Charles DePrima has revitalized the Crimson
Columbia Lions (2-5) vs. Harvard Crimson (6-1)
November 4, 2023
Kickoff Time: 12:30pm
Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium
New York, NY
Game Time Weather Forecast: 54 degrees and cloudy
The Line: Columbia is a 13 1/2 point underdog
TV/Radio: The game will be streamed live on ESPN+
Leading Story Lines
-Columbia remains the only Ivy team without a conference win, and it appears the coaching staff is firmly in the lame duck zone now.
-Harvard lost a close one in Cambridge to the Lions last year, and revenge will likely be on their minds.
-The Crimson have to guard against the "trap game" scenario with crucial games at Penn and then Yale ahead.
3 Lions to Watch
-For the second straight week, the Lions face a QB with great running ability, which means LB CJ Brown #0 will likely be doing a lot of the chasing.
-LT Luke Painton #65 may be under the gun all day against Harvard's excellent D-line.
-RB Joey Giorgi #25 will need to prove he's fully recovered from injury to run against the Harvard brick wall.
3 Crimson to Watch
-DT Thor Griffith #50 gets a lot of press, but is he overrated? Watch him tomorrow and decide for yourself.
-DB A.J. Lopez #27 can disrupt the Lion passing game in a big way.
-WR Cooper Barkate #2 is a receiver who can help diversify the Crimson attack.
112 comments:
There's always Women's Football to be proud of. Historic upset tonite in Providence in the IL tournament. Go Light Blue!!!
Spoiler alert- we may surprise some folks. This team is capable of making this a ballgame. Nothing to lose at this point. Unleash the hounds !
We are gonna get waxed for a second week in a row. It’ll be ugly.
This is horrific already.
Dropped pass on what would have been a first down. Multiple runs into the Harvard Stonewall. Tight end evades our defense. Blocked punt for a touchdown. What more could go wrong? Only five minutes into the game. This is what I remember from the dreary years of Columbia football.
2nd and 11, and you give up an 85 yd play for a touchdown.
As the poet laureate of our time, Mike Tyson said, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
I am sure the plan was not to have a punt blocked for a touchdown, to be down 14-0, not even half way into the First Quarter.
I cannot wait to hear the Interim Coach with Lance Medow, later in the week, spin this debacle.
Good use of the Tyson quote.
14+million for Al. 35-35 for us. And he left us Fabish And we aren't to criticize? At least we are competitive?
Are we?
CU offensive starters look good against Harvards 3th and 4th sting. Go Lions 38-17!
Come now, never underestimate the value of those garbage time touchdowns. Without them, we could be averaging less than seven points an Ivy League game on offense, brought to you by that offensive guru, aka the “Interim Head Coach”.
2 weeks straight . CU offensive starters in at trash time against opponents 3rd string, 4th string, and freshman. CLASSY!
No! No! We have it wrong!
This is a sign the team has not quit on the Interim Coach. First they score with 11 seconds left and then the next week with 26 seconds left.
He must be retained!
Drop the “Interim” title immediately!
He is the future. We cannot let him get away. Quick, sign him up, before another school poaches him.
66 players travel? Perhaps. Certainly not 88…
You see, every game counts.
Had we won very winnable games against, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Penn, teams of equal talent to the Lions, we could have weathered losses against the two superior teams, Yale and Harvard.
Most likely, Yale beats Harvard, and two losses get someone a share of the league title.
Ask yourself, in what area has this team improved since Lafayette?
You keep Fabish, and he brings in a host of new coaches, maybe even institutes a different offense, is that enough of a reason to retain him?
All I have heard anyone say about him to warrant his being retained, “He was there next to Al Bagnoli when Al resuscitated the program”. Well, so too, were the equipment managers and the trainers. Do they get any consideration?
On top of everything else, our Columbia's TV announcer, Lance Medow, is the "King of Cliches," making it difficult to listen to three hours of tired phrases such as "manageable third down" "knocking on the door" and "man on a mission."
If Al had this team, we would be 5-5 and the spin would be? "Another non losing season". See what 2million buys!
"...every game counts". That's good info.
Earth to Pilling , come in Pilling. Men's basketball needs a change. What about football?
