Setting the Stage for Princeton: Vegas Weighs In

The betting lines for this weekend's slate of Ivy Football games is out, and Columbia is set as a two-point underdog at home vs. Princeton.

The other lines are:

Dartmouth -11 1/2 at home over Penn

Yale is a 24 point favorite at home vs. Howard

Colgate is a 2 1/2 point favorite at home vs. Cornell

Harvard is a 1 1/2 point favorite at home vs. Holy Cross

Rhode Island is a 14 1/2 point favorite at home vs. Brown

Other Games of Note

Syracuse is a 54 1/2 point favorite at home vs. Wagner

Fordham is a 25 point favorite at home over Georgetown  

Marist is a 6 point favorite at home vs. St. Thomas

Individual Shout Outs

It's worth just one more post looking back on the 42-6 win over Georgetown, especially to note some standout performance other than WR Bryson Canty's amazing day:

-Sophomore Safety Aaron Brebnor had a fantastic game, including one series where he made a tackle for a two-yard loss and then snagged an interception just four plays later. 

-LB Rocco Milia's 93-yard pick six was a nice read on a Pierce Holley pass in the middle of the field. It was the longest pick-six in CU history. 

-RB Malcom Terry's 40-yard TD run was made possible at first by a missed tackle, but then Terry did a nice job of outrunning a defender the rest of the way. It must have felt great for Terry, a D.C. native, to get that score in his hometown. 

BONUS POINT

-With his Steelers off for the weekend after the Thursday night loss to the Browns, it looked like Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Tomlin was in attendance at the game Saturday to see his son, Safety Mason Tomlin play. The younger Tomlin did get into the action late in the game, and he made two tackles.  

Added Thoughts and "Around the Ivies"

 Some other points from Saturday's game that are important to note:

1) Columbia ran the ball at least 5 times on "3rd and medium" (which, in my book is anything between 3rd and 7 and 3rd and 3, inclusive), and was successful in getting the 1st down on each of those runs, including one TD. 

2) CU was officially 14 for 18 on 3rd down conversions, but it was really 14 for 17 because the last 3rd down play was a kneel down. 

3) The crowd at Georgetown's well-located, but tiny Cooper Field was at worst a 50/50 split between CU and Hoya fans, but it felt more like 60-40 in favor of Columbia. There have long been plans to expand Cooper Field into a much larger stadium, but it's hard to believe the team could draw much of a crowd as long as it stays at the FCS level. 

4) The last time Columbia scored 40+ points in a game was week 9 at Brown in 2018 with a 42-20 win over the Bears. 

Around the League

-The big shocker Saturday was Sacred Heart's comeback to beat Dartmouth in OT. I had noted in the preseason that the Big Green's graduation/transfer losses on defense were more of a challenge than anything else in Hanover. But Dartmouth may be hosting Penn at just the right time next week as the Quaker offense seems mostly listless (see below). 

-Harvard's 35-28 win over Brown marked the second straight week that the Bears scored TD's in bunches late in a game that seemed over at the start of the 4th quarter. If Brown's defense can get something going, this team could pull off some wins. 

-Cornell predictably disappointed at home against Yale. For the second week in a row. Eli freshman RB Joshua Pitsenberger was the biggest offensive weapon for Yale. (Yes, Columbia offered him last year). 

-Penn's offense started slowly last week against Colgate, woke up in the second half, and mostly went back to sleep all day in a close win over Lafayette. The Quaker defense has played better than most expected, but the opposing offenses really aren't formidable.

-Princeton's win over Lehigh followed a similar script as the Tiger win over Stetson in week one: slowish start, and then a strong finish. It's too early to really evaluate much of the Princeton strengths and weaknesses right now. 

Destroyed Ya'

Columbia 42 Georgetown 6

Why Columbia Won

The Lions defense contained the Hoyas in the early going while the CU offense took a while to warmup. Once Columbia's "O" woke up late in the half, the Lions were mostly in complete control the rest of the way.

Why Georgetown Lost

The Hoyas couldn't run the ball on offense, forcing them to take their chances throwing the ball most of the game with mediocre results. The defense was inconsistent, but was consistently bad on 3rd downs, allowing the Lions to convert an incredible 14 of 18 3rd down chances.

