It's Joe's turn now
Columbia Lions (2-3) at Dartmouth Big Green (2-3)
October 21, 2023
Kickoff Time: 1:30pm
Hanover, New Hampshire
Game Time Weather Forecast: 57 degrees and raining
The Line: Columbia is a 3-point underdog
TV/Radio: The game is on ESPN+ and in the New England area on NESN
Leading Story Lines
-Perhaps we can call this the "Bereavement Bowl" as both of these teams were unexpectedly forced to play this season without their legendary head coaches at the helm. The tragic death of Buddy Teevens still weighs on a lot of us who follow this league, and I can imagine it must be a lot worse for the folks at Dartmouth. Meanwhile, Columbia fans miss the order and respect Al Bagnoli commanded even though he is still with us and in relatively good health considering his heart issues. But in a bold move, Dartmouth has removed the "interim" part of the head coaching title for Sam McCorkle in what has to be a nice boost for him and his staff.
-Both teams are maybe a little more desperate than usual to get a win. The Big Green still have a shot at the Ivy title with only one conference loss, while the Lions have lost two heart breakers in the rain and are looking to salvage their season.
-After weeks of Lion fans complaining about the QB play, Joe Green will get his first start of this season Saturday.
3 Lions to Watch
-Obviously, QB Joe Green #11 will be in the spotlight in a big way as he looks to get the Lion passing game going.
-LB Anthony Roussos #16 will draw much of the responsibility for making sure Dartmouth QB Nick Howard doesn't run all over the CU defense.
-WR Marcus Libman #3 was always one of Green's favorite targets, he may be targeted regularly in the rain.
3 Big Green Players to Watch
-LB Macklin Ayers #40 is perhaps the finest defensive player in the Ivies. He will be all over the field in any scenario one can imagine.
-QB Jackson Proctor #12 may be the key factor in this game. Howard will get his yards, but the CU defense will likely be able to keep him from dominating the game entirely. So, whether Proctor can make the Lions pay through the air will matter a lot.
-PK Owen Zalc #35 like Lion PK Hugo Merry #98 could very well make the difference in this rainy game.
102 comments:
Wow Fabish is in panic mode.
This post is not to bash or whatever else has been going on, it is a serious question based on the situation. What does everyone think needs to happen to remove the interim tag on the coach?
They are 2-3 with 5 games left (2 home and 3 away).
What's the win number for them to bring back the staff next year and remove the interim label?
It’s really difficult to find 3 wins on the schedule if they lose today. It’s a must win for Fabish to keep his job.
Here's hoping that we don't do any "Bold moves" and that Green has a fabulous game!
While very much admiring Bell's heart through the first half of the season, I am glad that Green gets his chance today. He is less mobile than Bell and our pass pro ( or lack of same ) will tell the story....
4-6 and he stays.
Worst coached team in the league. I feel sorry for every Columbia football player!
I read everything here, long time Lion fan, and I have wanted to comment in the past, but have elected not to. I am extremely disappointed with this game. What a comedy of errors. I’ll leave it to the experts here to dissect this one and critique the performance, the play calling, etc.
“For ten points, here is your tossup question”.
Which team, among the eight in the Ivy League, has the worst in conference record and the worst overall record?
What a colossal squandering of talent.
To quote Marlon Brando, “I coulda been a contender”.
If ever there was a year, this was it. A weak Yale, a beatable Princeton, a Harvard with one loss after three games, Penn at home.
What an opportunity that slipped away.
Your heart has to ache for the seniors.
You could argue it was Al’s to destroy, since he built it, but Mark Fabish was never going to be the answer.
If we know he is not coming back, we should stop beating a dead horse.
But, if there is just the slightest chance, the “Interim” gets dropped, we need to keep Piling on, (all pun intended).
And while I am old enough to have a grandson on the team, I am not a father, or grandfather, of a player.
Insightful
Dropped TD pass.
Did you watch this game? Dartmouth was clearly the better team. It is not about coaching. It is the Jimmy’s and the Joes
Really, a comedy of errors on the offense. Fabish is not head coach material.
Amen
Green is not the answer. He never was.
It all comes down to two bad calls by the officials. A trapped ball by a Princeton tight end and a touchdown catch that was called a drop. With both of those, we are tied for first place and Fabish is in the running for Coach of the Year.
You have to be joking. A loss is a loss.
If you want a mediocre football team, then keep Fabish and Dorozio. If you inspire for more, we need to go out and find it! They are not the answer! This was the year!
Where's Giorgi?
Yes. Hire someone from a place like Union College😂
There are no experts here buddy. Only latex salesmen.
Dartmouth fan here-if the "touchdown catch" that was ruled a drop you are referring to was in the fourth quarter of today's game, it was unquestionably a drop.
