Saturday, October 5
Hamilton, N.Y.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
Colgate
Mountain Hawks visit Colgate Saturday in Patriot League opener
10/1/2019 12:50:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The start of the Patriot League season matches the league's two most historically successful programs as Lehigh visits Colgate. The Mountain Hawks used an impressive defensive performance to pick up their first win of the season last week, 10-3 over Merrimack. Lehigh held the Warriors to minus-25 rushing yards and recorded six sacks, with junior Erik Slater leading the charge with three. The Mountain Hawks open league play on the road against the defending Patriot League champions.
One of the highlights in Lehigh's victory over Merrimack was a defensive effort that limited the Warriors to just three points and minus-25 rushing yards. The minus-25 rushing yards were the fewest allowed since Lehigh limited Georgetown to minus-8 rushing yards in a 69-0 victory in 2002. Even if you take out the six Lehigh sacks, which accounted for 41 rushing yards lost, the Mountain Hawks limited Merrimack to 16 rushing yards, which would've been the fewest allowed by Lehigh since yielding just seven to Drake in the 2008 season opener. Lehigh leads the Patriot League in rushing defense, allowing 90.2 rushing yards per game, and has held three of its first four opponents under 100 net rushing yards.
While Lehigh's defense had struggled getting to the quarterback over the past two-plus seasons, the Mountain Hawks' sack attack came to life against Merrimack. Lehigh registered six sacks against the Warriors, the most for the Mountain Hawks in a single game since Lehigh racked up 10 in a win at Bucknell in 2011. Junior Erik Slater led the charge with three sacks. Junior Pete Haffner and freshmen Mikhari Sibblis and Jackson Michaels notched their first career sacks. Lehigh now has nine sacks through four games, after registering just 10 in 2017 and 15 last year.
Senior wide receiver Devon Bibbens has emerged as a top performer offensively for the Mountain Hawks. Bibbens has recorded back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including a career-high 133 yards versus Merrimack. The New Hope, Pa., native tied a career-high with seven receptions at UC Davis and then established a new personal best with eight catches last week. Bibbens accounted for Lehigh's scoring at UC Davis, catching a 67-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and then scoring on a four-yard pass on the final pay of the game. He added a career-long 80-yard reception last week against Merrimack.
Freshman TyGee Leach helped swing momentum Lehigh's way with a blocked punt in the third quarter of the Mountain Hawks' win over Merrimack. Leach came through with the first blocked punt for the Mountain Hawks since Tyler Cavenas blocked one against Holy Cross in 2017. Lehigh took over at the Merrimack 16 and four plays later, junior Austin Henning kicked a game-tying field goal. For his efforts, Leach became the second Lehigh defensive back to win a Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week award.
Colgate reached the FCS quarterfinals a season ago, bowing out against eventual national champion North Dakota State. The defending Patriot League champions are still looking for their first win of 2019 after losses to Villanova, Air Force, William & Mary, Maine and last weekend, a 38-3 setback at Dartmouth. Last year, Colgate boasted one of the top defenses in the FCS. The Raiders feature Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Nick Wheeler, who has 14 tackles and two sacks in five games. Aidan Gaertner leads the defense with 37 stops. Offensively, quarterback Grant Breneman, the league's Preseason Player of the Year has missed the last two games. Alex Mathews and Malik Twyman have both rushed for more than 160 yards. Garrett Oakey is the top receiver with 17 catches for 264 yards
Lehigh meets Colgate for the 58th time with the Raiders holding a 30-25 lead. There have also been two ties. Lehigh has won six of the last nine meetings, but Colgate's wins in 2012 and 2015 clinched Patriot League titles for the Raiders. Tom Gilmore was 4-9 versus Colgate during his time as head coach at Holy Cross. Lehigh has won three of its last four visits to Andy Kerr Stadium.
Lehigh and Colgate both open their Patriot League schedules on Saturday. The two most successful programs in league history, Lehigh and Colgate have won or shared a combined 22 league titles, including the Raiders in 2015 and 2018 and the Mountain Hawks in 2016. Lehigh and Colgate shared the 2017 league title, with the Mountain Hawks earning the FCS playoffs auto bid by way of their win in Hamilton. Since the start of the 2008 season, Lehigh is 8-3 in its first game against a league opponent, including league-opening wins against Colgate in 2016 and 2017.
