California dreaming
Lehigh faces a big challenge on the West Coast with UC Davis
When he was Lehigh’s defensive coordinator from 2000-03, Tom Gilmore had some memorable flights to road games.
Among them was a FCS playoff win over Western Illinois in 2000.
“That game was unbelievable,” he said.
He is hoping a trip to northern California this weekend will be just as memorable.
Gilmore and the Mountain Hawks are looking for their first win and will try to get it late Saturday against UC Davis. The Aggies are ranked fourth in one FCS national poll, fifth in another.
Kickoff is 10 p.m. Eastern time at UC Davis Health Stadium.
After dropping a home game and another less than 50 miles away at Villanova, Lehigh is hoping a different time zone will produce different results.
“This is our first true away game and a lot of people like away games because it allows you to get away from your home base and some distractions,” Gilmore said. “When you go on the road, you’re there for a purpose — to play a football game. There are challenges with the distance and time. That’s why we’re leaving Thursday already to get adjusted.”
Lehigh had its share of positives despite losing 38-10 at Villanova.
“You want to keep getting better and improving regardless of the outcome,” Gilmore said. “We know we need to make big improvements in every area. We’re disappointed in the overall results, but we’re seeing positive signs in all three phases.”
Lehigh leads Patriot League members in passing offense (269.5 yards per game) and rushing defense (147.5 ypg). Sophomore tight end Alex Snyder has five receptions for 79 yards in two games after Lehigh’s tight ends had just 10 total receptions in 2017 and 2018 combined.
The Mountain Hawks, however, have scored just one offensive touchdown in eight quarters and are averaging 1.9 yards per rushing attempt.
Fifth-year defensive back and captain Sam McCloskey said the team remains upbeat.
“Everyone is really excited to hop on a plane and go out to California, but the key is to remain focused, especially the younger guys,” McCloskey said. “After watching the film, we really think we can go out there and compete from a defensive perspective.”
McCloskey said the defense played well in the 14-13 loss to St. Francis and about 2 1⁄2 quarters of good football against Villanova.
“If we put four quarters together we can at least put our offense in a good position to come out and put some points on the board,” McCloskey said.
UC Davis played the University of California tough before losing 27-13 on Aug. 31 and followed it up with a 38-35 win at San Diego last week.
“They present a lot of challenges from a scheme standpoint,” Gilmore said. “They do some unique things that are innovative and enhance their personnel. It’s a fast, athletic team. It’s a really good football program. Their national ranking is very much justified.”
Lehigh, which is taking commerical flights to and from California, won’t return to the Lehigh Valley until Sunday night, which is why having a bye week next week is beneficial.
“The bye is coming at a real good time because of the distance and time change involved here,” Gilmore said. “It would have negatively affected our preparation if we had a game next week. The bye gives us time to get everybody back and kind of reset things. We also have a growing injury list and we’ll get some of those players back the following week [Sept. 28 vs. Merrimack].”
3 things to know
1. Lehigh hasn’t played UC Davis since the national Division II semifinals in 1977 when Catasauqua product Mike Rieker threw two TD passes and ran for a third in a 39-30 win in the Knute Rockne Bowl. The win earned the Engineers a date with Jacksonville State in the Pioneer Bowl for the Division II title. Lehigh snapped a 20-game home winning streak for the Aggies.
2. UC Davis is coached by Dan Hawkins who was the Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year in 2018. He was the head coach at Boise State from 2001-05 and again at Colorado from 2006-10 and also was a head coach with the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.
3. If Lehigh wins, it will have beaten a ranked team for the first time since knocking off New Hampshire in 2013 and the program would be 3-0 in games played in California. Lehigh hasn’t traveled by plane to a game since facing Liberty in the 2012 season.