Friday, October 19, 2012

Homecoming Hope


12 years ago, another junior RB made history for the Lions on Homecoming vs. Dartmouth


Dartmouth Big Green at Columbia Lions

HOMECOMING 2012


October 20, 2012

Location: Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Stadium in the Baker Athletics Complex

Kickoff Time: 1:30pm

Gametime Weather Forecast: 66 degrees and partly cloudy

The Spread: Dartmouth is favored by 6 points




HOW TO GET TO THE GAME
Here's my guide to getting to 2012 Columbia home games

**REMEMBER** The #1 subway train WILL be running tomorrow! 

TV/RADIO

You can get free audio and fee-based video on the SideLion PassJerry Recco and Sal Licata have the call. 

The student station broadcast is on WKCR at 89.9 on your FM dial.


Lead Stories

Columbia is looking to win its first Homecoming game since its 2000 win over Dartmouth. The last two Homecoming games for the Lions have been heartbreaking losses, including a 24-21 loss to the Big Green in 2010. Last year, Dartmouth shredded Columbia in Hanover 37-0, but Columbia was playing without the injured Sean Brackett at QB.

The Lions enter the game after losing another heartbreaker, 24-20 at Penn last week. The Green fell to Sacred Heart 27-10 at home but they were playing without their best RB Dominic Pierre and best WR Michael Reilly. Their status for this week's game is still unknown.

Another big storyline is new Columbia Head Coach Pete Mangurian trying to do something his predecessor Norries Wilson never did: win on Homecoming. 

Dartmouth comes in trying to prove last week's loss was a fluke.

Columbia Three Keys to the Game


1) Keep up the Passing Game Momentum

Even without freshman star Isaiah Gross, Columbia's passing attack has improved greatly in the last two games. Brackett needs to keep improving and test a Dartmouth pass defense that is not one of the best in the league. 


2) If Garrett Stays Hot, Keep Giving Him the Ball

Ivy League rushing yardage leader RB Marcorus Garrett is getting hot just at the right time. Dartmouth will be worried about him right from the start, and Columbia needs to get him going either as a runner or a receiver out of the backfield all day. When Columbia last won on Homecoming, it was an historic day for RB Johnathan Reese, who shredded the all-time CU rushing record with 237 yards in the 49-21 victory. Note that the 2000 game was also on the eve of an historic presidential election, and the junior Garrett is emerging now in a way the then-junior Reese was that year as a dominant player. 


3) Cover the Kicks

The Lions have had special trouble covering kickoffs and Dartmouth will burn them tomorrow if they don't fix it. 



5 comments:

DOC said...

Watched the opening kickoff against Princeton about a half-dozen times on replay. The coverage was spread too wide so they had three blockers on two defenders, which opened a lane about the width of a double-deck bus. We should be able to tighten pursuit on specials...

Anonymous said...

Princeton was the best team we have played this year. Nasty D line. Lehigh close behind. Then Dartmouth. Then Fordham. Then Marist. Then Penn. To the pundits who flipped out when we got dominated by Princeton, sit down and shut up. The winnable games this year were Penn and Fordham. We made it close today with Dartmouth but had 220 yes of offense compared to their 400 plus. TO kept us in it. Terrible 3rd art. 10 had bad game and OC shit the bed.

Anonymous said...

Princeton beats Stanford's Cambridge campus! Love it.

#1 Lion said...

Observations and Statistics...

GREAT job by Diane and her Staff putting on a wonderful HC event! It was very kid-friendly and the Staff was wonderful. The Lou Gehrig Lounge is a bit too small for all of the alums that showed up. Maybe the new Campbel Center will be better suited for this event next year.

RE: The game... Dartmouth had 125 yards in penalties! Dartmouth controlled the ball 33 min to our 27. We were 4-15 on 3rd down conversions. Dartmouth had 411 yards of offense (300 in the air), versus our scant 220. And Once again with under 3 min. left in the fourth quarter (2:46) we couldn't close (again). I counted three balls that went through our receiver's hands and then went through Dartmouth's DB's hands. these are the facts...

jock/doc said...

Jake,
Anonymous post(second one) is crude and I my opinion does not belong on your blog. thank you