Author: Chuck Burton

Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He's executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series. Reach him at: this email or click below:

OPINION: The All Dakota FCS National Championship Game Won’t Make Any New FCS Fans, Which Is Why Things Need to Change

This Sunday – idiotically slotted against the NFL – the FCS National Championship Game will feature North Dakota State and South Dakota State in what will likely be the least watched ABC National Championship game in our lifetimes.

#Rivalry158 Preview, Lehigh at Lafayette

Many have said it’s something you should do at least once in your life. Whether you’re a Lehigh person, a Lafayette person, whether you’re from the Lehigh Valley, whether you consider yourself a college football fan, it’s a pilgrimage, a bucket list item.

OPINION: Great FCS Rivalries Like Montana/Montana State and Lehigh/Lafayette Seem To Thrive And Survive No Matter What Is Happening

For a long, long time – especially this year – I thought that college football might be dying, especially at the FCS level. But this week, especially, I am starting to realize that isn’t the case. The great Rivalries survive, because that’s what they do.

Lehigh At Holy Cross Game Preview, 11/05/2022: Mountain Hawks Have One Goal, To Stop The Coronation

WORCESTER, MA – Watching last week’s thrilling Holy Cross/Fordham game as someone who’s watched a lot of Lehigh football in my life, it was hard to not get flashbacks. The thrilling 53-52 win by Holy Cross (8-0, 4-0) over Fordham (6-2, 2-1) was unquestionably the game of the year in the Patriot League, if not […]

Bucknell At Lehigh Game Preview And Fearless Prediction, 10/22/2022: Two Teams In Desperate Need To Taste A Win

If you’re a numbers person, it might be best to skip down to the end, because this Saturday, the Bucknell Bison (0-6, 0-2) will be traveling to Bethlehem to take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1-6, 1-1) in a battle between teams that, to put it mildly, are desperate to get into the win column.

Mountain Hawks Left Wondering What Might Have Been After Mistakes Doom Lehigh To A 29-17 Defeat

PRINCETON, NJ – It was a beautiful late autumn day at Princeton stadium, a perfect afternoon for football. And for a half, at least, it was a very good afternoon for Lehigh football as well. The halftime score read Lehigh 10, Princeton 10, and Mountain Hawk fans had every right to be excited. Heavy underdogs […]

Lehigh at Princeton Game Preview And Fearless Prediction, 9/24/2022: The Ecstasy, And The Agony, Of Mountain Hawk Trips to Old Nassau

I do not know whether in this game (slated to kick off at 3pm), in this 62nd meeting of the series, Lehigh (1-0, 1-2) will experience a win or a loss against Princeton (1-0, 0-0). What I do know is there is enough of a rivalry between the two schools that I can tell you a little bit about the ecstasy and agony of these matchups.

Richmond at Lehigh Game Preview And Fearless Prediction, 9/9/2022: In The Lord Of the Rings Universe, The Mountain Hawks Win This Game

You are probably coming to this preview to get a breakdown on the big game in Murray Goodman Stadium this weekend, where Richmond (0-0, 1-1) will take on Lehigh (1-0, 1-1) in a really tough out-of-conference battle for the home team. Indulge me for a moment, though, while I talk Lord of the Rings.

Lehigh “Just Wins, Baby” – Mountain Hawks Survive Georgetown, 21-19

Despite getting outgained 422-306; despite losing the turnover battle (Lehigh turned it over twice, Georgetown 0 times); despite giving up four first downs with penalties and running 30 fewer offensive plays than the Hoyas, the Mountain Hawks lined up with 1:04 to play with the ability to deny Georgetown’s two point conversion and preserve the win – and they did so, putting them, at least for now, atop the Patriot League standings.

Lehigh at Georgetown Game Preview And Fearless Prediction, 9/9/2022: Mountain Hawks Approach Critical Conference Game With Confidence

Despite the fact it’s only the second game of the season, it’s hard to overstate the importance of this game to establish either Lehigh (0-0, 0-1) or Georgetown (0-0, 1-0) as Patriot League contenders in 2022.

Lehigh at Villanova Game Preview And Fearless Prediction, 9/2/2022: Don’t Call It A Rivalry, But Call It A Challenge

When I look at Lehigh’s 2022 season opener this weekend at Villanova, I see the ingredients of a possible rivalry, but the truth is, the game between the Mountain Hawks and Wildcats is not a rivalry.

Lehigh Football Preview: With Plenty To Prove, Mountain Hawks Look To Build On Last Year’s Wins

There is also something that feels different about this group than those of the last few years – a feeling that maybe, just maybe, the program is on the verge of turning a corner.

OPINION: Are We On the Brink of the Era of the FCS Superconference?

The CAA’s move to become a 13 team superconference begs a different question for the FCS – what if that’s the only way forward for any number of smaller FCS conferences? Are we on the brink of a new era, where five, six, and seven member conferences are a thing of the past?

Montana State’s Extraordinary Year Ends Up Putting The Bobcats In Frisco. How Did They Do It?

After hiring head coach Brent Vigen in January – and opting out the the spring season – they find themselves with a 12-2 record and this time facing North Dakota State in Frisco to possibly win their first National Championship in in 37 years. How did they do it?

Sluka’s John Elway Impression Lifts Holy Cross To Last-Second 13-10 Win Over Sacred Heart

The 35 yard spiral from Sluka to Coker was on the money – and Coker came up with it and fell in the end zone, and with it, gave Holy Cross their first-ever FCS Playoff win in five tries.

The 157th Meeting of “The Rivalry” (Lafayette at Lehigh) – Game Preview, Drink Of the Week, And Fearless Prediction

This Saturday, college football’s most-played Rivalry will contest its 157th meeting between the Lafayette Leopards (3-7) and Lehigh Mountain Hawks (2-8), and the hope is that it will be, well, normal.

The 157th Meeting of “The Rivalry” Means To Resume Bowl, And Party, Atmosphere

In terms of the Lehigh/Lafayette Rivalry, however, which resumes this weekend in the 157th meeting between these two schools, for Leopard and Mountain Hawk fans, I think, college football seemed to end on that day on November 23rd, 2019, and never really quite seemed to get back to the college football that fans once knew before they learned what COVID was and how it was to impact their lives.

Lehigh Ends Long Losing Streak, Beats Pennsylvania Rival Bucknell 38-6

In the 85th meeting between Bucknell and Lehigh on the football field, the Mountain Hawks rode a friendly home-like atmosphere on the road at Christy Matthewson Stadium to end a long consecutive game losing streak by a score of 38-6.

Fiery, Emotional Battle Between Holy Cross And Lehigh Ends With Crusaders On Top, 31-12

For three quarters, it didn’t really feel like a battle between a winless team (Lehigh, 0-8, 0-3) and a team still with an eye on a conference championship and an FCS Playoff appearance (Holy Cross, 6-2, 3-0).