Caden Bell is fighting for his starting spot
Pennsylvania Quakers vs. Columbia Lions
October 14, 2023
Kickoff Time: 1:30pm
Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium
Game Time Weather Forecast: 54 degrees and cloudy, with rain expected before the game ends
The Line: Columbia is favored by 1 point
TV/Radio: The game will be broadcast on SNY and ESPN+, Lance Medow will be doing play-by-play and Shawn Fitzgerald '80 is the color commentator.
Leading Story Lines
-With both the Lions and Quakers coming into this game with one Ivy loss already, the contest is essentially an elimination game in the Ivy title race. No team with two losses has won even a share of the championship since 1982.
-Columbia's QB situation is under the microscope as QB Caden Bell has yet to recapture much of his effectiveness from last season. Don't be surprised if Joe Green replaces him at some point in the game if the dry spell continues.
-On paper at least, this looks like an excellent test of Penn's potent offense vs. Columbia's stingy defense. Will the expected rain be the final arbiter?
3 Lions to Watch
-DE Justin Townsend #36 will be pressed with the task of putting some pressure on Penn QB Aidan Sayin, who has enjoyed good protection most of the year so far. If Sayin is not pressured, the Quakers will roll on offense, period.
-WR Titus Evans #85 figures to get more targets as the more veteran Lion receivers will draw more coverage. This could be a breakout game for the freshman.
-RB Joey Giorgi #25 left last week's game early and is likely to be very eager to make up for it against Penn's strong rush defense.
3 Quakers to Watch
-DT Micah Morris #98 had a monster game vs. the Lions in Philadelphia last year, and he will be looking to make Bell or Green's day a bad one.
-WR Joshua Casilli also had a monster day against CU last season, but he hasn't made as big an impact in any game so far this year.
-DB Julian Talley #7 has the tough job of filling in for the injured All Ivy DB Jayden Key. Talley is five inches shorter than Key, and he will be a noticeable new target in the secondary.
Best of everything to and for the team!
ReplyDeleteThank you. A bright spot among complainers!!!!
DeleteGreen Time
ReplyDeleteUgggg over it stop. Its old. Its annoying. Support the team. Support the qb. Green never played in a college game before coming to CU. Covid, the portal and the fact he wasnt going to play at San Diego brought him here. Give it a rest. We have won games under Bell.
Delete0-2 in Ivy League play.. Bell is not getting it done. 1 of 7 on 3rd downs in the second half, 38% pass completions in a VERY winnable game.
DeleteIs this Sodl
DeleteEvery one knows it but Fabish
ReplyDeleteKeep Mediocrity at Bay
ReplyDeleteFace the facts. Green should have played earlier. I think that NJ Lion stated correctly, there are other QBs on the roster. Why haven't they seen time?
ReplyDeleteBecause they are not as good as Bell. Seriously does everyone on here think they are Georgia with depth that never ends? Get on board support your team. The comments here are a laughing stock
DeleteI know the answer. Stubborn is forever
ReplyDeleteThese comments are so old.
ReplyDeleteEnd the Whining....support the team
ReplyDeleteHK Lion
đź’Ż
ReplyDeleteThere is plenty of depth at QB with passing and running talent with pocket presence.
ReplyDeleteYou have a qb who is winning some games.
ReplyDeleteLook we get what you want. How many times do u have to post a novel.
DeleteIt’s pretty clear that you still DON’T get it, lol
DeleteLooks like the rain is letting up a little.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Canty not starting?
ReplyDeleteHamstring
ReplyDeleteThe vitriol is coming from those screaming for Green to play when ur team is winning games.
ReplyDeleteYes, heaven forbid we should want or try to improve on a .500 record. To his credit, Bell has thrown a few good balls today, especially on that last drive before the half. This game could go either way, but here’s to hoping we play a good second half.
DeleteNice way to end the half; but we need to put more pressure on the Penn QBs to win this game.
