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Game Week

Lehigh Preview

The Bulldogs host the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Saturday at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 12 PM ET and the game will air on ESPN+.

Lehigh enters the contest with a 3-2 record with losses to Army and Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks are 1-0 versus Ivy League opponents as they defeated Princeton by a score of 35-20 in Bethlehem.

Lehigh utilizes two pocket passing quarterbacks in freshman Hayden Johnson (6’1”, 195 lbs.) and senior Dante Perri (6’3”, 205 lbs.). Johnson has had an impressive season for a first year with a 75.5% completion rate, 437 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Perri has a fairly strong arm but has struggled with accuracy completing just 51.0% of his passes for 387 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Freshman QB Matt Machalik (6’0”, 200 lbs.) has also entered games as a power rusher on short yardage situations. The offensive star is sophomore RB Luke Yoder (5’11”, 200 lbs.) who is very fast and displays the power of a much larger running back. Yoder averages 5.5 yards per carry and likes to run over linebackers and safeties. Freshman RB Jaden Green (5’9”, 175 lbs.) gives Lehigh a nice 1-2 punch out of the backfield with his dynamic athleticism. Lehigh’s offensive line averages 291.0 lbs. across the board and is a veteran unit with all five starting offensive linemen having previous starting experience in 2023. The line is led by fifth year senior C George Padezanin (6’3”, 285 lbs.), a 3-time team captain. The front has paved the way for 170.6 rushing yards per game and opened up large holes against Princeton’s defense. Lehigh leans heavily on the rushing attack which has enabled them to control the clock against opponents with an average time of possession of 32.14 minutes per game. The offensive front does have some vulnerability against the pass rush as they have allowed 8 sacks on the season. Sophomore WR Mason Humphrey (6’4”, 210 lbs.) is a matchup problem for cornerbacks and has the ability to haul in tough catches. Junior WR Geoffrey Jamiel (5’8”, 180 lbs.) is likely the quickest wideout the Bulldogs have faced to date this season and has 20 catches for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns. Junior TE Nick Williams (6’5”, 255 lbs.) is primarily used as a blocker with just 2 catches on the season. The key for Yale is keeping the Mountain Hawks out of the redzone as they have been very efficient scoring touchdowns on 14 of 17 redzone trips. The Bulldogs must force Lehigh into uncomfortable 3rd and 4th down situations where they have struggled to date with just 45.7% efficiency on 3rd downs and 36.4% efficiency on 4th downs. Yale will be without McDonough at defensive end for the first half and could be missing Yang after his injury last week, so finding a way to control the line of scrimmage while shorthanded will be critical.

Lehigh’s defense is led by 2nd Team All-Patriot League senior LB Mike DeNucci (6’0”, 225 lbs.) who has 37 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss through 5 games. Junior LB Brycen Edwards (6’0”, 220 lbs.) is another returning starter who has played well with 29 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. The defensive line has been very productive led by junior DL Matt Spatny (6’2”, 245 lbs.) who has racked up 21 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Junior DT TJ Burke (6’2”, 300 lbs.) has been difficult for opponents to block and has surprising speed for a defender of his size. Junior S Nick Peltekian (6’0”, 210 lbs.) was a 2nd Team All-Patriot League defender in 2023 and is second on the team in tackles with 34. Lehigh plays very aggressively on defense as they like to blitz often and force errant throws. The defense has racked up an impressive 7 interceptions on the season but there have been opportunities in the passing game for opponents if they are able to withstand the pressure. Princeton’s top wideout Luke Colella was able to haul in 5 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown on the Mountain Hawks, so finding creative ways to get Pantelis, Shipp, Felton, Nenad, Santiago and Yates the ball should yield success. Lehigh has allowed 148.6 rushing yards per game and has been susceptible at times to power rushing attacks. The Bulldogs will not want to find themselves in 3rd and long situations as the Mountain Hawks have limited opponents to just 38.3% efficiency on 3rd downs.

Freshman P Connor Poole (6’3”, 180 lbs.) averages 38.7 yards per punt and has had 5 punts that have been longer than 50 yards. Junior K Nick Garrido (5’8”, 200 lbs.) has only attempted one field goal all season which he missed. Jaden Green is a dangerous kick returner with a long return of 49 yards on the season.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Mountain Hawks!

26 replies on “Lehigh Preview”

To note Lehigh has been off since 10/5 . Good amount of time to implement new offensive schemes. .

Well The Department of Athletics has completely ignored and white washed . The Yale Football Team. What a classless act.
There’s no need to say anything else. Except Thank you V.C.

I believe she has no power and is just told what to do by the school President and the Yale Corporation. I will continue to attend and buy a season ticket and not let the elites ruin something I have enjoyed for 60 plus years.

There’s a new sheriff in town who may actually take some notice of complaints from Yale fans. She even responds to nobodies like me and can be reached at [email protected].
However, we must be concise and coherent lest we wear out our welcome.

I think each week we may get a pass interference penalty every time the opponent throws the ball.

3rd and 3. We are trying to kill the clock, so, of course, incomplete pass. So we blow a chance at a first down and even if we didn’t get it, taking another minute or more off the clock.

4th an 9. Yale stopped them. That’s how you put the game away. Something they couldn’t do last week.

Once again, passing on 3rd down when trying to kill the clock. And it wasn’t even a high percentage pass. They are driving me crazy.

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