Columbia 28 Princeton 24
Why Columbia Won
Lion WR Ronald Smith broke Columbia's 50-year-old single game receiving yards record with 236 on 10 catches and two huge TD's, and Princeton simply did not have an answer for him all day. QB Anders Hill kept his composure and made several key 3rd down throws on his way to become the first 400-yard passing performance for CU QB in six years. The defense held the Tigers when it counted and forced four huge turnovers.
Why Princeton Lost
The Tiger offense was inconsistent and QB Chad Kanoff was rarely accurate on the rare occasions when he was pressured. The Princeton defense could not cover the Lion receivers deep down the middle.
Key Turning Points
The game didn't have so many turning points as much as it featured several moments where the Tigers seemed to have Columbia down for the count and the Lions sprang back up with a vengeance and overturned an evil decree on this Day of Atonement:
-After Columbia failed to score on three straight possessions, including two that started inside Princeton territory after Kanoff interceptions, the Tigers took a 14-7 lead with 8:21 left in the first half on an 80-yard drive. Columbia's ensuing possession ended in an three-and-out, and the Lions looked like they were about to collapse. But Kanoff threw an incomplete pass on 4th and 4 from the 50 on Princeton's next possession and this time CU did not miss the opportunity. Two straight completions to Smith followed by two consecutive good runs by RB Tanner Thomas tied the score at 14 with 3:16 left in the half when Thomas' second run turned out to be an 11 yard TD score.
-After Columbia squandered two more possessions that began inside Tiger territory, Princeton woke up in the middle of the 3rd quarter. First, they drove 63 yards in four minutes to convert a 27-yard FG to get within 21-17 with just over three minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Then they intercepted Hill in the end zone to kill CU's otherwise impressive ensuing drive. Now it was the Columbia defense's turn to overturn the evil decree. The next two Tiger possessions got as close as 1st and goal at the Columbia three. On the first chance, the Lions forced Princeton into three straight runs for no gain and an incomplete pass on 4th and goal. On the second chance, DB Landon Baty ripped the ball out of PU wildcat QB Kevin Davidson's hands for a fumble recovery.
-But Princeton did score the go-ahead TD on their next possession and the Tigers took a 24-21 lead with just 2:32 to go. On Columbia's ensuing possession, the Lions looked finished after a false start penalty forced them into a 3rd and 11 situation at their 37 with 1:22 left. But that's when Hill found Smith in single coverage in the middle of the field and Smith took off for the 63-yard game-winning score.
Columbia Positives
-Hill and the receivers were in a groove all day. Not only did Smith gain the CU record 236 yards, but fellow sophomore sensation WR Josh Wainwright had seven catches for 78 yards and there were some key completions to WR's Emerson Kabus and Christian Everett too.
-The Lion defense was strong for most of the day, and the four forced turnovers were a major difference in the game.
-It's hard to quantify emotional strength, but this Columbia team has it after bouncing back so many times from the kind of gut-punching setbacks they've experienced against Wagner and Princeton already this season.
Columbia Negatives
-The Lion O-line had an inconsistent game. They gave up six sacks and about half the running plays just didn't have the necessary blocking.
-Columbia committed 13 penalties, including multiple personal fouls.
Columbia MVP
-Ronald Smith had a game for the ages, breaking Bill Wazevich's 1967 Columbia single game receiving record by 21 yards. He came up with key catches in crucial situation after crucial situation and was the most important man on the field all day.
11 comments:
Primary take-home for me is that while we blew a number of oppt'ys, as Jake mentions, we hung in there. In the past, it looked as if we tried to give it away with mistakes. This time we kept on punching after obvious reasons to give it up.
The blown FG leading to a P TD could have been a classic momentum turning point, but we came back to tie. And on and on.
Now we need to ensure that Marist is not overlooked.
Kudos to the OC for opening up passing game. We finally added short slants and hooks and even threw some key passes to our RBs. The completion to 21 for 1st down on final drive was crucial.. and we won game without risking using Hill as a runner. Our TE even caught one.
Our running attack was less successful. Once again, we tried to run up middle for too often on 1st downs and when we got shut down , we continued to do the same thing. Too many second and 8s.
And Hill threw like Eli Manning. Almost all his throws were on the mark. Had it not been for several drops on very catchable passes, he might have thrown for another 50 or so yards.
Great job by our DBs. They made Pr work for their catches ( very few missed coverages) and they tackled really well preventing Pr's dangerous RBs from breaking off killer runs.
Best Saturday afternoon in many a year!
As noted above and in other comments, the Lions are now winning close games. Progress during the first years of Bagnoli's tenure was measured by simply being competitive, now it will be measured by a winning record. I think all Lion fans have to be happy with this. I know we aren't a finished product yet, but when I look at the preponderance of underclassmen on the roster, it seems we are quickly getting there.
Columbia is clearly an excellently coahed team. BUT bagboli's two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in three games remain an embarrassing. He reakky shoukd know better by this point. I appreciate his passion and his ovlooe for his players, but the yards lost can hurt. So please do watch your mouth, Al, Loose lips can hurt drives.
on the other hand, I'd agree that yesterday's officiating was generally sucky. But then, it usually is at Ivy games.
Thomas' TD was important and showed him to be a savvy, tough runner
I've also noted, with some concern, the number of personal foul and unsportsmanlike penalties. I can't tell from the telecasts but it
doesn't seem like the fouls are too flagrant. Hopefully, it is just part of Al B getting his team to be aggressive and setting his own example. If so, they will simmer down as the team matures.
I agree with your Thomas comments. I liked Schroer too. On a couple of runs he bulled forward for a another yard or two after seeming to be stopped. If we can establish a reasonable running attack, we will have a really potent offense
I was also happy to see that Hill wasn't running too much on designed QB run plays....and lets not overlook that no one has yet stopped our goal line wildcat, which has been Bean going three for three on touchdowns. Had Wainwright made his corner catch in the end zone and Milstein made his FG, this could have been even worse for the Tigers.
Why does beating Princeton at Princeton feel so effin good?
I think, Chen, that beating Princeton feels good because for years
Columbia has been relegated to loser status (Jake's evil decree).
We would, more often than not, fold in the face of adversity- a bad
bounce, or a missed call, an untimely injury etc. This one was different:
even the announcers on TV were saying it. Like Big Dawg said, this time we punched back. This is not your mothers Columbia...
DOC, I get the long time loser status thing....I have been watching since the fall of 1978.... but my point is that the single team I like beating most is Princeton. No rational reason why....maybe the arrogance of the place, the eating society thing or maybe the Garrett family thing....just don't know but sticking it to Princeton feels the best.
Anyway, welcome feedback on this idea for the Marist game: protect Hill! If we get up by two scores, sub in Suitt or Bean...also, give Castner and Ochido more snaps....keep the squad healthy for Homecoming and our showdown with Penn. Or is this stupid?
Right on Chen, but talking about "arrogance," don't get over-confident about Marist. They have some talent and moxie, and this will be a big home game for them. We have every reason to expect a win, but so did Princeton.
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