Saturday, October 7, 2023

Sloppy Second Win

 Columbia 16 Marist 0


Why Columbia Won

The Lion defense held the Red Foxes to just 34 rushing yards, picked up four turnovers, and blanked Marist despite the Red Foxes starting three possessions on the CU side of the 50. The offense used a dominating running attack in the 1st half to give Columbia the points it needed. 

Why Marist Lost

The Red Foxes went 0-4 on 4th down conversion attempts, could not get a running game going, and turned the ball over too often to pose a real threat. 

Key Turning Points

-With the game still scoreless and 10:35 left in the 1st quarter, a 26-yard Carter McFadden punt return set the Lions up nicely at the Marist 35 to start their second possession of the game. Columbia then began a 10-play drive of all running plays that ended with a TD by Ty'son Edwards on 4th and 1 at the 1. That would turn out to be the winning score. 

-Columbia began the 2nd quarter with a fumble that set Marist up with the ball at the CU 49. But a 12-yard sack by Quentin Autry basically ended the drive and the 6-0 Lion lead was safe. 

-Less than three minutes later, a Joey Giorgi fumble set Marist up with a 1st down at the Columbia 37. But on 4th and 2 from the Lion 29, Red Fox RB Amin Woods was held to just a one yard gain by DE James Knox, and another major Marist threat was over. 

-With 2:18 left in the half and CU leading 9-0, the Lions started their last possession of the 2nd quarter at the 50 after another solid McFadden punt return and a Marist penalty. The drive ended with a strong 22-yard TD run by Edwards and the Lions had finished the scoring for the day. 

Columbia Positives

-The defense, especially against the run, was strong and the pass rush was vigorous at least through the 1st half. 

-Columbia's 1st half running game was mostly unstoppable. 

-The secondary was excellent when it was actually in coverage. A number of ball were knocked down, and CB Aaron Brebnor showed great concentration on the two deflected balls he picked off. 

Columbia Negatives

-The CU passing game is just not working, as QB Caden Bell continues to struggle. 

-Yes it was a very rainy day but the Lions fumbled the ball way too much, twice in clutch situations. 

-The team definitely lost some energy in the 2nd half, but the defense was tough enough in the red zone to preserve the shutout.

Columbia MVP

It feels weird giving the MVP nod to an offensive player in a game so dominated by the Lion defense. But RB Ty'Son Edwards had his best game as a Lion with 103 yards on the ground and those two TD's.

64 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that we will start seeing 7 and 8 in the box unless our passing game improves. Granted the weather was awful, but Bell missed a wide open Jenkins on a deep ball and is just got getting it done with his arm.

Anonymous said...

Earth to Fabish. Come in Fabish. Are you there? Are you there? Bell is in need of a replacement.

Anonymous said...


Please deal with the center to qb exchange ... "For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe ..."

Leonlion

Anonymous said...


My gosh! I cannot believe I didn't see it sooner! The coach is using the current offensive scheme to give the other Ivies a false sense of security. He obviously has planned all along to wait before starting Green to catch the other Ivies asleep and finally deliver shock and awe.

We have have a great rushing attack. Imagine how much greater it would be if wee had an aerial
attack which would keep the defense backs out of the box.

Anonymous said...

The OL is doing a nice job run blocking but we have a soph at center whose snaps are a bit volatile. Does a decent job blocking. Let’s see how the OL does against stout D’s in IVY.

Anonymous said...

Bubble Screen worked one time for the first time all season or did I miss seeing it 2x?

Anonymous said...

The left side of our OL is very strong. Most of the big running plays were sprung on that side. Painton in particular is playing left tackle like he was born to be a left tackle. I am awaiting a tackle eligible pass play.

Anonymous said...

That’s a really good question…what’s changed to the offense from when we had success last season? Play calling? QB decision making? OL? Receivers?

Anonymous said...

Putting the above under center on occasion might help and would tweak the playbook.

Leonlion

Anonymous said...

Putting the qb under center…

Anonymous said...

So would 2 back sets on occasion, Wishbone looks, options, etc. Thank God that Bagnoli's Wildcat is gone! I wish that his outdated offense were too

Anonymous said...

Loved the power sweep that we ran.

Anonymous said...