Even with the fourth quarter “offensive outburst” 5 for 17 on third down.
Tough to win games with those numbers.
Remember too, the Lions ran more than 70 plays, while Harvard barely ran 50. They converted 5 of 10.
This game was nothing different than what we have seen all year. When your offense cannot sustain drives, it is only a matter of time when your defense gets winded.
Maybe Pilling should go.
Mark Fabish, post game comments, “It was two big plays, early, by them. Other than that, it was an even game.”
What game was he watching?
Columbia Fans on this Board should keep in mind that our Athletic Director has retained the services of the present Men's Basketball Coach for eight years despite that person's horrendous won-loss record. In the last three seasons alone, Columbia's Men's Basketball Team has compiled an aggregate record of 4 wins and 38 losses against its Ivy League opponents. How can anyone advocate a football coaching change in view of what's happened with our Men's Basketball program? My opinion is to stay with Coach Fabish and his staff given all the circumstances, and remove the "interim" label asap which will enable them to recruit a strong group of incoiming players for next year.
What a moronic post. Fabish and Engles should both be shown the door asap.
Why did I watch any of this game? Fabish on track for a worse first season than Mangurian, and that’s saying something.
Hopefully his last . Let the Search begin but don't wait forever!
Mangurian was arrogant. No questiin. But this fellow is a windbag.
He is an empty suit. He is what a dumb person thinks a smart person sounds like.
Beard or no beard, it is tough to look at him.
There have to be better options out there.
Our kids kept playing hard; give them credit. As far as the game itself here were the key problems: there was broken coverage on the first H TD, was that coaching or a player mistake; on the blocked punt , it was obvious that H was looking for the block, why didn’t we call a TO and adjust the protection; with about 8 minutes to go we went for it deep in our territory on 4th and 8, which was a big mistake. I thought that Giorgi ran well, that Green is shaking off the rust, that the two long interceptions were ok because they were equivalent to punts. Our biggest failure on defense other than the busted coverages was permitting the H QB to extend plays.
Three of the H TDs were blocked punt, blown coverage, and going for it on 4th and 8 on our own 20. Were they coaching issues or player mistakes?
He truly is the worst. I watch in silence.
Another eminently predictable Fabish biff.
Very good analysis of the blocked punt play.
He's the best.
"..... given all the circumstances." What?
Equal talent? You have got to be kidding me
You are aware that Harvard has much more talent than Columbia right?
Significantly more talent.
And how do people propose we narrow that gap?
Remember, we beat Harvard, in their building, last year?
What happened between last year and this year?
Harvard’s greatest concern at the start of the year was an “unknown quarterback”.
For anyone who listened to Lance Medow’s mid week interview with the Interim Head Coach, the coach reminded listeners that Charles DePrima was from New Jersey, and he had recruited him.
Really?
That is like saying, “We had the 200th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, and if the Patriots had not picked Tom Brady, we would have.” Who cares?
Just another swing and miss from the Interim, and hopefully soon departed, Head Coach.
Does everyone really believe we have only lost to teams because they all have had “significantly more talent”?
Nobody said "only". It's a significant reason though. Simple example: our best QB is the 3rd stringer at H.
Omg. Are you kidding me?
Not having Canty and Painton was huge
We got off on the wrong foot after holding H to a 3 and out. Somebody blew his assignment and left the H TE wide open. The on the blocked punt it was obvious that H was set up to block the punt. I would have called a TO to set the blocking. But somebody clearly didn’t make his block. So that put us down 14-0. We had a beautiful 9 minute drive at the beginning of the 3d Q but were kept out of the en zone by a sack and had to settle for a FG. Put Painton and Canty on the field and we might have had a different outcome, especially on a few of those 50/50 deep balls.
H QB had more time to pass and to extend plays than Green. We didn’t put much pressure on the H QB. We did a better job of stopping/slowing down the run. Giorgi was the best RB on the field.
So let’s say we accept your premise that all these Ivy teams have more talent than we do (which I think is b.s., but I’ll play along). If that premise is correct, then Fabish is successful neither at recruiting nor in-game coaching. So he’s basically useless. Why, then, do you continue to insist he’s “our guy”?
McLaughlin best back in the league, right?
