We all are in agreement that Head Coach Al Bagnoli has done an amazing job making Columbia into a title contender so quickly after taking over a hapless team.
But now he and his assistants face another very difficult task: Getting a team that's suffered a loss to bounce back.
When Columbia went 6-0 to start the 1996 season, then-Head Coach Ray Tellier did his best work during his 14-year tenure with the Lions when he got them to refocus after two tough losses, (one razor-thin loss and one rout), and win the final two games of that season against two decent teams.
Now, Bagnoli and Co. must get Columbia to get back on track against an inconsistent and hard-to-read Harvard team that's on tap for this coming Saturday at Wien Stadium. The bubble has burst on the dreams of a 10-0 season, but the chances for a championship are still very much alive.
This will require more than an inspiring pep talk. The staff needs to adjust game plans and try new strategies to resume the winning.
And then there's the changing challenges that come with having to play the final weeks of a season with the usual number of injuries and player replacements.
Columbia hasn't beaten the Crimson since 2003. A win of any kind over Harvard would be a big deal, but winning this weekend would also mean the Lions go into the final two weeks of the season no worse than tied for first place.
The stakes are still high and, as Dartmouth found out the hard way with its loss at Harvard Stadium, the challenges are still great.
Yale may very well be the best team in the Ivies, but the Elis still haven't faced Princeton and the Yale-Harvard game is always a toss up.
There is much work still to be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment