Harvard Stadium
The Lions are bruised and battered, and they have a brutal road game at Harvard ahead of them this week.
But it's week 8 and this team is tied for 1st place in the Ivies, and all it needs to do is win out to guarantee at least a tie for its first Ivy title in 63 years.
This is a great place to be right now, and whether it ends this weekend or in two weeks, etc... it's still a great testament to these young men.
Harvard is a good team, but not as good as some of the Harvard teams we've seen in the past. They have a very lethal wide receiver and their best passing QB in a long time, but is there any secondary in the Ivies you'd rather have to take up that challenge?
Harvard has a decent home field advantage, but it will NOT be Family Weekend on campus this weekend like it usually is when Columbia takes the Crimson on at Harvard Stadium, (which always boosts the crowd).
I do wish we had a healthy Chase Goodwin at QB, but Cole Freeman is a fighter and all you can do is fight right now.
Columbia's only been in this place twice before in my lifetime, (I'm 53). In 1996, the Lions controlled their own destiny going into Dartmouth in week 8... and they lost 40-0. In 2017, they controlled their own destiny in week 8 going into a home contest against Harvard, and lost a sloppy game by a TD.
So here we are again. This Harvard team is a much tougher opponent than the 2017 Crimson, but certainly nowhere near as good as the 1996 Big Green. We can't ask for much more than that.
This has been a tough 13 months for these players, on and off this campus. I think their achievement has been impressive. I hope they are enjoying this and of course it would be amazing if they win.
But this is a great place for them to be already.
Nice place to be indeed!! As an aside, big shoutout to the women's BB team on an impressive opening nite win.
ReplyDeleteNice to see our first year DB named as rookie of the week.
ReplyDeleteThese moments are few and far between for the Lion pigskin faithful. And yet...the team has bested H in their own house before. The CU Alumni Assoc puts on a nice tailgate, the fans are usually many. Weather looks great. See you in Allston!
ReplyDeleteGo Lions!
Tough that with 12 tackles and an all-round defensive stuffing of a potent Yale offense Roussous did not get Ivy Defensive Player of the Week. He was just everywhere on Friday night.
ReplyDeleteI love H’s stadium, at least until I remember I have to sit my butt on cold concrete for 3 hours. Remember to bring seat cushions! RLR
ReplyDeleteIf 3 man dline can control inside runs i think defense can shut down Diprima outside runs and their great soph TE
Lots of young Lions on this team. Many want to play for Poppe. Who wouldn't? What a remarkable first year, filled with optimism, joy, and wins! Been a Lion fan since 1997 ! Best is yet to come as we leave mediocrity at bay!
ReplyDeleteFor history buffs: in 1971, Columbia went to Ithaca for an October 30 contest. Cornell was undefeated with Ed Marinaro as their running back. At that point, Columbia had one loss, 22-20 to Harvard in Cambridge. Columbia lost at Cornell 24-21. The next week they beat the undefeated defending champ, Dartmouth, at Baker, 31-29. Cornell stubbed their toe at Dartmouth, the week after Columbia beat Dartmouth. The season ended with both Dartmouth and Cornell 6-1. Columbia finished 5-2. That was the last meaningful stretch until the 1996 season Jake just referenced. Go Lions!
ReplyDeleteThe Lions need to avoid turnovers and make plays on offense to get the W. If these two things happen along with the defense doing what it has been doing all season, we should be ok!
ReplyDeleteGood to see that Columbia has learned some lessons since the Dartmouth game. No predictions of 30-point victories here. No pronouncing that Columbia matches up favorably in every position against the Crimson. That's progress. Columbia can win, but they should be talking about Hickory High, Rocky Balboa, and Daniel LaRusso as strategies to win on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pompous, self-absorbed comment. A few anonymous posters, some of whom may not have been Lion fans, make predictions and suddenly all of Columbia is getting admonished. Lion fans don’t need your self-important bloviations by way of “advice.”
DeleteGG that you? Interesting you think fans being “appropriately optimistic” is an any way meaningful
ReplyDeleteFWIW D is the most complete team in the IL this year
In 2017 we had a very strong team and went into the Harvard game at 6-0; we outplayed Harvard (they had something like 4 turnovers in the first half) and had the better team—but they outlasted us and pulled out the W. That made us 6-1, but we laid an egg the following week at Yale and al of a sudden were 6-2; we finished strong at 8-2 (although barely squeaked by Brown in a game that went down to the last play).