Giorgi is better than the H RB; does more with less. TD run was excellent—balance, speed and vision.
For several years many Columbia sports fans have expressed the concern on this blog and elsewhere that the current Director of Athletics does not seem to be acting in the best interests of the men's basketball program by failing to replace its head men's basketball coach despite his clear lack of success since he was hired in 2015. Absent any public explanation from the AD why he has retained an unsuccessful coach for the greater part of a decade, Columbia football fans amongst other Columbia sports fans are understandably concerned about the AD's motivation. More precisely, the question is whether the AD cares at all about winning.
Nope
Peter Piper, are you listening?
Yep
Simply stated: Engles out, Fabish out.
What a sad and pathetic game. Outplayed, outcoached and then the 4th qtr....pathetic.
Fabish and D'Orazio should be axed asap, at a minimum. They have ruined recruiting and they both have been god awful during the season. It is an embarrassment for anyone that lives in reality and has pride in Columbia, or actually just football in general.
And for the weak sauce that replies to facts he doesn't agree with....no, it's not made up bud.
The same Harvard team we beat last year and that had huge question marks at QB and RB to start the season, right? My goodness, how hard is it for you people to take some personal responsibility? We were completely outcoached, as we basically are in every Ivy game.
Just an awful performance. Fabish looks more lost every game, and D’Orazio’s right there with him. When will our AD be in the office?
Anyone who follows college football knows what took place with Dabo Swinney during last week ahead of the Notre Dame game.
Then he went out and silenced his critics. He takes pride in his reputation and cares what people say about him. It helps that he is a master at his craft. Another benefit, is that his players respond to him.
That is how great coaches handle criticism.
Either the Interim Coach (and Athletic Director) are blind and deaf, allowing them to be in denial, or they simply do not care.
But based on his comments, Mark Fabish just does not get it.
He is the problem.
Question-if we turn it around and beat Brown and Cornell what is the verdict on the staff?
Editor's note: We haven't beaten ANY Ivy team. Thank God for scheduling teams worse than us. ( See Bagnoli's out of conference scheduling)
Going to repeat what I said several months ago, this group of players does not respect Fabish. He is not the guy to lead men. If we were a good game coach then maybe he earns the job, but he has no ability to lead men or coach football. Send him back to NJ as a math teacher/gym coach/football volunteer.
Forget the Football Coach issue for the moment, does anyone have any confidence in the AD Pilling given that he has allowed Engles to ruin the Columbia Men's Basketball Program. Engles has one of the worst records of any college coach in the country. If you guys think Marist and Georgetown are "Marshmellows," then how would you describe Vassar and SUNY Maritime? If you think Fabish is a bad coach, take a look at Engles--can't coach, can't recruit, can't even call time outs.
In his Friday post, Jake wrote, “it appears the coaching staff is firmly in the lame duck zone”.
To his enormous credit, Jake is never a “homer”. He does not engage in hyperbole. And, has shown numerous times, that his “intell” is accurate.
I cannot imagine him writing something like that, as “click bait”, or to see what the reaction would be.
I, like many others, are hoping that was not Jake’s wishful thinking.
Up until this past game, people might have been deluded by the myriad of excuses and poor loser explanations. After yesterday’s debacle, there should be no doubt what action the program needs to take.
The decision needs to made now, not after two more games. The most likely candidates are well known. If the names have surfaced on this site, presumably those doing the search know them as well. The longer the wait, the smaller the pool becomes.
It is a shame Fabish did not work out. It would have been easier and better for the program in the short run. On the other hand, it is best to have only wasted one season, than three or more. It would have been romantic to have the next coach be “Son of Bagnoli”, but Al need not worry, he has cemented his legacy.
Wow is all I can say to the two texts listed above!
Vassar and SUNY Maritime? Do they play football 🏈?
That is a crock of bs. You are obviously a disgruntled parent
Baby Gronk makes a big difference
Father of Baby Gronk…give it a rest. Most over-rated player on the team….
Was there any follow-up to the questionable comments Fabish supposedly made about the players at last week's game?
7 year deals for all.
That's not something you just observe from watching a game. Can you give you some concrete examples please? Would be helpful.
