Oct. 15, 2012

Sports Network Top 25
FCS Coaches Poll
ECAC Lamber poll

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - After a weekend where four of the top five teams in the Football Championship Sudivision lost, Lehigh reaped the reward by moving up to No. 7 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 9 in The Sports Network top 25 on Monday.

The Mountain Hawks, who are one of four remaining undefeated teams in the FCS, have their highest standing in each poll since finishing No. 5 (Sports Network) and No. 6 (FCS Coaches) following the 2011 season. Lehigh is ranked for a 25th straight week dating back to 2010, the seventh-longest consecutive stretch in the FCS. The Mountain Hawks received three first-place votes in The Sports Network ranking.

Also Monday, the Mountain Hawks debuted at No. 4 in the first ECAC FCS Lambert Meadowlands poll of the 2012 season. Lehigh comes in behind only James Madison, Stony Brook and Old Dominion in the rankings which evaluate the top teams in the east. Lehigh won the ECAC FCS Lambert Cup as the top team in the poll last season, becoming the first Patriot League team to do so since 2001.

The No. 7/9 Mountain Hawks are back in action at home against Bucknell on Saturday. Lehigh's 16-game regular-season winning streak is the longest mark in the FCS, and the Mountain Hawks' overall seven-game win streak is tied for second in the country. Lehigh also has a 16-game win streak against Patriot League opponents that dates back to the 2009 season and is the second-longest in League history.