ReplyDeleteHey man, got your games mixed up. CU went into the Harvard game 6-1 after losing to Yale but still controlled their own destiny as Yale had lost to Dartmouth earlier that season. As you mentioned though, that Harvard lost was very unfortunate given the amount of turnovers the defense created and CU ultimately fell to 6-2 and finished 8-2 that year.
DeleteDon't lose sight of the fact that this is year ONE of the Poppe Era. Currently playing with House Money! Roar Lions !
ReplyDeleteWho is out besides our QB? Who is out for H? Any principal players?
ReplyDeleteI heard a DT and a Receiver
DeleteOut for the season is Justin Townsend. Last week we lost Chapman at C; the week before we lost our starting LT; in week 1 we lost a starting DL in addition to Townsend who we lost at Princeton. So we are down half a dozen starters.
ReplyDeleteNext man up!
ReplyDeleteeasy to say...difficult to execute
DeleteGuess what. The other teams have also lost starters to injuries.
ReplyDeleteAlso, previous seasons are poor prognosticators in FCS college football considering the yearly changes in players, the portal transfers, graduations, ineligibilities, incoming recruits, lack of depth beyond the first two, and the shape of the ball.
You mean the shape of the prolate spheroid?
DeleteVery, very clever!
DeleteThink we beat Harvard by a point. I’ll say 21-20.
DeleteWho is backing up Cole Freeman?
ReplyDeleteSimpkins?
DeleteI believe is the freshman QB Sanchez
DeleteNope. Thought Sanchez marketing campaign was over. Second only to the Manning Machine for Arch!
DeleteLess propaganda/advertising, more R & D would bode well for everyone involved.
DeleteThink about the future.
DeleteSanchez reminds me of Mahomes. Check out his hs highlights please
DeleteNot politics at all, but common sense sports talk. Harris picked a dopey assistant high school football coach from a small town in Minnesota to be her running mate for the second most important job in the United States. She selected Dumbo Walz over a popular governor and paid the price particularly in Pennsylvania
ReplyDeleteFu(k off.
DeleteYeah, I second that -- fu(k off.
DeletePorn Star President Prevailed! People are talking
ReplyDeleteFootball, football, and only football, pretty please with sugar on top!!!
ReplyDeleteThree first years in defensive 3 deep, one of whom is starting. Simpkins is backup QB.
ReplyDelete“all it needs to do is win out to guarantee at least a tie for its first Ivy title in 63 years. ”
ReplyDeleteIf it only were that easy ! Difficult road ahead but feel like we are playing with house money at this point. So proud of this group who have overcome looks of adversity !
What happened to Stagg? Not in 2 deep.
ReplyDeleteI saw that last week also. is he injured?
Deleteso who replaced him?
DeleteColumbia MBB up by 2 at Villanova (halftime).
ReplyDeleteHas Engels turned the tide with this group ?
BB achievement just as miraculous as FB!! Has the Lion found his roar??
ReplyDeleteMAGA
ReplyDelete+TS
DeleteWhat about MBB beating Villanova on the road! A huge win for the program that hopefully bodes well for the season and conference play.
ReplyDeleteI checked earlier tonight and Columbia was a 17.5 point underdog. This is a nice victory indeed congratulations to the Lions and may it be a good trend as the women play Providence on Friday night and Columbia football descends upon Cambridge for one of the most important games in many years.
ReplyDeleteMaybe everyone should stop bashing coaches. You're all great at what you do. But...Coaching isn't that.
ReplyDeleteTrue story
DeleteI like this perspective. Just enjoy the game and support our teams
DeleteThe idiots that have been calling for Engles firing should eat humble pie! He has been building toward this for years. It's not always a smooth build.
ReplyDeleteWe can learn something from Trump (like him or not).....Stick with it.
I became dumber just reading this post. Engles is the worst basketball coach in the history of the Ivy League. One game in year eight doesn’t change that, and the team still won’t make the IL playoff. Maybe in year fifteen they’ll finish in the top four. As for Trump, grifters gonna grift.
DeleteMaybe just be happy to see a Columbia team get a good win.
DeleteYou’re right—seven Ivy League wins in the last three years is a fantastic achievement! It’s not like any of the top-tier teams exceed that total in a single year. Of course I’m happy for the players, but Engles should have been fired years ago. We don’t permit bumbling incompetence in football, so why is men’s basketball any different? I celebrate the achievements of Poppe, Griffith, and other legit coaches that we have.