Specifically, examples of why you say the team doesn't respect the coach and why he lacks leadership skills.
I am neither a parent nor a former player. I am an alumnus of the college and the law school and for reasons unknown to me have followed and supported the football program for many years. (My own undistinguished football career ended after 4 years of high school.). So here is my take: Mark Fabish was put into a tough spot when al had to step down just before training camp. He had to adopt on the fly. I’m sure that presented challenges. Sometimes luck does play a part, and we had bad luck in the Princeton, Penn and Dartmouth games. Did we make mistakes in those games? Of course, but were they player mistakes or coaching mistakes? The Yale game was a setback to be sure, but Canty is our best player, our only first team all Ivy player, and a game changer, and without him we are a different team. I have no idea what the players or the parents think of the staff. Mark has been close and will get better. Joe D’Orazio didn’t have a full off season to prepare for the role of OC and deserves to be cut some slack. Mark cares deeply about the team; just l;is ten to any of his post-game comments. I for one think that he deserves to be retained and to have the benefit of a full off-season to prepare for his role. Likewise Joe.
So how many more blowouts do you need to see before you realize that Fabish is awful and our results aren’t all just down to bad luck?
Why do I get the feeling that Canty won’t play again this season? And perhaps not next season either, whereas had he gone to Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, etc., of course he would have been stellar for all four years and would have eaten our DBs alive.
Badmouthing your players should be grounds for suspension, if not immediate dismissal.
He's injured.
Thanks, Captain. I think the other poster was suggesting that whenever our players get hurt, it never seems to be for just a game or two.
Now just waiting for the inevitable reference to a certain member of the Vikings OL.
Thats true pilling has to clean house in the trainers room too! And get rif of lance meadows! And fire the social media team! Fire everyone, we are Columbia. We are entitled to the best. Name me one reason we cant get a great athletic trainer from a div III program! We always make great hires. It always works out. I donated $500 and that makes me entitled to my tantrums in a public forum
This is a world class collection of asshats
Fortunately, our last two games are against the Ivy's weakest and most inconsistent teams. I truly think we may have enough talent to win both games. Perhaps, I've watched Miracle on 34th Street too many times. But if the winds are favorable and the the river doesn't rise, with those two wins, we can proudly boast that we came in LAST PLACE.
Unfortunately, the failing sports programs are the least of the problems the University faces. I am used to being teased about Columbia's basketball and football programs. I wear it as a badge of honor. Let's face it, it's not the end of the world.
But folks, the University has completely lost it's moral compass and that is so sad. ESPN+ airs a video at half time featuring beautiful images of the campus and Herman Wouk's thoughts about Columbia. I wonder what he (a Jew) would think of his beloved alma mater today?
Well said. It's incredible.
Zip it
Although our men's basketball team under Coach Engles has broken every Columbia record for ineptitude during his tenure, we do have some very talented players, so I am hoping that we get off to a good start to the season tomorrow against Providence. Good Luck to the Columbia Men's Basketball Team!!!
Herman Wouk would be outraged by what is happening at Columbia and the other Ivy League schools. Sadly, 9/11 was God's warning of the evil that exists in the world, and it was not heeded.
Our new president is clueless, as is our Dean; where is the strong condemnation of Hamas? And why is doxxing deemed to be on the same moral plane as antisemitism except in the universe of Minouch Shafik? If somebody wants to be an antisemite, he or she should be outed. And why does Joseph Massad still have a job at Columbia.
Are you joking? Laughable at best
Guys, stop pretending like this situation snuck up on Fabish. Bagnoli has been trying to position him since day 1 and shame on Al for doing it the way he did. Al was not a players coach and neither is Fabish. They deserve everything they get in this current scenario.
Zip it
We lose to Providence by 40+ tomorrow. Wake up, Peter!!!
Go protest somewhere else....don't pollute this blog
Oh, wow....someone feels entitled after a whopping 500 dollar gift....this would have received chuckles at my son's middle school fund raiser
The poster was being sarcastic. Well, except for asshat part. That was genuine.
Fabish the Destroyer....you are spot on. He was a weak leader all season then he dismissed his own players last week, after being inept all Ivy season. If I'm a player/parent/fan, I want Fabish and ALL of his disciples on the staff gone asap.