Thanks, yes. This is why I haven’t commented on many of the posts over the past couple months. There are some very worthwhile insights. But most are not. I should’ve written “experts”. 😂 The trouble with anonymous posts is that many can be summarily dismissed because we simply don’t know the source. We don’t know the motives, bias or affiliation of a handful of characters. Nonetheless, I am discouraged. Thanks, “buddy”.
Just for your information, he/she is referring to a touchdown pass at the Princeton game.
I repeat. M Fabish is not the answer. Speak from a POV that includes all the perspective needed. The kids deserve so much better. Shame on Al for positioning it this way. It was always the plan for those 2 frauds.
Truth!
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the goal line package with the freshman QB in a wildcat? Let it fly…
Dropped TD pass. Also, "the kids deserve so much better" is a lame statement. It's a tired sound bite that makes you look like a clown.
This comment is ridiculous. Green played his ass off and showed what he is about. Had our offense moving. Great job by the young man.
Mediocre talent on offense
Can we agree it is time to hire the executive search firm to begin looking for the next head coach?
Green played very well for the first game of the year ... he hit 9 different receivers....for 239 yards.. .....JJ Jenkins was impressive...Dartmouth ..had 58 yards passing and strong running but Howard was held ... longest was 14 yards pretty good ..to my mind...... we had 18 first downs...they had 13 ...303 total yards. to their 215 ...time of possession was in our favor...
Our offensive play calling has been suspect to my mind for a few years. ..Let's beat Yale..!!!! We needed Giorgi ..We will beat Yale..my prediction ....
That's not something the posters here get to agree on. I think you just wanted to type "executive search firm", right?
Clownish comment.
This is the first game that I missed all year. But it sounds like Green played well and that we had a few bad breaks or otherwise we would have had the win.
The lost. Bell did the same every game and his teammates elected him captain
Green cant run. You have to have a wildcat at the goal line that can.
Sounds familiar
The ball was on the one yd line and you put in a frosh at Wildcat? How about putting green under center and doing a simple QB sneak or handing the ball to the hard running RB Terry. Man, the OC is clueless. “You have to have a wildcat at the goal line”?
33 total points in three Ivy League games, only 24 of which was generated by the Offense.
Why not just execute the play?
Sounds like the defense played pretty well. Blocked punt for a. TD is not on the defense. We are competitive e but still need to learn how to win.
Dropped TD pass.
Hate to see the team falling apart. Offensively it is painful to watch. Defensively they are playing their asses off.
However it's refreshing to see some people here come to the harsh realization that the team isn't coached or prepared well and it's time for a change.
We all want the team to be as successful as possible, just don't agree on how that happens. Results speak for themselves...explain it away if you want with weather conditions, etc but it's irrelevant.
Best case is the people that determine "interim" come to this realization asap to make the proper change and represent the university in the right way.
Did you notice that Dartmouth removed the interim tag for their coach earlier this week? I bet that fan base isn't a bunch of jackasses like ours is. Most of you posters know jack shit about running a college football program. Going 5 and 35 over your Columbia career, being in a few fantasy leagues and being the 2 time Latex Salesman of the Year doesn't mean anything.
Right, because it’s the fanbase’s fault that the team can’t win a game in the Ivies. Nice deflection.
that is crap, CU has the offensive talent
Offensive play calling at it's worst occurred yesterday. Heartbroken for the offense this season.
Clearly there are numerous people who post, who are enamored with Fabish. I understand he may be affable, dedicated and has recruiting contacts in New Jersey, but what has he done in all the years that he has been at Columbia that makes him uniquely qualified to be designated something other than “Interim”.? If he is so uniquely qualified to be the next Head Coach, kindly point to what he will bring to the Lions that no other coach in the country could possibly bring?
BTW, what is a “Latex Salesman”?
I can promise you one thing. If you took an honest poll of the kids on that team, a large majority do not want to play for Fabish. He is not a leader of men. Simple as that.
I had the same question!
As relates to recruiting, doesn’t the term “interim“ hurt our recruiting? That may also have factored into Dartmouth’s decision five games into the season.
What is the basis for an anonymous comment that moist of the players are down on Fabish, and what are the specific criticisms?
Totally made up.
It's made up
Gotta love all the dads of players commenting on here. Just laughable
This comment is all bullshit too. Players want to play for Fabish and his coaches. That’s a fact.
We will never know who is actually commenting, but there is definite bias and politics and ill will from some handful of clowns with some kind of agenda. The coach seems like a really good guy. He handles himself very well. It is still reasonable for folks on this board to question the playcalling.
Very fair comment
Pardon the typo-should read “most”
Seinfeld episode. I believe the poster is comparing some of the posters to George Constanza.
