Out of Gas

Yale 41 Columbia 16

Why Yale Won

Eli QB Nolan Grooms had a masterful night, completing long bomb after long bomb with no interceptions. The defense also turned in an amazing 2nd half performance.

Why Columbia Lost

Almost every member of the CU secondary was burned by one long Yale pass or another, while the Lion special teams made more crucial errors as well.

Key Turning Points

-With Yale leading 17-16 late in the 1st half, two straight Columbia possessions ended with blocked punts. The second one led to a Yale TD and the Elis coasted the rest of the way. 

Columbia Positives

-The run defense is still excellent.

-Caden Bell is playing pretty well for a guy suddenly thrust into the starting role. 

Columbia Negatives

See below

Takeaways

1) The Lions are still playing sloppily despite extreme focus on tightening up special teams errors, etc. That's a red flag.

2) The offense continues to play sideways football, with more than an unhealthy number of sideline passes that almost never work. Either the coaches won't learn from their mistakes here or the players are unable to execute a north-south offensive attack. 

3) The defense still plays excellently against the run. But the secondary has been exposed. 

Shot at Redemption

Yale Bulldogs (4-2) vs. Columbia Lions (3-3)

October 28, 2022

Kickoff Time: 6:30pm ET

Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium 

Game Time Weather Forecast: 52 degrees and cloudy

The Line: Yale is favored by 2 1/2 points

TV/Radio: The game is going to be broadcast live on ESPNU 

Columbia Game Notes 

Yale Game Notes 

Leading Story Lines

1) Both teams are coming off gut punch losses and need to prove they can emotionally recover just as much as win the battle on the field physically. 

2) Yale comes in with the Ivy League's best running attack. Columbia has the best rush defense in FCS football. Something's gotta give.

3) The two teams played an exciting back-and-forth game at the Yale Bowl last year, eventually taken by the Elis. Expect more drama here.

3 Columbia Players to Watch

-RB Ryan Young has had good games against Yale in the past. He will be looking to keep that streak going.

-DL Justin Townsend is on everyone's radar now and Yale will work hard to neutralize him.

-PK Alex Felkins will be looking to redeem himself after missing a short FG that could have won it for the Lions last week.

3 Yale Players to Watch

-QB Nolan Grooms turned the tide in the Yale win over Columbia last year. He's having an inconsistent season so far and would love to turn it around tonight.

-RB's Tre Peterson and Joshua Pittsenberger are a lethal running tandem that will challenge CU's strong rushing defense. 

-DL Clay Patterson is a force who may be extra motivated to outshine CU's Townsend. 

Week 7 Picks

 

I went 3-3 straight up last week, and 2-4 against the spread. My season totals are now 31-11 SU (.738) but 18-23-1 (.439) ATS

Brown +11 1/2 vs. Penn

Penn will win, but the Bears make it closer than this. 

Princeton -21 1/2 vs. Cornell

The Tigers won't take their foot off the gas pedal. 

Harvard pick 'em over Dartmouth

The Crimson will bounce back.

Lafayette -13 1/2 vs. Georgetown

The Hoyas are out of bullets.

CCSU -4 1/2 over Wagner

Wagner got a nice win at home last week. This road contest will be harder.

Marist -9 1/2 vs. Presbyterian 

Feels like Marist is a lot better at home for now. 

Ivy Power Rankings

 

1) Princeton

Is there anyone even disputing this anymore? I began this year saying that Princeton was an amazing program, but not quite at the level of one that just reloads every year. Well, I was wrong. The Tigers are an amazing program.

2) Penn

The Quaker defense has given the Penn passing game enough time to develop. This team could go 9-1. 

3) Yale

The Elis suffer from inconsistent offensive play. 

4) Harvard

Princeton exposed all of Harvard's lingering weaknesses. 

5) Cornell

The Big Red continues to win the games it can win, period. 

6) Dartmouth

Look for the Big Green to take a page out of the Cornell book in the coming weeks. 

7) Columbia

Lions are playing beneath what their talent level should be yielding. 

8) Brown

Bears keep faltering when it counts.

TWO NEW COMMITS

 

A couple of players have committed to the 2023 incoming coming over the last few days. 

First is 6-1 225 pound LB Malachi Mercer from nearby Bergen Catholic. 

Mercer had offers from several other schools, including Temple, Princeton, Army, Fordham, and Bryant.

He will be the 14th Bergen Catholic grad to come to Columbia Football.

