We know Columbia has been strong on defense overall, especially against the run. But count me as surprised this morning when former Lion player Frank Furillo alerted me to the fact that CU is the #1 ranked rushing defense in the entire FCS.
In a related stat. Columbia is second in the FCS on opponent 3rd down conversions, allowing them just 22.6% of the time.
Granted, the Lions haven't really faced a very good rushing offense so far, with tough matchups in that regard on the way against Yale, Harvard, Cornell, and Dartmouth (injuries permitting). But this is a nice sign that new Defensive Coordinator Justin Stovall and the new defensive staff are handling the transition well.
This Saturday, the Penn rushing offense features a talented veteran in Trey Flowers, who ran for 149 yards last week at Georgetown and is fifth overall in the Ivies with 336 total yards. But Penn is much more of a passing team this year and that's surely something the Quaker coaches are hoping gives them an advantage.
To fans watching the Lions this year, it seems like the pass defense has been a little soft at times. In total yards, Columbia has actually given up the most passing yards in the Ivies. But in the awkwardly named "Team Passing Efficiency Defense," CU is ranked 9th in the country and behind only Penn in the Ivies. Go figure.
The bottom line is the Lion defense is playing very well, while the Columbia offense has been sputtering a bit over the last two games. Penn's defense is strong this season, so a better offensive performance is essential for CU to get this crucial win at Franklin Field... a place where Columbia hasn't won since 1996.
Bagnoli Watch
Saturday will be Head Coach Al Bagnoli's third chance to own a career winning record with the Lions. The first chance was his very first game helming the Light Blue against Fordham in 2015. His second chance was week 3 this year at home vs. Princeton. Now he comes back to the stadium where he recorded so many great wins leading the Quakers as their head coach for 23 seasons.
A victory on the visitor's side has eluded him so far in two prior meetings in Philadelphia. Columbia played Penn closer than many expected in 2016, but the Quakers had a mostly drama free win. Two years later, a furious CU comeback ended on a late interception. Because of COVID, it's been four long years since the Lions visited Franklin Field. It seems like the perfect place for Bagnoli to claim the amazing feat of becoming the first Columbia head coach to earn a career winning record at the 50+ game mark since Lou Little. A win would make Bagnoli 33-32 for the Lions while Little after 65 games was 45-18-2. (Little finished his Columbia career with a losing overall record of 110-116-10).
Oh, and Columbia's record in the 65 games BEFORE Bagnoli became the head coach? That was 14-51, with the final 21 games all losses.
7 comments:
The D is holding it together so far for the lions as a whole. The D line and linebacking core are great, but the secondary are soft and will be exploited by passing attacks,i.e., everybody but Dartmouth. The Offense hasn't really shown up. The first Q v Wagner saw a continuation of the turgid play of the P'ton game. The O did get out of their slump after a quarter and a half of another, and then only after the Wagner offense imploded on two otherwise well executed drives. The Offense will have to come charging out of the gates v a rejuvenated Penn team.
There is no doubt about it. Columbia's offense MUST, MUST, MUST, play better Saturday and from now on. Not just to win, but to make sure so much talent and experience isn't wasted.
Yes. It’s all on Al and Fabish now
And the players to execute. Team effort. Got faith in the lions
For the life of me, I don’t know why Al does not use Luke Painton more, with his huge size advantage in the passing game (baby Gronk)
UP TEMPO, DOWNFIELD PASSES, MORE DRAW PLAYS, A WHOLE BAG OF TRICK PLAYS, FAKE PUNTS...
Maybe it’s Joe not trusting Painton. He had a couple of bad drops in crucial moments last year. Doesn’t really seem like he attacks the ball. Our last great TE was Rory who was aggressive in winning 1 on 1’s. It’s a reason he was all ivy.
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