Good Omen?

George Rupp

George Rupp, who was the most pro-athletics president Columbia has had in my lifetime, (which is not saying much, but I’ll take it), is back on campus to teach in the Religion Department.

Rupp was president during the mid-90’s era when Lions football was relevant on and off campus.

Maybe he’s the good luck charm.

I’m willing to grasp at any straw.

Private Relations

We’re 14 days before the start of the Ivy football season and we still have not seen any news release from the league about the coming season’s TV coverage.

That would be bad enough, but it’s clear that at least some people, (like the folks at Yale), DO know the details but still the general public does not.

This is really odd behavior for a league that is battling dwindling fan interest and support, don’t you think?

The lack of communication and adequate promotion for Ivy football is a sad joke, and it stretches from announcing TV deals all the way to the flat out stupid ban on postseason play.

It’s all part of a not-so-hidden plan by the Ivy presidents to keep downgrading the sport, making it less and less interesting to sports fans, so they can eventually claim that there is no fan interest in the sport they’ve labored to make a lot less interesting.

If I were a TV executive, (oh wait, I am!), I would really laugh in the face of the people representing Ivy sports to me in a negotiation for a coverage package. It’s so obvious that THEY don’t care, so why would I care and dedicate my network’s resources to what they’re selling?

Oh, we’ll get some kind of TV schedule/package announcement in a few days with a lot of hyperbolic phrases mixed in. But the truth is the league doesn’t give a damn about the fans, cares less than that about the athletes, and does a bad job keeping that hidden from public view. 

Week 2 Picks

I almost had a perfect week to start the season.

I was a perfect 2-0 against the spread, but 2-1 straight up, (the Albany-Holy Cross game had no published line).

I only have two games to work with this week as Monmouth is off, but here goes:

Fordham +9 ½ at Villanova

The Wildcats are the toast of the FCS after almost beating Syracuse in double OT at the Carrier Dome. Villanova was impressive, especially QB John Robertson who had big numbers running and passing combined. This is really challenging the conventional wisdom that ‘Nova is no longer a perennial FCS power.

Enter Fordham, which looks very strong and now has what looks like a game-changing freshman RB to boot. But the Rams big win last week was against a relatively weak opponent.

This leads to a classic hedge bet. I like the Rams to cover this bigger spread, but Villanova should pull out the win at home.

So, take the points but expect the Cats to win a squeaker.

CCSU -4 ½ vs. Albany

This betting line here is a real head-scratcher after CCSu shocked Towson with a 31-27 win over FCS power Towson.

Why are the Blue Devils favored by less than a TD in their home opener?

I’m not sure, but if I were a betting man I’d jump all over this one and take CCSU and lay the points.

Albany was generally decent in their 14-13 win over Holy Cross last week, but they weren’t the best team on the field in that game. I just don’t see how the Great Danes keep this one as close as the oddsmakers expect. 

Captains, Our Captains

We learned today that QB Brett Nottingham and LB Ray Pesanello have been named co-captains by team vote for 2014.

I think this is good news on a number of fronts.

1)      THANK GOD for “captain deflation!” The practice on having several captains at once in reality means a team has no captains. The players need a centralized place to go with their concerns, ideas, etc. One guy for the offense and one guy for the defense is exactly right.

2)      My hunch seems to be right that Nottingham has truly earned the team’s respect for sticking with Columbia after last season’s quick injury and resulting debacle of an 0-10 season. This is a good sign of what looks like strong determination on his part to turn things around.

3)      I’m going to be optimistic and assume Pesanello got the votes because of some stepped up play on his part in camp. I like the Lions chances to field a solid linebacking crew if Pesanello can complement Pugliese and maybe someone like Gianmarco Rea or Max Keefe.

Tuesday Topics

Jeff Adams


Lions in the NFL

Columbia now has not one, but two alums on final cut. 53-man rosters in the NFL!

Josh Martin '13 made the Chiefs roster as expected. The only question for JMart is how much of a real impact he'll make this season, and there are many who believe he will be a significant contributor all year long.

The persistent Jeff Adams '12 was picked up by the Texans off waivers and placed on their roster. Jeff is now 6-7 and 305 pounds.

Adams will find some CU connections at NRG Stadium. Former Columbia player Javier Loya '91 is a limited partner/owner of the Houston Texans.

But unlike Martin, Adams is really fighting for his NFL life and has been for three years now. Let this be a lesson to all the new grads out there! To reach your goals, you have to work hard and even take some tough assignments and be willing to move on a moment's notice.

(Can you tell I've been working with some young interns lately?)

Cash and Carry

This new report shows that the richer a high school athlete is, the more likely he/she is to be recruited at Harvard.

I don't think this really impacts football in Cambridge, but it is more proof that the new way for elite Ivies to admit the children of the wealthy, (even if they have questionable academic records), is to put them on teams without a large fan base that would notice. Perhaps this is why so many Ivies have equestrian teams, squash, etc.


Thoughts on Saturday's Results

Fordham 52 St. Francis 23

-First of all, the game wasn't as close as the score would indicate, :).

-Fordham is even better than advertised, which is saying something. That's mostly due to the performance of freshman RB Chase Edmonds who had 181 yards rushing and several big gainer kick returns as well. Way back in May you might recall that I saw Edmonds as a very dangerous player and indeed he is.

-We'll see just how good the Rams are when they take on Villanova at Villanova this coming Saturday.


Monmouth 52 Delaware State 21

-Monmouth also looked better than advertised, mostly thanks to the performance of a premier RB. 5th year Senior KB Asante rushed for 152 yards on 22 carries.

But wait, there's more! Sophomore Lavon Chaney had 127 yards on 20 carries.

Perhaps more concerning for Columbia is the fact that the Hawk defense held Del. St. to 34 yards rushing.

Monmouth has this coming week off.


Albany 14 Holy Cross 13

Make it three-for-three for Columbia's out of conference foes as Albany beat Holy Cross in miracle fashion in the state capital.

Somehow, it seems like miracle isn't big enough a word for winning a game by one point after a 79-yard fumble recovery for a TD with 44 seconds remaining. In many ways, it was the equivalent of the Miracle at the Meadowlands.

The good news for Columbia is that Albany was clearly beaten in just about every stat other than the score.

But the Great Danes defense did hold the Crusaders to just 2.9 yards per rush and RB Omar Osbourne and QB Will Fiacchi put in solid performances.

It figures to get ugly for Albany this coming Saturday as they head to play Central Connecticut coming off CCSU's stunning upset of FCS power Towson.