Next is 6-5, 230 pound TE/DE Braden Dougherty from Dublin Coffman HS in Dublin, OH. He also had an offer from Penn. 

Dougherty will be the third Dublin Coffman grad to come to Columbia Football. Current senior Ryan Hamilton is a D-C alum. 

So our unofficial commit list is up to 17 names:

1) Qwincy Amos DB 5"11 170 lbs. Warren HS San Antonio, TX

2) Terell Battle WR/DB 6"3 190 lbs. Mountain View HS, Lawrenceville, GA

3) Jaylen Carter WR/DB 6"0 180 lbs. Taft School Watertown, CT

4) Christian Carti WR 6"1 190 lbs. Bergen Catholic HS Oradell, NJ

5) Braden Dougherty TE/DE 6"5 230 lbs. Dublin Coffman HS Dublin, OH

6) AJ George LB/RB 6"2 190 lbs. Ottawa Hills HS Toledo, OH 

7) Chase Goodwin QB 6"2 200 lbs. Memorial HS Houston, TX

8) Quinn Herlihy DL/LB 6"3 238 lbs. Cheshire Academy/Shrewsbury HS Worchester, MA

9) Jaden Hinton OL/DL 6"3 300 lbs. Ames HS South Easton, MA

10) Baily Kornegay-Douhadji DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Sharpsburg, GA

11) Keelan Kornegay DE 6"3 230 lbs. East Caweta HS Shapsburg, GA

12) Braeden Marceau-Olayinka DL/OL 6"3 262 lbs. Melrose HS Melrose, MA 

13) Malachi Mercer LB 6"1 225 lbs. Bergen Catholic Oradell, NJ

14) Mikey Nabbout DE/TE 6"3 245 lbs. St. John's Prep Danvers, MA 

15) Chase Newton WR/DB 6"3 195 lbs. Walter Payton Prep Chicago, IL

16) Levi Robins DB 5"11 175 lbs. Saguaro HS Scottsdale, AZ

17) Nik Winzer OL/DL 6"6 285 lbs. Matawan Regional HS Matawan, NJ

 

Undisciplined

Dartmouth 27 Columbia 24

Why Dartmouth Won

The Big Green capitalized on just about every crucial Columbia mistake, especially with two TD drives when they were handed excellent field position. The Dartmouth defense also bent but didn't break most of the day.

Why Columbia Lost

The Lions committed almost every possible special teams error you can make in a single game. They also failed to find the end zone on several golden opportunities in the 1st half. 

Key Turning Points

-Columbia used all running plays to rumble 78 yards from its 21 to a 2nd and goal at the Dartmouth 1 to open the game. But then it switched to the wildcat formation, and for the second time this season the very high snap eluded RB Ty'son Edwards and the Big Green recovered.

-Midway through the 2nd quarter and with Dartmouth leading 7-6, a sack by Ben Corniello and Justin Townsend forced a Big Green punt, that returner Bryson Canty let graze his body for a muff and Dartmouth took over at the CU 30. Eight plays later it was 14-6 Big Green.

-Columbia mounted an impressive comeback to come from 24-9 down in the 3rd quarter, to tie it up at 24 with just over two minutes left in the game. The Lions seemed to have the game in hand after a brilliant strip sack by Townsend gave CU the ball at the Big Green 14. But PK Alex Felkins missed a 29 yard field goal three plays later. Then, Dartmouth moved the ball 65 yards without any timeouts to set up the eventual 32-yard game-winning FG with 4 seconds left. 

Columbia Positives

-Townsend remains an amazing force on the D-line and will have a great career at CU.

-Columbia ran the ball well all day. 

-QB Caden Bell played generally well in his first start, as he figures to start the rest of the season for the Lions because of an injury to Joe Green. 

Columbia Negatives

-The special teams errors included that missed FG, a blocked punt for a TD, a muffed punt, a punt for NEGATIVE one yard, and a mishandled kickoff that forced CU to start at their own five (and ended with that blocked punt). 

-The missed scoring opportunities were legion, and none was worse than the fumbled wildcat snap on the opening drive. 

-Sad to say this, but Columbia simply looks like a poorly-coached team. 

Columbia MVP

-Justin Townsend is a force.

Week 6 Picks

 

Last week, I went 6-1 straight up, but 3-4 against the spread. My season totals are now 28-8 (.777) and 16-19-1 (.457) ATS. 

