The S&S picks:
1. Lehigh
2. Fordham
3. Colgate
4. Holy Cross
5. Bucknell
6. Georgetown
7. Lafayette
Thoughts:
1. Don't sleep on Colgate.
2. Tom Gilmore has a contract through 2018. Will he make it past 2017?
3. Lafayette won't finish last.
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The S&S picks:
1. Lehigh
2. Fordham
3. Colgate
4. Holy Cross
5. Bucknell
6. Georgetown
7. Lafayette
Thoughts:
1. Don't sleep on Colgate.
2. Tom Gilmore has a contract through 2018. Will he make it past 2017?
3. Lafayette won't finish last.
It's pretty easy to pick the Patsies in 2017. Lehigh is the class of the League, and the others sort out pretty much as Street & Smith predicts. I agree with DFW however, when he says that Lafayette will not finish last. Tavani left the offensive cupboard bare, but Garrett has trolled the entire country looking for QB talent. Don't know if he's found the right guy, but he will have 8 to sort out come August 3rd. On the other side of the ball, the Leopards have some talent, but cannot survive an endless series of 3-and-outs by their offense.
Oh yeah, in case you weren't aware, Garrett's Offensive coordinator and QB coach has resigned - before coaching even one game. I think that Coach Garrett can survive as his own OC, but probably needs someone to babysit the herd of QBs.
Cant disagree on paper picks. As usual every team has holes. Lehigh perhaps fewer but a large one at LB. If Pujols stays healthy think Tom' s boys could make a run at top 2. Gate solid but will Hunt have a QB for his O.
Pards wont finish last but not much higher. D will keep them in every game. Can Garrett fix the O?
I think it's going to be incredibly tight this year and agree there is no way Lafayette finishes in the cellar. They may surprise the most since a complacent program is about to get a nice change in culture at the helm. That has to provide a boost imo.
As much as you should be able to say this about all of them, Gilmore better be coaching like his job depends on it.
We are loaded on O. Our issue, as always, is whether or not we have a D who can stop a pee wee squad for the first time in a long time. I was VERY impressed with our new D staff but we'll see when we finally line up. What do the Bucknell guys have to say about John Bowes?
I find it hard to believe it will be anyone other than Fordham and Lehigh this year. Both teams are loaded with top-shelf FCS talent on offense. I don't see Colgate being much of a factor sadly. Their schedule is one again brutal and they suffered heavy graduation losses. They do have some good skill guys and a solid front 7 on D. OL and QB are extremely dicey though.
Lafayette will absolutely be improved! I think they could challenge for as high as 3rd. They're Fordham circa 2011 (1-10) to 2012 (6-5).
Holy Cross has Pujals, McBeath and not much else. Who is Pujals throwing to? I think Gilmore is cooked.
Bucknell's offense might actually be worse this year and Georgetown is still a stadium away from having a chance...
I do think Lehigh and Fordham will give the league some much needed national respect this year. I'm confident this is the year scholarships really pay off. Colgate got the ball rolling two years ago but there's another hurdle or two to cross. Both LU and FU could sniff the Top 10 by the end of the year if the D's improve imo. Lehigh was on the right track last year. They went from historically bad in 2015 to "nearly mediocre". If they can reach "pretty good" in 2017 it could be a huge year.
There won't be ONE patsy league team in the Top 15 but you think TWO will be in the Top 10!
https://media.tenor.com/images/aee72...76c0/tenor.gif
Too early yet for trolling citdog :). Think owl pretty accurate right now. We'll see how it plays out. Both Fordham and Lehigh have open issues that need to be resolved.
[QUOTE=citdog;2488892]There won't be ONE patsy league team in the Top 15 but you think TWO will be in the Top 10!
https://media.tenor.com/images/aee72...76c0/tenor.gif
Any Top 10 consideration for Lehigh will be answered against Villanova on 9/2. A loss there & a run of the table won't get them a sniff.
Touchdown New Hampshire