1998 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team

1998 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
Patriot League champion
Conference	Patriot League
Record	12–1 (6–0 Patriot)
Head coach	Kevin Higgins (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Bottiglieri (1st season)
Captains	Deron Braswell Sam Brinley Nick Martucci Jonathan Stiegler
Home stadium	Goodman Stadium
Seasons ←  1997 1999  →

1998 Patriot League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Lehigh $^		6	–	0					12	–	1
No. 21 Colgate ^		5	–	1					8	–	4
Bucknell		3	–	3					6	–	5
Lafayette		3	–	3					3	–	8
Fordham		2	–	4					4	–	7
Towson		1	–	5					5	–	6
Holy Cross		1	–	5					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1998 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Lehigh won its third Patriot League championship of the 1990s.

In their fifth year under head coach Kevin Higgins, the Mountain Hawks went undefeated (11–0) in the regular season, ending the year at 12–1 after losing in the second round of the national playoffs. ^[1] Deron Braswell, Nick Martucci, Jonathan Stiegler and Sam Brinley were the team captains. ^[2]

Including playoff games, the Mountain Hawks outscored opponents 396 to 189. Their 6–0 conference record topped the seven-team Patriot League standings. ^[3]

Unranked at the start of the year, Lehigh's winning streak finally earned a spot in the national Division I-AA top 25 in the last week of October. In the ensuing weeks, the Hawks rose from No. 25 to reach No. 7 in the final poll.

Despite their conference championship and undefeated record, Lehigh did not host any playoff games. The Mountain Hawks defeated No. 10 Richmond and then lost to No. 1 UMass on the road.

Lehigh played its home games at Goodman Stadium on the university's Goodman Campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Fordham		Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 31–6	7,538	[4]
September 19	at Saint Mary's (CA) *		Saint Mary's Stadium Moraga, CA	W 22–16	1,725	[5]
September 26	Princeton *		Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 31–24	10,136	[6]
October 3	at Harvard *		Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 21–17	5,270	[7]
October 10	at Columbia *		Wien Stadium New York, NY	W 20–19	3,675	[8]
October 17	Towson		Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 55–7	8,059	[9]
October 24	at Holy Cross		Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 24–14	6,458	[10]
October 31	Wofford *	No. 25	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 26–0	12,147	[11]
November 7	Colgate	No. 23	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 41–22	13,432	[12]
November 14	Bucknell	No. 20	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 49–7	9,178	[13]
November 21	at Lafayette	No. 17	Fisher Field Easton, PA (The Rivalry)	W 31–7	13,158	[14]
November 28	at No. 5 Richmond *	No. 13	City Stadium Richmond, VA (Div. I-AA playoffs)	W 24–23	10,254	[15]
December 5	at No. 12 UMass *	No. 13	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA (Div. I-AA playoffs)	L 21–27	12,108	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. "Football All-Time Year-by-Year Results". Patriot League Football Record Book (PDF). Center Valley, Pa.: Patriot League. 2020. p. 6. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
4. Blockus, Gary R. (September 13, 1998). "Lehigh Fills Highlight Tape in a Season-Opening Win". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lehigh Runs Past St. Mary's". San Francisco Examiner . San Francisco, Calif. September 20, 1998. pp. D-9, D-10 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Lehigh Scrambles Past Princeton in Overtime". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. Associated Press. September 27, 1998. p. C9 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Concannon, Joe (October 4, 1998). "Crimson Pounce, Then Fizzle; Two Late Miscues Hand It to Lehigh". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. D17 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Blockus, Gary R. (October 11, 1998). "Taafe's FG Completes Lehigh's Comeback". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Ivy League: Summaries". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. October 11, 1998. p. C19.
9. Blockus, Gary R. (October 18, 1998). "Towson Has No Answers for Lehigh, 55-7". The Baltimore Sun . Baltimore, Md. p. 9E – via Newspapers.com.
10. Harber, Paul (October 25, 1998). "HC Can't Keep Up Pace". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. D19 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Bostrom, Don (November 1, 1998). "Wofford No Match for 8-0 Lehigh". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Blockus, Gary R. (November 8, 1998). "9-0 Lehigh Is Now the Top Dog". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Blockus, Gary R. (November 15, 1998). "Lehigh Is a Perfect 10". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Meixell, Ted (November 22, 1998). "Perfection! Lehigh Wins Record 12th Straight, 31-7 Over Lafayette". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "College Football: Others". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Fla. November 22, 1998. p. C-7.
15. Blockus, Gary R. (November 29, 1998). "Lehigh Kicks Out the Spiders". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
16. Burris, Joe (December 6, 1998). "UMass Is One of Four Still Moving Forward". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. C13 – via Newspapers.com.