QB Michael Colvin rarely gets his uniform dirty
Columbia Lions at Lehigh Mountain Hawks
October 6, 2012
Location: Goodman Stadium
Kickoff Time: 12:30
Gametime Weather Forecast: 69 degress, possible rain
The Spread: Lehigh is favored by 25 points
HOW TO GET TO THE GAME
Here's the link f
TV/RADIO
You can get free audio on the SideLion Pass. Jerry Recco and Sal Licata have the call.
You can see video of the game from Lehigh for $7.95 by clicking here.
The Columbia student station broadcast is on WKCR at 89.9 on your FM dial.
Lead Stories
There are some major contrasts at play here.
After a generally encouraging first two weeks of the season, Columbia comes into Lehigh at a low ebb following a stunning 27-point loss to Princeton at home.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Hawks are 5-0 and riding high after yet another emotional win last week against Fordham,
The 25-point spread says it all, especially since it still seems pretty obvious this Lehigh team is not quite as good as last year's FCS playoff-advancing team.
Columbia wants to prove it is nowhere near as bad as it looked last week while the Mountain Hawks are hungry for a blowout win after five weeks straight of close wins.
A special headline for Lions fans has to be the radio interview Head Coach Pete Mangurian just did with WKCR. For all the fans demanding massive strategy changes like allowing QB Sean Brackett to run more or changing the play calling in the red zone... don't get your hopes up. Mangurian insists the failures the team has suffered have not been the result of bad strategy, but bad execution and he is refusing to change things until he sees better execution.
Columbia's Three Keys to Victory
1) Get to the QB
I just can't get over the fact that Lehigh has allowed just one sack all season. It's not that QB Michael Colvin hasn't been touched, it's just that he has great escape skills AND he's getting great pass protection anyway. Columbia must find a way to break this trend and harass Colvin to have a chance in this game.
2) Get Something Going on Offense
Three games into the season, the Lions have yet to find a real rhythm on offense. The result is they've scored just 29 total points. They'll probably need more than 29 points just tomorrow to win the game.
Doing so will require some ingenuity in the play calling. We can talk all day about execution, but running right into the middle of the Lehigh line is almost never going to produce good results for us. Time to get inventive and catch these guys off guard.
And if there ever was a game where Brackett should be let loose to run, this may be it. Lehigh's run defense is not the team's best strength and making that unit guess what Brackett is likely to do should yield results.
3) Try Something Crazy on Special Teams
This seems like the right week for a lateral on a kickoff return, a fake punt, or an on sides kick. Something, ANYTHING, to shake up the vanilla image the Lions are straddled with right now.
9 comments:
We have faster pass rushers than most of the teams we face, but the key to an effective rush is for our outside rushers to set the edge. I would try to make Lehigh run the ball. By and large our front seven has plays the run well. On the offensive side we must eliminate the drops. Garrett runs hard and effectively, especially to the left side, so I would not give up on the run game. However it means greater use of the FB or H back to kick out the linebacker. And let's see better special teams play. We played a Fordham team even up which played a Lehigh team even up.
Concern about the fact that on average Lehigh outweighs us by approx 30lbs on either side of the ball. Michael Colvin has 5 rushing TD's and a greater than 5yds per carry rushing average. We have our work cut out for us....
Hope Old Lion is right. I'm in stands. A little jealous of atmosphere and tailgaits! We need to go out and punch them right in the f'ing face on the first series.
Go Lions.
Shock the (FCS) world!
Not sure where to begin. Decent defense on most second and third down plays, less so on third down. Again, breakdowns of pass defense. Offense is just killing us. Garrett continues to run hard and well. Terrible play from the WRs, who seem to be unable to catch. Poor play most of the game from Brackett, who suffers from poor pass pro, compounded by inaccuracy on his part. To their credit the team did not quit, despite spotting Lehigh a couple of touchdowns. Somebody needs to be an Austin Knowlin on this team for us to get the job done offensively.
Correction, decent defense on most first and second down plays, less so on third down.
Agree Old Lion
I was disappointed with 3rd qrt play calling on offense. We had awful 3rd down conversion efficiency. Bad decisions and two int by QB put us in a hole Garrett continues to excel. Big breakdowns in secondary continue. There are some talented WR on this team, Some injured, some not out being used. Coach M will find the right combo. Baby steps each week. See you in Philly.
Go Lions
I did not see the game, but the stats look like they beat us on the QB play. anybody agree?
The drops by the WRs are a real problem. Brackett is not accurate. And we have difficulty getting off the field on third down. Run defense is stout. Garrett is outstanding. But yes, the QB play is killing us, with bad decisions. This is a building year, except at the QB position. So let Brackett try to win some games with his feet.
the coach is demonstrating a stubborness -and lost the Princeton game for sure .. - plays should fit the skill set of the players. Brackett should run more clearly and it will help Garrett's running plays too..and open up the passing game.
And it should help the defense by keeping them off the field.
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