Princeton -1 at Harvard

Everything about this game emotionally favors Harvard, but the Tigers have been a better team on the field this year, period. 

Yale +2 1/2 at Penn

The Elis smell a shot at the title. Penn may not be there yet. Elis to win this one. 

Brown -1 vs. Cornell

Very evenly matched game, but this is now or never time for the Bears. 

LIU -3 1/2 at Wagner

When do we get LIU on our schedule, asking for a friend who lives 7 minutes from LIU's stadium. 

Butler -7 1/2 vs. Marist

Do the Red Foxes have any angry bloggers demanding change? Asking for a friend. 

Colgate -14 vs. Georgetown

The Hoyas keep disappointing. 

Looking for a Lift

Dartmouth Big Green (1-4) vs. Columbia Lions (3-2)

October 22, 2022

Columbia Homecoming 

Kickoff Time: 1:30pm

Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium 

Game Time Weather Forecast: 66 degrees and sunny

The Line: Dartmouth is favored by 1 1/2 points

TV/Radio: In addition to the regular online streaming, the game will be broadcast live on SNY 

Columbia Game Notes 

Dartmouth Game Notes

Leading Story Lines

1) Both teams enter this game on what has to be a multi-year emotional low point. The Big Green are in the midst of a four game losing streak, killing hopes of a third straight Ivy title. Columbia is coming off a humbling loss at Penn, also killing off its hopes of an Ivy title. 

2) This is the first meeting between the two teams since last year's surprise 19-0 win for the Lions at Memorial Field on national TV. There will be some revenge aspects to this game on the line. 

3) Both teams face intense scrutiny over their offensive units. Dartmouth was shut out last week vs. UNH, while a veteran Lion offense has underperformed despite some new stars emerging. 

3 Columbia Players to Watch

-QB Joe Green needs to prove he belongs as QB1 after perhaps his poorest performance of his Columbia career, and a nice showing in garbage time by backup Caden Bell. 

-LB Scott Valentas will likely be the CU defender who has to stop strong running Dartmouth QB Nick Howard. 

-WR Bryson Canty is generally worth keeping an eye on whenever he's on the field.

3 Dartmouth Players to Watch

-QB Nick Howard still has the ability to take control of games, health permitting. 

-DB Sean Williams is an exciting freshman who can disrupt a lot of offense. 

-WR Paxton Scott has found a way to make an impact despite Dartmouth's offensive issues. 

Ivy Power Ratings

 

1) Princeton

The Tigers controlled the Bears for just about the entire game, responding strongly after Brown finally put up a momentary challenge. Now, the big test vs. Harvard.

2) Yale

The Elis seem to get stronger every week. 

3) Harvard

The Crimson can finally prove their preseason accolades true with a win over Princeton Friday night. But a loss will be crushing. 

4) Penn

The Quakers have a real "moment of truth" game vs. Yale this Saturday, and it's at home.

5) Cornell

The Big Red are a scrappy team winning the games they can win.

6) Columbia

Lions still have the talent to challenge any team, but seem unfocused.

7) Dartmouth

The Big Green are now dealing with even more injuries. But the defense is improving. 

8) Brown

The Bears just don't have enough tools. 

Muscled Out

 Penn 34 Columbia 14

Why Penn Won

The Penn defense forced Columbia into several mistakes, while the offense made none of their own on the way to an easy Quaker victory. Forced turnovers were a big key to the Penn win.

Why Columbia Lost

The Lion offense was inconsistent and often forced. The defense was generally strong, but could not make the big plays the Lions needed to change the momentum.

Key Turning Points

With Penn leading 3-0 late in the 1st quarter, the Lion defense stopped the Quakers on 4th down to take over at the CU 29. With time for just one more play in the 1st quarter, Columbia opted for a screen pass that QB Joe Green threw right into the hands of Penn DL Micah Morris who took the interception in for a TD. The Lions never really recovered after that. 

Columbia Positives

Not one, but two CU wide receivers J.J. Jenkins and Bryson Canty finished with more than 100 yards receiving. 

Columbia Negatives

The Lion offense seems more than sluggish. It routinely cannot execute certain plays, like screen passes, that the coaches continue to call. Green is also forcing too many of his passes into coverage. The defense is also allowing receivers to sneak into the middle of the field on delayed patterns for big gains.

Columbia MVP

Jenkins had 7 catches for 162 yards, most of which came before "garbage time." He joins the list of many Lion weapons on an offense that is simply not equal to the sum of its parts. 