That includes coaches that let this beard exert his authority and poison the team while they swallowed their tongue/integrity and let it happen. Lesson learned fellas...hope you will grow a spine in your next coaching position.
Where can one download the interview with Fabish when he denegrates his players before the Yale game?
Can people stop with “poor little rich Mark Fabish”.
The earlier author is spot on. Al Bagnoli always envisioned a “handoff” to his ever obedient disciple. It just likely did not play out as Al foresaw it happening. Both Fabish and Bagnoli knew it was coming at some point.
The losses thus far can be primarily attributed to an impotent offense. The architect of that offense is Fabish. There is nothing that prevents Fabish from calling plays, even in his current role, if he felt the present Offensive Coordinator was not up to the task.
With many of us being graduates of Columbia College, we should recognize Mr. Fabish’s flaw. He is consumed by “hubris”.
To quote Edward Bennett Williams, when he owned the Washington Redskins, and fired his Coach/GM George Allen, “I gave him an unlimited budget and he exceeded it.”
It was all set up for Fabish. We could have endured the close losses, believed that the rain was a factor, we could have accepted that it was a young offensive line, understood that certain positions were not living up to expectations that may have been hyped. But Fabish’s attitude is what ultimately cost him support. . Never once did he say, “I have to do better”. To say, “minus two big plays early, we played Harvard even”, is simply absurd. Not calling a timeout when it is clear there is a punt block on and you are not prepared, is forgivable. Being pompous, when you have lost every league game, is not.
He should be shown the door. We can do better. The players deserve better.
Sounds like you aren't a fan of the bubble screen, the three yd pass, the Hurry Up and Wait and the worst offense in the league.
can you please share what Fabish said about the players? Some of us missed that and want to know
Can anyone shed light on the questionable or "bad" comments Fab made last week towards players?
Had enough already! What does it take to wake everyone up?
Call Piling
"To quote Edward Bennett Williams, when he owned the Washington Redskins, and fired his Coach/GM George Allen, 'I gave him an unlimited budget and he exceeded it.' "
Edward Bennett Williams never owned the Redskins; he owned the Baltimore Orioles. He also never said those words (at least not attributed publicly, and not about George Allen, whom he never fired). That was Jack Kent Cooke. But at least it was about George Allen.
All of you assuming Pilling is a football guy is amusing. Bags fell into his lap as the ex Nova coach Talley recommended him to PP as Bags had been relegated to a desk job at Quakertown. So he has zero experience doing this. As many have said, unless the football committee is pressing hard for change, I'd expect a long leash for this staff as we return right back to the basement dwellers of the league.
Great catch on the Redskins. Williams was actually a minority share holder, with Cooke being the majority owner. From 1965 until 1974, Williams was the “Acting Owner” while Cooke ran the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. It may well have been Cooke who said that, since Allen was let go in 1977. In 1974, Cooke took over from Williams, with Cooke eventually selling the Lakers in 1979 to Jerry Buss.
Either way, Fabish needs to go.
Back on Pilling, whom I bareky know.
He has always struck me as a business guy above all, who does not know athletics or Columbia well. He built the new tennis center, which blocks the iconic C on the cliffs, and the bubble. But as the poster said, Bagnoli fell from the sky. Pilling's major coup was hiring Megan Griffith, but she was widely known as a coming coaching star already.The Engles situation raises major questions, as many have often said on this board.
When has the Football Committee shown a spine at all? Ever? I thought they did barbecues.
Sad to say several of my witty, tongue-in-cheek comments seem to have gone undetected as such and generated serious debate among this august community. I do believe asshat is the apt description for these fine fellows
I'd say he is indeed joking.
Best part of the program these days, certainly the most entertaining, is this blog. Thanks Jake!
Best part of the program these days, certainly the most entertaining, is this blog. Thanks, Jake!
Peter, when are you going to make a coaching change? Will you do it now, or will you wait until after we finish 2-8 (0-7)? We don’t enjoy the silence.
Nunuya business!
Pretty talented bunch of writers here, even though the sarcasm oft goes undetected...a pleasure, Fellow Lions, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
You need to call him, big donor. He doesn't read this.
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