Time to fill this place up
It's been a long time since I made a pitch for people to go out and buy tickets for Columbia Football.
But the effort this team and coaching staff has put forth this year is extraordinary in many ways. The 4-0 record is the headline of course, but the relaxed confidence and close-knit culture of the team is in many ways even nicer to see.
Meanwhile, the athletic department under A.D. Peter Pilling is running on all cylinders in year three of Pilling's tenure. Not only is football undefeated, but the men's and women's soccer teams are both undefeated and in first place in the Ivy League. That kind of success at this stage for the three most important fall sports teams is unheard of in Columbia history.
One of the sad things about Columbia's football struggles in recent decades is the fact that the university genuinely works hard to make Homecoming games really enjoyable for the entire family. Last year ended a 14-year Homecoming losing streak when the Lions edged Dartmouth 9-7. But the game was played in the rain and attendance was muted. So far, the forecast is calling for just a cloudy day Saturday, which shouldn't keep anyone away from the game.
In the hopes of pushing the CU faithful from all over the world to come out to this game, I'm pushing the #CramKraft hashtag on Twitter. That's as in, cram Kraft Field at Wien Stadium with fans and maybe get the sellout this program deserves after its amazing transformation in just three years from a team that could not even come close to beating the rest of the league's backups.
Final Thoughts after Marist
-Head Coach Al Bagnoli now has nine wins after 24 games at CU. That's seven games faster than Norries Wilson and 29 games faster than Ray Tellier recorded their ninth wins with this program.
-QB Anders Hill is now 7-5 as a starter.
-On 3rd downs so far this season, Hill's passing stats are 20-for-26 for 253 yards, 14 1st downs, 3 TD passes, 1 INT, 3 sacks, and 9.7 yards per attempt.
-Columbia is converting 54% of its 3rd downs and holding opponents to a 28% conversion rate.
-Columbia is averaging more than 30 points per game and holding opponents to under 18 points a game.
-Despite featuring a potent passing attack, Columbia is winning the time of possession battle by an average of more than 10 minutes per game.
-Columbia is outscoring its opponents in the first half by a combined score of 87-14.
6 comments:
Nobody asked me, but...... Under Bagnoli, Penn usually stacked the box with 7 to shut down running game and attack the QB with ffrequent blitzes to force rushed throws and get sacks.. I think we'll see the same this Saturday. Penn can't afford to use a vanilla defense against our strong passing attack. And this type of scheme is ideal for shutting down a running game which focuses on running between the tackles and which constantly runs up the middle particularly on 1st downs (BTW-we have too many second and 8's)
Hopefully, the OC will mix it up more. I'd like to see 3 step drop backs and short passes ( NOT 2-3 yd sideline throws, but quick slants and hooks.)I also think it will help to set up some rolling pockets for Hill to avoid rush , get hm involved in the running game to the outside where he also has option to throw. And keep on throwing to the RBs coming out of backfield which has worked very well.
We haven't seen enough of Rose to know whether he is talented enough to become a quality RB. But he does have speed. And if he has the ability and is now healthy, he can supercharge our offense by becoming an outside running threat and dangerous receiver out of backfield.
Fortunately Bagnoli is no Girardi so we should be confident that the offensive game plan he installs maximizes our chances of winning!
Wow! Those are some impressive stats. Let's keep it up!
I was very impressed with Rose's burst in the Marist game. I think he can do a lot as a runner and a pass catcher out of the backfield. As far as Hill, he has learned to pick up the blitz. He can make any throw basically anywhere in the field, and I do not think that Penn ahs the corners to stay with our WRs. That means they will have to play cover 2, which should open up the running game.
I wouldn't worry too much about the Quackers.
They can't stop the Little Sister's of the Poor.
First, I agree completely with Jake's sentiment. Let' all take 120 seconds and comment in Spec about going. Do it within the comments section of the latest sports article.
Re above: Good stats, but vs.only one quality team. Still, good stats.
Penn is NOT having a good year so far.
I believe we will be favored by 7. But I also think this will be our first real test. We caught Princeton napping, although we were better that day. Not so with Penn. They will be totally aware of what they're facing, and they were pre-season co-favs with the Tigers. So our guys need to bring their A game and play smash-mouth from the first play.
The Princeton game got the Leagues' attention; we win this one and we send a major message.
If we do, our 2 big problems are Dartmouth and Yale, both away.
Especially good post today, Jake.
But I was just as happy to be at Marist last Saturday as I will be to be at the Homecoming gaame. Columbia football, win or lose (and there likely will be losses) is fun to watch. Much more so the last three years during during the Manguarian tenure. And Marit, I'm convninced, wasn't that bad an opponent. They also, along with Princeton, has something that CU badly lacks, plenty of parking. (Remember when it used to be okay to parl in the hospital lot?)
I'd even give up he free beer for easily available parking.
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