QB Nolan Grooms leads Yale... in rushing
Columbia Lions (2-4) vs. Yale Bulldogs (3-3)
October 28, 2023
Kickoff Time: 12 Noon
West Haven, Connecticut
Game Time Weather Forecast: 74 degrees and sunny
The Line: Columbia is a 9 1/2 point underdog
TV/Radio: The game will be streamed live on ESPN+
Leading Story Lines
-Both teams come into this game as pretty strong disappointments for 2023. Yale was a massive preseason favorite to win the Ivies, but the Elis are just 3-3 and 1-2 in the Ivies. The Lions are 2-4 and have lost all three of their Ivy games in soul-crushing fashion.
-Yale's season has faltered because of its weaker than expected defense. Columbia's season has taken a big hit from a subpar offense. One of these has to give tomorrow... maybe.
-After weeks of rainy Saturdays, this game will not only be under a sunny sky but it will be hot. Will the radical weather change produce radically different results?
3 Lions to Watch
-RB Malcom Terry #6 may be the primary rusher for CU tomorrow against a Yale rushing defense that has not been consistent.
-DE Justin Townsend #36 will likely be chasing Yale QB Nolan Grooms all day.
-PK Hugo Merry #98 will be playing in his first game ever at Yale Bowl; probably the toughest FG kicking venue in the Ivies.
3 Elis to Watch
-WR Mason Tipton #1 can do a lot of damage and he will look to shine in dry weather.
-LT Jonathan Mendoza #76 is taking over that vital position now that NFL draft prospect Kiran Amegadjie is out for the season with an injury. Will Grooms be able to adjust?
-DE Clay Patterson #97 is considered one of the best pass rushers in the league.
119 comments:
Someone said earlier that our offense in the red zone is actually the Zilch Zone offense. Wow, how accurate was that! First and goal is usually Worst and Goal. We are getting 9 1/2?
Our defense keeps this close. Take the 9.5 points to the bank. Would feel better though if Giorgi was starting.
Columbia wins outright
Columbia 38
Yale 7
Yale Bowl is turf; not difficult at all to kick in there any more. Spuyten Duyvil is the hardest kicking venue in the league with the whipping winds off the rivers. There is no close second. Franklin Field is the best as witnessed last night.
Indeed- Bear bites Quaker …there is parity in them thar hills !
Good luck to the team!
Great start!
Does someone want to tell the team they have a game today? Looks like they didn’t get off the bus
tackles took turns getting knocked on butt last 2 dropbacks
How many times imes we gonna watch receiver wait for ball while db recovers and knocks it away?
I think we all see the same thing. “ Didn’t get off the bus.” Lackluster, listless, tentative.
Lights out?
This is horrific. I hate to be negative, but what a waste of time. So frustrating. It’s over….. in multiple ways.
Not being able to complete a quick out on 3rd and 3 is not a coaching issue
First half is the worst 30 minutes of Columbia football. Pass defense is non-existent. DBs are not covering. Offense is non-existent. WRs are dropping catcheable balls. First time that I have seen a Columbia team which is so deflated.
21-0 - team clearly doesn’t want to be there.
Parents on this thread….
- have heard enough about how hard the boys play.
- have heard enough about left side of OL.
- have heard enough about how great this D/nationally ranked.
We play to win games. These players are disgracing our program. Yeah I said it.
Have your sons play for pride because they’re certainly not playing for the team or Fabish.
I tuned in late. Just heard this. Someone please clarify for me. Did Coach say before the game that none of his team would be good enough to start for Yale? I cant go back to watch. I can't believe that this is true. If so, well, it's no wonder this team is where they're at. Please tell me, Coach really didn't say this???
It's true
Fabish admitting that Columbia Recruting isn’t on par with top of the league.
That alone is a fireable offense.
You're an idiot.
After we failed to convert on 4th down it looks like we gave up. Terrible
I was hoping is wasn't true. And who is calling someone an idiot. Who is the idiot here???
Harvard, Yale and Princeton have a recruiting advantage over the rest of the league. In most sports and admissions in general. They always get higher ranked recruits. Always. The other schools have to coach kids up and develop them. To be shocked that someone says this shows you to be an idiot.
Alright who are the best candidates for HC next year?
Painful.
Ricky Santos
Santos, Poppe, Gilchrist in that order
This is what happens when you lose three heartbreakers in a row
Add Ryan Larsen to the list of candidates.
He’s HC of Carnegie Mellon.
Former QB coach at Columbia.
UNH job is a lot better
35-0 - disgraceful on all fronts.
Has an Interim Coach ever gotten fired?