There aren't many enamored with Fabish. I think most people are disappointed in the season. There's a difference between being supportive of the coaches and simply not supporting some of the posters who drag down the staff and the program. That type of commentary hurts the program, hurts recruiting and would hurt Columbia's ability to hire a new coach if that's the path Piling takes.
We should be mature enough to realize that our posts will not move the needle in the decision making process on whether Fabish is retained, or not. There has been a public clamoring for some time that there be changes to Men’s Basketball, and yet, none have been made.
As it is described in Latin, “res ipsa loquitur”, “the thing speaks for itself”.
No one is lobbying for Fabish to stay based on his coaching performance in recent years and especially, this year..
No one can point to any unique attribute that only he can bring to Columbia Football.
If I were to bet, I would say he is retained only on the basis of “the devil you know, is better than the devil you don’t know”.
His association with Al Bagnoli, who will likely be involved in the decision process, will also not hurt his chances.
Since there is no way for us to influence the outcome, why not let’s give it a rest? Why not for the remaining four weeks, no one post on whether Fabish should be allowed to stay or be dismissed? Fabish cannot escape the record and the offense productivity statistics. Why constantly bring it up? It only encourages his defenders to bring up non sequiturs and his detractors to become more entrenched.
Why needlessly frustrate ourselves and “spit in the wind”?
Good suggestion but it will never happen. Too many clowns and frustrated dads on this board. They cannot help themselves
You’re wrong about that. He ran in the first touchdown of the game right off the bat. he is clearly the better and more experienced QB. The coaching and play calls are an absolute joke.
But there is an argument based on data. First, it is an argument not necessarily the only argument. Second for this argument to hold any water one has to assume Fabish represents the continuation of the Bagnoli program and can over time achieve similar results. Third, dispense with the OOC cupcake argument. Other ivies play similar opponents, schedules are not so easily customized as detractors here imagine.
Long preamble, but here goes. From Bagnoli’s first recruting class to last years seniors what is each class’ 4 year W/L record. And how do those records compare to the prior 40 or 50 years of Columbia performance? I think pretty good, no? No championships, losing ivy record -ok. But i am guessing demonstrably better than almost all of recent history. Can it be better, of course. But why do you all assume you can find something so much better?
Not a Fabish apologist. He can do better. No problem critiquing play calling. But blindly calling for new coach seems to reflect incredible lack of self-awareness as to where Columbia football has spent most of the last 60 years
Overall Green had a great game, especially for being his first game back after an injury last season. Coaching is a joke. Play calling is a joke. These poor kids know what they’re doing and the coaching staff are making them look terrible.
maybe they like him as a person, but as a coach he is a joke
He is the answer and has been since day 1. The problem is, you throw him in this late in the season to try and clean up the mess that it has been, and then give him BS calls and plays to run. As far as i’m concerned, Green did everything he could to execute yesterday’s game. It not his fault that the cards that have been dealt to him are TRASH! Coaching needs to get it together. These are good football players!
amen to that
Green played his heart out. Plain and simple. It’s too bad the coaches calls make the team look so bad. Green should be in and should have been in since the beginning. Tough to see where we are at now as a team. It’s very sad.
Just because your captain doesn’t mean you should be starting. Maybe he can lead a team off the field, but as far as i’m concerned Green is the real leader on the field. You can see it!
Please, please, can someone give me a reason to want Fabish back? What makes him the best possible candidate to coach the Lions next year?
Has he earned the title of Head Coach?
If he is the best of all the possible candidates, then I can see giving him the title.
But to anoint him based on his performance the last six weeks seems irresponsible.
Our two wins came against out of conference cupcakes.
As long as we continue our poor offensive play calling, we will remain the Ivy League cupcake.
Great, even good, teams win despite bad weather and bad calls.
The University needs to decide if it wants to provide the needed resources for the program to succeed or if it is content being the Ivy League doormat.
I played football at Columbia many years ago and losing sucks big time.
I would have liked to see us kick the FG in 4th qtr - get it to a 1 score game with time. Especially with how well our defense was playing. After the long pass, I felt our best chance was the same play we scored on vs Penn (RB wedge), instead of a qb run which didn't go so well earlier in 1st quarter. America is running the tush push....that perhaps was a good 1st & goal option as well. I'd think another better option was to put the game in Joe's hands with 3 passes. Remember, too, Joe scored running the ball in a similar situation to start the game. Running Joe down there wouldn't have been unfounded.
Injuries are playing in to some of our lack of success. Playing with 1 RB most of the game may have been why we didn't go to the RB late in the game on the GL. Not making excuses for losing, ,simply identifying injuries have hurt us in areas we haven't done well.
The blocked punt was a significant difference in the game, but not many people talking about that. Didn't quite see what the breakdown was live and have no access to replay.....nonetheless, one of the biggest plays in the game. This and no points after the long pass are really the gap in the game.