ReplyDeleteIs our offensive coordinator an imbecile?? This “last” drive and that’s your play calling??? 🤦🏻‍♂️
ReplyDeleteOur boys weren’t outplayed, but our coaches were out coached! Fabish out!! There are a dozen better, smarter men for this job. Pilling needs to be decisive and do some hard thinking!!
ReplyDeleteGood sound bite. Outcoached.
DeleteSorry folks, but speaking the truth is not synonymous with not supporting the program.
ReplyDeleteThe play calling in the second half was horrid. A string of three and outs by your offense will exhaust any defense.
Go and review the play by play, one pass play called on first down in the second half, and that was on the last drive when the team was down.
Bell has plenty of arm. Bear in mind, last year he had no pressure. This season is different. The captaincy, huge expectations for the team, new coaches. He is feeling it. Particularly, since he knows his offense is not a “scoring machine”. He is well aware that he has no margin of error. Under the circumstances, he has done an amazing job.
Think about it. Run between the tackles on first down. If not the same thing on second down, then some short throw to the sideline. Third and long on numerous occasions and now he has to thread the needle..
Look at the play calling. How many jet sweeps? How many reverses? How many rollout RPO plays? How much play action?
Anyone who watched the game had to be frustrated by the play calling. Anyone who watched the game knew it would be a matter of time before the defense wore down. I still believe the defensive backfield plays too soft; not to get burned deep.
I expect to hear all about the weather conditions in the next few days. But it rained on both teams. Both teams okayed with wet balls. How badly did we get outgained? How many 60+, 15 play drives sis we sustain? Oh, I forgot, the refs took away a touchdown from us.
Fabish is 0-2 in winnable games. He has yet to put together a major offensive output against a credible defense.
Sorry, but to me, he is not the future of Columbia Football. Call me a whiner if you want. Say I am not supporting the program, but that will not change 0-2 in Ivy League play. What forthcoming game do you see as a “win”?
You're a whiner
DeleteWhiner
DeleteThe posters calling you a whiner are more concerned with labels than losses.
DeleteI can’t remember the last time I became so
ReplyDeleteupset watching an athletic event. It’s incredible that our interim HC failed to make a QB change to start the 2nd half. What’s up with his reluctance to make such an obvious and logical substitution? The interim HC’s coaching failure cost our guys a win.
100% the truth
DeleteThe 3rd and 4th string QBs aren't that good.
DeleteThat’s two wins because Fabish is too stubborn to swap out QB’s . Bell is not the guy period ; what more do you need to see? D played well enough to win. Fabish can’t be the HC next year is what. Is becoming abundantly clear .
ReplyDeletereal clear, real fast
DeleteThere's a reason a kid is a backup at Columbia
DeleteSimilar to the reason the other kid was a backup his whole career until an injury?
DeleteDear Athletic Director Piling,
ReplyDeleteSome time late in the day on Monday, you should call Mike Tomlin. (He has to play a game in Los Angeles tomorrow afternoon.) You should ask him his impressions of the game and, what if anything he saw that was lacking. He was pictured several times in the stands, with little to distract him.
I believe he knows a bit about football.
There is no need to listen to what is posted here, however, accurate it might be. There is no need to rely on Al Bagnoli who will undoubted extol Mark Fabish’s “real good guy” personna.
Columbia Football is at a major crossroads. Putting together three wins in row, like last year, is highly improbable, so too may be going .500. This team has players. They need to be put in a position to win. Please, do not wait until after the season to begin your assessment and enter the search for a new coach too late.
Many thanks.
A long time donor to Columbia Football
Piling doesn't read this.
DeleteTomlin didn't watch the game.
DeleteThe Steelers blow, pal.
DeleteCoach Tomlin was at the game, sitting close to me. He was very frustrated as well
DeleteI cannot believe all the haters on this board. Should be ashamed of yourselves.
ReplyDeleteHaters? People just calling it as it is.
