Cornell

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Owl, I was there. Cornell clearly better top to bottom.

I watched the entire game attentively (along with K-State losing a heart breaker). Cornell got denied on 4th and goal, missed a short FG, failed to take advantage of short fields/turnovers etc. I did not see them as clearly better at all. Problem was, Lehigh sleep walked through the first 20 minutes of the game. By the time they woke up it was 17-7 and half.

While Lehigh does not have an abundance of talent, they do have some truly valuable pieces sprinkled about. It's up to the staff to squeeze every bit of goodness out of the roster! They lost by 3 points! That difference was there to be made up with being ready from the start/executing on offense/not getting beat on 3-4 big plays in the first quarter.

Like you, I am lukewarm with Hunt as OC. My hope was his head coach experience COMBINED with Cahill's OC experience would join forces and get the unit out of the depths of awful. They might not be awful but they're definitely a long ways away from being good....

[Old Timer]

Agree with you Owl. But, for me, after 50 years of being a loyal fan, it just getting harder to stomach coming up short most weeks. It just seems at times the school doesn’t give a s***!

[mookie]

Hard to win without any playmakers. Cahill should have turned over at least 1/2 his roster after taking the job.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Agree with you Owl. But, for me, after 50 years of being a loyal fan, it just getting harder to stomach coming up short most weeks. It just seems at times the school doesn’t give a s***!

I go back, barely, to the Taylor days! This is the worst stretch in my lifetime and honestly, I never thought I would see the program struggle this much. A down year or two? Absolutely, injuries, staff attrition, bad luck are going to happen which only worsens things given the limitations that exist at a PL school like Lehigh. However, this is closing in a lost decade of sorts. Most importantly, and sadly, a tragic decade too.

With that said, there is a path forward for success. Lehigh very easily could finish 3rd in the league. Lafayette, Bucknell, Georgetown and especially Colgate have issues; especially on offense. If you think things are bad in Bethlehem just be glad you're not a Colgate fan. They have bottomed out. I mean they are truly awful.The two PL's powers of 2+ decades are both in the gutter. I still have hope for Lehigh though. I am not writing off this season by any stretch given the schedule...

I expect another close game next week! Can they find a way to win?!?!

[Old Timer]

I will gut it out with you Owl!

[Lehigh74]

You really can’t blame Cahill for the quality of the roster. He was hired too late in the game to make a big difference recruiting wise. There are clearly some very good players just not enough. How he recruits next year will be the acid test to determine the future direction of the program. From a pure coaching standpoint, it’s much improved from last year. If we want to win some games now, we need to stop losing the turnover battle every week.

[Sundayamqb]

You really can’t blame Cahill for the quality of the roster. He was hired too late in the game to make a big difference recruiting wise. There are clearly some very good players just not enough. How he recruits next year will be the acid test to determine the future direction of the program. From a pure coaching standpoint, it’s much improved from last year. If we want to win some games now, we need to stop losing the turnover battle every week.

+1

Loved the play of some of the underclassmen today. Yoder provided a bolt of excitement.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

You really can’t blame Cahill for the quality of the roster. He was hired too late in the game to make a big difference recruiting wise. There are clearly some very good players just not enough. How he recruits next year will be the acid test to determine the future direction of the program. From a pure coaching standpoint, it’s much improved from last year. If we want to win some games now, we need to stop losing the turnover battle every week.

+1

Loved the play of some of the underclassmen today. Yoder provided a bolt of excitement.

I genuinely don't believe the talent is any worse than it was in 2007-2009 when Lehigh was losing a lot of ugly, close games. Coen and company were still able to recruit guys like Lum, Spadola, Chagani, Groome, Colvin, Kurfis, Barkett,some excellent OL,etc which set the table for 3 straight 10 win seasons. I'm not trying to use that as a barometer, I'm simply saying, this isn't a roster filled with a bunch of D2 and D3 players. There's obvious holes but there's pieces to work with. The staff must start to make the difference as the season progresses then fill in the gaps with recruiting and 3-4 transfers.

The way they started the game today was unacceptable! Dartmouth lost to a damn good UNH team 24-7. As it is, win next week! It will be within reach!

[jimk72]

Hired Dec. 19th, it’s pretty difficult to “turn over half the roster”. Give the man at least this year with the inherited slim roster and one full recruiting cycle. At the very least general karma is pointed up. On to Dartmouth!

[mookie]

Cahill played things by the book rather than force-ranking his team. Now he's stuck playing with Gilmore's hand. Not a good move.