Key Turning Points

-After CU QB Joe Green threw an interception on Columbia's first drive, Georgetown was set up at their own 30 with 9:25 left in the 1st quarter. But the Lions defense promptly forced a three-and-out and Georgetown's chance to cash in on the turnover was lost. 

-Columbia's next drive ended with a 50-yard FG miss by Alex Felkins, and the Hoyas began an impressive drive on their ensuing possession with 2:39 left in the 1st quarter. But after getting as far as the CU 29, Georgetown QB Pierce Holley threw an ill-advised pass under heavy pressure that was athletically picked off in the end zone by safety Aaron Brebnor.

-After Columbia executed an impressive 13-play, 90-yard TD drive to take a 10-0 lead with 0:59 left in the half, the Hoyas took over at their 25 with three time outs still remaining. But after getting one 1st down, Holley threw a ball over the middle that LB Scott Valentas made an acrobatic play on to get CU's second interception of the game. That set up Felkins for a 35-yard field goal to give the Lions a 13-0 halftime lead. 

-After Georgetown finally scored to make it 20-6 with about 5:15 left in the 3rd quarter, Columbia was forced to punt on its ensuing possession. That punt was badly shanked by Cameron Burt, and GU took over at the Lion 38 and with a chance to really swing momentum fully in their favor. But on 4th and 1 from the Lion 29, Valentas stuffed Hoya RB Joshua Stakely for no gain and the Hoyas never really threatened again. 

Columbia Positives

-The Lions defense held Georgetown to 0 net rushing yards, greatly narrowing GU's window of opportunities all day. 

-WR Bryson Canty, who was kept mostly under wraps last week after his early TD vs. Marist, was targeted much more frequently, and the result was 8 catches for 139 yards and TD. One of those catches was an absolutely circus-like one handed grab for 42 yards, which Canty snared despite being interfered with. 

-The Lions once again ran the ball by committee, enjoying 206 rushing yards on 4.3 yards per carry. 

-The CU offensive line was again strong, opening up big holes for every Lion rusher. 

Columbia Negatives

-The Lions zone pass defense allowed too many completions and yards, despite doing well to make sure those completions rarely led to serious scoring opportunities. 

-Columbia's kick coverage needs to improve, as does the punting game. These are two areas of the game that have been strong for CU throughout the Al Bagnoli era until now. 

MVP 

-Canty's dazzling plays were amazing enough, but he also helped other Lion receivers get open because of all the attention he understandably drew from the Hoya defenders. 

Capital Clash

Cooper Field

Columbia Lions (1-0) at Georgetown Hoyas (1-2)

September 24, 2022

Kickoff Time: 12:30

Cooper Field

Game Time Weather Forecast: 73 degrees and sunny

The Line: Columbia is favored by 12 1/2 points

TV/Radio: The game is available on ESPN+ with additional audio on the Columbia website

Columbia Game Notes

Leading Story Lines

1) Georgetown has always played Columbia tough in every game in the Bagnoli era. Often, the game serves as a good prognostication of how the Lions will play the rest of the season.

2) Columbia will be without RB Ryan Young for the second week in a row, meaning there will be a lot of eyes on Joey Giorgi and the offensive line to see if they can repeat their dominant performance against Marist last week. 

3) Georgetown brings back the same QB (Pierce Holley) and multiple wide receivers who torched CU for more than 400 yards in the air in last year's 35-24 Lion win over the Hoyas at Wien Stadium.  

3 Columbia Players to Watch

-CB Bryan Bell-Anderson: Faced with a choice to pick on him on his fellow CB Seth Parker, Holley will probably try to see if Bell-Anderson is the better target. It's tough choice, considering both CBs are very good.

-RB Joey Giorgi: Georgetown was burned badly on the ground by the Lions last year. But without both starters at RB from that game this time around, Giorgi will be under pressure to get similar results.on 

-WR Bryson Canty remains a potential game-breaker on almost every play for the Lions offense. Columbia used him sparingly last week against Marist, but will they use him a bit more this time?

3 Georgetown Players to Watch

-QB Pierce Holley is talented and experienced, he will attempt to pick the Columbia defense apart. 

-WR Joshua Thomas has become Holley's favorite target, especially with short passes meant to get him out in space.    

-DE Ibrahim Kamara is the best Hoya pass rusher and will try to improve on the zero sacks Georgetown registered against Columbia last year.