Last Looks

Isaiah Malcome got away with a big penalty

A few final thoughts on the win over Penn at Homecoming 2021:

-The coaches and the players can't say it, but I can: The refs almost cost the Lions the game Saturday. The worst call by far was the pass interference on Brian Bell-Anderson that led to Penn's second and last score. He was absolutely clobbered by Penn's Isaiah Malcome on that play as Bell-Anderson was clearly going for the ball and the refs called the penalty on CU. They also really had a bad no-call on the 41-yard run by Dante Miller near the end of the game that ended in a clear horse collar tackle. It was so bad because it was clear even before the tackle started that the only way Miller could be caught on that play was with a horse collar play. For all the weak-kneed referring when it comes to calling targeting on so many minor hits, that very dangerous tackle went uncalled. Also, Penn clearly fumbled the ball away on a short pass in the 2nd half, and the refs upheld the bad incomplete pass call even after reviewing the play. 

-The #1 concern I've had since 2019 is the track record for Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Mark Fabish and the way many of the players seem to respond to him. It would be unfair not to say that Fabish has indeed mixed up the play calling this year and to good effect. That was evident again on Saturday. He also deserves credit for giving Joe Green the starting job when personal loyalties apparently were all with Ty Lenhart for more than just the past year. But the overuse of the wildcat is stifling drives and taking away opportunities for Green when he's in a rhythm. If getting Gabriel Hollingsworth more experience is the argument for all his reps, it's not good enough right now. I much prefer saving the wildcat for situations when CU gets inside the 5 or so, or on 4th and short like we've done in the past. 

-Other than Fabish and the QB position, the two biggest concerns for the Lions coming into the year were the OL and the DL. Both have played much better than expected, even though there's still a lot of room for improvement. The difference maker on the DL has been Paul Akere, who would do well to take his extra year of eligibility next season and see how much more damage he can do in the Ivies. He had a very strong outing vs. Penn and the sack he made on Penn's John Quinnelly was the hardest hit I've seen on an opposing QB since Josh Martin '13 leveled Cornell's Jeff Mathews in the 2012 win over the Big Red.The O-line is getting good play from all the starters even though Zach Minch, the guy we thought was the best returning lineman, has been out. The run blocking hasn't been as consistent as the pass protection, but it's been generally pretty good. Against Penn, the outside run blocking was strong, but the blocking up the middle was challenged because of the massive size and skill of DL Prince Emili. 

-Green has a lot of tools and one can only wonder what he'd be able to do with a true and consistent WR threat. There were a couple of plays Saturday that he made happen on his own, especially the scramble and throw to his right for a 1st down on the Lions first series of the game. CU has good talent at WR, but no gamebreaker types like Josh Wainwright or Ronald Smith were in the recent past. Green does a good job improvising and rolling out when he needs to. and he's a better runner than advertised. I suspect he's throwing a little less than he should be because the coaches don't want to put too much pressure on the pass protection for him. But at some point, he needs to be able to throw it 30 times per game. 

-WR Wills Meyer's TD catch deserves some more attention. He was probably interfered with for one thing, (another no-call from the officials). But the second thing is that the defender on the play was Muhammed Diakite who had that big INT in 2018 to snuff out what looked like a winning CU drive at Franklin Field (after intended receiver Mozes Mooney fell down on the play). So that was a bit of sweet revenge. 

-Speaking of weapons, something is not right with WR Mike Roussos. He did have one good return Saturday and one nice reception where he extended his arms to haul in a pass going away from his body. But the Lions need him to stretch the field more. 

-Now that Miller's sweeps to the left are clearly a weapon no one's going to ignore, it's time to design some fakes to take advantage of all the attention he's going to get every time he heads in that direction. A fake handoff to him as he rolls left and then a short toss to Ryan Young just to the right should rack up nice yardage from time to time. 

-The defensive backs are really playing very well, but their height is a concern. Taller receivers can be targeted with a good chance for success even if they are well covered. Fara'ad McCombs was injured early in the game and emerged with a bandage on his left arm later in the game. As one of the few starting CU DB's with good height, the Lions will need him back soon. Meanwhile, Seth Parker is another tall DB who may need to step things up as the season goes on.

-Justin Woodley should be back for the Dartmouth game after missing this last contest. I wonder if CU's sack totals suffered because of his absence in particular on Saturday. 

-I agree with the fans who complain about our illegible scoreboard. Also the video board doesn't actually show video anymore, just graphics. It is time for an upgrade. 

-Dartmouth looks very good and has now reached the point under Head Coach Buddy Teevens that they seem to be able to reload much like Penn and Harvard did from the late 90s until recently. After struggling badly in his first five years during his second stint as the Big Green's head coach, (2005-2009), Teevens spent the next five years (2010-2014) developing into an outside chance contender to a team that has been a true championship caliber team every year since (except 2016).