 

Urban Rivalry

Columbia Lions (3-1) at Pennsylvania Quakers (4-0)

October 15, 2022

Kickoff Time: 1:00pm

Franklin Field 

Game Time Weather Forecast: 69 degrees and sunny

The Line: Penn is favored by 3 points

TV/Radio: The game is available on ESPrN+

Columbia Game Notes

Penn Game Notes 

Leading Story Lines

1) Penn is trying to prove its 4-0 start is for real, after seeing its program fall out of contention since it last won a share of the Ivy title in 2016. Columbia is trying to prove its sluggish overall offensive performance for much of the last two weeks is the fluke. 

2) In a series that's long been dominated by the Quakers, the Lions have won the last two meetings. But CU still hasn't won at Franklin Field since 1996.

3) Columbia Head Coach Al Bagnoli returns to Franklin Field perhaps for the last time as a coach. 

3 Columbia Players to Watch

1) QB Joe Green needs to start sharp to avoid another slow start for the Lions offense. Penn's defense has been stout this season, so that won't be easy. 

2) S Fara'ad McCombs has become the target of opposing QB's a little more often than one might have expected coming into this season. McCombs needs to make Penn pay if they try the same. 

3) WR Bryson Canty is someone to keep your eye on week after week. 

3 Penn Players to Watch

1) DE Jake Heimlicher is the best player on a good Penn defense.

2) WR Rory Starkey isn't getting targeted as much this season, but that could change Saturday. 

3) CB Logan Nash will likely draw the unhappy duty of having to cover Canty most of the day. 

Week 5 Picks

 

I went 5-1 straight up last week, but only 1-4-1 against the spread. My season totals are now 22-7 SU (.758) and 13-15-1 ATS (.464) 

Brown +20 1/2 at Princeton

The Tigers will win this game, but I don't see it as a major blowout. Look for Brown to lose by 17 or so.

Dartmouth -7 vs. UNH

If the Big Green plays as well as it did last week in a close loss to Yale, they will win and cover. 

Yale -26 vs. Bucknell 

Yale will be looking to flex its muscles offensively. 

Cornell -8 1/2 vs. Lehigh

-The Big Red will score enough points to cover. 

Wagner +14 1/2 at Merrimack

Wagner will lose again, but make it close. 

Dayton -3 1/2 at Marist

Marist won't make this too close. 

Howard +17 1/2 vs. Harvard

Harvard will win, but the Crimson seem to let all their opponents make it close. 

Scouting Penn

Aidan Sayin

There are some interesting things that stick out at you when you look at Penn's 4-0 season. 

The headline facts are that the Quakers are undefeated, have been stronger on defense than on offense, and they have faced four weak or weaker-than-expected opponents. 

Digging deeper, and if you got a chance to watch any of those four games, you see a team that's still looking for some real offensive star power and leadership, while its defense already has both in senior DL Jake Heimlicher who is throwback to the kind of Penn defensive stars we used to see in the 80's-2010's. 

The biggest change you can see a lot easier is Penn has an entirely new situation at QB with sophomore Aidan Sayin completely at the helm and not splitting duties at all. Simply put, he's doing pretty well if not spectacularly. But given the overall production Penn has had from the QB position for the last few seasons, this is a step up. 

The Quakers are running the ball less by committee this year than they have in recent years, and are leaning more on senior Trey Flowers as a primary RB right now. He too has done generally well, if not spectacularly. 

Penn's receivers are a corps of mostly newer faces, but I still think senior Rory Starkey is the most talented of them all. He's one of Sayin's primary targets this year but the Quaker passing game uses a short range attack mostly.

Penn's strongest attributes are on defense. Like the Lions, the Quakers have been stingy against the run, although Dartmouth's QB Nick Howard did run pretty wild over them two weeks ago in that double OT Penn win. 

Penn's pass defense hasn't really faced too much of a challenge, but the Quakers have only allowed one passing TD all year so far. 

All of the above is standard stuff, but I am happy to report there's real news when you look at Penn's special teams:

1) Penn's kickoff returner, senior Jonathan Mulatu, is dangerous. He's averaging 29.7 yards per return, meaning Columbia's PK Alex Felkins will definitely want to boot balls deep to get touchbacks every time on Saturday. 

