Saturday, November 2, 2024

Off the Mat





Columbia 13 Yale 10


Why Columbia Won

The Lions defense came up big against Yale's potent attack, limiting the Elis to 10 points and making them work hard for every 1st down. The offense used a mix of starters and key replacements to limit its mistakes and eventually put it all together in the 4th quarter for a dramatic win. 


Why Yale Lost

The Eli offense had trouble getting any consistency, while the defense didn't get off the field on some key 3rd down plays and finally was unable to stop CU on the 96-yard drive for the winning score.


Key Turning Points

-Columbia's promising first possession of the game ended with no points when a brilliant punch of the ball forced QB Cole Freeman to fumble it away at the Yale 11. That set the tone for much of the night for the Lion offense, as Columbia often was able to gain consistent yardage, but could not get much in the way of points. 

-With Yale leading 7-3 and 8:17 left in the 3rd quarter, the Elis were in the middle of a 53-yard drive with a 1st down at the Columbia 25. But the next three plays netted no yards and the resulting Yale FG try from 42 yards out sailed wide right. 

-The Lions began the 4th quarter down 10-3, and they put together a 50-yard drive to set up a 43-yard FG attempt going in the same direction that Yale had missed from just a few minutes earlier. But PK Hugo Merry made his kick perfectly, and the Lions were back in striking distance now down 10-6.

-The CU defense forced a three-and-out on Yale's ensuing possession, but a brilliant 58-yard punt by Eli P Shamus Florio pinned the Lions at their own 4 with 8:29 to go. Columbia responded with a number of running plays and one pass to get them all the way to the Yale 44. The key play was strong burst up-the-middle run by RB Griffin Johnson for 17 yards and 1st down on 3rd and 7. Then on the very next play, Freeman connected with WR Bryson Canty for a well-executed 44-yard TD bomb to grab the lead and the eventual win. 


Columbia Positives


-Yale came into the game scoring 32 points per game, but stellar linebacker and secondary play held the Elis in check. Other than the missed FG, there weren't really any serious scoring threats that CU was lucky to avoid. The Elis never snapped the ball inside the red zone, and were an unspectacular 6 0f 14 on 3rd down conversions.

-Canty clearly outdueled Yale's David Pantelis in a game some thought was featuring the two best WR's in the Ivies. 

-Freeman threw the ball and ran better than his earlier start against Georgetown, and never even came close to throwing an interception. Just as importantly, he was clearly in charge on the field and the team responded well to him.

-In addition to Freeman, the Lions got stellar performances from backups thrust into the game. Johnson had a number of key runs, LB Charlie Newton was on fire late in the game, and the O-line allowed just one sack. 

-Merry bounced back from his recent slump to nail two crucial field goals with no misses.  


Columbia Negatives

-The Lions are still having a big of trouble scoring touchdowns in the red zone, and came away with just three points from their two visits there last night. 


Columbia MVP

-Cole Freeman got a lot of help of course, but his performance overall was above and beyond what most Lion fans could hope for. 

86 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great win for the lions have the lions won every game they were an underdog in and lost every game they were the favorite?

Anonymous said...

Where is Raleigh Erwin?

Anonymous said...

Great to see another win for the lions. As many have noted though I think it is only right to give credit where credit is due. Fabish really set this team up for success instilling strong values of a winning football team and it is great to see the fruits of their labor. If Poppe can continue to build on their legacy and bring in the same level of talent they were able to bring in, the future is bright. However, I certainly want to be careful to not put the cart before the horse and will be interested to see how the following years go.

Anonymous said...

B-b-b-b-u-t-t-t Happy Feet!

Anonymous said...

So far this season, The Peddie School's football team is 2 wins and 5 losses under Coach Fabish.

Anonymous said...

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Anonymous said...

Lions were not favored for Dartmouth

Anonymous said...

Harvard up 30-27 on Dartmouth. Easily the two best teams in the league and what a game!

Anonymous said...

Big game next week! Then 2 more tough ones (anyone who thinks either is a gimme hasnt been paying attention. Ans Karma exists, but only in football)

H’s offense can score so quickly. DiPrima is a true headache in the redzone. I will be there cheering the fellas on

Anonymous said...

The Lions have tremendous depth at running back with Joey Giorgi, Malcom Terry and Griffin Johnson.

Anonymous said...

😂😂😂🤡🤡🤡 OK, I was laughing out loud when the Fabish platitudes started. But the joke has been played out, and we now return to our regularly scheduled programming!!
ROAR LION ROAR!!

Anonymous said...

DIPRIMA reminds me of ther Lafayette QB. So what will we have to do to beat Harvard?

Anonymous said...

Griffin Johnson has impressed as a guy who can get the hard yards between the tackles. Where has he been?