Lehigh and Colgate are the two most successful programs in Patriot League Football history as they have combined to win or share 22 Patriot League titles in 33 years of Patriot League Football. With their annual matchup seemingly always having championship implications, it's unusual for the Mountain Hawks and Raiders to meet this early. From 1986-2015 Lehigh and Colgate met before October 15 just five times. Saturday's game marks the earliest meeting between Lehigh and Colgate since a 61-28 Colgate win on Oct. 4, 1997. Lehigh has faced Colgate in its league opener just three times in 33 previous seasons, a 20-9 win over the Raiders in game two, on Sept. 16, 1995, a 45-31 Lehigh win on Oct. 8, 2016 and a 41-38 Mountain Hawk victory on Oct. 7, 2017. The other three early meetings were in the first three years of the Patriot League's (then-Colonial League) existence: Sept. 20, 1986; Oct. 10, 1987; and Oct. 8, 1988. Lehigh won all three of those games.
Saturday's game kicks off just after 1 p.m. from Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on Stadium's over-the-air channel as well as the Patriot League Network, while audio coverage will be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320, LVFoxSports.com and the TuneIn App, beginning at noon.
Lehigh will have its second bye week next weekend and will return to action on Saturday Oct. 19 when the Mountain Hawks visit Fordham. The Mountain Hawks will then host back-to-back games at Goodman Stadium as Georgetown visits Oct. 26 as part of Family Weekend, presented by PSECU and Holy Cross comes to town Nov. 2 for the Salute to Service game.
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One of the highlights in Lehigh's victory over Merrimack was a defensive effort that limited the Warriors to just three points and minus-25 rushing yards. The minus-25 rushing yards were the fewest allowed since Lehigh limited Georgetown to minus-8 rushing yards in a 69-0 victory in 2002. Even if you take out the six Lehigh sacks, which accounted for 41 rushing yards lost, the Mountain Hawks limited Merrimack to 16 rushing yards, which would've been the fewest allowed by Lehigh since yielding just seven to Drake in the 2008 season opener. Lehigh leads the Patriot League in rushing defense, allowing 90.2 rushing yards per game, and has held three of its first four opponents under 100 net rushing yards.
While Lehigh's defense had struggled getting to the quarterback over the past two-plus seasons, the Mountain Hawks' sack attack came to life against Merrimack. Lehigh registered six sacks against the Warriors, the most for the Mountain Hawks in a single game since Lehigh racked up 10 in a win at Bucknell in 2011. Junior Erik Slater led the charge with three sacks. Junior Pete Haffner and freshmen Mikhari Sibblis and Jackson Michaels notched their first career sacks. Lehigh now has nine sacks through four games, after registering just 10 in 2017 and 15 last year.
Senior wide receiver Devon Bibbens has emerged as a top performer offensively for the Mountain Hawks. Bibbens has recorded back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including a career-high 133 yards versus Merrimack. The New Hope, Pa., native tied a career-high with seven receptions at UC Davis and then established a new personal best with eight catches last week. Bibbens accounted for Lehigh's scoring at UC Davis, catching a 67-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and then scoring on a four-yard pass on the final pay of the game. He added a career-long 80-yard reception last week against Merrimack.
Freshman TyGee Leach helped swing momentum Lehigh's way with a blocked punt in the third quarter of the Mountain Hawks' win over Merrimack. Leach came through with the first blocked punt for the Mountain Hawks since Tyler Cavenas blocked one against Holy Cross in 2017. Lehigh took over at the Merrimack 16 and four plays later, junior Austin Henning kicked a game-tying field goal. For his efforts, Leach became the second Lehigh defensive back to win a Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week award.
