BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After Lehigh’s win at Lafayette on Nov. 22, the Mountain Hawks (12-0, 7-0 PL) were seeded No. 5 in the FCS playoffs, marking back-to-back Patriot League titles.
Lehigh’s position as the No. 5 seed is its highest since the FCS playoffs began seeding in 1980.
Though the Mountain Hawks dropped one spot after completing their first undefeated regular season since 2001, they still earned a first-round bye and their first home playoff game since 2004.
“Whatever the seeding is, (we) leave it up for people to do the seedings,” Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said after the win. “We’d like to have a bye after this little stretch we went on.”
Lehigh’s last home playoff game came in 2004, when the Patriot League co-champions fell to eventual FCS champion James Madison, 14-13.
The Mountain Hawks were propelled to their most successful season in more than 20 years by a nationally recognized run game, strong defense and cohesive coaching.
Junior running back Luke Yoder finished sixth in the FCS with 1,329 rushing yards. Lehigh ended the regular season ranked fourth nationally in rushing offense.
The Mountain Hawks’ defense led the FCS in rushing yards allowed, giving up just 894 on the season. The front also totaled 40 sacks, good for fourth most in the FCS.
In his third year at Lehigh, Cahill heads into his second FCS postseason. His first team finished 2-9 before he guided the Mountain Hawks to a Patriot League title and a 9-4 record in his second season.
Last year, Lehigh made its first postseason appearance since 2017 and earned its first playoff win since 2010 by upsetting No. 9 Richmond, 20-16, in the first round.
When Lehigh takes the field at Goodman Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6, it will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 12 Villanova (9-2) and Harvard (9-1).
Villanova is making its 17th postseason appearance and won a national championship in 2009. The Wildcats are led by senior quarterback Pat McQuaide, who transferred from Nicholls State after two seasons as the Colonels’ starter and a 2023 Southland Conference title.
McQuaide finished his first season with the Wildcats with 2,356 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and two interceptions.
Harvard, meanwhile, is headed to the postseason for the first time after the Ivy League council of presidents voted to allow its teams to compete for the FCS title.
The Crimson opened the season 9-0 with an average margin of victory of 25.6 points before falling to rival Yale, 45-28, in the finale. The loss dropped Harvard out of the FCS Championship Committee rankings and into a first-round game.
Villanova and Harvard will meet Saturday, Nov. 29, with the winner advancing to Bethlehem for the second round.
After his standout regular season, Yoder said he wasn’t concerned with which team Lehigh draws next.
“We’re more worried about ourselves,” Yoder said.