Bucknell Rumor

Back-to-back PL champs 2016 and 2017.... but need to get back to relevance in the national FCS scene.
TMH
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by TMH » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:06 pm

Go Lehigh TU Owl wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:51 am Both coaches enter their gigs with a lot to prove so motivation shouldn't be an issue. I think there's a reason why the best head coaching jobs Cecchini could land are Valpo and Bucknell. Arguably 2 of the 10-15 worst programs in FCS. The hurdles in Lewisburg are well documented.

Gilmore enters a much better situation but his resume is equally as questionable. I'm hopeful the defense is improved but until I see it happening I'll fail to believe it. Especially knowing/watching how poor the Gilmore-Kashurba defenses were in Worcester. Overall, statistically they were average to below average by PL standards for Gilmore's entire tenure.

Of all the hires in the league Chesney is the best one without a doubt. He won't be i Worcester long but his ceiling will be higher than Gilmore's, Cecchini's and Garrett's imo. I'll reserve judgement on Conlin until after this year. I have a large enough sample size from the other guys....
I respectfully disagree on a few points. I'm not seeing a Lehigh program in good shape at all. I think we can agree that the defense is in shambles. All of the offensive fire power is gone on offense. Our kicking game is a complete unknown. There is no real known commodity at QB which can very much inhibit the productivity of our young corps of receivers. The roster size is exceedingly small and our recruiting class prior to TG's arrival was generally considered to be near the bottom of the PL. In the month since TG arrived, the staff had to be remolded. The current recruits had to be contacted and mollified. Still the 2nd installment of recruiting has provided some of our best talent at least on paper.
As for Gilmore's record. I don't expect him to stay 14 years here so I'm focusing on the HC turnaround. He inherited a team that was 1-12 and took them to a winning record in his 2nd year. In his next 4 years, they finished no worse than 7-4. In years 4 through 8, HC finished no worse than 2nd in the PL. At Lehigh he walks into a program with a rich history, ample support but a team in disarray. If we can get anywhere near the same degree of improvement from him here, I'll be delighted but I'm not setting the bar all that high in Year 1. The real test begins in Year 2 IMHO.


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van
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by van » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:37 pm

having a hard time seeing the disagreement, but I agree that Gilmore has more up side at Lehigh than Chick at Buckyland and both teams are in shambles based on recent history
Go Lehigh TU Owl
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by Go Lehigh TU Owl » Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:10 pm

TMH wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:06 pm
Go Lehigh TU Owl wrote: Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:51 am Both coaches enter their gigs with a lot to prove so motivation shouldn't be an issue. I think there's a reason why the best head coaching jobs Cecchini could land are Valpo and Bucknell. Arguably 2 of the 10-15 worst programs in FCS. The hurdles in Lewisburg are well documented.

Gilmore enters a much better situation but his resume is equally as questionable. I'm hopeful the defense is improved but until I see it happening I'll fail to believe it. Especially knowing/watching how poor the Gilmore-Kashurba defenses were in Worcester. Overall, statistically they were average to below average by PL standards for Gilmore's entire tenure.

Of all the hires in the league Chesney is the best one without a doubt. He won't be i Worcester long but his ceiling will be higher than Gilmore's, Cecchini's and Garrett's imo. I'll reserve judgement on Conlin until after this year. I have a large enough sample size from the other guys....
I respectfully disagree on a few points. I'm not seeing a Lehigh program in good shape at all. I think we can agree that the defense is in shambles. All of the offensive fire power is gone on offense. Our kicking game is a complete unknown. There is no real known commodity at QB which can very much inhibit the productivity of our young corps of receivers. The roster size is exceedingly small and our recruiting class prior to TG's arrival was generally considered to be near the bottom of the PL. In the month since TG arrived, the staff had to be remolded. The current recruits had to be contacted and mollified. Still the 2nd installment of recruiting has provided some of our best talent at least on paper.
As for Gilmore's record. I don't expect him to stay 14 years here so I'm focusing on the HC turnaround. He inherited a team that was 1-12 and took them to a winning record in his 2nd year. In his next 4 years, they finished no worse than 7-4. In years 4 through 8, HC finished no worse than 2nd in the PL. At Lehigh he walks into a program with a rich history, ample support but a team in disarray. If we can get anywhere near the same degree of improvement from him here, I'll be delighted but I'm not setting the bar all that high in Year 1. The real test begins in Year 2 IMHO.
I attribute Lehigh's struggles to a very unfortunate circumstance that took its toll on the staff and the team. Gilmore inherited a similar hand in HC with the passing of Dan Allen. But, he also had to deal with an extremely apathetic administration. Outside of the run with Randolph, which really was one year, there was nothing beyond some PL relevancy. It's much easier to fix a team in disarray than a program in disarray. A quality coach can right the ship with a team in one meeting by setting a firm culture of expectations and accountability.

