Photo by: Hannah Ally
No. 8/9 Lehigh Continues Ivy Stretch With Home Game Vs. Yale
9/30/2025 1:43:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The middle game of a three-game stretch against Ivy League opponents has No. 8/9 Lehigh welcoming Yale to Goodman Stadium Saturday for Tackle Cancer, presented by Red Robin. The Mountain Hawks moved to 5-0 for the first time in 13 years with a 44-30 victory over Penn last time out. Senior Geoffrey Jamiel scored on a 20-yard run off a fake field goal in the third quarter to put Lehigh ahead for good. The Mountain Hawks hit the 300-yard rushing mark for a second consecutive week. Jamiel also caught eight passes for 132 yards and a touchdown and was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week. Yale moved to 2-0 on the season with a home win over Cornell in its Ivy League opener. The Bulldogs also own a win over Holy Cross.
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Lehigh has done well to control the ground game on both sides on the way to its 5-0 start. The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League and rank in the top five nationally in both rushing offense (247.6 ypg.) and rushing defense (69.8 ypg.). Lehigh hit the 300-yard rushing mark as a team for the second consecutive week with an even 300 against Penn, marking the seventh 300-yard rushing game for the Mountain Hawks since 2001. With junior Luke Yoder totaling 174 and then 173 rushing yards over Lehigh's last two games, the Mountain Hawks rank fourth nationally in rushing offense. Lehigh's rush defense has been equally impressive. The Mountain Hawks now rank third in the FCS against the run after limiting Penn to just 29 yards on the ground. The 29 rushing yards allowed were the fewest since Lehigh limited Princeton to minus-7 last season. Ironically both games were Lehigh's Family Weekend contests at Goodman Stadium.
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The elder statesman of Lehigh's wide receiver room, senior Geoffrey Jamiel has established himself as a leader on and off the field for the Mountain Hawks. Jamiel was Lehigh's top receiver in 2024, hauling in 60 receptions for 768 yards and eight touchdowns on the way to earning second team All-Patriot League honors. Jamiel had a huge day in the playoff win at Richmond, setting career highs with 10 catches for 137 yards, with his 54-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter giving the Mountain Hawks the lead for good. He had three 100-yard receiving games last season and had two-touchdown efforts against Bucknell and Colgate. The 2022 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Jamiel is coming off back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including a 132-yard effort in the win over Penn. He scored two touchdowns against the Quakers, including a 20-yard rush on a fake field goal that gave Lehigh the lead for good in the third quarter, and a 35-yard reception early in the fourth. Jamiel was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Quakers.
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Sophomore safety Mekhai Smith has been around the football a lot so far in 2025. Smith has all four of Lehigh's interceptions this season with one in four of the Mountain Hawks' five games this season. The Lower Merion, Pa., product made his first career interception late in the fourth quarter to seal the season-opening win over Richmond. He helped set the tone at Bucknell with an interception on the first play from scrimmage. Smith's interception against Penn came right after Lehigh's lone punt of the day and led to a Luke Yoder touchdown to put the Mountain Hawks up 37-27. If Smith picks off one more pass in 2025, he would have the most interceptions for a Lehigh player in a single season since Jarard Cribbs picked off seven passes in 2010.
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Saturday's game marks the second straight year that Kevin Cahill will coach against the school he worked at from 2012-2022. Cahill was on Tony Reno's staff for Yale's Ivy League championship teams in 2017, 2019 and 2022 and served as Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator in his final five years. Yale went 4-1 against Lehigh with Cahill on staff, with the lone Mountain Hawks win coming at the Yale Bowl in 2016. Lehigh assistant coaches Mark McMaster and Bobby Bozym coached on Yale's offensive staff under Cahill before following him to Bethlehem.
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Yale is off to a 2-0 start in 2025 with a 28-10 victory over Holy Cross in its opener and then a 41-24 win over Cornell in its Ivy League opener last weekend. The Bulldogs are seeking their first 3-0 start since their 2019 Ivy League championship season. Yale went 7-3 in 2024 with all three losses coming against Ivy League opposition. Dante Reno, son of head coach Tony Reno, is the Bulldogs' starting quarterback. He is completing 66 percent of his passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns over two games. Josh Pitsenberger has rushed for 269 yards and six touchdowns over the two games. Linebacker Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after making 17 tackles with half a tackle-for-loss in the win over Cornell.
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Lehigh and Yale have met 27 previous times with the Bulldogs leading the series 20-7. This series has been highlighted by streaks, as Yale won the first 12 meetings and then the Mountain Hawks won the next five. Yale has now won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series, including the last three meetings at Goodman Stadium.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after noon from Goodman Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-758-4263 during business hours.
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The Mountain Hawks will close out their stretch of three straight games against Ivy League opponents next Saturday when they travel to Columbia in the first meeting between the programs since 2013. Game time is set for noon from Kraft Field at Wien Stadium.
