Why Columbia Won
The Lions offense started in high gear and never really let up as it grounded out 447 total yards. Even after starting QB Chase Goodwin went out with what ended up being a minor injury early in the 2nd half, the Lions kept rolling. Meanwhile, the defense was resilient with key stops in multiple pressure situations.
Why Lafayette Lost
The Leopards couldn't stop Goodwin and backup QB Cole Freeman from picking them apart. while their offense was inconsistent and never took full advantage of some key second chances. The Lafayette defense forced just two punts and gave up more than 200 yards on the ground.
Key Turning Points
-With Columbia leading 10-6 and 12:39 left in the 1st half, Goodwin fumbled the ball away to the Leopards at the Lafayette 49. But just three plays later, Columbia CB Carter McFadden made an acrobatic, one-handed interception of QB Dean DeNobile's pass to kill the threat. Then the ensuing Lion drive was an eight-play 80-yard march ending in a Columbia TD.
-With 4:24 left in the 3rd quarter and a tenuous 17-12 lead, the Lions took over after a poor Lafayette punt at their own 40. On the first play of the possession, CU RB Malcom Terry burst through the right side of the Leopard defense for a 53-yard run to the seven. On the next play. Freeman and WR Ethan Hebb hooked up on an astounding throw and catch for a Lion TD.
-On the ensuing drive, Lafayette turned the ball over on downs at its own 49. On the fifth play of the resulting Columbia possession, Freeman threw a 38-yard TD pass that WR Bryson Canty bobbled, but then brought in brilliantly for the score.
Columbia Positives
-The Lions offense was relentless, varied, and executed a more aggressive style brilliantly. Goodwin was the star, despite his early exit with super accuracy, good improvisational throwing, and clutch running.
-Against one of the most talented offenses it will face all season, and certainly one of the biggest offensive lines, Columbia keep Lafayette RB Jamar Curtis from ripping them apart and somehow kept DeNobile from even trying to test throws in the middle of the field until late in the game.
-When was the last time Columbia had two QB's throw for multiple TD's EACH in the same game? The answer really has to be NEVER.
-The Lions had numerous opportunities to panic and lose the lead. But both the defense and the offense was up to the challenge each time.
Columbia Negatives
-Lafayette's huge defensive line was held mostly in check, but insufficient protection on Goodwin's right side led to both of his turnovers.
Columbia MVP
-Despite only playing two and a half quarters, Chase Goodwin set the tone in his first collegiate start. He looks like a generational talent for Columbia at this point.
40 comments:
Good analysis Jake. I thought that the OL did an excellent job in both the run game and the pass game. The blocked pass was really on the otherwise excellent Goodwin—he should not have tried to throw that ball with hands in his face. Otherwise he looks like a tremendous talent, and his backup in Cole Freeman was very good, except for one bad throw on a sideline pass into the ground. Canty is a special player.
Situ Smith a great hire! How about Poppe!
Terry's run--and the blocking that sprung him--was a huge momentum swing in the game that Lafayette never really recovered from. It was particularly satisfying being at Baker Field to experience the team's energy, especially after sweltering at last year's game in Easton, where the team, with essentially the same players w/o Goodwin and Freeman, were listless and lost. The Lions really beat up a very good , well-coached team yesterday, with no flukey plays or ref gifts. Speaking of refs, what was with the constant and seemingly endless replays? And can we please PLEASE! fix the audio for their calls, so the audience has some idea what's going on? Lastly, why can't the stadium announcer actually announce, as in say who was involved on each play on both sides of the ball? If he needs a spotter, get him one. And for God's sake, stop with the embarrassing "and it's third down" intonations. Other than that, an all-together terrific, highly entertaining game, one of the best I've ever seen since my freshman year in the Doug Jackson era. Go Lions, go Poppe. Bring on Princeton!
Era of Hall of Fame mediocrity is over! New system on offense is in place. It took a long time to ditch it, but what's with all the deep throws! Mostly all on the $$$$!. Wait until we get some more experience in the system..
Jake--where was Leibman?
In addition to Lipman, I didn’t see big John Martin on the field as part of the DL rotation. To me the play of the game was probably McFadden’s one handed interception, followed by Canty’s TD catch at the south end of the stadium.
Libman. I assume
Unfortunately a lot of players were injured for the game. Hopefully they start getting back on the field soon
I was impressed with two things in particular. As Jake points out there were ample opportunities to let the favored Laf back in to the game and neither side of the ball relented. Secondly, it sounds like a small thing but there was no noticeable fatigue among the Lions. Not an easy thing for an opening game against a team playing their fouth
And no, Pilling is not responsible for the schedule. Lots of these comments here are just plain silly
Jake, thanks for the great write-up. If this Columbia team has any weaknesses they were not apparent yesterday. I would not be surprised at all if we win the Ivy League Championship this year.