DeleteWorst fanbase ever
DeleteIf Fabish is the answer, what is the question? Have you ever watched a worse game when both teams utilized the Hurry Up and Wait but one threw in the Hurry Up to win. And what does Eldo talk about at the half? Clock control which Prior shoved down our throats
ReplyDeleteFabish failed offense and entire team by leaving Bell in.
Delete"If Fabish is the answer, what's the question". Sounds like a guy who struggled in Logic & Rhetoric.
DeleteIt sounds like you don’t understand the rhetorical effect of the humorous query “If Fabish is the answer, what’s the question?” That’s on you, not the original poster, and sadly, your quip about failing L&R says more about you than it does about anybody else.
DeleteHeartbreaking loss. I don’t know where to start.
ReplyDeleteSo why did you?
Delete
ReplyDeleteI thought the ref screwed us out a TD in the endzone. Our receiver was clearly in bounds and made a great catch. The catch was reviewed by the refs who decided not to change the call. Huh! our receiver took three steps in bound
Why tell us alumni that Green will play "a lot" and then not even put the young man? Fabish you must go.
ReplyDeleteThe problem as I see it is that there were too many opportunities squandered by dropped balls and overthrown passes. I get it that the rain didn't help but this doesn't explain why Penn was able to execute on passing plays and get things done down the stretch.
ReplyDeletePlayers need to execute
DeleteFabish Must Go
ReplyDeleteStan you are right on! It was a td
ReplyDeleteSeveral dropped passes hurt; but here is what is going on with Bell—every game he makes 4 or 4 really good plays, which the coaches think makes him their go to guy. I don’t know what is going on with Green. I saw him talking with several people after the game when the teams were walking back to their locker rooms. I would have expected him to look frustrated and frankly angry about not playing , but he seemed relaxed and friendly. Does this mean he is injured and never expected to play? In any event, Bell is a gutty player but just not a good passer.
ReplyDeleteThat's good detective work.
DeleteThose are some very good clues
Delete3rd string QB is very good. He is a first year and was in for the tush push score today.
ReplyDeleteThe 3rd string QB at Columbia ain't that good.
DeleteFire all the coaches! Who’s with me?!
ReplyDeleteCall Piling.
DeleteTime for a completely new offense and a new coach
ReplyDeleteSince 1956, the Lions have finished in the top four spots in the Ivy League, exactly six times. in other words, not even once per decade.
ReplyDeleteI admit to being a “hater”.
I hate losing.
It is quite realistic, after not winning two winnable games, that thia year will not be number seven.
It should have never been this way.
If someone can cogently explain why Mark Fabish is the coach who can change this trend, I am willing to listen.
Bagnoli believes in him. That's why he gets a chance to run the program. Bagnoli is a football guy, a successful and respected coach who picked Fabish. That's why he gets a shot. You dopes have been all over Fabish from the start.
DeleteBottom line: we lost two Ivy games by 3 points each. Both games were winnable; in both games an overworked defense worked their tails off. In the Princeton game the offense scored 0 points; all 7 were via a great defensive play. Yesterday we had a chance to win, indeed should have won, but for a hapless offense. All of our opponents know we have a decent running game even though we face 7 or 8 in the box. What they also know is that our passing game is put charitably not good. Why? Three reasons—mediocre QB play; mediocre pass blocking; and frankly mediocre WR play. We don’t know how to hang onto catchable balls, do not win on 50/50 balls, not perhaps because of poor pass pro do not get separation. So how do we fix this? Is it enough just to say we should go with Green, who I have always thought is a much more accurate passer? Can we fix our schemes? Do we need to have an H back protect the QB?
ReplyDeleteI will say the same thing to you all. Mark F is not the guy to lead young men. I saw this first hand from the point of view that provided me all the details. He can’t lead men. He can’t call a game. He doesn’t have the ability. And on top of that, he is not a very good guy. Columbia and those young men deserve better.