I see the kids playing very hard. Effort there isn't an issue at all. Knowing the time the staff puts into this, effort isn't an issue there either.
People bashing the coaches may have played. But it bothers me that so many bring it all back to those guys. The punt team has been exceptional all year. Getting that blocked isn't poor coaching. There was a breakdown somewhere. Fumble on the goal line isn't poor coaching. It's a breakdown. I love our kids, but those are things that get you beat most Saturdays.
I was very impressed with Joe's post game comments, and would like to see us ALL go in the direction he says the players are headed. He spoke to the team staying together. That's great leadership, and I believe he's speaking honestly/accurately. I still believe we have a chance to close the season successfully. Not saying run with blinders, but we have to be supportive and leave the front office decisions to the guys upstairs.
Sure, but for your opinion to take be taken seriously , you should share your name and affiliation and association with Columbia football. Otherwise, and while most of us here are for freedom of speech, we will dismiss your anonymous opinion as bullshit.
The term “cupcake” is now being overused. Call us what you want and we are no longer the perennial doormat. We are clearly not a “cupcake“ as some have referred to Marist, Wagner, and even Georgetown. Yes, we are dead last right now. Three close losses that are not representative of being a “cupcake“ and folks on this board can agree or disagree on the multiple factors that led to these close losses.
Thanks. I for one think you’re spot on, so well stated, civilized. There are probably a couple clowns who will throw you under the bus, but I think there are a bunch of people here, especially veterans of this blog, who will agree.
Well said. This team is a few plays away from being 5-1. They will be ok.
Well stated. Too many Dad’s on this blog letting their emotions control their comments
Well stated as well. We cannot just keep coach Fab around b/c he is a continuation of the Bagnoli regime. He finally made the change at QB, now let’s not rush to judgement until we have the final body of work. He has a few games left to truly show he deserves the job.
Let’s take a poll: does having an interim coach hurt recruiting at CU?
Maybe Joe D, who also seems like a fine man and a good coach, wasn’t quite ready to be the OC.
Many of us said all along that Green had to start, even though Bell finished last season in fine form.
Just bad bad coaching! All those boys didn’t deserve the mess thrown at them. Sad for the whole team. Seniors are gone soon..to bad they will exit this way. All other players…take good notes!
Almost turned the game off when that went down. Green ran the first TD in! It was like…WTH are they doing now! It’s just very bad coaching and horrible play calling. Just shaking my head.
Fabish is a really good guy. That doesn’t make him a good coach. I believe he is respected by the team…these boys know to respect their coach. They would have never become part of the Columbia team if they didn’t respect those leading them. It’s just a really unfortunate situation for all. Sad for the exiting Seniors…hope the team will carry on some how. Too bad the coaching staff made their adjustments so late in the season. Columbia could have had a really good season. Not first maybe, not second….but certainly nobody expected LAST place. Just too bad for all.
Watch last weeks post game remarks. Green stated it clearly…they are in this together as a team. Aside from everyone’s negative comments on this season let’s just trust and believe that it is all going to be ok. It seems that Green has total faith. It’s not in the outcome of each game …it’s in the “team”!!! It appears that this team has trust, faith and love among the whole team. Stop being negative. These guys are all gonna be ok…even if you aren’t!
Should there be asterisks next to those losses?
Winners, win. Losers, whine and make excuses.
Daddy Green?
Funny how NOW play calling is bad!
Average talent across the board.
Dropped TD pass
Heartbroken. Give me a break.
You pulled this one out of your ass.
Yep it was all Bells fault but now Green plays and its the play calls …smells
Umm… you are anonymous yourself. Clueless
This is laughable. You don’t think other Ivy teams have injury issues to key players?
I have just read this entire blog from the first game. Wow! I do understand each and every person's opinions and concerns, however, who are you people? The name calling, critisizing and blaming is truly unbelievable. Do you really think that such nagative comments are helpful to the coaches and team? I pray that none of them read this crap. This season certainly hasn't been Columbia's best but maybe a bit of positivity would help, especially now. Please keep your accusing nasty comments to yourself. PLEASE! It may feel good to vent but it certainly doesn't help anybody or our current situation.
Haha, funny, the different levels of consciousness prevail even on a football blog. On to something maybe more important to us diehard Lion fans, I did some research on Brody Berg, our prize incoming rb recruit from Ohio. Anybody else check him out? I would say he does indeed look stellar, likely All-Ivy caliber. There is hope if we also find a good QB. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, I will always chant the Mystic Law of the Universe for the success of the team and happiness of the players.
Roar Lion
.
Former player here. Fabish never had respect of position group, locker room or team. Offense is vanilla for a team with several weapons every year. Get him out of here.
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