The Lions sideline erupts after the 2017 win at Memorial Field
This is the third installment of the 10 greatest defensive performances for the Lions during Paul Ferraro's tenure as defensive coordinator. Ferraro announced his retirement earlier this month
#6 Columbia 22 Dartmouth 17 (2017)
The Lions shut the powerful Dartmouth defense out in the 1st half, and then survived a furious Big Green rally at the end of the game to win a matchup between two 5-0 teams in Hanover.
The win was secured by a sack from Mike Hinton on the final play of the game, that became the final play because of an errant toss of the ball back to the refs by Dartmouth QB Jack Heneghan that took precious seconds off the clock.
A closer look at the total stats of the game, especially 1st downs, rushing yards, and passing yards, shows that the Lions didn't exactly shut down the Dartmouth attack. But when it counted, Columbia didn't break. That was best exemplified by the Big Green's 0-for-9 3rd down conversion numbers.
The Lions secondary stood out in this "bend but don't break" form of execution as DB's Landon Baty and Ryan Gilbert shared the team lead in tackles with 12 apiece.
The win left the Lions at 6-0 and in sole possession of first place in the league.
Columbia was never really challenged in this game, thanks to a defensive effort that held the Bears to just 61 yards rushing and three consecutive 3-and-out offensive possessions to start the game.
The tone of the game was set early in the 1st quarter when QB Anders Hill coughed up the ball at the Lion 46 on a fumble Brown recovered at the CU 46. But three plays yielded just two yards and the Bears wouldn't cross the midfield mark on an offensive drive of their own until the next quarter.
The win closed out the 8-2 2017 season for the Lions.
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