Last Dance

Columbia Lions vs. Brown Bears

November 17, 2012

Location: Brown Stadium 

Kickoff Time: 12:30pm

Gametime Weather Forecast: 48 degrees and mostly sunny

The Spread: Brown is favored by 15 1/2 points

Columbia Game Notes 

Brown Game Notes

How to Get to the Game

Directions to Brown Stadium

TV/RADIO

You can get free audio on the SideLion Pass. Jerry Recco and Sal Licata have the call. 

Brown is supplying video of the game for $8 if you click here. 

The Columbia student station broadcast is on WKCR at 89.9 on your FM dial.

Lead Stories

I wrote at the beginning of the season that three wins were the baseline expectation for this team, and I predicted they would go 3-7. Most of the other experts agreed. 

That means a win against Brown makes this a successful season that exceeded expectations. 

It would also be an impressive feat against a solid program that has once again produced a winning season despite the loss of several key players to graduation and injury. 

The teams's goals are the most important, but another big story is the individual numbers several Lions could achieve.

The two biggest records to watch are: 

1) RB Marcorus Garrett could become just the second Columbia player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, but he needs to net 99 yards against a stingy Brown run defense. 

2) QB Sean Brackett needs 140 yards passing to pass Craig Hormann '08 and grab second place all time in team history. 

On Brown's end, a big story is the revenge factor as the Lions embarrassed the Bears for their only win last year in the thrilling double OT game in New York. The loss made a very, very good 2011 Brown team look bad in the eye of Ivy League watchers, and unfairly so. 

Some of the players who figured in that game last year both positively, (Tellef Lundevall), and negatively (Jonah Fay), will get their chance to settle scores.

A win would also clinch a 4-3 winning Ivy conference record for Brown, while a loss sends them to the other side of the ledger at 3-4. 

Columbia Keys to the Game

1) Harass Donnelly

Brown's running game continues to be hobbled by injuries and the Bears will need to rely on the pass to score. If the Lions can come close to doing to Brown QB Patrick Donnelly what they did to Cornell QB Jeff Mathews, Columbia can win this game.

2) Use the Pass to Establish the Run

The Bears' run defense is strong, period. But the good short passing attack Columbia has established in recent weeks could help loosen up Brown's front seven just enough to allow some good runs after a while. And if Brackett, in the final game of his career, is finally allowed to run like mad all over the Bears, this game could get really interesting. 

3)  Play Loose

It won't be too cold at game time anyway, but the Lions should come out of the locker room looking like they're having a ball in the sun. The crowd won't likely be too large and the home field advantage CAN be taken away in that environment. 

Week 10 Picks

I was 2-1 against the spread last week to bring my season's record to 17-20-2. But I was a disappointing 1-2 straight up to bring my overall record to 21-18.

I still have no real explanation for my bad performance this season, but I have to keep trying!

Dartmouth +8 at Princeton

Princeton's defense is still very strong and they proved it against Yale last week. But with the injuries piling up, I don't think the Tigers will rip the Green by more than one score. Princeton to win, Dartmouth to cover.

Cornell +6 vs. Penn

Billy Ragone is the heart and soul of the Quakers and I don't think he'll be able to play Saturday, at least not anywhere near 100%. Without Ragone, Penn is not very good. Cornell to win. 

Yale +31 1/2 at Harvard

By all rights, Harvard should slaughter Yale by MORE than 32 points Saturday. But this is The Game, and I think the Elis will get a score or two and lose something like 38-10. 

 

Brackett Speaks! 

Check out this radio interview with QB Sean Brackett!

Scouting Brown

The Miracle Worker: Phil Estes

There may be no greater evidence of the talents of Brown Head Coach Phil Estes than the 2012 season.

Estes and the Bears lost dynamite QB Kyle Newhall-Caballero and a host of great receivers to graduation. He lost RB Spiro Theodosi four games into the season to yet another injury. His team has lost deflating games to Harvard, Princeton, and Penn and bounced back each time with wins the following weeks. 

In a word, Phil Estes perseveres. 

He perseveres despite weak administration support and the poorest facilities in the Ivies. 

How is he doing it this year?

Offense

First, he's getting a pretty good season out of QB Patrick Donnelly who's throwing for 226 yards per game and has a decent 12 TD's to 9 INT's ratio. 

He's getting a great season from big WR Tellef Lundevall who's grabbing more than seven passes a game for a 10-yard average per catch.

He's getting a super season from an offensive line that has allowed just 11 sacks and has somehow helped the Bears average 138 rushing yards per game despite the lack of a star runner. 

Not too shabby. 

No, the 21 points per game average is not the kind of number we're used to seeing from the juggernaut Brown offense. But it's solid.

The running back who appears to be the go-to guy on the ground these days is senior Jeffrey Izon, who has been getting eight or nine carries per game since Theodosi went down. But don't sleep on Jordan Reisner who exploded against Cornell for 193 yards a few weeks ago. 

The other big offensive weapon is WR Jonah Fay, a senior who averages a healthy 13.7 yards per catch and has three TD's. He may be especially motivated Saturday to make up for a crushing drop against the Lions last year that probably cost Brown a TD. 

Defense

This is a much improved unit and it's not like last year's Bear defense was bad. 

Brown has the second best rushing defense in the league, despite giving up a ton of yards to Dartmouth's Dominic Pierre last week. 

The stars on the defensive line at Michael Yules and Ross Walthall, who have 23.5 tackles for a loss between them and Yules has five sacks. 

