Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com

The University of New Hampshire defense stood out for all the wrong reasons in a 55-28 loss to Toledo last week. Next up for the Wildcats is a matchup against a Lehigh team that scored 49 points in its opener, and has one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Senior Chris Lum was named the FCS National co-Offensive Player of the Week and the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week after he completed 22 of 34 passes for 346 yards and four touchdowns in Saturday's 49-24 triumph at Monmouth.

UNH will face Lum and his Lehigh teammates Saturday (12:30 p.m.) at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa.

"Their quarterback is the guy who makes it go on the offensive side," UNH coach Sean McDonnell said. "Their skill positons, especially the wide receiver position, is very, very good. Offensively their team has always been explosive. I think it's pretty good right now.

"[Lum] is very accurate. He can put the ball on people in open spots. He throws a very catchable ball."

A sprained ankle prevented Lum from playing when UNH beat Lehigh 31-10 last year in Durham. With a healthy Lum. Lehigh won at Northern Iowa in the first round of the FCS playoffs before losing at Delaware. UNH lost at Delaware the following week.

Lehigh also uses junior quarterback Mike Colvin in a Wildcat package.

The 58 points the Wildcats allowed against Toledo was the most points a UNH team has surrendered since McDonnell became the program's head coach in 1999. The previous high came in a 55-10 loss to Maine during the 2000 season.

"We gotta play hard, we gotta play mistake-free,"UNH guard Chris Zarkoskie said. "Things will start working themselves out."

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JEANNOT'S A NO GO: Concussion-like symptoms prevented senior tight end Chris Jeannot from playing against Toledo, and McDonnell said Jeannot will miss Saturday's game as well.

"Jeannot's not playing again this week," McDonnell said. "He's a big question mark for the rest of the season. His concussion symtoms came back. This thing is something that's gone on for over a year now. He thought he had it licked. It didn't pan out that way. He's got some blurred visiion and things. It's tough."

Jeannot is second among active UNH players in receptions (42), touchdown receptions (five), and receiving yards (487).

McDonnell said defensive back Chad Wilkes won't play (pulled groin), defensive end Brian Ciccone is doubtful (hamstring) and backup quarterback James Brady (shoulder) will be a game-time decision.

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OUT OF THIER LEAGUE: Saturday's game will be the third time UNH has faced a team from the Patriot League in McDonnell's 13 seasons as head coach. UNH defeated Colgate 55-21 in the opening round of the 2005 FCS playoffs, and defeated Lehigh last fall.

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FOOTNOTES: Lehigh wide receiver Ryan Spadola caught six passes for 148 yards in last week's victory over Monmouth. Lehigh had 529 yards of offense in the game. ... UNH is looking to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2002, when the Wildcats lost to Central Michigan and James Madison during an 0-4 start. ... UNH has a 10-2 edge in the all-time series against Lehigh. ... UNH's Mike MacArthur punted four times for a 47.0 average in the loss to Toledo. MacArthur, a North Hampton resident, played high school football for Winnacunnet.