I've been a vehement opponent of the rankings of U.S. colleges and universities for academics for decades, but I can't pretend these lists don't mean something to a lot of people.
The most prominent list remains the U.S. News & World Report rankings, and the latest annual ranking is out with Columbia at an all-time high of #2 on the list overall.
I'll leave this to the coaches to make something of it with recruiting.
Opponents in Focus
Both of Columbia's opponents who played on Saturday won very close games on the road.
Georgetown edged Delaware State 20-14 in OT after falling behind 14-0. The game was dominated by the defenses for the most part, and was punctuated by a number of very costly penalties at the worst times for Del State.
CCSU also came from behind to beat Wagner 21-19 on Staten Island. This game too was marred by very untimely penalties by the Seahawks.
Mornhinweg at MSU
Thanks to Bruce Wood over at Big Green Alert for alerting me to the fact that former Lion QB Skyler Mornhinweg '17 is now the offensive coordinator at Midwestern State University in Texas.
Incidentally, Wood is picking Columbia to finish fourth, with a chance to do even better, in his preseason picks for the 2021 season found on his Big Green Alert Premium site which I again encourage everyone to sign up for. It's really worth it.
Two More Losses
Finally, CU Football lost two more of its alumni over the last few weeks.
The first came on 9/1 and it hurts more because it was my classmate Chad Steele '92.
The second was on 8/11 and it was another contemporary of mine at CU, Dennis Lafferty.
May their memories be a blessing.
1 comment:
Jake, I agree with your comments about rankings, because all are substantively suspect. But U.S. News rankings are the "gold standard" of them all, which is why millions around the world read its rankings, and thus have a tremendous psychological effect on its readers.
#2! Congratulations, COLUMBIA!
TOD HOWARD HAWKS
Post a Comment