Fordham at Lehigh
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (Interstat) — Fordham visits Lehigh on Saturday for an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Goodman Stadium, with the host Mountain Hawks carrying a 5-0 record against the 1-4 Rams.
Lehigh is coming off a 20-7 win at Penn. Quarterback Derek Morgan is the player to watch for the Mountain Hawks. In the win over Penn, Morgan completed 6 of 15 passes for 49 yards, rushed seven times for 31 yards and accounted for two touchdowns. He also passed for 73 yards and ran for 35 yards with a touchdown against Dartmouth, and he had a 2-yard rush at Georgetown. Luke Yoder added 74 rushing yards on 19 carries against Penn, while Trey Tremba ran seven times for 32 yards.
Fordham is trying to rebound from a 31-16 home loss to Stony Brook. Quarterback Gunnar Smith leads the Rams. Against Stony Brook, Smith completed 15 of 23 passes for 145 yards, ran 13 times for 34 yards and scored a touchdown. He threw for 141 yards and ran for 41 yards with three touchdowns in a win at William & Mary, and he passed for 116 yards at North Dakota State. Jamell James rushed 14 times for 114 yards and a touchdown against Stony Brook, while Yohan-Li Louis contributed on the ground, through the air and in the return game.
The forecast at game time calls for 80-degree weather. Lehigh has scored at least 20 points in each of its five games and has allowed 20 points or fewer in each. Fordham’s lone victory came at William & Mary; the Rams also have losses to Colgate, North Dakota State, Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook. The Mountain Hawks opened with a 35-10 win at Holy Cross, then beat Georgetown 45-14, William & Mary 44-20 and Dartmouth 24-20 before topping Penn.
Fordham opened with a 24-14 home loss to Colgate, fell 38-0 at North Dakota State and lost 45-7 at Coastal Carolina before beating William & Mary 52-27. Fordham has been held to 16 points or fewer in four of five games. Lehigh’s win over Penn followed a 24-20 victory over Dartmouth, a 44-20 win against William & Mary, a 45-14 victory at Georgetown and a 35-10 win at Holy Cross.
After Saturday, Fordham is set to host Richmond, Villanova and Lafayette before visiting Bucknell, hosting Georgetown and visiting Holy Cross. Lehigh’s upcoming schedule includes trips to Cornell, Villanova, Richmond and Lafayette, along with home games against Bucknell and Colgate.
Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Lehigh 51, Fordham 10.