ReplyDeleteSays the dad of a disgruntled player who did not get playing time?
DeleteExactly
DeleteWhen you say you saw this first hand, you need to be more specific. Were you watching practice or delivering pizza to the team?
DeleteI know first hand the players want Fabish and all his coaches. They play hard and were a few plus away from being 4-1. That’s that. Fabish deserves the job this year and beyond.
DeleteFabish deserves nothing. You’re only as good as your record, and this team is going to finish 2-8 or 3-7 unless drastic changes are made immediately (which won’t happen). There’ll be no asterisks when the season’s done and dusted to indicate that several of of our losses were games “we could and should have won.”
DeleteTalk to Piling
Delete3 wins was a career total for some of these critics.
DeleteBagnoli was great at Penn. Mediocre at best at CU. 20-28 Ivy. He left us an antiquated offense and an antiquated disciple.
ReplyDeleteWhy would ever demean the opinion of the parent of a player, even if the player is “disgruntled”?
ReplyDeleteA player has every right to be disgruntled. Spending 20% of every hour of every week, for a quarter of a year, devoted to Columbia Football, plus countless more hours in the off season, gives one the right to be “disgruntled” if you do not get any playing time. If you are on the “scout team”, you have every right to expect to see some playing time when your team is favored to win by 27 1/2 points. You can have legitimate hopes of playing when your team is up four scores with seven minutes left in the game. Considering that did not happen so far this year, you have every reason to be disappointed.
As to those people who are not enamored with the Interim Head Coach, no one was “all over Fabish from the start” of his tenure as the Interim Head Coach. People have been “anti-Fabish” for his performance the last two years, or more, as the Offensive Coordinator. He had produced moribund, dysfunctional, and predictable offenses for some time. Go back and look at this board from last year and before. No one did not want him to succeed in his new role. But once, it became apparent he was no different than in the past, but this time with more authority, his support waned.
I would like to become a believer, but I need to see some reason that he should be retained after this season.
You sound disgruntled
DeleteCount your blessings that your sons football talent got him into an Ivy League school that should set him up for life. Hiring managers will not give a crap about whether he played football. They will care that he has an Ivy degree
DeleteYeah…set him up for life… working in a cubicle pushing paper trying to dig out from obscene debt never seeing the light of day.
DeleteWhat a bunch of ungrateful nonsense. Admission to Columbia is an incredible blessing. If a kid turns that into a miserable job pushing paper that's a shame and a waste of an incredible opportunity.
DeleteThat is a bit jaded. How do you know, that his qualifications without football would not have gained him admission?
ReplyDeleteLet’s try and stop being petty. We should be bigger than being catty.
Regarding the qb situation, sometimes coaches miss the obvious as what to seem to happen last year when the first three punters Columbia used all failed to do very well. Finally, someone had the idea rather late in season to try a fourth player, William Hughes. Guess what, he was sensational, made all-ivy and is doing an excellent job for us this season. Of course, there's no guaranty that any of our back-up qb's are the next "William Hughes" Under the circumstances, however, I believe it's worth the shot.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Hughes had a few stinkers yesterday. Mostly he has been great.
ReplyDeleteJust listened to the post-game presser. Say what you will, I really feel for Coach Fabish; I am not joining the chorus of Fabish critics—the fact is that we did lose two heartbreakers to two good teams in abominable conditions. This man is giving his heart and soul to the program and really deserves having us pull for him. OK, I think Green is a better QB than Bell, but the QB coach, the OC, and most importantly the HC know a lot more about what gives us the best chance to win than I do.
ReplyDeleteCan’t agree with you more.
DeleteThe above comment is completely counter to the facts
ReplyDeleteFor those who watched the game, Coach Tomlin was pictured repeatedly on screen. Granted the person was wearing a jacket with the hood up, but, at least on television, it did look like him.