But the problem with a run game and no chunk plays in the air is that it’s tough to sustain long drives of 10-15 plays. Too many things can go wrong and red zone play is tough when it’s 7 or 8 and goal.

Anonymous said...

The wildcat works if you have a 230 pound QB to run it

Inwood Tiger said...

Not sure what was worse, the weather or the attendance (2,873). The rain ruined Northern Manhattan Neighbors Appreciation Day when hundreds if not thousands of tickets are handed out to Harlem, Wash Hts and Inwood residents.

The bad weather has been rough for most Ivy schools so far this season. Attendance is not looking good league-wide. 4,000 for Rhode Island at Brown and for Lafayette at Princeton? 2,250 for Georgetown at Penn? 2,880 for Yale at Dartmouth? At least Harvard-Cornell drew over 10,000 on a Friday night but these numbers have to be horrifying to the league and the alumni offices.

Anonymous said...

The weather is what is killing attendance, but our defense seems to thrive on it.

Anonymous said...

If before the season, someone told you the Scoring Defense would be giving up 8.5 points, through four games; you would have signed on in an instant. If that same person told you after four games you would be 2-2; you would have said, “impossible”.
The problem here is not the defense.
Is it the playbook? The play calling? The quarterback?
In truth, it does not really matter.
There is not a whole of time to correct whatever the problem is.
Either “Mr. Good Guy”, “Mr. Great Recruiter of New Jersey Talent”, figures it out, or he should be gone.
No more excuses. No more, “the tight end trapped the ball”, “Green is hurt”, “the rain”.
Let him show us that he has earned the job as “Head Coach”.

Anonymous said...

Take away Georgetown, and the team has scored two offensive touchdowns in three games!

Don B said...

I have only seen the Princeton game on TV and wish I could see in person. It seems from the comments that there isn't yet an overall complementary passing and running game strategy for each game with a game plan designed to fulfill the strategy. As an example (from something I learned in high school) if we have a really strong ground game, it should be able, strategically, to open up the short range passing game with TEs, slot receivers and backs. That is just another form of ball control and would seem (from the comments) to play to Bell's and receiver's strengths. A run game opening up a short passing game also opens up screens, draws, and a long passing game. It's all connected, but the comments each week point to lack of connectivity and strategy. I don't know if the coaches have anything like that in mind or if they think their players are not capable of doing anything more complicated than ground and pound. Have faith in the players!

As a long shot suggestion, D'Orazio was a senior assistant to Andy Reid. I am not sure what that means but I would wager even with Reid's busy schedule he would accept a call from D'Orazio to discuss game planning and related play calling even if it is just an hour or so. Why wouldn't coach D'Orazio not try?

A touchdown or two a game isn't going to win games and just as importantly isn't going to spur recruiting. Who wants to play for a Woody Hayes offense nowadays? If you are going to play, play to win.

Anonymous said...

Baby Gronk will be in the NFL. Mark my words. He is very similar to O’Neill with the Vikings

Anonymous said...

Give it a rest please daddy gronk

DOC said...

Arthur - Green's status is unknown and the coaching staff may be intentionally keeping that way. Don B. - couldnt agree more. This running game should open short passes and more ! Not clear what the problem is. A dry football on October 14th will tell us all we need to know.

Roar Lion said...

Not sure the game plan is the problem. The QB is not accurate: not short, not medium and not long. Yes, we've played three straight in the rain, but both the Princeton and the Marist QBs were more accurate in the rain than ours. As posters above note, we're going to see eight in the box the rest of the way. Marist had not given up fewer than 24 points until we scratched out 16. Ugly.

Bell played much better last year. Maybe he, too, is hurt. I see wobblers, bouncers and then long heaves that fly harmlessly over the receiver's head. We have a fine D, maybe we can gut out a few 10-7 wins. But I imagine we'll be underdogs for all of the league games.

Anonymous said...

Bell was buried deep on the bench for three years until Green went down in the Penn game. He salvaged the season with three excellent games at the end of the season. His teammates love him and elected him a captain. He plays with great heart. His problem is that his passing is not good. I saw him on Saturday exhibiting frustration that the wet ball was slipping out of his hand. Maybe that’s the case, but the Princeton and Marist QBs both outplayed him.

Anonymous said...

B-b-b-but. It’s the coaches fault!

Anonymous said...