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Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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Lehigh has done well to control the ground game on both sides on the way to its 5-0 start. The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League and rank in the top five nationally in both rushing offense (247.6 ypg.) and rushing defense (69.8 ypg.). Lehigh hit the 300-yard rushing mark as a team for the second consecutive week with an even 300 against Penn, marking the seventh 300-yard rushing game for the Mountain Hawks since 2001. With junior Luke Yoder totaling 174 and then 173 rushing yards over Lehigh's last two games, the Mountain Hawks rank fourth nationally in rushing offense. Lehigh's rush defense has been equally impressive. The Mountain Hawks now rank third in the FCS against the run after limiting Penn to just 29 yards on the ground. The 29 rushing yards allowed were the fewest since Lehigh limited Princeton to minus-7 last season. Ironically both games were Lehigh's Family Weekend contests at Goodman Stadium.
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The elder statesman of Lehigh's wide receiver room, senior Geoffrey Jamiel has established himself as a leader on and off the field for the Mountain Hawks. Jamiel was Lehigh's top receiver in 2024, hauling in 60 receptions for 768 yards and eight touchdowns on the way to earning second team All-Patriot League honors. Jamiel had a huge day in the playoff win at Richmond, setting career highs with 10 catches for 137 yards, with his 54-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter giving the Mountain Hawks the lead for good. He had three 100-yard receiving games last season and had two-touchdown efforts against Bucknell and Colgate. The 2022 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Jamiel is coming off back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including a 132-yard effort in the win over Penn. He scored two touchdowns against the Quakers, including a 20-yard rush on a fake field goal that gave Lehigh the lead for good in the third quarter, and a 35-yard reception early in the fourth. Jamiel was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Quakers.
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Sophomore safety Mekhai Smith has been around the football a lot so far in 2025. Smith has all four of Lehigh's interceptions this season with one in four of the Mountain Hawks' five games this season. The Lower Merion, Pa., product made his first career interception late in the fourth quarter to seal the season-opening win over Richmond. He helped set the tone at Bucknell with an interception on the first play from scrimmage. Smith's interception against Penn came right after Lehigh's lone punt of the day and led to a Luke Yoder touchdown to put the Mountain Hawks up 37-27. If Smith picks off one more pass in 2025, he would have the most interceptions for a Lehigh player in a single season since Jarard Cribbs picked off seven passes in 2010.
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Saturday's game marks the second straight year that Kevin Cahill will coach against the school he worked at from 2012-2022. Cahill was on Tony Reno's staff for Yale's Ivy League championship teams in 2017, 2019 and 2022 and served as Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator in his final five years. Yale went 4-1 against Lehigh with Cahill on staff, with the lone Mountain Hawks win coming at the Yale Bowl in 2016. Lehigh assistant coaches Mark McMaster and Bobby Bozym coached on Yale's offensive staff under Cahill before following him to Bethlehem.
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Yale is off to a 2-0 start in 2025 with a 28-10 victory over Holy Cross in its opener and then a 41-24 win over Cornell in its Ivy League opener last weekend. The Bulldogs are seeking their first 3-0 start since their 2019 Ivy League championship season. Yale went 7-3 in 2024 with all three losses coming against Ivy League opposition. Dante Reno, son of head coach Tony Reno, is the Bulldogs' starting quarterback. He is completing 66 percent of his passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns over two games. Josh Pitsenberger has rushed for 269 yards and six touchdowns over the two games. Linebacker Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after making 17 tackles with half a tackle-for-loss in the win over Cornell.
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Lehigh and Yale have met 27 previous times with the Bulldogs leading the series 20-7. This series has been highlighted by streaks, as Yale won the first 12 meetings and then the Mountain Hawks won the next five. Yale has now won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series, including the last three meetings at Goodman Stadium.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after noon from Goodman Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-758-4263 during business hours.
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The Mountain Hawks will close out their stretch of three straight games against Ivy League opponents next Saturday when they travel to Columbia in the first meeting between the programs since 2013. Game time is set for noon from Kraft Field at Wien Stadium.
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| Date: | October 4, 2025 |
| Opponent: | Yale Bulldogs |
| Kickoff: | 12:02 p.m. |
| Stadium: | Goodman Stadium/16,000/Natural Grass |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 5-0 overall, 2-0 Patriot League |
| Yale's record: | 2-0 overall, 1-0 Ivy League |
| Series: | Yale leads 20-7 |
| Video: | ESPN+ with Marco Socci and Mike Yadush '93 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com with Matt Kerr, Tom Fallon and Connor Brown beginning at 11 a.m. |
| Key Stats: | •Lehigh ranks in the top four in the FCS in both rushing offense (4th, 247.6 ypg.) and rushing defense (3rd, 69.8 ypg.). •The Mountain Hawks also rank in the top 10 in the FCS in team sacks (7th, 3.0 pg) and total defense (9th, 278.4 ypg.) •Junior Luke Yoder's 586 rushing yards rank third in the FCS. |
Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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