Lehigh is a year removed from back-2-back PL championships. They're two seasons removed from a 9 win Top 20 team (Gilmore's high water mark at HC). That year they clobbered the Ivies. I think for the most part Lehigh recruited well. Nothing I saw or read indicates their classes were near the bottom of the PL. The talent on offense remains very good. Allen and Portorreal are going to do serious damage so long as Brisson improves his play calling. I have no issue Monaco being the QB so long as he earns it in camp. He has all the tools to be a very good FCS QB. If not him there's not a dearth of talent in the underclassmen. The OL will hopefully bounce back with better health.

Can he improve the defense? That's the million dollar question. I have serious reservations if this staff can to the point where Lehigh gaisn traction nationally. You need talent of course but D is literally about "doing your job". I fully understand there's a lack of size/talent in the interior of the DL. That has been a major problem since Chagani graduated. But that doesn't explain the propensity of give big play after big play. That's failed assignments/poor communication. Basically you have 3 levels of D and they're on 3 different pages.

This might be the most fascinating year in PL history with all the coaching changes. I believe Cecchini will have moderate success at Bucknell. He'll be more Landis than Susan. Given Bucknell's self imposed restrictions I don't see how you can build a program that reloads. He just has to avoid those embarrassing valleys the Bison have endured over the years.
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by Marco » Sat Feb 09, 2019 1:38 pm

The football bar was low at Valparaiso, and it is fairly low in Lewisburg. As a result, DC will seem to be a miracle worker with a 4-7, 5-6, 6-5 series of seasons.

The bar at Lehigh is considerably higher and Tom Gilmore knows this. I have fairly beaten a dead horse the last three seasons regarding Lehigh's deplorable defense. I expect the offense to score four + TDs per game, but anxiously await signs that the defense can somehow hold teams to minus 30. It will also excite me to see the D force "three and outs" once in a while. Tom will be expected to win in the 7 - 10 range.

Here's hoping.
valleypatriot
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by valleypatriot » Sat Feb 09, 2019 4:10 pm

Marco wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 1:38 pm The football bar was low at Valparaiso, and it is fairly low in Lewisburg. As a result, DC will seem to be a miracle worker with a 4-7, 5-6, 6-5 series of seasons.
The bar is probably lower because it doesn’t look like they support their teams. Football is important here, and it has dedicated fans and money from the university. At Valparaiso and Bucknell, it’s just basketball. You can do only so much at a school that doesn’t care about your sport, so a 6-5 season at one school could be as hard and appreciated as a 10-1 season at another.
Lehigh4Life
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by Lehigh4Life » Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:00 pm

Can you elaborate on the "restrictions" at Bucknell? Curious to learn more.

I happened to speak to a coach who knew both candidates, at Lehigh and Bucknell, and he said that Lehigh needed the defensive coach, and Bucknell needed offense. We'll see if that rings true.
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by Sundayamqb » Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:47 pm

Lehigh4Life wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:00 pm Can you elaborate on the "restrictions" at Bucknell? Curious to learn more.
Maybe BU has to share the practice field with the field hockey team? :D
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RichH
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by RichH » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:02 pm

Lehigh4Life wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:00 pm Can you elaborate on the "restrictions" at Bucknell? Curious to learn more.

I happened to speak to a coach who knew both candidates, at Lehigh and Bucknell, and he said that Lehigh needed the defensive coach, and Bucknell needed offense. We'll see if that rings true.
Clear that Joe wanted a D first head coach. Just as clear Buckys need an O. Dave will give them that.
Bison give less than the full 60 schollies allowed. Plus no 5th years are permitted . Bucknell is truly a Bball first place. All other sports fall well back in the priority list. That said they do very well in olympic sports even with less funding.
TMH
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by TMH » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:39 pm

Exclude football for a second, from an all-around athletic standpoint, I would very much like to be in Bucknell's position. The President's Cup was established in 1990. Bucknell has won it 19 times. The Academies (primarily Navy) won all the others.
That's a lot of Patriot League Championships.
ngineer
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Re: Bucknell Rumor

Post by ngineer » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:48 pm

Well, if wrestling were included, we'd have a lot more points in that annual list.
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