The sound system has been lacking for decades. Let’s hope someone responsible reacts to your constructive criticism.
Btw Ivy may be quite strong this year. Y with very good win. Penn with perhaps best showing of the day against Del
What a great way to start the season with a win against a strong opponent. The offense looked particularly sharp and Canty was incredible! Freeman really stepped up! I know it is just one game but this team has great potential to make a run for the Ivy title this year, which would be remarkable!
The speakers were also blaring and sounded awful. Turn down the volume!
McFadden noted in the press conference that we still need to catch up on game conditioning. Luckily is was around 75 degrees and not 85 degrees for the opening game. DC may be much warmer.
One thing that Jon Poppe said during the week in his interview was that we had the talent to line up with anybody we play against. That is critical, obviously. Our WRs seemed to win the three or 4 50/50 balls yesterday. Being 6’2” or so helps!
Peddie Prep, where Mark Fabish is now Head Coach, has been outscored 62-8 over their last two games. As I recall, all of last season, Lion quarterbacks had six touchdown passes. How many were thrown yesterday? Do we hear, four?
It is not easy to recruit quarterbacks and receivers if you do not throw the ball.
Dude, did Fab steal your wife or something? Let it go
Mark Fabish, a Man for All Seasons, 1997
Lay off Fabish. He is a good man who doesn’t deserve gutless anonymous attacks.
agree!!!
He couldn’t coach, but that’s no reason to criticize him.
Agreed. Fabish is a good man. Stop the bullshit.
Nobody cares about Peddie Prep
Georgetown is our next opponent. The game is in the nation's capital. What's the battle plan ? Which general will lead the attack Chase or Cole? Malcolm Terry's home town is Washington D.C. so obviously he will be fired up. My very early prediction is. that we will by a score of 38-14.
The White House is in Washington DC.
Really enjoyed Coach Poppe's energy on the sidelines before, during and after the game ! Congrats Coach on your first HC victory at CU. This team is fired up. They just beat a very good FCS opponent that had 3 games under their belt ! Hoping our starting QB Goodwin is able to heal quickly (hate injuries to our QB's facing seasoned defenses in the opener ). But hey, Freeman looked great too ! We're going to compete with anybody ....Georgetown has a problem.
Remember who recruited a lot of these kids. Too bad Canty was hurt much of last year. He’s gonna be great.
Do not look past Georgetown toward Princeton. This is a classic setup for a trap game on the road.
I’m sure they will not look past Georgetown. As they emphasized in the post game interview, focus on each game and on every single snap. Coaching staff will have the team very focused on the Hoyas and retaining the Lou Little Cup.
Stovall picking up where he left off. Ferraro trained him well. How does Poppe not succeed with Seitu on the case too?
Days of Mediocrity and Less, are GONE!
Agree.... Change was long overdue!
We need to adjust to the deep ball a little better. Our DBs were burned on a few deep balls. We are a defense built on first stopping the run, and our safeties may need to adjust where they line up.
I just looked at the latest polls and I find it odd that Harvard and Dartmouth would be in the mix and not the Lions. Harvard and Dartmouth faced pretty weak competition unlike the Lions who pretty much controlled the game on all sides of the ball against a ranked opponent. It is like the Lions can't get any respect. At the end of the day, if they continue to handle business on the field, the respect will come though.
Without sounding paranoid, until we establish ourselves with several quality wins we will not be given the respect that all of us (note for example the Penn fan on voyforums who predicted that we would lose to Lafayette in a blowout, and has now predicted that we would squeak by Georgetown by 3 points) would like to see us get..We did pretty well on two player of the week awards!
We played very well. I couldn’t make the game, and of course I’ll be at CU this weekend when we play the Hoyas on the road, lol. But Poppe is gonna take us to the promised land! Hope Goodwin is okay—he looked a little more composed than Freeman, but both impressed me. Canty is phenomenal, and we have quite the receiving corps. The D also looked very good. We have some things to clean up, including defending the deep ball. But a very promising start, and I think we’ll handle the Hoyas. One snap at a time.
ROAR POPPE ROAR! Thank you for bringing your energy, enthusiasm and excitement to this program! And for bringing out the best from our boys. It was felt by the players and the fans. Well done TEAM!!! Way to FIGHT up front OL!
Lions 56
Hoyas 6
Please don’t predict a blow-out. The football Gods punish that sort of hubris—reminder Lit Hum.
Agree. Still so much can derail this thing. Injuries and hubris two of the biggest risks. Stay focused fellas. One rep at a time
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