Columbia 23 Pennsylvania 14
Why Columbia Won
RB Dante Miller rushed for 187 yards, including a 75-yard TD to power the offense, while the defense held Penn to just 6 of 25 passing and helped the Lions dodge almost every bullet provided by special teams miscues and the referees.
Why Penn Lost
The Quaker offense was unable to move the ball consistently, and could have been shut out without the help of a key CU turnover and two dubious calls from the refs. Meanwhile, the Penn defense allowed several big plays they couldn't overcome.
Key Turning Points
-With the Lions leading 3-0 with 7:24 left in the half and dominating the Quakers on defense, Columbia gave Penn's offense a reprieve when Mike Roussos muffed a punt and the Quakers recovered at the CU 30. Six rushing plays later, Penn scored a TD on a QB keeper from the 5 and the Quakers suddenly had a 7-3 lead.
-The most important moment of the game came on the next play from scrimmage after Penn's kickoff for a touchback. Miller took the handoff and burst free alone the left sideline all the way to the south end zone for a 75-yard TD and the lead the Lions would never give up with 4:02 left in the half.
-On Penn's ensuing possession, Columbia forced a three-and-out and a 23-yard punt return from Roussos gave CU the ball at the Quaker 43. After a short run by Miller on 1st down, QB Joe Green connected with a well-covered WR Wills Meyer along the same left sideline for a 41-yard TD and a 17-7 lead with 2:16 left in the half.
-The the refs got involved. On Penn's ensuing possession, the Quakers faced a 3rd and 10 at the CU 47 when Lion CB Brian Bell-Anderson was clobbered by Penn's Isaiah Malcome as he went for the ball... and the refs mysteriously called the penalty on Bell-Anderson. Three plays later Malcome burned the Columbia defense for a 30-yard TD on a counter player and it was a tight 17-14 Lion lead at the half.
-The 2nd half began with Penn's offense putting up two three-and-outs, sandwiching a three-and-out for CU's offense. But on Columbia's second possession of the half, the Lions got moving mostly thanks to a 49-yard bomb from Green to WR Ernest Robertson to the Penn 31. From there, the Lions switched to wildcat QB Gabriel Hollingsworth who ran for a 1st down on 4th and 2 and got CU as deep as the Quaker 13, but that's where the drive stalled and the Lions had to settle for an Alex Felkins 31-yard field goal and a 20-14 lead with 7:38 left in the 3rd.
-With 6:35 left in the quarter, Columbia had an opportunity to build a two-score when the Lions took over at their own 38. Columbia mixed the run and the pass to get to the Penn 30, and again brought in Hollingsworth and the wildcat package. But on 3rd and 6 from the Quaker 26 Green came back in and threw an incomplete pass to force a 43-yard FG attempt by Felkins that went wide right and Penn dodged a bullet.
-On the ensuing Quaker possession starting with 2:40 in the 3rd, Penn got a big 32-yard pass completion to the CU 42, but the Lion defense only allowed another yard and the Quakers lose a chance to get the lead.
-Penn got another chance after Columbia went three-and-out on its next possession and the Quakers fielded the punt at their own 35 with 14:45 left in the game. Seven straight runs by Penn's full house backfield package got the Quakers to the CU 39, but on 4th and 6 Penn had to pass and the throw fell incomplete ending Penn's last best chance to take the lead.
-After both teams traded possessions with no scoring, the Lions took over at the 50 with 6:26 left in the game. On 2nd and 8 from the 48, Miller ripped off another long run to the Penn 7. Columbia was able to get into the end zone, but a 20-yard FG by Felkins gave the Lions a two-score lead at 23-14 with 2:53 left.
Columbia Positives
-Miller had an historic day, as Columbia clearly has developed a run blocking scheme to take advantage of his outside speed. But some of the other running plays worked at times as well, leaving the Lions with 244 total yards rushing on 5.4 yards per carry.
-The Lions defense has now put together three straight stellar games. Columbia's pass defense was menacing, as the secondary knocked away and tipped throw after throw. Even when some if the DB's were beaten on routes, they often recovered while the ball was in the air to force incomplete passes.
-QB "Clean Joe" Green was again coolly efficient and didn't come close to making any real mistakes. He showcased his ability to throw the deep pass on several occasions and even had a gutty run or two.
-The Columbia offensive line had some problems blocking Penn's very strong up-the-middle D-line on inside plays, but it was otherwise impressive and again did not allow a sack.
Columbia Negatives
-The Lions are continuing to leave clusters of points on the board, often due to the momentum-killing use of wildcat offense at questionable times.
-While the secondary had a stellar game, the Lion pass rush was not as strong as it had been the two previous games. CU did get two sacks, but Columbia will have to put more pressure on opposing QB's during the rest of the season.
Columbia MVP
Dante Miller is truly now living up to the billing he received when he decommitted from FCS power James Madison to come to Columbia. He now has 550 yards rushing on the year and has a shot to become CU's second-ever 1,000-yard rusher.
