Monday, November 19, 2012

... with a Whimper




Brown 22 Columbia 6


Why Brown Won

The Bears defensive line stifled the Lions, getting five sacks and holding Columbia to just 74 yards rushing. On offense the Bears were efficiently lethal, converting almost 50% of their 3rd down plays and converting two 4th down situations into touchdowns.


Why Columbia Lost

After a decent start on offense, the Lion O-line started getting pushed around. In addition to all the sacks, Columbia couldn't get much of a push in the red zone resulting in no TD's despite three chances during the game. The defense was generally solid, but got burned twice on long pass plays for scores. 


Key Turning Points


-Leading 3-0 late in the 1st quarter, Columbia began a possession at the Brown 45. Two plays later, RB Marcorus Garrett's best run of the day set the Lions up with a 1st and 10 at the Bear 18. Two more decent Garrett runs set up a 3rd and 3 at the 11, but the resulting play was one of many instances where the Lion O-line was swamped and a Sean Brackett run went for a loss of two. Columbia had to settle for another FG and never scored again.

-On Brown's ensuing possession, the Bears never faced a 3rd down until they had already moved 40 yards to the Lion 36. One play later, it was 4th and 2 from the Columbia 29. Brown QB Patrick Donnelly calmly handled the situation with a 29-yard TD pass to Jonah Fay. The Bears never trailed again. 

-On Columbia's ensuing possession, the Lions moved the ball well again all the way to the Brown 30. But on THEIR 4th and 2 opportunity, Brackett was rushed again and was forced to throw incomplete. The contrast on back-to-back 4th down chances was stark, and it was the theme of the game. 


Columbia Positives

-In his final game, Brackett kept his composure and completed 19 passes to six different players. He was so harassed all day that it's amazing he avoided throwing more than one interception. 

-Brown's offensive numbers were big as far as yardage, but the Lions defense played well enough to give Columbia a chance to win. Senior LB Tim Waller especially provided the opportunities with two takeaways on back-to-back Bear possessions late in the game.  


Columbia Negatives

-The Lions pass protection picked up where it left off in the Harvard debacle, never giving Brackett enough time. The run blocking in the red zone also broke down. Job 1 for Head Coach Pete Mangurian this winter has to be to beef up that O-line. 

-Columbia made the same mistake more than once "covering" Fay along the sideline and allowing him to get free on crucial downs. The pass rush the Lions used to beat Cornell was not evident as Columbia finished with no sacks.


Columbia MVP

Mike Waller was all over the field in his final game. He went out strong and was the most consistent performer all day. 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting that the only team that Jake accurately predicted in his preseason rankings was Columbia. He missed everyone else. http://culions.blogspot.com/2012/08/ivy-league-football-2012.html

Jake said...

I am a one-note Johnny this year.

oldlion said...

Jake, what caused the ugly scene between the coaches last Saturday?

Anonymous said...

Yes, Jake why did Mangurian bull-rush Brown's Estes after the game - Brown ran the ball the entire 4th qtr with back-ups to avoid a 42-6 result?

Anonymous said...

Jake -this is my first post on your blog. What's the story on 3 of the 5 top recruits mentioned by some rating service early in the year. Alec Davison, LB, was "injured" and left the team in preseason. Has he revovered or what? Daren Napier, a huge DL, and Austin Stock, C, never played and were off the roster by the Cornell game. Why?

CULionPride said...

If I were to make a prediction, there will be far fewer upperclassmen in the spring and next fall. Not dressing for home games, not reporting to "camp" until school starts, would likely make many think whether it is all worth being part of the team anymore (or were they really this year?). Too bad because the benefits of being part of the football alumni and the camaraderie that lasts all their life will likely not be a good memory. I support Coach Mangurian, but question some of his methods. Go Lions!

oldlion said...

A former Yale player who is active in the program told me that Reno has basically done the same things that Mangurian has done, and that Reno is going to be looking for some good D1 level transfers. Reno apparently has learned from Murphy that on the high school recruiting front the best place to invest your low band recruits is on defensive linemen, and that on the offensive line side he is going to be looking to recruit high school kids who are tall but currently too light to play D1 so long as they have the frames to put on weight. Sounds like some of our first year OLs.

Anonymous said...

Ivy League Sports Forum advised that Mangurian had wanted to film from the sideline but was denied outlet access by Estes on the basis that there is a rule against such sideline filming....don't know of the rule involved....and don't know that Mangurian's behavior on the matter was warranted especially if he was trying to evade the rule..and what other rules is he trying to evade?