Colgate reached the FCS quarterfinals a season ago, bowing out against eventual national champion North Dakota State. The defending Patriot League champions are still looking for their first win of 2019 after losses to Villanova, Air Force, William & Mary, Maine and last weekend, a 38-3 setback at Dartmouth. Last year, Colgate boasted one of the top defenses in the FCS. The Raiders feature Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Nick Wheeler, who has 14 tackles and two sacks in five games. Aidan Gaertner leads the defense with 37 stops. Offensively, quarterback Grant Breneman, the league's Preseason Player of the Year has missed the last two games. Alex Mathews and Malik Twyman have both rushed for more than 160 yards. Garrett Oakey is the top receiver with 17 catches for 264 yards
Lehigh meets Colgate for the 58th time with the Raiders holding a 30-25 lead. There have also been two ties. Lehigh has won six of the last nine meetings, but Colgate's wins in 2012 and 2015 clinched Patriot League titles for the Raiders. Tom Gilmore was 4-9 versus Colgate during his time as head coach at Holy Cross. Lehigh has won three of its last four visits to Andy Kerr Stadium.
Lehigh and Colgate both open their Patriot League schedules on Saturday. The two most successful programs in league history, Lehigh and Colgate have won or shared a combined 22 league titles, including the Raiders in 2015 and 2018 and the Mountain Hawks in 2016. Lehigh and Colgate shared the 2017 league title, with the Mountain Hawks earning the FCS playoffs auto bid by way of their win in Hamilton. Since the start of the 2008 season, Lehigh is 8-3 in its first game against a league opponent, including league-opening wins against Colgate in 2016 and 2017.
Lehigh and Colgate are the two most successful programs in Patriot League Football history as they have combined to win or share 22 Patriot League titles in 33 years of Patriot League Football. With their annual matchup seemingly always having championship implications, it's unusual for the Mountain Hawks and Raiders to meet this early. From 1986-2015 Lehigh and Colgate met before October 15 just five times. Saturday's game marks the earliest meeting between Lehigh and Colgate since a 61-28 Colgate win on Oct. 4, 1997. Lehigh has faced Colgate in its league opener just three times in 33 previous seasons, a 20-9 win over the Raiders in game two, on Sept. 16, 1995, a 45-31 Lehigh win on Oct. 8, 2016 and a 41-38 Mountain Hawk victory on Oct. 7, 2017. The other three early meetings were in the first three years of the Patriot League's (then-Colonial League) existence: Sept. 20, 1986; Oct. 10, 1987; and Oct. 8, 1988. Lehigh won all three of those games.
Saturday's game kicks off just after 1 p.m. from Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on Stadium's over-the-air channel as well as the Patriot League Network, while audio coverage will be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320, LVFoxSports.com and the TuneIn App, beginning at noon.
Lehigh will have its second bye week next weekend and will return to action on Saturday Oct. 19 when the Mountain Hawks visit Fordham. The Mountain Hawks will then host back-to-back games at Goodman Stadium as Georgetown visits Oct. 26 as part of Family Weekend, presented by PSECU and Holy Cross comes to town Nov. 2 for the Salute to Service game.
| Date: | October 5, 2019 |
| Opponent: | Colgate Raiders |
| Kickoff: | 1:05 p.m. |
| Stadium: | Andy Kerr Stadium/10,221/FieldTurf |
| Location: | Hamilton, N.Y. |
| Lehigh's record: | 1-3 overall, 0-0 Patriot League |
| Colgate's record: | 0-5 overall, 0-0 Patriot League |
| Series: | Colgate leads 30-25-2 |
| Television | Stadium OTA with – Matt Marucci, Dave Owens and Morgan Uber. Check local listings to see if game will be televised in your area |
| Radio | Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 with Matt Kerr, Matt Markus and Steve Lomangino. Pregame coverage begins at noon. |
| Internet Broadcast: | Video at PatriotLeague.TV Audio at LVFoxSports.com, TuneIn App |
| Key Stats: | •Lehigh leads the Patriot League and ranks 15th nationally in rushing defense (90.2 ypg.) •The 10 points the Mountain Hawks scored in their win over Merrimack were their fewest in a winning effort since Lehigh beat Colgate 7-6 on Oct. 10, 1987. •Lehigh and Colgate have combined to win or share 22 Patriot League championships, including seven of the last nine (Lehigh in '10, '11 and '16, Colgate in '12, '15 and '18. The Mountain Hawks and Raiders shared the 2017 title with Lehigh winning the league's automatic playoff bid by way of head-to-head victory). |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | http://www.gocolgateraiders.com |
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