2) Penn's PK Graham Gottlieb is a short range kicker, who has only even tried to attempt FG's from 29 yards or less. So, keeping the Quaker offense from getting inside the 15-yard line on any drives could likely mean a defensive stop. And it could also mean Penn will go into 4-down mode with regularity. 

3) Penn uses a kickoff specialist, freshman Chase Meyer.  But neither he or the other freshman kickoff specialist the Quakers used before him have recorded a single touchback this season. So, Columbia's kick returners need to be ready to cleanly receive and effectively return the ball. 

We're #1

We know Columbia has been strong on defense overall, especially against the run. But count me as surprised this morning when former Lion player Frank Furillo alerted me to the fact that CU is the #1 ranked rushing defense in the entire FCS.

In a related stat. Columbia is second in the FCS on opponent 3rd down conversions, allowing them just 22.6% of the time.  

Granted, the Lions haven't really faced a very good rushing offense so far, with tough matchups in that regard on the way against Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and Dartmouth (injuries permitting). But this is a nice sign that new Defensive Coordinator Justin Stovall and the new defensive staff are handling the transition well. 

This Saturday, the Penn rushing offense features a talented veteran in Trey Flowers, who ran for 149 yards last week at Georgetown and is fifth overall in the Ivies with 336 total yards. But Penn is much more of a passing team this year and that's surely something the Quaker coaches are hoping gives them an advantage. 

To fans watching the Lions this year, it seems like the pass defense has been a little soft at times. In total yards, Columbia has actually given up the most passing yards in the Ivies. But in the awkwardly named "Team Passing Efficiency Defense," CU is ranked 9th in the country and behind only Penn in the Ivies. Go figure.

The bottom line is the Lion defense is playing very well, while the Columbia offense has been sputtering a bit over the last two games. Penn's defense is strong this season, so a better offensive performance is essential for CU to get this crucial win at Franklin Field... a place where Columbia hasn't won since 1996. 

Bagnoli Watch

Saturday will be Head Coach Al Bagnoli's third chance to own a career winning record with the Lions. The first chance was his very first game helming the Light Blue against Fordham in 2015. His second chance was week 3 this year at home vs. Princeton. Now he comes back to the stadium where he recorded so many great wins leading the Quakers as their head coach for 23 seasons. 

A victory on the visitor's side has eluded him so far in two prior meetings in Philadelphia. Columbia played Penn closer than many expected in 2016, but the Quakers had a mostly drama free win. Two years later, a furious CU comeback ended on a late interception. Because of COVID, it's been four long years since the Lions visited Franklin Field. It seems like the perfect place for Bagnoli to claim the amazing feat of becoming the first Columbia head coach to earn a career winning record at the 50+ game mark since Lou Little. A win would make Bagnoli 33-32 for the Lions while Little after 65 games was 45-18-2. (Little finished his Columbia career with a losing overall record of 110-116-10).

Oh, and Columbia's record in the 65 games BEFORE Bagnoli became the head coach? That was 14-51, with the final 21 games all losses. 

Ivy Power Rankings

 

1) Princeton

The Tigers defense doesn't have the big names like it did last year, but it might be better. It certainly is very fundamentally sound. I'm not sure any Ivy offense will be able to crack it. 

2) Yale 

Yale's earlier rout of Cornell seems more impressive now, and it adjusted well to a new-look Dartmouth offense Saturday.

3) Harvard

The Crimson keep winning, but somewhat unimpressively.

4) Penn

The Quakers have taken on weaker opponents, but the 4-0 record is still impressive.

5) Columbia

The 3-1 Lions have the tools, but have looked sluggish two weeks in a row.

6) Cornell

If only the Big Red were a little better on defense.

7) Dartmouth

The Big Green almost pulled off what would have been an impressive upset at Yale, no matter what the folks who only favored the Bulldogs by four think.

8) Brown

The Bears are disjointed. They have momentary offensive power, but don't sustain it. The defense is not there. 

Delayed Arrival

Columbia 28 Wagner 7 

Why Columbia Won

The Lion defense stepped up early and often while the Columbia offense sputtered for most of the first half. When the Lion running game finally got going, Wagner had run out of chances.

Why Wagner Lost

The Seahawks couldn't score on two golden opportunities in the 1st quarter, and then never got a running game going to balance their attack. Wagner also could not stop the CU running game down the stretch.

