Colgate/Lehigh Preview Up

[Lehigh Football Nation]

It's up. I did mention that I'll be at this game, right?

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

"Colgate = starving cats in a corner."

[Go...gate]

This is always a good game, but I think Lehigh deserves to be favored by a TD, maybe two.

[TheValleyRaider]

I'm certainly not confident about our chances going in against a Lehigh team that seems to be hitting its stride. The offense has been getting rather predictable with its playcalling, so hopefully some changes and wrinkles can have a greater affect in this one. We need to get a few scores earlier in the game to get the offense going. If they get bogged down at any point, we could be in real trouble. I certainly understand any concerns the Hawks have about facing a team backed-up to the edge. Hopefully staring the abyss will drive them forward this week.

Go 'Gate Go! :hurray:

[ngineer]

I'm certainly not confident about our chances going in against a Lehigh team that seems to be hitting its stride. The offense has been getting rather predictable with its playcalling, so hopefully some changes and wrinkles can have a greater affect in this one. We need to get a few scores earlier in the game to get the offense going. If they get bogged down at any point, we could be in real trouble. I certainly understand any concerns the Hawks have about facing a team backed-up to the edge. Hopefully staring the abyss will drive them forward this week.

Go 'Gate Go! :hurray:

This is the converse of my point I made on LFN's blog. Lehigh needs to come out and get up by several scores. Colgate's a wounded dog and very dangerous; but if we can deliver some lethal shots early and get on top, then chances are the Raiders will be reeling. Plus, I don't see 'gate being a great 'come from behind' type of team. The longer we let 'gat 'hang in there' the tougher it will be.

[TheValleyRaider]

I'd like to be able to say we can win a game going blow-for-blow with someone. Truthfully though, I can't, not this season. Our 3 wins have been blowouts of Dartmouth, Georgetown and Fordham. The close games we've had were losses to Monmouth and Princeton, with Princeton being the only one where we went back-and-forth.

At some point I think we have to break out a big lead. Without a lead to protect (which plays to our defensive strength against the pass), we've had tight games where we get beaten and beat-up.

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

Lehigh is going for 3 in a row which i find pretty interesting. Lembo might not have been able to beat Tavani very much but he did pretty well against Biddle.

[ColgateTD]

Sagarin has LU at #138 with a 54.08 rating and CU at #186 with a 44.21 rating. I agree with all of you - 'Gate is not a big come-from-behind team this year, and LU is capable of putting up big numbers on us early in the game. If we don't hold on through the first quarter, katie bar the door!

It's interesting that we're looking up at the likes of Yale, Cornell, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, HC, Temple, etc. in the ratings. It's been a long time since I can remember 'Gate looking up at some of those teams. Definitely a rebuilding - or reloading - year for Colgate.

LU by 10 or 15 pts...

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Lembo was 3-2 versus Colgate, while Higgins was 2-3. (Before then was the Sweeney years for Colgate, which don't count :) )

Although Colgate has struggled at times to come from behind, I feel that the nature of this game is different. It's a league game; and Colgate's only shot to win at least a portion of the Patriot League title. Colgate's a desperate yet talented team that has no reason to give up on their season now.

There's nothing I'd like better than Lehigh winning by a couple of scores, but I beleive that Colgate and coach Biddle are too good to allow that to happen. Lehigh will have to be as good as they were against Holy Cross to win this game. :twocents:

[Fordham]

I watched the LU-HC replay last night on Fox Atlantic. Impressive performance on the road by the "Engineers".

My question for Gate fans is - how good is your Dline and overall run D? Lehigh looked completely dominant up front against HC. Again, very impressive. To have a smash mouth game and then the 'threat' of Threatt to run and throw makes that a very dangerous offense. If you guys aren't good at stopping the run it could be a very long day imo. Then, again, I never doubt the ingenuity or gamesmanship of a Biddle coached team, so if anyone in the PL could turn it around after a stinker like last week, it's them.

Other than that, I have to say that Randolph looks like an impressive QB for Cross. Having him as only a soph bodes well for HC's near future imo.

[cosmo here]

It's up. I did mention that I'll be at this game, right?

