a 20-3 deficit to cut it to 23-20 said a lot. Defense got worn out in the end when a stop was needed. Lots of freshmen played today and some good things were seen. A win at Princeton will go a long way toward a successful season.

[TheValleyRaider]

Eh, not a bad week either. Being realistic, there are plenty of positives coming out of the Colgate loss.

Absolutely

Of course, it still stinks to see a big O-fer on the PL scoreboard for the weekend

[DFW HOYA]

September 15...other than Fordham, I think everyone else ought to expect the worst.

Colgate @ Dartmouth
Yale @ Georgetown
Harvard @ Holy Cross
Lehigh @ Princeton
Columbia @ Fordham
Lafayette @ Pennsylvania
Bucknell @ Cornell

[TheValleyRaider]

September 15...other than Fordham, I think everyone else ought to expect the worst.

Colgate @ Dartmouth
Yale @ Georgetown
Harvard @ Holy Cross
Lehigh @ Princeton
Columbia @ Fordham
Lafayette @ Pennsylvania
Bucknell @ Cornell

Maybe some of them, but expecting the worst vs. Dartmouth xeyebrowx

We may not be starting the PL-IL showdown off on the right foot this year though, so hopefully we don't fall too far behind in the first week

[ngineer]

September 15...other than Fordham, I think everyone else ought to expect the worst.

Colgate @ Dartmouth
Yale @ Georgetown
Harvard @ Holy Cross
Lehigh @ Princeton
Columbia @ Fordham
Lafayette @ Pennsylvania
Bucknell @ Cornell

Au contraire...Except for Yale/G'town, I'd consider Colgate and Fordham favored to win, with Lehigh and Lafayette in 'toss-up' games. Holy Cross will be an underdog, but capable of pulling off a win. Bucknell an underdog, but then, 'Big Red' hasn't played so 'big' of late. I think a 4-3 week with the Ivies is quite possible...xnodx

[DFW HOYA]

Season to date rushing totals for 2006 PL Rookie of the year, Charlie Houghton:

6 carries, 1 yard.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I feel the same with our loss today against Villanova. Like last year's Albany game, we made some early mistakes that virtually handed VU their first score. THe way the team fought back from a 20-3 deficit to cut it to 23-20 said a lot. Defense got worn out in the end when a stop was needed. Lots of freshmen played today and some good things were seen. A win at Princeton will go a long way toward a successful season.

I echo this after watching the replay. We were starting a slew of kids who were starting their first game (the entire front seven of the defense, both guards on the "O" line, our RB Pastore) and it was an up-and-down game as a result. If I was disappointed with one thing it was how the team responded after almost half of 'Nova's team went down with injuries/cramps in the second half, and we didn't have enough to pull back ahead.

Will be very very interested to see Lehigh's improvement to Week 2 at Princeton - a game I should be going to. xnodx