We surrendered the last TD—the team quit, We were outplayed and also out coached. Especially the DBs, who gave Yale WRs a huge cushion all day. I am astonished at the nosedive that this team has taken this week. Obviously in every Ivy game the offense has been putrid. what eventually happens is that the defense is on the field too long and the dam breaks. jack siedlecki, the former Yale HC, thinks that Green’s shoulder has still not fully recovered.
We have players on your roster who had Yale offers - put them in.
Someone called me too optimistic ...that is for sure.
Play calling as has been the case for a few years.... awful. .....the coach can't have said that about out athletes ...if he did he should be released from his job..if it is not true...he will say that ...I was hoping we would have a passing attack with some running plays...but I had that wrong . ..in fairness to defense ...with no offense ..very tough job ...
The root of the problem with this team is the offensive line. It’s soft and it’s young.
Pass blocking just not close to average. The running game we had early in the season hasn’t showed up because we are playing against stout defenses. The offensive line coach Mac is a pro. He’s been in this league for 20+ yrs. It’s definitely not on him for the OL’s issues.
BTW…if we hear one more time about Baby Gronk and left side of the OL, I will throw up.
This player and the left side of OL looked awful in this game.
0% chance he leaves his Alma mater too, where he is a legend on the field
That guy stinks
Yes, nothing but excellence for columbia football boosters! Please tell my son about your embarrassment next time you see him
Didn't the wheels come off last year against Yale too?
Green did not look like he is back to form. Receivers didn't always help him out. DB play has been that way all year; coaching or players, or both?
The Yale team picked to win the league showed up. The Lions picked to finish 4th, sadly didn't. But maybe like last year, Lions pull the rabbit out of the hat, or the 3rd string QB off the bench.
Btw Reno needs to be fired. Starting qb played entire game even up 35 points in Q4. Which Columbia football genius will call Yale AD to advise?
How about when it's a pass, our linemen don't get down in a full stance. When it's a run they do! How is that for a tip off!
Two back offense by Yale, run to perfection
We make the opposition look like Super Bowl champs!
Fabish Must go!
Never saw a coach, in the last minute of the first half, up 21, near mid field, with 3 TOs, run out the clock ⏰
Reno also had his starting QB in the game to play the kickoff return with 11 seconds left. If I were the AD I would fire him tomorrow. A first class jerk.
Legitimate points about Reno, but how about we focus on our AD firing our coach instead?
Stop whining
Siedlecki also pointed out that our WRs were “not helping Green.” That’s putting it mildly. I saw at least half a dozen catchable balls which were dropped and a few others in which the effort was lacking. They can’t get separation, they can’t make plays, they drop balls,and they don’t block. Even if Green is still not 100%, his WRs really let him and the team down with poor play.
The Yale fans don’t like Reno or the AD. They’re must have been 1,800 people in that cavernous stadium.
Reno is the class act who refused to loan a kicking tee to Dartmouth a few years ago.
!!!!
Well.. that didn’t work out. I will say it again: Fabish and D’Orazio would not be hired as an OC at any other D1 school with their resume.
Very similar to O’Neill with the Vikings
Did the Lions lose again because of rain and poor officiating. Wake up folks!!!
The only people watching the game who were completely oblivious to Yale's game plan were the CU coaches.
Green's arm may not be 100% but the receivers dropped balls and the OL didn't protect the QB.
Also, the vertical aerial attack worked better than the ineffective screen passes i.e CU's effective drive in the 4th quarter.
Very good comment about the vertical attack but Fabish is not all in. He did throw more deeply today but prefers "Safe" passes
LOL Joe Green
Ditto
Come on can you please stop with the Green excuses. His time has come and gone move on
Seriously its football! Thats how u build a team that wins and learns how to bury their opponent.
Winners win…time to take notes. You bury any opponent that thinks they can beat you. This isn't little league. Embarrassing statement
Give it a rest w Green he is not a leader
And preseason everyone was saying we had the best receivers in the league
3 and Out CU Football 🏈
If Fabish said that he is making excuses. There is no doubt HYP have recruiting advantages, but so what? Brown, Penn and Dartmouth are competitive too. It can be done. Remember, Bagnoli had top-rated recruiting classes his first few years.
I am not surprised that Fabish, Dorazio and company don't appear up to the job, but hugely disappointed the team so has so quickly reverted to past bad play and lost its resilience. I had hoped we were beyond that.
I wish we could rely on the AD to fix this mess, but given how Pilling has handled men's basketball, I am not sure that he will.
Winners win. Got it, Coach. Very insightful.
I was at the game and it seemed like I was watching a Lions game from the early 2010s. Given that Yale and Columbia had the 2 worst records in league play, I was at least expecting a competitive game but this was just a disaster. A total embarrassment. The dejected look on the Columbia fans' faces said it all. The likelihood of winning one more game seems very out of reach. Those close game losses to Princeton and Penn were HUGE losses in so many respects.