Anonymous said...

Definitely impressed with Johnson.

DOC said...

A 96 yard TD drive for the ages for the win ! We won because this is one tough, gritty, well-coached group of Lions. Total team effort. A defense weakened by injuries that refused to fold. LB Newton only one example of next man up. A joy watching Cole Freeman grow into his role as starter, his pass to Canty a 44yd thing of beauty. RB Johnson yet another weapon. An offensive game plan that was balanced. A very happy scene of parents, coaches and athletes celebrating a brilliant win . Some serious November football to
follow...

Anonymous said...

Yes they were

Anonymous said...

Watching Harvard v. Dartmouth was informative. Poppe and Smith know the Harvard schemes and personnel. Stopping Barkate — a tall WR— will be key on defense.

Anonymous said...

Goodbye Fabish and his predecessor! We are not going back!

Anonymous said...

Loved Newton's hit on Pitzenberger in the open field! Loved the 3rd down blitz! Brought the house! Stovall on the case! Poppe's enthusiasm has amped up the team! Fabish? Goodbye, Good luck, Good riddance!

Anonymous said...

6-7-8 wins, more than DOUBLES last year

Anonymous said...

On October 28, 2023, Yale drubbed the Lions 35-7. 368 days later, a tie for First Place. No one saw that coming!
Then again, “There is a reason the rear view mirror is so small, and the windshield so expansive. You can only advance by looking forward.”
Not to add any pressure, but there is little chance of getting any outside help. After next Saturday, Harvard has Penn and Yale, Yale being at home, so there is no likelihood of a repeat of their meltdown last year. Dartmouth has Princeton, Cornell and Brown, with the only glimmer of hope being that only Brown is at home.
It will take only one loss in the league to grab the title, or a share of it.
Let’s go LIONS! Continue to dazzle.

HokieToph said...

I think there is more than a glimmer. In FCS world, you never fully know what you're going to get from week-to-week. Plus, if Columbia takes care of its own business the rest of the season, then they will have an ivy league title. One game at a time, obviously, but it is nice to control your own destiny.

Injuries are starting to pile up unfortunately, so margin of error is getting a little smaller. What is nice is that Columbia has shown the ability to sustain drives and maintain ball control. No game should be out of reach. Great gut check win yesterday from a team that has had CU's number for awhile.

Anonymous said...

Each time we had what we felt was a big win we follow it up with less than our best performance. Again, less hype and propaganda, and more underdog focus and mentality. Every game from here on out is a championship game. Keep winning and we prove every preseason prediction wrong by at a minimum sharing the title. "If what you did yesterday looks big, you don't plan to do anything today.", HOLTZ. To the prior poster's point - Let's get our focus on what's in the windshield, not the rearview. Harvard, Harvard, Harvard. More importantly, having a great Sunday of prep to get off on the right foot. Stack reps, periods, practices and days. Win moments and forget what we've done until the season ends. With that said, if we learn from the prior feel good let downs, we win 26-20.

Anonymous said...

Key on defense is putting some pressure on Harvard QB and sealing the edge; Barkate is a handful to cover—tall with good hands-how will we play him? On offense they will probably try to double Canty; should be opportunities for our TE. Expect to see more of Johnson at RB; seems to be more of a load than Terry as an inside runner.

Anonymous said...

This team believes and that’s the message the Poppe has instilled. Stovall coaching the D is next level. Has anyone realized we’ve been changing up in game from 4-3 to 3-4. Note the only way we are getting pressure on the QB is via blitzing. Our DL needs to up their game on pressure. Doing nice job against the run but pass rush is lacking. Really miss Justin Townsend.

CUFB Alum

Anonymous said...

Agreed on pressure comment. Since DE Townsend has gone down with injury, we only get pressure with blitz on the outside. That’s a problem. Need DL to step up.

CUFB Alum

Anonymous said...

I would look for more zone blitzing when playing 3 man line. Based on dormation one of the OLBers should always be free to rush from weak side

Anonymous said...

As someone who knows a thing or two from coaching youth football, I prefer a zone blitz out of the 3-5-3 Stack Defense. Personally, I am not as aggressive as I probably should be as far as blitzing goes. However, I do love to call blitzes that are low-risk. I try not to blitz just to blitz. I try to blitz statistically. Down & distance, scouting, what hash the ball is on, and overall flow of the game will usually determine how much and where I blitz. I love this zone blitz because it allows us to rush 5 defenders and still keep 6 defenders in zone coverage.

This blitz is excellent on long down and distances. It also works very well against mobile QBs as well. This blitz sends our dogs off of the edge. They are the primary contain players. Usually our dogs have the flat on pass plays and our stack backers have hook-curl/ contain QB. This blitz just has the stacked backers (R) & (L) switch pass responsibility with the dogs. This gives this blitz an element of deception and it is a great tendency breaker.

