Still a Step Up

With 74 days until we kick off the 2018 season, it looks like just about every pundit is expecting Columbia to fail to repeat on its 8-2/2nd place finish from last season.

But it's the reasons they're making those predictions that shows how far the Columbia program has become. Every assessment I've seen simply points to the graduation of QB Anders Hill and trouble any program would have replacing a player of his caliber in his senior year. 

Think about that. Just about any other time Columbia enjoyed success over the last 50 years, talk of a "fluke" and predictions that the Lions would turn back into a pumpkin would be all over the preseason publications.

But now with Head Coach Al Bagnoli at the helm and plenty of great returning talent, the consensus prediction is that Columbia will finish in the middle of the pack. Yes, that's a step up.


TV SCHEDULE

Yesterday, the athletic department released the 2018 schedule with kickoff times and TV information. I'm not sure if the ESPN+ deal precludes networks like SNY from simulcasting some Columbia games like they did last season. I hope we do get some simulcasts, because I like being able to see archived games in my living any time.

But we do know we have some fresh aspects to the schedule this year.

The season opener at Central Connecticut, (Bagnoli's Alma Mater), will be at the odd time of 5pm, so get an early dinner.

Game two at Georgetown begins at 2pm.

And remember, the home opener against Princeton will be on Friday night at 6pm.

Beginning "The List"

With summer recruiting camps in full swing at many Ivy schools, we're starting to see some commitments roll in for 2019.

Columbia now has two.

Dominic Dodson


The first committed a few weeks ago. He's 5-11 185-pound DB Dominic Dodson from Central Catholic HS in Pittsburgh.

According to my LionFeeders commitment database, Dawson will be the fifth Central Catholic grad to come to Columbia Football and the first since Mack Loughrey '10.

Alex Felkins


The second committed last week. He's 6-4 170-pound Kicker Alex Felkins from Holland Hall HS in Tulsa.

Felkins got very high marks from the Chris Sailer Kicking Academy and had preferred walk on offers at some top schools and an offer from Air Force Academy and Boston College.

Felkins will be the first Holland Hall grad to come to Columbia Football.


So, let's start the list for 2019


1. Dominic Dodson DB 5"11 185lbs. Central Catholic HS Pittsburgh, PA

2. Alex Felkins K 6"4 170 lbs. Holland Hall HS Tulsa, OK

An Honest Assessment

Hero Sports has what sure looks like a fair assessment of Columbia's chances for the coming season.

Bottom line, the analysts believe it will be too hard for the Lions to repeat last year's 8-2 season with a new QB to break in.

It's certainly the clear challenge for Head Coach Al Bagnoli and his staff, but there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful.

Here is the link to the entire overview.

Losing one of our own

One good thing that you get from having a football program that's struggled for so many years is dedicated fans.

The recent upswing in Columbia Football notwithstanding, to be a Columbia fan is to be a devoted and true fan.

One of the most devoted was Beverly Rosenstein, who died on May 26th at the age of 96. 

Her son Frederick passed this on about her passion for the Lions:

".. she loved Columbia football. I mean LOVED COLUMBIA FOOTBALL. She started going to the games in the 1940s. She saw Bill Swiacki make "the catch" against Army, once left Baker Field having a brief conversation with Eisenhower in the 1950s, rooted for Archie Roberts in the 1960s, survived the Cardiac Columbia Kids of 1971, sat through the losing streak of the 1980s, and you get the picture. And yes, she was at the last game in the wooden stadium. I kinda knew something was up when she needed a little more help than usual this past season getting to her seat, and on a return ride home after a game this past fall, she remarked that she wasn't sure she would be able to make next season's games. FYI, my mom also served as a lieutenant in the Woman's Army Corp during World War II."

I'm very happy she at least got to see our amazing 2017 season and her experiences with the program ended on such a high note. 

May her family and friends enjoy and honor her memory for years to come. 

"O" or "D?"

This is going to mostly be a post about statistics, but there is some news to hit first.

On Friday, we learned that former U. Florida QB Jake Allen had decided to transfer to Dartmouth.

I can now report that Allen had also strongly considered Columbia, but it looks like new Dartmouth assistant coach David Shula helped bring him to Hanover based on his name and the fact that Allen and Shula both attended St. Thomas Aquinas HS in South Florida.

Allen looks like a great passer and his taller stature will make him stand out in the Ivies. His mobility is in question, however, and it appears his reluctance to play in a mobile QB system pushed him out the door in Gainesville.

This is still a nice coup for Dartmouth, who lacked a proven passing QB in its arsenal.

Meanwhile, Columbia's coaches do seem more optimistic about the QB position for the Lions after both Josh Bean and Dillon Davis performed well in spring practice.


Who Improved More?

Most Columbia fans know a key factor in the Lions title run last season was the big improvement in QB play by now-graduated Anders Hill and the superstar status CU receivers Josh Wainwright and Ronald Smith earned with big play after big play.

But was it the offense that really improved more overall than the defense in 2017?

Let's look at the numbers:

Compared to 2016, the offense scored 29.1% more points, gained 10% more total yards, 19.5% more passing yards, 26.3% more yards per pass, but also declined by 5.2% in total rushing yards and actually dropped to 2.9 yards per rush compared to 3.2 in 2016.

On the other hand, the defense improved in every category. It allowed 29.1% percent fewer points, (yes the exact same percentage change as the offense enjoyed... weird), gave up 8.3% fewer total yards, 18.5% fewer rushing yards, and a small 0.5% decrease in passing yards.

Stats aside, it's really hard to think of any game where the defense had a poor performance. The two losses against Yale and Harvard which much more a result of offensive failures and the CU defense put in stellar performances against Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn, Cornell, and Brown.

No one is taking anything away from the offense, but the CU defense was underrated last season.

Only three key defensive players have graduated. CB Cameron Roane will be the hardest to replace, DL's Lord Hyeamang and Connor Heeb were good but still part of a very deep rotation on that D-line.

Meanwhile, the entire deep linebacking corps returns, almost all the secondary is back, including three of the four starters, and the D-Line is still stacked.

Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Paul Ferraro has been in this role since Head Coach Al Bagnoli brought him here when he first arrived in 2015. That's good stability that shows.

So, while the focus during this summer will be on who will be Columbia's new QB, don't forget the defense is looking about as good as it has in decades at Wien Stadium.