12 comments:
Liked Jake's analysis! O Line and D line....A-.....Green, top flight QB (Sorry Lenhart)...Defense... Relentless as Ferraro likes to say.... Al in love with the Wildcat... Me? Not so much... OK maybe near the goal line but when you get to the 30 it seems like you are playing for a FG...If Green brings you that far why not let him bring you in? With him in, you can run or pass.. With Hollingsworth it's almost always a run.. Doesn't that cut your options in half? OK it works at times but it seems to me that as we go deeper into the season more teams are catching on...Fabish continuing to go deep? Huh? I am shocked but happy..One iof his better play calling games...
Continuing robert g pelletreau's (and old lion's)takes...DB's ...A+
Mobile and hostile. Only a matter of time before some pics will come.
Agree that pass interference calls were bogus and hope that they will continue to aggressively play the ball. RB's...A+...loved the adjustment early from between the tackles to around the ends. But, can we continue this trend against quicker defenses ? QB (Clean Joe)Green is maturing nicely already- given time he can be deadly. Great decision making when there was nothing to throw to. Dline...gettin' better but its going to have to be even better against the likes of Dartmouth and Harvard. Barring injuries it appears we're going to be competitive in every game for the remainder of our schedule !
Agree with both comments; Our WRs are very good; Green is very close to hitting on a few of the deep balls which were a little overthrown but is clearly a very good QB who is capable of being all Ivy. Hollingsworth needs to work on his accuracy in the passing game but is in the mold of Lovett and Gerbino. I think Painton can be very, very good but needs to work on his pass catching skills.
And I love the way that the DBs are playing the ball and are not face guarding.
Slightly off topic: our scoreboard is useless. The video board is about a third of the size needed so that it can actually be seen; when the sun is shining, the numbers reporting time etc. are all but invisible; and it is difficult to hear what the speakers are saying. Yes, I am a dinosaur, but I can see and hear at other stadiums.
Good comments, including about the scoreboard. It is bad. I do wonder why we so rarely throw anything over the middle, given our QB is accurate and and can zip it. Do we ever throw a slant? Also, the DBs have really turned it around. Fun to watch.
Dartmouth is on a different level than Penn. Big challenge on Friday.
Jake,
I'd like to tell Dante Miller congratulations (on his outstanding performance yesterday) from the white-haired fellow Columbia footballer whom he met this summer on Amsterdam near 107th St.
Don't know how else to do it; I hope he reads your blog.
Columbia's offensive line did a very nice job against Penn opening up holes for Dante Miller and the other Lion running backs.
Stan Waldbaum
A very nice win against the Quakers this past Saturday. Everyone's talking about Dante Miller's performance (and rightfully so), but let's not forget about Paul Akere's monster game. He helped set the tone on D, and he made some incredible plays on critical downs.
Coach Bagnoli is right that we're still leaving points on the board. Obviously we have to tighten up the kicking game if we're to have any chance in Hanover. To me, that's our biggest focus correction area after five games. The D is only getting better, it seems, so I don't really have concerns on that side of the ball. On offense we're starting to throw downfield more, and we're finally converting on some of those deep balls. It's to be expected that some of those plays aren't successful right away, which is partly why many of us were advocating for more deep shots very early in the season. Still, better later than never, I suppose.
I'm expecting a breakout game from Ryan Young on Friday, and if Miller continues gashing defenses by finding the seams, we could be in for a real treat. As other posters have mentioned, Dartmouth is a much better team than Penn. In my opinion, this might be our toughest test this season, although obviously Princeton was no walk in the park, and Harvard promises to be a real challenge. To beat Dartmouth, our offense is going to have to be very strong. Both the ground game and the air attack will need to be effective. Also, we can't put up 400+ yards and score only 20 points or so, and we can't bog down in the red zone.
If our offense comes alive, we don't turn the ball over, we get strong special teams play, and our defense continues to harry and harass the opposition, then our chances are good. To my mind, both Dartmouth's D and ours are very, very skilled, so it's really going to come down to what we can do on offense. If we can get a big play early on, all the better. And I hope we keep the playbook wide open, because we're going to have to mix it up a lot and force the Dartmouth D to adjust to many different looks. That includes our throwing more slants, introducing more misdirection, and continuing to pass on first down.
Can't wait for Friday night!
Shoutout to the massive crowd of 11,054 which will no doubt be one of the highest in any Ivy stadium this season. Impressive given the various requirements and restrictions but the gorgeous weather helped.
Meh to the lack of bands -- Penn's didn't travel due to Covid, and Columbia of course no longer has one. Daily News picked up on this:
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-columbia-band-20211016-j326t3p4jjey5cgbpebszawa3q-story.html
Boo to the careless fans who trashed my neighborhood, literally. I spent an hour after the game sweeping up White Claw and Bud Light cans and other party debris from W218th St, Park Terrace East, Park Terrace West, etc. Would be nice if the university helped out a little more outside their property with the cleanup burden that comes with hosting homecoming.
The band, if that is what one chooses to call it, was not missed at Homecoming this year. Far from it. For many, many years, it had not been funny, or even mildly amusing. In fact, it was destructive to team morale. We had kids on the field busting a gut while the so-called band mocked them. I could go on and on, but I think the point has been made.
Go back to the Upwardly Mobile comments and read the best comment of the year from NJ Lion!
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