LOL Green?? Please explain your comment. Maybe if this team would have started out differently..but it didn’t. Green can’t fix the coaches mistakes.
LOL Green?? Please explain!!
There’s zero chance that the AD will do anything other than offer the interim HC a 5 yr. contract to be the next HC. Search committee? Ha!!!
most of the people on this board including th sponsor seemed to endorse Bell as the starter based upon the way we finished last season. But that decision only made sense if Green was not yet ready to play. Green is a better passer. That was clear even today, despite lousy play by the WRs and the OL.
Unless we do a dramatic 180 and rally over the final 3 games this staff is history. Poor personnel decisions, poor coaching, poor game planning, failure to make decent half time adjustments, and at least today a failure to play with any sense of urgency.
Could it be that Al and mediocrity are a far better locale than where we are now?
Don't count on it, pea brain.
Ok dad
He is not the answer. CU is still losing. Majority on this board thought he was the variable that would change everything. Obviously he is not.
This football team does not know how to win. It is a skill.
Good analysis, Mr Green.
I read this blog and people keep talking about our lack of talent. From last year‘s team, what starters did we lose by position? I was anticipating we were going to be pretty good this year and I’m confused why we’re not. So if it’s not coaching what is it?
Is Fabish Mangurian 2.0?
O line and wr play has been extremely inconsistent. Outside of today the D has played very well. Yale will likely end of winning the league title if they run the table
Whew...all of you stubborn 'dad' responders and 'the rain' excuse makers refuse to see reality. If you're still blindly loyal to inept coaches (Fabish and D'Orazio) then you probably love getting participation trophies, instead of being actual winners. We have the most talent we've ever had this season.
Also, to whine about the team that kicked your ass keeping their starting QB in the game till the end...what a weak comment! The weakest energy ever, my god!
For the sake of all fans of Columbia football, get rid of the these horrible coaches asap. The recruiting is levels behind, it is sad...just ask the head coach. Getting rid of these guys now will at least allow the team to reset and maybe salvage recruiting.
Are we playing the same wide receivers We played last year? I see a bunch of freshman in there that didn’t play last year. That must add to the inconsistency.
Everyone was raving about Canty and Libman as the best tandem of WR in the league pre season
These coaches are fine. We need to execute the plays which we are not.
Maybe Lance Medow can ask the Interim Coach this week, “Make the case why should be named the Head Coach”?
I, certainly, cannot think of any reason.
Bagnoli at game today. Thought he may have another heart attack. He has got to be simply shaking his head. Very unfortunate..all of this.
Ah the Coach Fabulous and Bags program is finally being seen. At least they practiced hard this week🤔
Sorry folks, it’s time for a hard reset. Would Poppe and Larsen want to inherit this? A lot of time any money have gone into CU finally having facilities and resources on par with its peers. If the AD and football committee chooses not to change the direction of this right now, the program is right back to where it was ten years ago.
I had a premonition that this was going to be a bad day for us. Every year we come up with a real stinker—for the last two years it was Yale. Why did we collapse after playing good games against Princeton and Penn, and a winnable game against Dartmouth? My theory—we have no offensive game plan that plays to our strengths and never make in game or half time adjustments. Because we cannot pass block we don’t give Green enough time in the pocket. so why n to more RPOs or at least moving pockets? Why not use Larson, who is a TE who can catch, on more deep balls against a linebacker? Why not more crossing patterns in the middle of the field? And PS, where is Canty?
All the talk about how talented this team is utter nonsense. The talent in this team is very average. Average returning players from an average team.
You had a premonition that became a theory? You're a fool.
It took a long time but people are tuned in! It's time to junk the Hurry Up and Wait and Fabish. New direction demanded. No input anymore from Bagnoli. AD Must move on. Skip the politics.
Wildcat too
My goodness, you people are clueless. Stop whining about who HYP gets and what "advantages" they have, and we do not? Somehow Dartmouth had a run at a couple of recent Championships. If everything is so bad here, stop crying and just transfer.
Yesterday, those kids didn’t quit on the staff, they quit on themselves because they lack pride. Stop telling your kids how great they are that it’s everyone else’s fault (the staff, referees, etc.) and look in the mirror for goodness sakes. No, that statement is NOT for every player, so relax, but stop pointing fingers at the staff and suit up. You were just embarrassed in New Haven.
