Good defense not translating into wins
Numbers do show improvement but Lehigh’s record doesn’t reflect it
The stats don’t lie.
In 2017, Lehigh allowed 41 points and 477.7 yards per game.
In 2018, the Mountain Hawks gave up 35 points and 446 yards per contest.
Through 10 games this season, Lehigh has yielded just 21.8 points and 359 yards per game.
Those numbers prove what most have observed — the Mountain Hawks’ defense is drastically improved.
Unfortunately for first-year head coach Tom Gilmore and those who have played roles in the transition, the team’s win-loss record doesn’t reflect the defensive improvement.
Lehigh enters Saturday’s season finale and the 155th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry against Lafayette at Goodman Stadium with a 4-6 record and on its second threegame losing streak of the season.
While a share of the Patriot League title could be earned with a win and a loss by Holy Cross to Georgetown, a third consecutive losing season is guaranteed.
Gilmore is not satisfied with this season’s results but sees a bigger picture filled with promise considering 10 starters for the season finale will be either freshmen or sophomores.
“We’re not anywhere near where we want to be, but as the head coach I’m seeing things that a lot of other people may not see and that’s the development of the team and the program,” Gilmore said. “We’ve made a lot of strides in so many ways, maybe not enough to satisfy me or others, but you have to look at the improvement in some things on and off the field. We’re moving in the right direction.”
An injury-plagued offense has scored a total of 33 points in the three-game
slide. Lehigh has scored 21 or more points just three times.
Thanks to the defense, Lehigh has been competitive in every game with the exception of lopsided losses to nationally-ranked Villanova and UC Davis.
“We’ve been in a lot of one-score games and you can look at that two ways,” Gilmore said. “You can say you’re not winning the close games or you can say that you guys, regardless of the circumstances, you’re always playing well enough to be right in the game. I choose to look at that way because I’d rather be optimistic. We’re right there. We have a young team and we’ve improved dramatically.”
Gilmore said the culture, the level of accountability, the attention to detail and work ethic have improved.
The seniors can take satisfaction that the foundation has been set for future success after going 5-7 in 2017 (5-1 in the Patriot League, earning the league’s automatic NCAA playoff berth) and 3-8 in 2018.
Free safety Sam McCloskey, who took a medical redshirt to come back for a fifth season, said he’s happy he came returned.
“We put a good season together,” he said. “It wasn’t the best one. We wanted to win a championship and we had a shot at it, but we didn’t finish a couple of games. I’m still proud of the guys and we had a lot of fun during that four-game win streak.”
McCloskey said the combination of the hard-working players and the new defensive staff have made the defense a more stout unit.
Lehigh hasn’t lost to Lafayette since being routed 27-7 in the 150th meeting in 2014 at Yankee Stadium.
Last year’s game was a dominant 34-3 win. The defense set an immediate tone when Julian Lynn got a strip-sack on the first play and Davis Maxie went 43 yards for a touchdown with the fumble just 19 seconds unto the game.
Lafayette’s three points were the fewest scored against Lehigh since 2016.
“Defensively, there are a lot of different areas where you can see progress,” fifth-year defensive end Juwan Morrow said. “Everything I wanted in coming back and wanting to lay down a culture for the future of the program has been successful. There’s just one more thing I want to get done and that’s Saturday. The defense is definitely going to get after it.”