A Path to Glory?

Cornell Big Red (4-5) at Columbia Lions (6-3)

November 23, 2024

Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at the Baker Field Athletics Complex

New York, New York

Kickoff Time: 12 Noon

Game Time Weather Forecast: 46 degrees, partly sunny, and windy

The Line: Columbia is favored by 6 1/2 points 

TV/Radio: SNY and ESPN+

Columbia Game Notes  

Cornell Game Notes

Leading Story Lines 

-Columbia is facing an extremely rare chance to grab a share of the Ivy title. A win over Cornell and a loss by Harvard vs. Yale would clinch a tite for championship for the Lions for the first time since 1961. 

-Cornell has a chance to clinch its first winning conference record since 2005. 

-Freshman Columbia QB Caleb Sanchez will be getting his second start after looking solid in his starting debut last week. 

3 Lions to Watch

-WR Bryson Canty #2 is wrapping up his extraordinary, if injury-shortened, career with a chance to grab the Bushnell Cup for offensive player of the year depending on his performance in the season finale. 

-LB Jack Smiechowski #15 had a monster game at Brown last week where two of his hits were reviewed for targeting, but waved off. The refs will clearly be watching Smiechowski closely, but he will still likely play a major role in stopping Cornell QB Jameson Wang during his frequent scrambles and runs. 

-RB Joey Giorgi #25 may play a bigger role than usual in his final game, especially if the winds at Spuyten Duyvil are blowing hard enough to impede the passing game. 

3 Big Red to Watch

-WR Sam Musungu #3 is a breakout sophomore star for Cornell this year and often does much of his damage with yards after the catch. 

-LB Luke Banbury #25 is a bright spot for the Big Red defense. 

-TE Ryder Kurtz #86 has been an excellent receiving security blanket for Wang for much of the season and could also play a bigger role if the wind significantly shortens the passing game for both teams. 

Week 10 Picks

 

I went 4-2 straight up last week and a woeful 1-5 against the spread. My season totals are now 41-16 SU (.719) and 24-33 AGS (.421) 

Brown +14 at Dartmouth

I still like the Big Green to win, but something is missing with this team lately. 

Penn -6 at Princeton

The Quakers can salvage some pride with a strong win here. 

Yale +4 1/2 at Harvard

This feels like it will be one of the better H-Y matchups. I think Harvard wins by a FG. 

Lafayette +9 at Lehigh

The Leopards fell off a cliff this season. Lehigh will win, but I sense a closer game. 

Holy Cross -17 at Georgetown

The Hoyas have also fallen off a cliff.

Wagner +3 1/2 vs. LIU

Taking one last shot with the Seahawks to win. 

Ivy Power Rankings

 

1) Harvard

The Crimson dodged a bullet at Penn and now it's all about The Game. A win vs. Yale and Harvard owns the Ivy title all by itself. 

2) Dartmouth

The Big Green's setback at Cornell was a but of a surprise, but look for a strong finish against Brown at home.

3) Columbia 

The Lions have bounced back every time they've looked down for the count. Now they have an actual chance to tie for the Ivy title. 

4) Yale 

The Elis are looking stronger every week. 

5) Cornell

The Big Red became truly relevant this year and have one more game in the Jameson Wang era to make a bigger mark. 

6) Penn

The Quakers could have salvaged much of their season with a win over Harvard last week. As it is, this was a very disappointing year for a team many thought could win it all.

7) Brown

The Bears used to put it together every few years for a title run under former Head Coach Phil Estes. It hasn't happened yet under James Perry.

8) Princeton

This has been a year that Bob Surace and company will try hard to forget. Don't expect any miracles for Princeton at Penn Saturday.

One Last Challenge

 

Pat Passalacqua

Saturday's season finale will also of course be the career finales for the large contingent of Columbia seniors who, for the record have:

1) Overcome COVID cancellations of either their senior years of high school or, for the 5th year seniors, their first year at Columbia

2) Worked under three different head coaches

3) The pain and comedown of a 3-7 2023 season after two straight winning seasons 

4) A ton of injuries, including many that will leave some of them off the field Saturday

4) Unrest on campus and three different university presidents

Of course there are some amazing standout seniors who will be on the field on  offense Saturday to think about, especially starters RB Joey Giorgi, who came back for a 5th year, WR Bryson Canty, OL John Iannuzzi (both Iannuzzi and Canty are sought after post-grad transfers), WR Marcus Libman, and OL Pat Colicchio.

