Columbia 18 Cornell 8
Why Columbia Won
The Lions dominated the Big Red in every facet of the game, despite the relatively close final score. Columbia's passing game gave the Lions an early small lead, and then senior RB Chris Schroer exploded for a huge 2nd half and finished with 183 rushing yards and a TD. On defense, Columbia held Cornell to just 257 total yards, scored a safety, and allowed just the one Big Red score in garbage time.
Why Cornell Lost
The Big Red offense was punchless and couldn't take advantage of any of the multiple gifts it received from Columbia in the early going. The defense played well in the red zone, but finally ran out of steam in the 2nd half.
Key Turning Points
-With the Lions leading 3-0 early in the 2nd quarter, Cornell put together its most impressive drive of the day. Starting at its own 13 with 14:49 left in the half, the Big Red marched 69 yards in just six plays to the Columbia 18. But a run for no gain and two incomplete passes followed, forcing Cornell to attempt a 36 yard FG. Nick Null's kick hit off the left upright and the best Big Red threat of the day came to nothing.
-With 9:11 left in the 3rd quarter and Columbia clinging to a 6-0 lead, Cornell began a possession at its own one yard line after a mishandled punt. On the first play, a host of Lions led by DL Connor Heeb stopped Big Red RB Jack Gellatly in the end zone for a safety that gave Columbia a little breathing room.
-On Cornell's next possession, DB Landon Baty intercepted an ill-advised pass by Cornell QB Dalton Banks, setting the Lions up at the Big Red 38. Once again, Columbia had to settle for a FG, but the Lions now had more breathing room with an 11-0 lead with 2:23 left in the 3rd quarter.
-With about six minutes left in the game, Cornell was faced with a 4th and four at the Columbia 26. Banks somehow eluded a heavy Lion rush and got off a desperation pass that was ruled incomplete. On the next play, Schroer twisted away from a scrum and turned a short gain into a 40-yard run that essentially iced the game.
Columbia Positives
-Despite playing with some injury replacements on the offensive line, Columbia overcame some early snafus in pass protection and put together big numbers on offense. Schroer's 183 yards were the most for a CU rusher since Marcorus Garrett '14 racked up 187 yards against Cornell in 2012, and WR Josh Wainwright had nine receptions for 140 yards.
-The Lion defense had its best performance of the year, keeping Columbia in the driver's seat even as the offense failed to capitalize with TDs.
-K Oren Milstein also kept the Lions in control, hitting three of four FG attempts.
Columbia Negatives
-Red zone miscues plagued Columbia for much of the day, turning what should have been a rout into a tight game for most of the day.
-The Lions did register two sacks on the day, but allowed Cornell QB's to escaped far too often for comfort.
Columbia MVP
There are a lot of candidates for this honor, and you could give in Wainwright for his 1st half performance and Schroer for his 2nd half explosion. But Chris Schroer's overall day made just a bit more of a difference in the end,
6 comments:
Going into the finale this Saturday against Brown, at 1pm, the Lions will finish no worse than second place in the Ivies if they beat the cubbies, who have no Ivy wins this season. In the "big game" at 12:30pm -- Harvard at Yale -- a Yale win would give the Eli a record of 6-1, and sole title to the Ivy championship. But a Yale loss to Harvard would give any team with a 5-2 record a share of the championship. Both Columbia, and Dartmouth, that will be playing Princeton in Hanover, would have 5-2 Ivy records with wins. So, the Lions will be playing for a share of 1st or 2nd place on Saturday. It should be one of the most exciting and satisfying days a living Columbia football fan has ever had at Wien/Kraft.
I only regret that Bill Campbell, who passed away in April 2016, did not live to see the fruits of his long labors ripen. But, at least this historic team is wearing Bill's number, 67, on their jerseys. In fact, every Columbia student-athlete is wearing a special 67 patch on their uniform this year, and there are two 67's painted on Kraft Field. Maybe the football team should keep the 67 patches until they win a championship.
Good analysis Jake. Now we need to focus on a desperate Brown team trying to avoid a winless Ivy season. I recall that we upset a heavily favored Brown team in Norries Wilson's final game to avoid a winless season, and Brown will be looking to return the favor. So we need to get on them early and not let them hang around. And Josh Wainwright, who had a fantastic first half and a tremendous catch of a deep ball, needs to avoid confrontations with the refs or else he will be a marked man.
Bill Campbell was one of the greatest friends to CU and to football we have ever had, as well as a phenomenal athlete. His legacy will continue to influence and contribute to our success for years.
However, we should also note that he, over the last several years of his life, was one of the strongest opponents to the changes in our athletic program that we fought for so fiercely in 2013 and 2014. Which only proves that even the best intentioned of us can also be profoundly mistaken.
None of this lessens his memory or his accomplishments.
Hi Dawg, I'm not familiar with the debate that Campbell was involved in, that you refer to. Can you refer us to a Spec article or some other item?
Good comparison to the situation at the Brown finale in Wilson’s last season. Big difference is that we have a lot more riding on the outcome than Brown did that year. Hope to see a huge turnout in the stands - they so much deserve it !
Howie
Your greatest source is Jake. He, along with a group I was involved with, were the prime movers in calling out the former AD and the Coach, after the first winless season in 2012.
We were labelled as "disloyal" to Alma Mater, and for a time were pariahs in the FB alum crowd. Bill Campbell was one of the prime movers in this attitude.He had a predilection for occupying a "my way or the hiway" position. If you weren't with him, you were against.
Jake, via this blog, and our group (Committee for Athletic Excellence at Columbia) via OpEds in Spec, letters to the editor, flying planes with banners over Wien during games, flyers, buttons, opening a website and exposing our horrible overall athletic record, eventually woke people up.
Look for any Spec editions in the fall of 2013, since that's when the pot started boiling.
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