For those of you who want a "reset" of the entire program, you know nothing of this game. You would set the program back several years for goodness sakes. Do things have to change, yes! You can't have 5'9" – 5’10” DBs covering 6'3"-6'5" WRs. And for some reason our DBs don’t want to wrap up when they try and tackle? Yale was picking apart our DBs apart because they gave 10 yard cushioning throughout the game. The announcers were equally stunned BTW. The O-line is blocking challenged, so change the blocking schemes to accommodate what (limited) "talent" you have. The O-line has been a problem for a few years now so maybe shift those responsibilities elsewhere. Our WRs can’t seem to catch this year, so why not blame the coaches. That’s a convenient excuse... We’re using our TEs more (finally), which is opening up the offense. Auggie Hoffman is a great addition to the staff and has lots of credibility recruiting in the tri-state area. Green is fine (when he is not running for his life) and the RBs run hard. The D-Line is not as deep as we need and the LBs (who are good) simply can’t be on the field that long. We need more consistency in the kicking game, for sure. All of this can be addressed if we stay the path.
We lost to Princeton by 3, Penn by 3 and Dartmouth by 11, so we’re right there. Yesterday, we got blown out, it’s that simple. If we can win two of the remaining three games, we will salvage the season.
We are all intensely disappointed. No one could have expected that with more than half the Ivy League season over, we would be the sole team without a conference victory. We had visions of quarterbacks making throws, receivers catching balls, and coaches knowing how to be creative and masterful.
We are letting our frustrations spill over, and in the process we are sniping at each other, and demeaning players. Not a good look.
In an effort to present a diversion, and to occupy our time over the next three weeks, I respectfully offer up a list of potential Head Coaches, who if hired, could prevent the reversion of Columbia Football to a place none of us want to revisit, and many fear, with good cause, to where we are quickly headed.
They are a diverse group, from both sides of the ball, and each with different attributes. May the debate begin.
With extensive Ivy League experience: Mike Willis, Princeton; Mickey Fein, Harvard; Keith Clark, Dartmouth.
With ties to Robert Kraft: Vincent Brown, William & Mary.
With Villanova experience: Chris Boden, Villanova
Young, “up and comers”: Jeff Gallo, Monmouth (the Jersey connection for all who put a premium on that); Chris Smith, NY Giants
(more Jersey); Billy Cosh, Western Michigan; Drew Folmar, Elon; Marco Pecora, St. Francis.
There is Adam Scheier at Temple, who did a stint at Columbia.
For those looking for gray hair, there are: Terrence Archer, Delaware; Kevin Higgins, Wake Forest.
Someone who would have to take a pay cut: Pete Lembo, South Carolina.
If the preference is for a current head coach: Shawn Lutz, Slippery Rock; Jim Clemons, Kutztown; Nate Milne, Muhlenberg.
Without question, there are multiple viable options. However, the odds are in favor of, “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know”, attitude prevailing. So in an effort to foster “Bagnoli 2.0”, we will be treated to “Men’s Basketball 2.0”. To his credit, the current Interim Head Coach has a great collection of camo caps, sports the best beard in the history of college football, and is highly skilled at crafting sound bites that sound highly profound, all while saying nothing.
If you think there’s any chance of us winning two more games this season, you’re completely delusional.
Love the way overdue list! Keep Bagnoli out of it.
Going to repeat what I have said for the past month. Bagnoli and Fabish are a joke. The kids all know it. They never wanted to play for Fabish. None of them connected with Bagnoli. They play for each other. Hit the reseat button here after they go 2-8.
Fire the OC, he cannot call plays to save his life.
Another inane post from Johhny’s dad
Too subtle? making fun of geniuses here who were outraged bell played entire gtown game
Ah, you have outed yourself as one of the Columbia football fan genius caucus
This is really a hilarious post. Bagnoli and Fabish are probably the two reasons over half the team committed to Columbia. Both great recruiters
You need to stop it, Columbia has a history of not doing well. Coach Bagnoli, changed the culture of the past history.
Columbia is a better place because of him and Fabish. Don’t you or any other person ever forget it.
So how do you explain this year?
Why don't you share this list and you expertise with Pilling? Call him and report back.
What a tool.
You're going to get fired if you don't get those burgers out quicker, you silly old fool.
Time to clean up this board. None of us have time for name calling/low brow comments.
Let’s keep it civil guys. We all want CUFB to be successful.
Let the adults discuss this, your mommy is calling you. She needs to do your laundry.
In order for Fabish to keep his job, there needs to be some consistent positives on the field. Does anyone see a legit reason why he should be rightfully retained?
And so am I, but I’m getting
impatient,
Pete Mangurian
No
If Wainwright and Smith weren't on the team a few years ago, Bagnoli would have been sub .500 at CU and even worse than 20-28 Ivy. Santos was the reason that the offense was more than decent. NJ Lion is spot on about Fabish and his flunkeys. If you want a real hoot read Fabish's bio on CU's football site. What a spin! Where is the beef?
Poppe sucks.
Yes
Bye-bye, Uncle Mark.
To the comment about why Coach Fab should be retained, show me the evidence
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