But as they go up against Cornell's potent offense, the senior defensive starters and key contributors will be facing maybe the biggest challenge of their careers in their last game. Despite a slew of injuries, many of those seniors will be on the field Saturday led by Co-Captain DL Pat Passalacqua, LB Anthony Roussos (both he and Passalacqua are 5th years), DL Ben Corniello, DL James Knox, and DB's Aaron Brebnor, Hayden McDonald, and Carter McFadden. Another 5th year standout, LB CJ Brown won't be starting but will hopefully see the field in a limited capacity as he has most of the season. I'm sure all of these guys feel a special responsibility for this game. 

Cornell is virtually tied for first in the Ivies for most points per game at 33 and is a close second in total yards. In recent weeks, the Big Red has turned it up a notch with 49, 49, and 39 points in their last three games.  

Rain has stayed out of the forecast so far, but expect wind to be a factor, which may or may not help the Lion defense; it's just that unpredictable. 

There are a lot of other seniors who will be fully sidelined due to injury, and I'm glad they'll be of course participating in Columbia's great tradition of introducing all the seniors on the field with their families before the game (don't miss that if you do go to the game). 

 

Next Men Up

Columbia 21 Brown 12 

Why Columbia Won

The Lions ran the ball with authority and had a potent if inconsistent passing attack to complement it. Freshman QB Caleb Sanchez had a strong first start, with three TD passes and no interceptions. Meanwhile the CU defense was stellar, never giving Brown easy paths to score.

Why Brown Lost

Brown's usually potent offense sputtered all day, and the defense was lucky to only give up 21 points considering Columbia's overall production. Several failed 4th down conversion attempts in their own territory were no help to the Bears either.

Key Turning Points

-With the game surprisingly scoreless and just 2:00 left in the 1st half, Columbia began a drive at its own 27. On the third play of the drive, Sanchez hit WR Bryson Canty for a 55-yard TD that featured two Canty stiff arms of Bear defenders and 7-0 lead.

-With the score 7-3 Lions and about six minutes left in the 3rd, the Lions went for a fake punt on 4th and eight from their own 34. DE Joshua Powell took the long snap and stormed 28 yards to the Brown 38. Two plays later, Sanchez hit WR Jordan Kelly with a 12-yard TD pass that Kelly did well to corral and give CU a 14-3 lead. 

-Brown started the 4th quarter in the middle of a drive that began at the Bear 20 and got as far as the Columbia 45 when Brown decided to go for it on 4th and 1. But LB Charlie Newton stopped Bear RB Matt Childs for a two-yard loss and the Lions took over at their 47. Three plays later Sanchez found Canty again, this time for a 52-yard TD and 21-3 CU advantage. 

Columbia Positives

-The Lion defense was excellent, giving the offense time to finally figure it out and start scoring. Columbia came into the game against a high-scoring Brown team giving up an Ivy League low 17-points per game and still managed to lower that average by the day's end. 

-Sanchez showed a lot of poise and never seemed to panic or make the worst errors.

-Canty had a dominant game, falling just shy of 200 receiving yards and jiving well with a third CU QB this season. 

-WR Ethan Hebb's slide down to forego a TD in order to make sure the Lions just ran out the clock was a classy and smart play. It reminded me of the MANY times on this blog and its predecessor that all of us openly whined about Columbia's opponents running up the score, (especially Yale). It's nice to not be in that position anymore and even nicer that no one can whine that way about us given the same opportunity, 

Columbia Negatives

-The Lions are still having some red zone TD-scoring problems, which cost them a number of opportunities to put this game away much earlier. 

-Columbia's return game was a bit of an adventure with a CU player who didn't get out of the way of a bouncing punt that led to a Brown score, and an almost disastrously bad kickoff return late in the game.

Columbia MVP

-Bryson Canty showed his mastery several times in the game and made the difference when it counted. 

HISTORY ALERT

-For only the second time in 63 years, Columbia goes into the final weekend of the season with a chance to get a share of the Ivy title, (a share was already clinched in 1961 going into the last game vs.Rutgers, but the Lions had a chance to win the title outright had Harvard lost to Yale that day. The Crimson won, 27-0). If the Lions beat Cornell this coming Saturday, and Yale defeats Harvard in The Game, the Lions will be co-champions for the first time since 1961.

-Columbia has already clinched its fifth winning season in the last seven seasons. Before this run, the Lions only had three winning seasons in the previous 46 years. 

-Jon Poppe has become the first Columbia Head Coach to post a winning season in his first year in the job since Lou Little did it in 1930... 94 years ago.

-Columbia has won the last four games at Brown Stadium, and thus haven't lost to the Bears in Providence in 10 years.