ReplyDeleteAs to Mark Fabish:
Other than one person, no one has assailed his character, his dedication, or his heart. For sure, no one wants him to fail. No one wants the team to lose.
The point is, he has not shown that he is the answer to the void created by Al Bagnoli’s unanticipated, sudden retirement.
To his credit, Al Bagnoli was able to secure additional commitments to Football from the University. He accelerated the program moving in the right direction. That needs to be continued in order to have more than an average of one top four finish in the league every decade. The program needs a dynamic head coach, who is a generational talent.
Maybe that is Mark Fabish in three years. The question is, “can the program wait that long?”
Very well stated!! We have elite talent at many positions & the coaches need to make changes when a certain position is a glaring weakness. Coach Fab is a great dude, but he needs to show us this program is heading in the right direction. He has many games left to prove it 🙏🙏
DeletePeople should stop saying that replacing Bell is the solution. The loses have not been attributable to his miscues that lead to game winning drives, “pick sixes”, or “scoop and scores”. Princeton and Penn won because the defense was on the field too long.
ReplyDeleteBell does not call the plays. As the ex-Mrs. Tom Brady said after a Patriots Suoer Bowl loss to the Giants, that featured a Wes Welker drop at a key point, “my husband cannot throw the ball and catch it at the same time.” Bell does not call the plays, nor can he catch the ball.
People keep calling for us to lay off Mark Fabish. How about we stop getting on the quarterback. Do not “kill the mailman, because he brings the bills.”
Bell CONSISTENTLY over and under throws and panics in the pocket even when not under pressure. It is clear as day live during games and in the film. Fab is delusional if he does not see it or maybe he does not WANT to see it. Either way he has to go now.
ReplyDeleteThe entire offense has lost confidence in the coaches now.
ReplyDeleteYou made that up.
Delete
ReplyDeleteHats off to our amazing defense!!! Our defense is the best in the league despite being left on the field far too long by our ineffective offense.
Insanity is expecting different results doing the same thing over and over again.
Current QB has completed 52 passes out of 126 attempts for a 42% completion rate and passed for a total of only 499 yards in 5 games.
Fortunately, next week we face a struggling team also with a 2-3 record.
It is not too late to turn things around but significant changes must be made now!!!
I remain hopeful.
How about the fans! Who told you that the Hurry Up and Wait stinks? The play calling within it, the bubble screen, the horizontal two yard pass, etc. Everyone sees it BUT the HC. 5-5 was too optimistic.
ReplyDeleteZack Wilson is a carbon copy of Caden Bell. He holds the ball too long, misses open receivers, can’t score when given gifts by his defense, and doesn’t see the whole field. Uncanny comparison watching the Jets/Eagles game. A QB who cannot help his team win against good competition. And with a better QB the Jets are a good team—good defense and good skill players.
ReplyDeleteBe careful what you wish for.
ReplyDeleteCan we drop some Ivies and ask Al to get us some more cupcakes to pad Mark's resume?
ReplyDeletethis is funny lol
DeleteAny wagers on if we see Bell start at Dartmouth?
ReplyDeleteI hope he will
ReplyDeleteNJ Lion has it right. There are no participation trophies. Just like a win is a win. So too, a loss is a loss.
ReplyDeleteNJ Lion, the voice of reason
ReplyDeleteOur guiding light!
It is great that the players revere Coach Fabish and have faith in him. It certainly is better than the alternative. However, that by itself does not build a winning program. Every successful team, at the college and pro level have very good quarterback play. Look around the Ivy League. Columbia will not be competitive without a stellar quarterback. Ask yourself if you are an above average high school quarterback would you want to play under this offensive system? You want to play at a place where there is an aggressive passing game. When you play not to lose, like at Princeton and against Penn, when you have a small lead, and then go conservative, even more conservative than you normally are, odds are you will lose. When your running attack is averaging less than three yards per carry, like it did against Penn, you cannot run on first, and then again on second down, and expect to sustain a drive.
