John Martin
There were so many interesting bits of information from Saturday's 37-14 win over Marist, that I feel like I could write about a dozen "sidebar" stories in addition to the overall summary and analysis of the game.
But for what they're worth, here are 10 things you may have missed during the game that could become bigger stories down the road:
1) Big John Martin, the 385-pound OL (yes, he really is 385 lbs.), who I thought was not going to really play this year, did get into the game for a number of plays. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any Ivy OL who has ever approached that kind of size. If he's and effective blocker at that weight, then that could change the whole dynamic for the Lion OL and the entire season.
2) The extremely effective and multi-faceted running attack by Columbia Saturday could have simply been the result of a bad opponent, but the fact that the game plan included significant carries for three rushers tells you the coaching staff is at least envisioning this kind of strategy. The Lions have had good individual runners in recent decades, most notably all-time #1 Columbia RB Jonathan Reese. Guys like Ayo Oluwale and Marcorus Garrett come to mind as well. But you have to go back to the days of the lates 1980s when Head Coach Larry McElreavy had Greg Abbruzzese and Solomon Johnson both in the CU backfield threatening to go for 100+ yard games. Again, this could all be just a temporary thing, but for those of us who have long dreamed of a power rushing attack for the Lions this game was a real treat
3) The Mike Roussos saga is generating a lot of rumors and questions. My sources say he is healthy, but is likely to be out against Georgetown too just as a precaution. It's important to remember that Columbia just won its opener by 23 points without the guy touted to be its best offensive skill player on the field.
4) I didn't think Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin's son Mason Tomlin would see much of the field this year, but he made more than a cameo Saturday and even registered two tackles. He has good speed and is willing to lay out to make a hard hit. So, that recharges my question about whether Coach Tomlin will come to see Mason's game during the Steelers bye week. That's the week of CU's Friday night game at Dartmouth, so Tomlin will have to make the travel team that week, etc.
5) There's been a lot of great buzz about QB Gabriel Hollingsworth's debut as Columbia's option/wildcat QB, but there's also a lot of hand wringing about the call to have him throw a jump pass on the goal line that luckily fell incomplete instead of being intercepted. Actually, that was a great call to make sure opposing defenses know Hollingsworth could throw at any time. It was just on Hollingsworth to recognize the play wasn't there and simply tuck the ball in and run.
6) The guy considered to be Columbia's best OL, Zach Minch, was injured and out the entire game. The Lions will need him back at some point. At least he seemed fine walking on the sidelines and wasn't in a cast, boot, or on crutches.
7) Columbia is now 5-0 all-time against Marist. The Lions will open their season next year at Marist. I wonder if the Red Foxes are angry about having CU on the schedule, but two of the five games were very competitive. Next year's out of conference games in addition to Marist are a road contest against Georgetown and a home game against Wagner.
8) With Roussos out of the game, Ben Mathiasmeier and Marcus Libman fielded the punts and it seems pretty clear they were told to call for a fair catch every time... which they did successfully. Will Allen was given the green light to field kickoffs like he did in 2017 and 2018.
9) Considering this was the first game in almost two years for both teams, the low number of penalties was astounding. There were just three penalties in the entire game, and the first one didn't come until the late stages of the 3rd quarter.
10) On the other hand, a lot of Marist players went down with injuries. The intense heat on the field seemed to be the biggest factor, with a lot of Red Fox players suffering with obvious cramps. Current forecasts are calling for temperatures to be 10 degrees cooler at Wien Stadium for this coming Saurday's game against Georgetown.
Felkins Honored
In other news, junior PK Alex Felkins has been named Ivy Special Teams Player of the Week.
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