Key Turning Points

-On the opening Seahawk possession of the game, Wagner drove 59 yards on 12 plays all the way down to the Columbia 18. But plays #13 and #14, Seahawk QB Nick Kargman (who was not listed on the two-deep, but you knew he was likely to play) threw two incomplete passes in a row to turn the ball over on downs. The first incompletion was greatly the result of a QB pressure from DE Mitch Moyer, and the second came thanks to a great breakup by DB Seth Parker. 

-With 4:33 left in the 1st quarter and the score still 0-0, Wagner began its third possession of the game all the way back at its 14 yard line. But thanks to a personal foul penalty on the Lions and then a 40-yard catch by Jallah Zeze  the Seahawks had the ball at the Columbia 19. The the CU defense tightened again, highlighted by a five-yard sack by DE Justin Townsend. That forced a 38-yard FG attempt that Wagner never got off because of a bad hold, and the Lions had dodged a bullet again. 

-With 11:08 left in the half and the game still scoreless, Columbia took over on its own 27 and started to run the ball down Wagner's throat. The resulting 10-play 73 yard drive featured eight running plays and just two passes. Of course the one pass that highlighted the drive was QB Joe Green's sky toss that WR Bryson Canty went up and took away from the Seahawk defender (or at least tied him for the catch and a tie goes to the offense) for the first TD of the game. But before that play, RBs Ryan Young, Joey  Giorgi, and Ty'son Edwards combined for 41 yards on the ground, with Young getting 30 of them.

-With 26 seconds left in the half and the score still 7-0, the Seahawks again had a great scoring opportunity when they got a big 57-yard catch and run from Naiem Simmons to put them on the CU 23. But Kargman's next two passes were incomplete and the third was tipped by Townsend and picked off by DE Joshua Powell to end yet another serious threat. 

-After Wagner scored a TD to make it 21-7 Columbia with 14:07 left in the game, the Lions needed to answer to keep the contest from getting too interesting. Instead they drove the ball all the way down to the Wagner 23, but Edwards fumbled the ball away there on a 1st down run and the Seahawks were in business. But once again, the Columbia defense stepped up and forced Wagner to punt on that first ensuing possession and then turn it over on downs at the Seahawk 29 on the next. Those stops included a sack by DT Patrick Passlaqua and DE James Knox to stifle the first drive and a pass breakup by Townsend to quash the second. After Columbia took over at the 29, it took only one play for the Lions to score as WR Wills Meyer made several nice moves to turn a short pass into a TD and Columbia had iced the game.

Columbia Positives

-The Lion defense continues to play at a very high level, despite executing a little more like a "bend/don't break" D in this game. The rush defense is about as good as we've even seen it here.

-Speaking of rushing, Young had the first 100-yard game of his career which I join Head Coach Al Bagnoli in being surprised by since Young has had so many great games for Columbia his career. The offensive line's blocking schemes were particularly impressive, as the Lions got effective blocking and execution from multiple tight end sets. When everyone in the stadium knows you're going to run the ball on certain plays and you still get 1st downs and TD's, that's good stuff.

-Canty continues to proves he's an exciting weapon with little fear of going after any ball. 

Columbia Negatives

-The Lions got away with a very slow start that would have probably left them behind by at least two scores to most Ivy opponents before CU got going. 

-Columbia's two lost fumbles were costly and definitely ended scoring drives.

-The punting game was stellar, but the punt return game was a little scary when PR Carter McFadden muffed his second punt in as many weeks. This time he was able to recover for no real harm done. 

Columbia MVP

-One could easily give this designation to Justin Townsend for the second straight week, but RB Ryan Young took control of this game at just the right time on his way to a 24-carry, 117-yard performance that included a TD. If he can really get going for the Lions, a lot of other questionable pieces will fall into place for this team.

Island Wars

Turn left at the Battery and take the Hudson all the up to Spuyten Duyvil 

Wagner Seahawks (0-4) vs. Columbia Lions (2-1)

October 8, 2022

Kickoff Time: 1pm

Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium

Game Time Weather Forecast: 58 degrees and sunny

The Line: Columbia is now favored by 26 1/2 points

TV/Radio: The game is available on ESPN+

Columbia Game Notes 

Wagner Game Notes 

Leading Story Lines

1) Columbia is coming off a disappointing loss and trying to get empotionally charged up again by playing a non-conference team that's frankly hard to get charged up for.

2) Wagner hasn't won a game since 2019 and is coming off a set of cupcake "buy in" games to Rutgers and Syracuse that ended worse than even most skeptics could have predicted. 