Anonymous said...

I love blitzing

Anonymous said...

Interesting side note—-there is a Penn booster by the name of “Asia Sunset” who seems to know more about Columbia football and football recruiting than anybody on this board. He has followed our committed recruit list and has brought to our attention several recent decommitted recruits. Today he posted that one of our guys just decommitted and decided to commit to Yale.

Anonymous said...

Coach Poppe’s letter to the faithful breaks down the brilliant defensive scheme which stopped Yale when it matters. We have some smart guys on our coaching staff. PS, Coach made clear that we did not meet our usual standards in the Dartmouth game but that everybody really focused this week at practice and put that off day in the rear view mirror.

Anonymous said...

Shout out to Charlie Newton in coach’s letter-and I am not his Dad.

Anonymous said...

Charlie Newton has a high ceiling.

Anonymous said...

Uncle?

Anonymous said...

I know you hate it when I malign Bagnoli, but did you ever see so many underclassmen play so many minutes AND so successfully? Most of the time you had to be a Jr or senior to see the field! The only thing that I don't agree with coach Poppe is letting the play clock to almost zero on offense and having the defense taking sooooo long to get the sideline signals into the defense. A well coached team would use a hurry up against os and soon will.

Anonymous said...

Who keeps wanting to hang onto Fabish. Let him go!!! Poppy has done a great job! He and his staff deserve all the credit for the change. If you want to see Fabish Coach go watch that high school team that is 2-5. Quit disrespecting Poppy for the job he has done and the atmosphere he has created.
GO LIONS!!!

Anonymous said...

AutoCorrect…….Poppe!

Anonymous said...

Hmm 2022 saw 2 soph start all 10 games on def line and frosh play significant minutes. Last year saw 3 soph start all 10 games on Oline. Oh and canty and libman both played early. Oh and joe green was Ivy rookie of year, playing over a returning starter senior captain

This year’s freshman class does appear to have a lot of talent, particularly on defense. But I will continue to believe coaches play who they think will most help for a win

Anonymous said...

How many of the faithful would have believed that we would be sitting in a first place tie at this point, despite losing key starters? So take a deep breath and enjoy the next three weeks.

Anonymous said...

Just trying to help fans “keep it real.” But sorry if facts get in the way of your preferred narrative

Anonymous said...

CU back to #6 in FCS allowing 16 ppg. H not far behind at #25; 21 ppg. H’s offense is #20, CU #70

Anonymous said...

Have never seen so many posts singling out play of one kid ie Newton

Anonymous said...

Good defense usually beats good offense.

Anonymous said...

"and vice a versa "
Casey Stengel

Anonymous said...

agreed !!

Anonymous said...

Our standout freshman defensive back, Carter McCray, was just selected Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Credit Jake for telling us about McCray weeks ago.

Anonymous said...

Bryson Canty is a dynamic player who should be a high NFL drft pick

Anonymous said...

Bingo - enough about this kid. Next.

Anonymous said...

Three wins to an Ivy title - that’s the players’ mindset. Biggest obstacle - Harvard. This is THE game of the year. Focus boys!

Columbia FB Alum

Anonymous said...

Agree with the prior poster--Columbia vs. Harvard is clearly the Ivy League Game of the Year.

Anonymous said...

Is there a way to find out which NFL scouts will be at the Columbia-Harvard game.? I assume the Cincinnati Bengals know all about him from Andrei Iosivas and the Giants from Dante Miller.




Do we





Anonymous said...

Any idea where he is on the Mel Kiper WR ranking for '25? Usually a decent guage.

Anonymous said...

Skip or Lou?

Anonymous said...

The comments on blitz techniques were very interesting. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Will we attack Harvard on the ground with our three excellent running backs--Joey Giorgi, Malcom Terry and Griffin Johnson---or thru the air with Bryson Canty et al? It will be fun to see what Coach Smith comes up with for his return to Cambridge.

Anonymous said...

Both

Anonymous said...

Take two from Brown and Cornell and mail it in at 7-3 for year one is a realistic point of view but do we lose two for a 6-4 finish ? Worst case is 5-5.

Anonymous said...

Then gear up for still another losing BB season under Engels! Earth to Pilling! " I still have the greatest confidence in the mission, Dave!"

Anonymous said...

We are looking at 7-3 or 8-2. In Poppe we trust!

Anonymous said...

Engles the worst basketball coach in the history of the Ivy League? Put him in the Ivy League Hall of Shame with the Mangurian candidate!

Anonymous said...