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com

"Colgate = starving cats in a corner."

I agree LFN . . the big PL games this year (HC @ Lafayette, Lafayette @ Colgate, Lehigh @ HC) have seen the teams in a "must win" situation win on the road.

HC had to win at Lafayette to prove they were legitimate, Lafayette had to win at Colgate to avoid getting its second loss, and Lehigh had to win at HC with Colgate and Lehigh coming up. Now Colgate is in the same situation that Lafayette was, coming off a tough league loss at home, and trying to avoid its second PL loss.

This is a very dangerous game for Lehigh.

[LUHawker]

This is a very dangerous game for Lehigh.

Agreed. I saw bits and pieces of the Lafayette-Colgate game and it seemed that LC just got some momentum and ran with it, even though Colgate looked good in the first quarter. Lehigh has some momentum now and if they can score early, I think Lehigh can make a strong showing, but Colgate will be pumped. If Lehigh can knock the wind out of their emotional sail early, I like our chances.

[Pard4Life]

I can finally come out of the closet...

Lets go Colgate! Although many questions remain... poor OL and DL play against Lafayette... don't know how that stacks up against Lehigh since I have not watched them much.

[cosmo here]

I can finally come out of the closet...

Lets go Colgate! Although many questions remain... poor OL and DL play against Lafayette... don't know how that stacks up against Lehigh since I have not watched them much.

I'm looking for that Colgate momentum going into next week's game with Holy Cross, a must win for the Leopards :thumbsup:

I pretty much agree with everything said before - if Colgate can establish its running game early and Saraceno can make some plays out of the pocket, Colgate will be tough. Their defense is always there, and they really did a pretty good job on Lafayette except for the two long TD plays and the final drive where we just wore them down. Very few sustained possessions though, fortunately we hit a couple big plays on them.

[ngineer]

I'm looking for that Colgate momentum going into next week's game with Holy Cross, a must win for the Leopards :thumbsup:

I pretty much agree with everything said before - if Colgate can establish its running game early and Saraceno can make some plays out of the pocket, Colgate will be tough. Their defense is always there, and they really did a pretty good job on Lafayette except for the two long TD plays and the final drive where we just wore them down. Very few sustained possessions though, fortunately we hit a couple big plays on them.

Yes, after seeing some of the tape, I agree that the score isn't indicative of a closer game. Hurt's run was great, though. Of course, 'big plays' are part of any game. Lehigh needs to shut down Scott as first priority. Saraceno has been erratic this year, and while he is very capable of making the big play, I'd force 'gate's hand in that direction in the first instance. LU's D has been coming up with some big plays of their own lately, and I think they'll be ready for Saturday. Offense will be it's steady self of late. We've been moving the ball all year--except earlier, we were stopping ourselves with penalties and dropped balls. It appears that phase is behind us and we're showing progress rather than regression or treading water. A good sign at this time in the year.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

As always ng, great analysis. For Lehigh, the big positive is the emergence of the "O" line against Holy Cross. What I liked the best about that game for us was the fact we smacked them down repeatedly, and at the end of the game Holy Cross seemed just too tired to try to get back into the game. If our "O" line can have another game like that, I like our chances.

[cosmo here]

I don't think being susceptible to the big play has been indicative of Colgate's defense to date, so we'll see if Lehigh is able to do the same this week.

It's been a while since the Colgate front 7 has been beat up like they were last week . . I think Lehigh will have some success running the ball, but maybe not to that extent, it's truly a "down" Colgate team if that happens again this week.

I know Lehigh had success against Clifton Dawson in his career . . how did they do against Scott last year, and Branch before that?

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I don't think being susceptible to the big play has been indicative of Colgate's defense to date, so we'll see if Lehigh is able to do the same this week.

It's been a while since the Colgate front 7 has been beat up like they were last week . . I think Lehigh will have some success running the ball, but maybe not to that extent, it's truly a "down" Colgate team if that happens again this week.

I know Lehigh had success against Clifton Dawson in his career . . how did they do against Scott last year, and Branch before that?


