The Red Raiders have been on a roll unlike any PL team in recent years. Not just the winning streak, but the way they are winning with a dominating defense and an efficient offense. Last year's game between these two was a barn-burner, but in the year since, Colgate has simply stepped up their game, while Lehigh ran off the rails. Lehigh's season has been a debacle. The worst, imo, in 50 years. That can be rectified with a strong finish--even a hard fought loss to Colgate and a win over Laughyette would give a sense of promise for next year. But, can the Mountain Hawks be seen as a rational threat to what could be a 'perfect' season for the Raiders? This has traditionally been one of the more intense rivalries in the PL as both teams are 1-2 in being the 'winningest' programs since the PL began. Many years it has been these two battling for the League title, so it is somewhat of an anomaly to have these two meet with such opposite looking records.

Based upon this year's "body of work" one would expect Colgate to be favored by 30 points. But are the teams that different by that much, or with their big win last week over Bucknell, has Lehigh rediscovered its pride and chemistry that has seemed to be lacking since the second half of the Penn game up to last week's game? The OL has been the primary problem for Lehigh this year, losing two starters in August before the season began. It has been a constant tinkering with moving pieces and without a consistently good OL, not much else can go well. The defense, while showing signs of improvement, early on, seemed to have major relapses throughout the past seven weeks. While some of it I attribute to the offense not sustaining drives, thereby having the defense worn down in second halfs, there have also been the usual shortcomings seen in years past with players being out of position and poor tackling. So which Lehigh can Cogate expect to show up in Goodman Stadium? Also, for the recesses of the mind, the long range forecast for this Saturday in the Lehigh Valley is rain. With the "Great Equalizer" in the house, can the unthinkable happen? We have all seen big upsets in years past, but does this have the making of one? I couldn't help but think that when I saw how Ohio State barely escaped with a win over a lowly, 2-7 Nebraska team on Saturday.

Anyway, some thoughts to ponder as we wend our way down the home stretch.