Moment #65: Letting ‘em off the Hook

After Zach Olinger’s pick six, Columbia was behind by just 14-7 and back in the week four game at Lehigh.  

On Lehigh’s ensuing possession, Josh Martin came up with a huge tackle on Mountain Hawk run on 3^rd and three and the Lions D kept the momentum going with that big three-and-out.

But then, Columbia’s offense and special teams somehow conspired to let Lehigh off the hook and give back control of the game.

First, the Lions committed a silly illegal formation penalty on 3^rd and one on at their own 44. That led to a three-and-out when QB Sean Brackett was sacked for an eight yard loss on the next play.

Then, Columbia failed to pounce on the fumbled punt by the Mountain Hawks and Lehigh held possession at its own 30.

But the Lion defense was still in step-it-up-mode. They forced another three-and-out, and after the Mountain Hawk punt Columbia had the ball in nice territory at its own 40.

And… you guessed it: that was followed by yet another three-and-out by the CU offense. In fact, the Lions didn’t gain a single yard.

After Paul Delaney’s punt sailed into the Lehigh end zone for a touchback, the Columbia defense kept fighting, but it was running out of gas. The Mountain Hawks put together a 14-play TD drive that gave them a 21-7 lead and Columbia never had the momentum again.