Delete"We don’t permit bumbling incompetence in football". What team have you been watching for the last century?
Deletewhere is the Stagg kid?
ReplyDeletemust be hurt?
Deletenot hurt, was at practice
DeleteI think we are a legit threat to win the Ivy League (in Basketball)
ReplyDeleteYou’re delusional.
DeleteWe beat an ok Villanova team who had a close win with Lafayette , but kudos in getting 10 pt road win
ReplyDeleteKenPom 31
DeleteJust watched the post game locker room celebration and the highlights on Columbia website. So happy for Lions MBB. Yes, based on our schedule, it's conceivable that we could be undefeated going into the 12/30 game at Rutgers. Not putting the cart before the horse. Yes, several D3 games and all D1 teams on schedule are beatable. Say what you want, but that prospect was unthinkable to some going into the season even with all our returning talent. This is our year, the guys played great last night, and we will be in the Ivy League tournament. You can see AD Pilling in the crowd on the highlights.
ReplyDelete61-135.
DeleteHappy for the players.
Delete23-75. Give him another 100 in conference because why not? Nice to have a free pass for eight years: no playoff appearances, no winning records in conference, no overall winning records, multiple (recent) seasons with one win in conference. But right, we should all be jubilant because he beat a Villanova team (which Penn did last year, btw) that is 35-34 under Neptune and that has had multiple losses to teams outside the top 100.
ReplyDeleteYou won 3-4 in 4 years as a Columbia football player
DeleteNope.
DeleteIt is what it is. No one can question the dismal records over these past eight years. Stop harping on it and let’s be positive about going forward this season.
ReplyDeleteFire Engles.
DeleteLet’s get back to football. Since everyone is so Panglossian about men’s basketball, let me throw out the most sanguine of scenarios on the gridiron: we beat Harvard this weekend, but only after Princeton takes down Dartmouth on Friday night. We then win out, and we end up in sole possession of first place. Improbable perhaps, but stranger things have happened.
DeleteWhat happened with Stagg??
ReplyDeletedid something happen?
Deletemy son didn't know, he said it is all very hush
DeleteEngles is incompetent and his record proves it. Poppe isn't and it's only the beginning!
ReplyDeleteIvy Champs, baby. We will crush Harvard this weekend. Go Lions!
DeleteLet’s go Lions!!! Very concerned about the freshman CB. He looks lost out there in coverage, need to give him over the top
DeleteYou mean the IL Rookie of the Week McCray? Yeah, we’re not taking the bait.
DeleteRouting for the kid!!!! Hope he proves me wrong.
ReplyDeleteWe’ll see this Saturday
I would rather gradually build up and win an IL Championship in year 8 (Engles) than be competitive every year but always come up short (Kyle Smith). When its all said and done, Engles will be a legend at Columbia like Jack Rohan was. Patience is a virtue. Take an example from Trump. They tried to paint him as evil and ruin him, but he came back a national hero. Engles will eventually be on the level of his counterpart on the girls BB team.
ReplyDeleteNot girls. Women.
DeleteWhere do you get your crack? Engles will never win an IL championship. Pretty sure Smith is getting north of $2 MM per annum at Stanford. There’s a reason he’s getting that and Engles isn’t. I’ll give you a clue: I’ll take coaching competence for $200, Alex. Unlike you, I’d rather we win more games and not fewer.
DeleteIt is girls. They would rather be called girls than the W word. Who wants to age prematurely? Even women wants to be a girl.
DeleteVery Trumpy...women will be called girls whether they like it or not...because men know better.
DeleteOld men in particular
DeleteAnd notice how the guy is fine with “men’s” basketball, but he objects to the use of the corresponding “women’s.”
DeleteThis is why Harris lost. You're focused on nonsense
DeleteI heard as far back as late august that FY corner was unbelievably talented. Shutting down BC all camp. He looked solid to me in Y game. I think I saw #23 leads IL in pbu’s. How about that!
ReplyDeleteSummer camp is summer camp!
Delete22 is overmatched today
Like I said….. worried about the freshman CB!! 22 is playing like crap! McFadden has a broken hand!! Corners costing us this game
DeleteLove it!!! Hope you’re right!!
ReplyDeleteJust checked McFadden #3 in FCS in pbu per game!
ReplyDeleteColumbia 48
ReplyDeleteHarvard 6