These coaches don’t play favorites; they put the guys out there who they think give us the best chance to win on that day. In crummy weather perhaps they thought that Bell was that guy because he can run well and improvise. I’m glad I’m not a coach—the second guessing would be more than I could take.

Anonymous said...

Cupcakes! We need more of them. Stop scheduling teams like Lafayette who go out and get a coach from a D III school and turn it around in 2 years AND beat Princeton at home.

Anonymous said...

👏👏👏 well said

Anonymous said...

The so called "Final Book" published following the Marist Game lists three Columbia Quarterbacks as having participated, but exactly what they did in the game is not specified. One of the three quarterbacks is sophomore James Macauley and the other two are freshmen Chase Goodwin who hails from Texas and Xander Menapace of Pennsylvania. Neither of the two quarterbacks from North Carolina--AJ Simkins and Austin Greer got into the Marist Game. All five of the aforementioned QB'S racked up very good stats in high school You have to wonder what our quarterback coach, Sky Mornhinweg, thinks of these guys and whether he is planning to give one or more of them some playing time at qb in the near future.

Glass Half Full ‘90 Football Alum said...

I’m really surprised at the overwhelmingly negative tone of the comments here. Admittedly our passing game needs improvement, especially since we have an abundance of WR talent. Despite a late summer head coaching change, the team is 2-2, very nearly 3-1. With the benefit of a little hindsight, the Lafayette loss doesn’t look as bad as it did at the time, as Lafayette currently sits at 5-1, including a win over Princeton. It’s also important to remember it was our first game and Lafayette’s third of the season. Similarly, our win against Georgetown looks better than it did at the time, now that we’ve seen Georgetown beat Fordham and suffer a tough 42-39 OT loss to Penn in the 2 games after we drubbed them 30-0. Our D has been nothing short of spectacular and should give us a chance to win every game we play. Princeton was a tough loss but the Ivy league is up for grabs this year. There is no dominant team and it’s unlikely anybody is going undefeated in the league. We are 2-2 overall and have played only 1 league game, which we lost in the last minute, and most people here are complaining like we’re 0-4 and losing games by 30 points every week. Go Lions!! 6 Ivy games left and we control our own destiny.

Anonymous said...

Maybe, I am not able to see what I should be seeing.
What significant improvement have we made on offense in four weeks?
And, just as a reminder, what Ivy League games should I be viewing as “easy” or “likely” wins, enroute to “a chance to win every game we play”?

Anonymous said...

Folks,
Calm down! We're gonna compete in every game. This team has not laid down. Give them a chance to play. Nearly every Ivy game will be a toss-up. The coaches are not stupid. If another qb can do a better job I assume they will play. I'm proud how we have competed and expect we get some Ivy wins.

Anonymous said...

Quick, quick, petition the Athletic Director to sign Mark Fabish to a long term contract now. We do not want him to get away.

Anonymous said...


When Columbia was far ahead of Georgetown and there was no doubt we would win, why didn't the coach put in another quarterback for a few series to see what he could do.

We have some of the best receivers in the Ivies. Imagine their frustration just practicing running their routes game after game and not being given opportunities to catch the ball and show just how good they are.



Arthur Spector said...

I am sure we would have heard that Green is injured if he were...
Bell had 65 yards passing 10 completions........against Marist ..yes the weather was not optimal ..Marist QB threw for 203 yards in the rain...for 26 completions....against Princeton ..we had 71 yards passing... Princeton had 191 yards passing.......it was raining...

The Marist QB was sacked 4 times too..... We have a very good offensive line...and very very good defense...as we all know...and other QBs too ...why didn't any other QBS get any playing time when we were ahead.....I assume Green will start on Saturday if he is healthy ...we actually have a some amazing talent QBS on the bench ..


Penn has 1171 yards passing second only to Brown ...we have 417 yards ...last place...


Anonymous said...

Give it a rest

Anonymous said...

Insightful and well-written

Anonymous said...

If I remember correctly even Sean Brackett didn't start at quarterback until game six or seven of his freshman year.

Anonymous said...

there is definitely a political factor at play with Bell.

Shawn said...

Just checked early forecast. Rain. Again. Are you kidding? Need Jake to rank worst weather seasons for home games since his time as a fan. Looks like we’re headed for three-for-three for miserable conditions.

Anonymous said...

