Holy Cross

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross has fired back...

14-14 12:34 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Defense is getting burned by the big play...again. That TD before half can't happen!

21-21 0:19 2Q

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Holy Cross 28 Lehigh 24 Final

Same script we've been seeing for a looong time. Far too long. Defense battled their butts off but the offense couldn't generate enough explosive plays/consistency to win. The punt return to the HC 20 that resulted in no points and the 3 and out after the defense stopped them on 4th and 1 were key moments in the second half.

[LU808]

Holy Cross 28 Lehigh 24 Final

Same script we've been seeing for a looong time. Far too long. Defense battled their butts off but the offense couldn't generate enough explosive plays/consistency to win. The punt return to the HC 20 that resulted in no points and the 3 and out after the defense stopped them on 4th and 1 were key moments in the second half.

Not to mention the long TD pass given up by the young secondary.

[LUEngineer]

We have to admit that we have come a long way to become competitive with Holy Cross after having beaten Bucknell that beat Colgate. League Parity appears to be in sight which is a good step for new coaches.

Admittedly the Patriot League is pathetic so the benchmark is weak but nevertheless there is light at end of tunnel.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

We have to admit that we have come a long way to become competitive with Holy Cross after having beaten Bucknell that beat Colgate. League Parity appears to be in sight which is a good step for new coaches.

Admittedly the Patriot League is pathetic so the benchmark is weak but nevertheless there is light at end of tunnel.

The league is not pathetic but the reality, very clear reality at 2-7, is Lehigh is still not good enough to break through in any real meaningful way. These close loses are really starting to mount up. With Colgate (who beat Lafayette in Easton today) up next then the 'Pards the odds seem to suggest another 2-9 seaon that will be looked back upon with many couldas and shouldas. Hopefully this group is able to change that narrative to finish out the year.

Holy Cross is in trouble next week. Army beat undefeated Air Force by 20 in Colorado Springs. Even so, I can't help but think they're going to back their win into the auto-bid after Fordham beats Lafayette next week.

[Justafan]

Just a couple of observations

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. The TD just before the half IMHO was nearly indefensible. The receiver was well covered, but Pesansky threw that ball in the one spot that could not be defended.

A little bit of data, Lehigh has scored a total of 58 points in the second half all season. That is less than 1 TD per game. Not that our offense was potent in the 1st either (103) points in 9 games but I suspect teams are making adjustments that we don't/can't re-adjust to. We have only scored 17 points in the 3rd quarter.

Just saying.

[ngineer]

Another frustrating loss, as noted by some above, as a 'coulda, shoulda' game, of which we've had several. I feel that the second half "fall off" may be due to wearing down of our lines. Today, it seemed the DL was well over-matched, both in size and experience as Cross was able to keep running it down our throats. Very little pressure on the QB--the one big sack resulted in causing a nice turnover, but noted the lack of blitzing. Probably as an attempt to give the secondary an extra cover man, but, still, one of the few blitzes by the corner got the turnover. The big "home run" before the half was a killer, but the DB was just a step behind. That was a well thrown ball, and, of course plenty of time to throw.

I liked the aggressive attitude taken by Cahill in going for it several times on fourth down; the fake punt was tremendous, and the onsides attempt was worth the shot, though unsuccessful. That attitude filters down, as seen by our punt returner. Certainly, the 'saders have more talented personnel than we do, but the fact that we came out and had the game in doubt deep into the fourth quarter was good to see. Still, we cannot be satisfied with just having made the game 'interesting'. I hope this gives the kids a sense of 'momentum' that can carry them to a win on the 'tundra' next week. Obviously, after the news from Hamilton, that will not be easy, but hopefully another building block to #159.

[Sundayamqb]

Gotta hand it to Chuck -- he had HC by three, very close again (though today's margin should have been 11, thanks to a classy HC playing conservatively at the end)!

With 229 yards rushing, Fuller bulldozed us (I sure hope we have a better plan -- and fewer arm-tackle tries -- for Leopards' stellar RB). Three TDs given up of 34 yards of longer. HC QB was only 11 of 19 for 158 yards, but made some key passes.

The inconsistency on D and O is unfortunate -- coaching issue, youth issue?? I don't know how many times I saw HC appear to change the offensive play after Lehigh lined up. And other times just jam it up the middle over and over again.

As bad as this season has been (two wins), it could have been worse, with noncompetitive games. The reality is Lehigh is a combined 12 (scored 8 points total less than opponents) points away from being 4-0 in the PL with two games to go. That's better than I expected.

Still given what looks like some exciting young talent on both sides of the ball (D had some great plays, as did Johnson on O and the fake punt -- and Yoder is really fun to watch as he wanders for 100 yards-plus), they sit at 1-3 in the league.

Today's aggressiveness was great -- and with this record, it pays to be the spoiler; team has nothing to lose. I hope we see that for L-L game, have some great success, and give us significant hope for 2024.

[LU808]

Just imagine what this season would have looked like if Gilmore and crew were still coaching.

As a comparison what would our record have been?

What would the close games have been (if any)?