Columbia 44 Penn 6
Why Columbia Won
The Lions offense finally came to life with a stellar performance by the offensive line and a shot in the arm from a switch at the starting QB position. Meanwhile, the Columbia defense allowed no points, just 14 1st downs, and denied all three Penn 4th down conversion attempts.
Why Penn Lost
The Quakers did almost nothing right on offense, completing just 33% of their passes, and failing to establish their usually potent running game. Meanwhile, the defense couldn't stop the Lion running game and allowed Columbia to score TD's on all five of its trips to the red zone. Penn also committed a total of 10 penalties, some of which negated crucial plays.
Key Turning Points
-It seems like a stretch to single out the opening play from scrimmage as a turning point, but sophomore QB Ty Lenhart's flea flicker pass to sophomore WR Mike Roussos for 47 yards to the Penn 28 set the tone for the day. Four running plays later, the Lions were up 7-0.
-On the ensuing Penn possession, the Quakers went for it on a 4th and 1 at their own 45. Penn opted for a pass that was broken up by senior CB Ben McKeighan. This play would also set a tone, as the Quakers would end the day 0 for 3 on 4th down and McKeighan would finish with three pass breakups.
-Trailing 17-0 at the half, Penn took the opening 2nd half kickoff and promptly drove into Columbia territory. But the drive fizzed at the Lion 47 and the Quakers had to punt. On the ensuing Columbia possession, the Lions went 79 yards on 11 plays, capped by an 11-yard TD run by junior Broderick Taylor, and the competitive phase of the game was over.
Columbia Positives
-The offensive line played not only its best game of the year, but possibly its best game of the Al Bagnoli era. Columbia rushed for 255 yards and allowed no sacks. That performance gave credence to the theory that the Lion OL play was the biggest reason for the entire team's struggles before this game.
-Lenhart did not have a perfect game, but he energized the offense with his running ability and made enough key passes to keep Penn off balance.
-The defense was dominant, containing the strong Quaker running game and avoiding any home run plays. Freshman LB Scott Valentas was especially impressive with a team-leading seven tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss.
-Freshman K Alex Felkins proved he could hit a FG from less than 50 yards with a 43-yarder in the 1st quarter.
Columbia Negatives
-Lenhart did throw two bad interceptions on plays when he was not under pressure. He could be an elite Ivy QB if he can cut down on those kinds of mistakes, but he's not there yet.
Columbia MVP
-Despite the interceptions, Ty Lenhart showed a great combination of leadership and athletic skill, throwing for a TD and running for two others on a total of 95 rushing yards on the day. Lenhart seems to have made the case to keep the starting job.
5 comments:
Jake is a tough act to follow but let me add some comments....Kaminski on the OL set the tone..First play of the game trickery? I nearly fell out of my chair! Young at RB moves the pile continuously and Coach Bags has a stable full of good backs.. They finally got to be seen thanks to OL.. Why was the OL so good yesterday? Initially the Hurry Up and Wait Offense wasn't utilized ... Instead we lined up rather quickly and exploded off the ball.. Game was speeded up a little and the line got the "Push"... then when ahead, Hurry Up and Wait was utilized to perfection...Alternating Hurry Up And Wait with a speedier offense was key.. Lenhart running the ball out of the shot gun gave us another dimension which transformed the whole attack and looked like Bagnoli at Penn! Young linebackers played exceptionally well... I thought that #92 at garbage time looked like a player too..we did catch some breaks with Penn dropping sure td passes and the kicker missing two! But wasn't it about time we caught some breaks? R Pelletreau
A staggering win for the Lions. An ignominious loss for Penn.
The score of this game I had seen way, way too many times over more than half a century of Columbia football: 47 to 7; 43 to 3, etc.
But Columbia always had had the bottom score.
But not Saturday. Not 19 October 2019. Not against Penn at Homecoming yesterday.
Ty, starting and continuing to play QB, provided the spark (is "spark" an understatement?), it seemed to me, for the whole team.
Yes, I know Ty threw three interceptions, the first two of which were simply very bad throws. (The third was nullified because a Penn defender had committed a penalty against the would-be Columbia receiver.)
The final score would have been 44-0, an absolutely unbelievable, crushing shutout--against Penn no less, but for Bean's fumble on his first play in the game that was scooped up by Penn and taken into Columbia's end zone for six points.
So what are we to make of this colossal turnaround?
First, I am so happy for our players, and for our coaches. And, of course, for all Columbia football fans across the land. This incredible blowout was no fluke, but what does it harbinger for the rest of the season?
Paradoxically, Bagnoli and Company may have difficulty sorting out all the positive reasons for this massive win in their future attempts to beat the rest of their Ivy foes.
I wish them all the luck in the world.
And I'll be watching all future games glued to my computer screen in Boulder, CO.
Greetings and this is my first post having followed Jake's blog and all the fine contributors for years. Thanks to Jake and all for this. I've been going to games, first with Dad '42C '43E as a child, my undergraduate days '81C and throughout - over 50 years worth. I still remember sitting with D. Keith Mano and he would look to the crowd and shout "Why are they doing this to me!"
Well, I'm just getting joy reading the the above comments and recaps, and yesterday was truly historic for us. Ranks in there with the end of the streak over Princeton, the Ronald Smith catch and performance at Princeton two years ago, and of course, the electrifying Anders to Wainwright Homecoming agains these same Penn Quakers -- what outstanding performances following the drubbing we took from Penn at Homecoming in Al Bagnoli's inaugural year.
It seems that I always end up sitting next to family of players or family of coaching staff, such as the Baty family, the Mathiasmeiers, Bewley Wales family from Tulsa, and yesterday, the D'Orazio family all out to support their son and brother, a former Penn Quaker under Al Bagnoli. Every single one was friendly and know that they all greatly appreciate our support just as we are thankful for their commitments and accomplishments.
Sorry for the long one - but I'm just reveling in yesterday's annihilation of the Quakers. Two tough ones coming up but perhaps we can repeat that other HUGE performance up in Hanover a couple years ago -- remember those timeouts and that sack.
Stand up and Cheer!
Dan
thank you Dan.
Jim CC'64
44 is the most points ever scored by Columbia against Pennsylvania.
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