3) The Lions face a more mysterious opponent than usual, as Wagner is not easy to figure out after the cupcake games. 

3 Columbia Players to Watch

1) QB Joe Green had a rough day vs. Princeton last week and needs to regain his poise on the field Saturday.

2) OL Stew Newblatt leads a veteran crew up front that will be facing Wagner's best player, DE Titus Leo (see below)

3) DE Justin Townsend had that breakout game I expected him to have vs. Princeton last week. Can he keep the momentum going?

3 Wagner Players to Watch

1) DE Titus Leo can be a one-man wrecking crew and he will be focused on rushing Green and taking Columbia's outside running game away.

2) It looks like regular starting QB and Western Michigan transfer Nick Kargman will be out again this week, meaning the starting duties go over to QB Ryan Kraft.

3) RB Rickey Spruill can be a dangerous weapon.

Week 4 Picks

 

Last week I went 7-1 straight up and 5-3 against the spread, bringing my season totals to 17-6 SU (.739) and 12-11 ATS (.521)

Harvard -10 1/2 at Cornell

Watch for a late surge by Harvard to cover the spread here.

Yale -4 vs. Dartmouth 

I like this to be a thriller of a game, but Yale will cover. 

Princeton -14 1/2 at Lafayette

This seems like a no-brainer. Tigers will win this easily.

Brown -7 at CCSU

This is a good matchup for the Bears, who will win it easily. 

Georgetown +14 1/2 vs. Penn

The Bulldogs will surprise the Quakers by keeping this close, before losing anyway. 

Stetson -3 1/2 vs. Marist

The Hatters will win by a TD or so.

Ivy Power Rankings

 

1) Princeton

The Tigers have the closest thing resembling a complete team in the Ivies right now. The defense is elite, and the offense has decent firepower. 

2) Yale

The Eli offense is strong, but its defense is clearly not quite there. 

3) Harvard

The Crimson still aren't getting very good QB play, but Harvard can still easily win the title. 

4) Columbia

The Lions defense is better than expected, while the offense stumbled vs. Princeton. But a lot of offenses will be stumbling vs. Princeton this year. 

5) Penn

The Quaker defense is impressive so far, but still no real improvement offensively.

6) Cornell

The Big Red has a legitimate offensive attack, but it hasn't been really tested so far. The defense is porous.

7) Dartmouth

The Big Green have to get a passing game going. 

8) Brown

The Bears need to score 40+ per game to win. They can't do that against more than one or two Ivy teams.

Reality Bites

The new jumbo video score board was a really nice surprise on an otherwise disappointing day

Princeton 24 Columbia 6

Why Princeton Won 

The Tigers played excellent defense and their offense was able to take advantage of a number of Columbia turnovers and other errors at key moments. 

Why Columbia Lost

The Lions couldn't get a consistent offensive attack going, and then made crucial turnovers and special teams failures. 

Key Turning Points

-With Princeton leading 7-6 and just over 7 minutes left in the 1st half, Columbia faced a 4th and 1 at the Tiger 5. The Lions elected to go with a wildcat play, but the snap was mishandled by Ty'son Edwards and the Tigers took over on downs. 

-With Princeton still leading 7-6 and just over 2 minutes left in the half, the Lions had a 1st down at their own 43, before a Joe Green pass that should have been caught was bobbled and then picked off at the Tiger 48. Princeton then cashed in just before the half with a TD to make it 14-6 at the break.

Columbia Positives

-The Lion defense played very well, holding the Tiger offense to just 276 total yards, 19 yards rushing, 1-12 on 3rd down, and six sacks, three of them from sophomore Justin Townsend.

-The Columbia TD came on a very heads up play by Aaron Brebnor, who scooped up a lazy screen pass that was legally a fumble for the score. 

Columbia Negatives

-The Lions showed none of their vertical passing game, turned the ball over numerous times, and had no answers for the Princeton defense. Some of the coaching decisions were dubious as well, especially the decision to go for it with a shotgun wildcat play on that 4th and 1, and choosing to go for a 2-point conversion on Columbia's one and only TD of the game. 

Columbia MVP

-Justin Townsend had his breakout game in just his third start of his career. He will be someone opposing teams will have to account for years to come. 

Going Forward

Columbia lost to a very good Princeton team that has definitely lost something on offense, but not much on defense. To salvage the season, the Lions must eliminate the mistakes on offense and make sure that special teams -- long a strength for this team -- does not become a glaring weakness.