Lehighs OL and DL are both pretty good and have some beef. I think the OL had trouble adjusting from a zone blocking scheme under a lembo to a straight ahead move your guy out of the way blocking style under Coen. The OL has been the 1 unit that has raised its level of play that i think has had the biggest impact on the team; that and limiting stupid stupid mistakes. Lehigh has always done well shutting down Colgates backs. They held Scott in check last year and Branch to 30 yards in '04. What they've had trouble with is keeping Gates QB's containd i.e Brown in '02. Actually Lehigh has trouble keeping any somewhat mobile QB underwraps. If Lehigh can keep Saraceno from killing them with his legs i think Lehigh will be in good shape.

[TheValleyRaider]

What they've had trouble with is keeping Gates QB's containd i.e Brown in '02. Actually Lehigh has trouble keeping any somewhat mobile QB underwraps. If Lehigh can keep Saraceno from killing them with his legs i think Lehigh will be in good shape.

That could really be our saving grace on offense. Saraceno is certainly mobile, and mixing him up with Scott could open up the passing game. We can't get into obvious passing situations because that's where Saraceno likes to try and make things happen. This is usually where he starts forcing balls into coverage, leading to picks and stalled drives. More or less, this is how last year's relatively close game turned into a Lehigh rout by the end. He has definately run more draw plays this season, so the offense could revolve around the dual ground threat of Scott and Saraceno, with some short, safer passes to keep the defense honest. Saraceno is certainly a gamer, and I like that, but takes one too many risks at times, which against a team as opportunistic as Lehigh will cost us big.

[ColgateTD]

Our Dline didn't stop Princeton or Hurt of the Pards, and I don't think it up to stopping the Engineers. Anyone going to Goodman to see a close 28-27 thriller-style game is going to be very disappointed. I see a blow-out for LU and it really hurts me to say this. I just do not see 'Gate rising to the occasion. Too many young guys on both lines and a soph in Scott. The Senior leadership is lacking and only Saracino is a Sr. of consequence.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but I've never felt more negative vibes going into a CU-LU game....:(

I would advise CU fans to pack an extra sandwich and chips so you can retire to the tailgate area at halftime and at least listen to the game on the car radio - it won't be worth being in Goodman to see the horror of the second half..

[Go...gate]

A beer would taste good with that sandwich and chips, too...

Colgate's lines are young and undersized. They are getting good on-the-job training, though. If they keep working hard, this might be a hell of a football team in '07 or maybe '08.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I hope I'm wrong about this, but I've never felt more negative vibes going into a CU-LU game....:(

I must admit I'm kind of surprised about this. The loss last week to Lafayette must have been more demoralizing than I thought...

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I must admit I'm kind of surprised about this. The loss last week to Lafayette must have been more demoralizing than I thought...


I think they're all playing possum. I expect more from Colgate, there is pride on the line. A losing season will also hurt in the increasingly competitive recruiting battles.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

:nod:

I'm expecting a dogfight in any case, even if the Colgate fans have given up xlolx

[carney2]

I've read the comments here with interest.

Lafayette was the beneficiary of some big plays last week in Hamilton. True. But in the end the big plays only determined the margin of victory and not the final outcome. As the clock hit 0:00 there was little doubt because Colgate folded like a cheap suit (where in the world did that phrase come from?) in the 4th quarter. As the game wore on they were just manhandled in the trenches. They have some real problems up front.

A Colgate respondent saw some silver lining here because these young, but undersized linemen are getting the kind of experience that can only lead to great teams in 2007 and/or 2008. The problem with this "logic" is that young and undersized eventually becomes old and undersized - with the operative word being undersized. They either better start feeding these guys or Biddle needs to ask "Where's the beef?"

The Friday afternoon betting line is Lehigh by 13. Frankly, I don't see it any closer than this.

[ngineer]

Now I'm really getting nervous with all this crepe-hanging going on by the 'gates...and Carney picking by 13...this is still Colgate knowing that a loss ends any shot at playoffs AND a winning season. If they have any pride, they will play like a dangerous, wounded junkyard dog. I suspect Biddle will be pulling out all sorts of ***** from the back of the playbook.
BE ALERT!! (the world needs more lerts)....