ReplyDeleteWhat we have not seen from Fabish is any different strategy over the weeks. The play calling and game planning is stagnant, between halves and between games.
Before I could endorse his being retained, I would have to see more than just, “the players love him”.
Nobody is going to ask for your endorsement
DeleteI still wonder if Green is 100%. If he is even close, we need to play him because he is a better passer than Bell. I know before the season that Jake was advocating for Bell to start, presumably because of his play at the end of last season, but that magic is gone.
ReplyDeleteSo under the heading of more than one thing can be true at the same time: qb play has stunk, other qb options most likely worse, a qb change may make sense just for the change (the very valid william hughes point), to my eye team is with the staff
ReplyDeleteNow, my opinion is that ability to recruit and ability to garner financial support from admin and alums are far more important to Ivy success than game day coaching. If it were me that is how I would assess head coach situation. The offensive scheme may in fact need to be overhauled but if true that certainly couldnt have happened for this season in the 2 weeks before training camp and realistically could take years as recruiting different player skillsets would take several cycles
But they will continue to ask for our money.
ReplyDeleteThey will indeed. And it is entirely up to you how to respond.
DeleteThe "In Bags we trust" quorum on this board is really amusing. He definitely helped change the culture as well as CU's purse strings commitment to football, but to say he was anything more than a mediocre coach results wise is embellishment. As a matter of fact, if you look at just his Ivy record while at CU, it's less than mediocre.
ReplyDeleteThere are some excellent young coaches away from CU that are delivering on D3 stages. Hopkins, Union and Carnegie Mellon come to mind. Two of these guys spent time on Bag's staff.
The above comment is spot on! Comments like this show me that there is an awakening! In other words thank you Al but time to move to an experienced winner from a D III and a new direction! How about an OC from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, or Dartmouth?
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t it be great if we could get somebody like Poppe as HC? I know he’s in his first season at Union, but maybe down the road if the current coaching nightmare continues longer than it should.
DeleteYes. What could go wrong. Long history of great coaching hires at ole CU.
DeleteI know Poppe, arrogant dishonest dude.
DeletePoppe departure was celebrated by players, and they all went after him after the 2019 OT win against Harvard.
DeleteBy the way where are Jake with the weekly explanation why we lost? I love how you pull no punches as to the punchless offense
ReplyDeleteThere is no mystery around Green being healthy or not. He's been healthy for over a month. This is pure stubbornness by OC and HC and why they prob won't be back next year. He's the best passer on roster and there is no close second. Bell just doesn't have the physical tools that JG does. Joe's off schedule decision making is also far better than what we are seeing now.
ReplyDeleteYou sure about that? If your comment is based on what you last saw of JG during games I agree. Why do you and your ilk stubbornly insist that an entire experienced coaching staff cant properly evaluate current ability with their careers on the line?
DeleteWhen he left the word was that he was not well liked by his players—but if he is 6-0 I suppose he knows how to coach. And isn’t he the son of a former player and the brother of another former player?
ReplyDelete120 comments on this thread. Vast majority asking for Fabish or Bell’s head. Really disappointing. Wonder if Dartmouth or Princeton fans would do the same - records are the similar
ReplyDeleteWe all know they wouldn't do that. Many of the posters here are the worst type of sports alums a school can have. They blamed the coach when they won a handful of games over 4 years and are quick to do the same now. I see a lot of "donors" here too. No legit donor is posting here, they're talking directly to people that matter.
ReplyDeleteI saw Junior linebacker Rocco Milla with his girlfriend after the ganme, sheesh.
ReplyDeleteLong time donor to Columbia football
what specifically was so disappointing about the state of thier union that compelled you to post about it?
DeleteThat might be a good clue.
DeleteI don’t get it. What does this cryptic post on Rocco mean?
DeleteWhat the hell does this mean. Pathetic comment
DeleteCute couple. Should put them in a magazine.
DeleteVery interesting.
ReplyDelete