The Columbia Women Basketball Team eassily won its season opener by a 87-47 score over Stony Brook tonight at Levien Gymnasium. Coach Griffith emptied the bench early in the game. The Columbia Men Basketball Team edged Loyola of Maryland in its season opener with strong performances from Geronimo de la Rosa and Kenny Noland.

Anonymous said...

The girls BB team has a deep bench. Our freshmen are impressive. Potentially our best team ever. 4 are the 5 starters (Kitty, Riley, CeCe, and Perri Paige) are All-Ivy caliber. I think this year we are the best in the league.

Anonymous said...

what is the latest on injuries going into this week?

alawicius said...

Good for Engels. great win.

Anonymous said...

Watched Lions close out last night—came from 12 or so down with 5 to go. first year Ritter looks like he will help out in the front courtDLR and Noland led the way. Brown came through at the end but otherwise will need to do more offensively.

Anonymous said...

Saw the last 30 seconds or so. With all those missed free throws, the Lions gave their opponent multiple opportunities to push the game to overtime. Sometimes you get lucky, Jim. Not expecting anything in conference from this team.

Anonymous said...

Engles wins a game in year eight (or whatever this is), and everybody thinks he’s the second coming. Guy is awful, and the inevitable injuries and underachievement are just around the corner. I wish that weren’t the case, but he should have been fired years ago. I won’t tune in and won’t donate until we get a competent coach. Football, on the other hand!!! Poppe showing everyone how it’s done—I’m loving it!!!!

Anonymous said...

You don't donate.

Anonymous said...

Women, not girls. Get it together.

Anonymous said...

Yes I do, you clown.

Anonymous said...

chicks

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't donate a nickle to Columbia

Anonymous said...

If you were a legit donor, you'd be telling Pilling about withholding your money. You wouldn't be bragging about it on a blog. $100 doesn't count.

Legit Donor said...

How do you know I’ve not told Pilling already? You’re a scrub

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows

Anonymous said...

Everyone knows what?

Anonymous said...

Is that you, Jim?

Anonymous said...

Please be advised that my generous annual giving plan will no longer include a $100 donation to Columbia Athletics. I will continue to donate $50 to my beloved Columbia Marching Band, an organization that had great impact on my undergraduate experience.

Mr Money Bags

Anonymous said...

Marching Band has never been witty in the least. Football gets some money from me, but basketball no longer does. Marching bad never will get money from me.

Anonymous said...

I donated $2 mil annually so Bags could go .500 in conferemce

Anonymous said...

Says the guy who was 3-27.

Anonymous said...

Mango!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

From gocolumbialions.com: Peter K. Mangurian (pronounced Man - GUHR - ee - an), veteran NFL coach and former Ivy League head football coach, was named Columbia University's Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football in December 2011.
In his first year at the helm, Mangurian guided the Lions to three victories, highlighted by a thrilling season opening 10-9 triumph over Marist and an Empire State Bowl win over Cornell. The Lions saw four players earn All-Ivy League honors, including first team nods for defensive end Josh Martin, who was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in April, and senior running back Marcorus Garrett.

Mangurian has more than 30 years of football coaching experience in the Football Championship Subdivision, Bowl Championship Subdivision and the National Football League. He has coached in five bowl games, four with Louisiana State University, including two Sugar Bowls. In the NFL, he coached in four AFC Championships and two Super Bowls.

No stranger to the Ivy League, Mangurian was the head football coach at Cornell University from 1998-2000, compiling a 16-14 overall record, but bringing Cornell from last place in the Ivy League in 1998, to third in 1999 and second in 2000. Mangurian posted a 10-4 Ivy League record in 1999-2000, marking the best two-year conference record in Cornell history.

Mangurian began his coaching career in 1979-80 at Southern Methodist University as an offensive line coach. He coached the offensive line at New Mexico State and Stanford before returning to his alma mater, LSU in 1984. With the Tigers, Magurian coached in two Sugar Bowls, the Liberty Bowl and the 1987 Gator Bowl.

In 1988, Mangurian began a long stint in the NFL, first with head coach Dan Reeves and the Denver Broncos for five years as a tight end/half backs coach and offensive line coach.

Mangurian moved with Coach Reeves to the New York Giants from 1993-96, and then to the Atlanta Falcons in 1997.

After a very successful three years as the head football coach at Cornell University (1998-2000), Mangurian reunited with Reeves in Atlanta as the offensive line coach and then as the offensive coordinator in 2002-03.

To round out his NFL coaching career, Mangurian spent four years with the New England Patriots coaching the tight ends (2005-2008) and two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009-10).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for cutting and pasting irrelevant info.

Anonymous said...

You’re irrelevant.

Anonymous said...

Is that you, Pete?