Assuming you have been at practice to evaluate the passing skills of all qb’s on roster. Reminds me of the nimrods on here who were championing a certain wildcat qb a few years back who had great HS stats and yet if you watched him in pregame warmups could simply not hit a receiver in stride

As a parent of player i have refrained from directly ctiticizing Columbia fans because I do respect the passion most bring. - especially given the overall lack of winning tradition. But it has to be said: the general football knowledge is incredibly lacking and the snark from some commenters is on the same level as the stupid halftime scripts from most ivy league bands

Who knows how many we will win. But it does appear the team is all in and they put forth great effort. It is fun (and painful) to watch. I for one am highly satisfied

Anonymous said...

Nice hearing from a parent, but current parents ought bear in mind that some of us with opinions have backed up our words with checks, often large checks. Some of us have played. Some of us have coached at various levels.

Anonymous said...

Great for those that support program. As i said i do respect the passion. IMHO none of that earns a pass for some of the stupid and/or snarky commentary. Even worse if it comes from former players or coaches.

I will try to ignore those comments in future. But i reserve the right to speak out again should anyone recommend the wingT, speed option or baby gronk to fullback

Anonymous said...

Hurry Up and Wait, in various forms, is a major part of the offensive problems. Anyone who scouts us, can easily see how to defend. Why do you think there are so many in the box?

Anonymous said...

God forbid that we UpTempo AT times, change the snap count, or do anything differently! Control the clock seems to be paramount. Thank you Al!

Anonymous said...

I highly highly doubt the negative comments on her come from former players or coaches. Most likely from dads of current players who lack playing time. Dads who coached youth football and know better than an Ivy coaching staff

Anonymous said...

Come to think of it, Baby Gronk to fullback for a few plays each game is actually a great idea. With his size and strength he would no doubt get 3 yards every carry. No doubt

Anonymous said...

I am neither a player, Dad or Coach. Ex player who's watched hundreds of Lions' games. If there are politics at play at the QB position, then we have our answer on whether current staff should be retained.

Green is healthy and ready to go. Has been for weeks. If we are in the business of winning games, then he needs to start vs Penn plain and simple. Other kid is gritty and tough which is admirable but that's where the niceties end.

#restoretheroar BEAT Penn!!

Anonymous said...

So you have been at practice and seen him throw?

NJ Lion said...

Arthur gets it.

NJ Lion said...

We’ve not been to practice, but we’ve happened to notice that our passing “attack” is last in the Ivies. In the first four games, the offense through the air—what little there has been thus far—has been nothing short of atrocious. Those are the facts. I admire Bell’s toughness, but Green (or, if necessary, another QB on our roster) has to play. We may not win another game in the Ivies if the offense doesn’t change; I, for one, won’t be “highly satisfied” with a 4-6, 3-7, or 2-8 campaign, especially given all the talent in this team.

Anonymous said...

But your assumption is that there is a better option available? Why do you assume this? Coaches are putting their livlihoods at risk to be political? Now, if the argument is we need chqnge for change sake, ok - I guess. But most commenters here either explicitly or implicitly suggest there is a better option available

Btw - try selling that to the team. Hey guys we are gonna roll the dice out there today even though we have all seen what our best option at qb is

Finally, any chance you and others may be overestimating overall talent level?

Anonymous said...

Yes. The level of talent is being wildly overestimated. Wildly.

Anonymous said...

Agree with you...and would add...a whole lot of whiners here who do not reflect fundamental support for our team...just bellicose whiners.

Anonymous said...

This is So Old. Stop.

Anonymous said...

The fanbase is awful.

Anonymous said...

That is definitely not what is killing attendance

Anonymous said...

Are you serious? I would say the political factor is apparent w Green. All of you alums or whatever u are wringing your hands over the fact he isn’t playing. Thats what smalls bad.

Anonymous said...

Because the starter always plays unless you are up by a whole lot more…dad.

Anonymous said...

Never a roar to restore and give it a rest Bell is the qb

Anonymous said...

Wildly!!!!

Anonymous said...

Bell is the qb. Get over it

Anonymous said...

Soooo no one is allowed to scrutinize or comment unless we have donated money?!? Oh my that is rich..pun intended. The truth comes out. Whoever writes the biggest checks has influence. Hmmm sounds like am NCAA violation to me

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable comment from an alum.