Friday, November 2, 2012

The Steepest Mountain




The Lions haven't won here since 1995



Columbia Lions vs. Harvard Crimson


November 3, 2012

Location: Harvard Stadium

Kickoff Time: 1:00pm

Gametime Weather Forecast: 52 degrees and partly cloudy

The Spread: Harvard is favored by 27 points, (down from 30 1/2 in the opening line)




HOW TO GET TO THE GAME



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

Harvard is a huge favorite to slay the Lions on what happens to be parents weekend in Cambridge. After two straight games where the Crimson clearly let down after taking large leads, Harvard will surely be motivated to lead from wire to wire and pummel Columbia.

The Lions come in on a high after beating Yale and clearly showing some younger talent, especially in the receiving corps. New Columbia Head Coach Pete Mangurian holds a 2-1 lifetime record against the Crimson from his three years at Cornell,  but those wins came in the 1998-2000 period when Harvard was a shadow of its current self.

Bottom line: based on the point spread, a Columbia win would be the biggest upset of the 2012 Ivy season.

Columbia's Three Keys to Victory


1) Control the Time of Possession with the Short Pass 

It's time to go full "West Coast Offense" mode and chip, chip, chip away with the short passing game as much as possible. Harvard's run defense is a brick wall that Columbia shouldn't waste time trying to demolish. A successful short passing game is much more feasible and could coax the Crimson into making some mistakes. 


2) Let Brackett Run

Defending the traditional run vs. defending the QB option are two very different things. If, after establishing a short passing game, the Lions let QB Sean Brackett run around a bit then that could lead to ground yards when they need them.  And if Brackett runs well, he'll get more long passing options from the defense as well. 


3) Just Make the Crimson Offense Work for its Points

Harvard is going to score their points, just face it. But the big play is something Columbia can successfully defend against and that should be a major focus for the Lions. Good hard tackling, relentless pressure, and no stupid penalties will hold the Crimson juggernaut somewhat in place. 


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

you know your football, jake. a pleasure reading your blog.

i especially appreciate your comment about letting brackett run. when you have a weapon you have to use it!

roger dennis
cc '66

Mitch said...

Roger was a great player. Graceful then, gracious now.

Anonymous said...

"You can get free audio and fee-based video on the SideLion Pass."

Jake,

Are you sure that the video will be available? Gocolumbialions.com shows only "Live Audio" under "Media" just as it did for the Lehigh game.

Jake said...

Well for the last few games at Harvard, they made the Harvard video available on Sidelilon.

Anonymous said...

I hope the coach is reading this blog...Roger Dennis was a great player.

Coach ...let Brackett run..the play call lost us Penn and Darmouth...this could be a great and exciting game...and we should be able to score a lot of points if Brackett is allowed to run and plays are designed for him to run.

oldlion said...

Roger Dennis had an amazing game at WR against Rutgers at the old Baker Field. Archie threw a long completion to Roger which was called back. We then ran the same play, and it succeeded and stood.

We can knock off this Harvard team.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone listen to the pre-game interview with Coach Mangurian before the Dartmouth game? If not it is worth a listen. He talks quite extensively about Brackett and using his running ability. This was after the brake out game against Penn when the comments were all in favor of Brackett running. Coach said some interesting things about how Brackett is a special player but that a football offense is not just hoping a special player does special things and creates a special play. It is setting up a structure in which an offense creates opportunities for the special player to enhance the play.In Brackett's case, to make sensational plays within the framework of an offense. He drew favorable comparisons to Michael Vick. I recommend listening, it is an interesting 4-5 minute run.

I was planning on coming in from Midwest to see all my boys play at Harvard. Alas, Sandy had other plans. Enjoy Boston if you can make it. Peace and blessing to all on east coast. May your power return!

oldlion said...

Jake, just read the Harvard game notes. They deserve to lose. Most pretentious school and team on the planet. Go Lions! Make us proud.

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