Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Media Darling


Crimson QB Colton Chapple


We can all continue to debate the many reasons why the prognosticators will all surely choose Columbia to come in last in the Ivies this fall.

And we will continue that debate until the team hopefully makes those predictions look foolish by October.

But what will be very hard to refute is those same experts' inevitable choice of Harvard to repeat as the league champ this year.

Consider these facts:

1) Harvard's returning starting QB was a backup last year. But he was a backup who played in eight games, threw 12 TD passes, had a 62% completion rate, and was picked off just twice.

2) With the graduations of Nick Schwieger and Alex Thomas, and the likely loss of Chuck DiBilio to his stroke recovery, Harvard will have the top returning rusher in the Ivies in Trevor Scales.

3) There are some big losses on defense, but rising stars like LB Joshua Boyd return as does DB Brian Owusu.

4) Tim Murphy is still the head coach, and that counts for a huge amount.


The list goes on, but Harvard was so much ahead of the rest of the pack in the Ivies last year, that it would take a lot more graduation loss and other bad luck not to expect the Crimson to cruise to another title in 2012.

If Harvard does have a problem this season it's in the fact that it must travel to Brown and Penn this fall and the Crimson's recent track record at Brown Stadium and Franklin Field is not the best.

But for all the scorn Columbia will receive from the preseason papers and magazines this summer, an equal amount of gushing praise will likely go to the Cantabs. It's to be expected.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hopefully, whoever is responsible in the Columbia Athletic Department for publicizing our football team will start generating some articles on returning players like Sean Brackett, who is an outsanding quarterback. Chapple is a very good quarterback, but so is Brackett. If Coach M wants better attendance, it starts with the three words, publicity, marketing and promotions. Columbia needs to come up with a marketing plan to sell seasons tickets to a large number of fans who will come to each game and root wildly for the Football Team. Of course, you need student promotions as well. I hope Pete pushes Dianne to get tickets sold in the off-season. Imroving attendance at the football games has to be Pete and Dianne's top priority this summer. What do you think, Jake?

DOC said...

If you want better attendance it starts with these three words: Just Win Baby. I think the AD has done a good job with publicity, marketing and promotions.

oldlion said...

Every HC in this league if given sodium pentathol would admit that he would take a healthy Brackett over his own QB. Brackett was coached by a poor OC who misused him, berated him in practice, didn't teach him anything, and sent in some colossally bad calls. A healthy Brackett, used properly, is the best offensive player in the Ivies and will be POY if he stays healthy.

RedTiger61 said...

.... and Brackett's health depends on the O-line ....

Anonymous said...

I think the most interesting thing to watch this season will be the play calling on offense. I agree with the Oldlion that Brackett is a superior athlete who could be POY. (Matthews is going to be tough competition). But we can't let him get sacked 25-30 times or have him rush it up the middle 10 times per game.