The Brown linebacking crew is the real deal. Steve Zambetti, Adewole Oyalowo, and sophomore rising star Daniel Giovacchini who has 56 tackles and 12 tackles for a loss.

The Bear defensive backs are not too shabby either. AJ Cruz is finally a senior and still one of the best if not the best DB in the Ivies. He has help from Reed Watne and Anthony Franciosi who are also seniors. 

In short, if this team has the Brown offense we've been used to seeing the last several years, the 2012 Bears would probably be 8-1 and playing for a title. This defense has done little to let the club down.

Special Teams

Kicker Alex Norocea is probably the best in the Ivies. He's a perfect 24-24 on PAT's and 9-11 on FG's with a 46-yarder and a 4-5 mark on kicks of 40 or more. 

But after that, the usually fearsome Brown special teams aren't very special this season.

Punter Nathaniel Meyer is just average, kickoff specialist Grant Senne usually doesn't kick it inside the 10, and the punt and kick returners haven't really lit up the field this year. 

Perfect 10

Sean Brackett: 11/13/10

The newer version of the highlights from the Cornell game are now live on the Columbia athletics web site. I HIGHLY recommend you check them out. 

And yes... they include footage of the Zach Olinger INT off a Cornell's player's butt! Those of you who did not believe will now see the truth!!

The 10 Win Club

Sean Brackett has joined the sadly non-crowded club of Columbia starting QB's with 10 wins as a starter.

I hope he makes it 11 with a win at Brown Saturday, but I'd like to say a few words about Brackett's top three games in his Columbia career. Each one would have earned him a special place in Lion Lore, but the fact that he has made so many of his 10 wins so memorable really says something special.

3) Nov. 21, 2009: Columbia 28 Brown 14

This was Brackett's first real win because the victory the week before at Cornell was really won by M.A. Olawale '10 in relief. Brackett had his best rushing day of his career, with 171 yards on 20 carries. He only had 10 completions, but they were all effective especially a beautiful 37-yard slant pass to Austin Knowlin '10 for a TD to ice the game. 

2) Oct. 2, 2010: Columbia 42 Princeton 14

This was Brackett's best day as a passer by far. He went 18 of 24 for 273 and a team record-tying five TD passes to four different receivers. He did not throw an interception. It was this game that more than any other clinched him his status as a 1st Team All Ivy honoree at season's end.

1) Nov. 13, 2010: Columbia 20 Cornell 17

This was the game where Brackett's heart was on display, and what it showed was darn impressive. Playing with a very painful shoulder injury and an injured leg, Brackett dragged the Lions back from a 17-3 4th quarter deficit with his feet and his arm... even though both were hurting. On the final three scoring drives of the game, Brackett made spectacular run after spectacular run and key pass after pass. He won the game, appropriately, with a leap into the end zone with 37 seconds left. He finished the game with 204 yards passing and 151 yards rushing. 

Let's hope next week, we'll have to add another game to this top three!

Winners Circle

Winners!

GREAT showing for Columbia's finest in the weekly player awards just announced. DE Josh Martin was named co-Defensive Player of the week and WR Chris Connors was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week. 

The full news release is here. 

Around the Ivies

Of course the other HUGE story this weekend is that Penn is now alone atop the Ivies after the Quakers' surprising win over Harvard on Saturday. Unlike the Princeton game where the Tigers stole the game from the Crimson with an impossible 4th quarter rally, Penn really was the stronger team throughout the contest. 

The running game was the difference as RB Lyle Marsh and QB Billy Ragone beat Harvard time after time. On the flip side, Ragone did leave the game with a badly injured ankle and he will almost surely not play in the season finale at Cornell. If he can't go and Penn can't handle the Big Red in Ithaca as a result, there's a chance Harvard and Princeton jump back into a three-way tie for the title. How wild would that be?

Honestly, I think Harvard is still the best team in the Ivies. But they clearly just weren't as disciplined as they needed to be. After throttling Columbia 69-0 last week, the Crimson weren't ready for a real challenge and that's a level of immaturity you don't expect from a Tim Murphy-coached team. 

With the talent level they have this year in Cambridge, even if they do get a share of the title this has to go down as one the biggest wasted opportunities in league history.

Some other points about the Ivies:

-Brown did it again. The Bears parlayed their superior passing game just enough to clinch a winning league and overall record with a nice comeback win over Dartmouth Saturday. I'd point out Brown's decent run defense, but the Big Green ran the ball just fine overall. This is just a scrappy program that finds ways to win tough games. 

-Princeton dominated defensively in the 29-7 win over Yale. The Bulldogs had to play without Tyler Varga. Will he be ready for The Game this Saturday at Harvard Stadium? My bet is he will be.

-This is really going to be a wide open race for the Bushnell Cup awards. Who would YOU pick for offensive and defensive MVP's? Suffice it to say that the final week's outcomes will play a big role in deciding who wins.

More Thoughts post Columbia-Cornell 

-The win Saturday was the fifth straight year that Columbia has won on Senior Day, (wins over Cornell in 2008, 2010, and 2012, and over Brown in 2009 and 2011). Maybe we should make EVERY game Senior Day and honor a different group of seniors. Who's with me?

-ESPN's Sports Center kept showing the amazing 4th quarter TD catch by Chris Connors as a tease for the plays of the week. But when they actually ran the segment, they never showed it. It was still nice to see that play though.

-I only mentioned the play briefly yesterday, but Zach Olinger really DID intercept a Cornell pass that landed on a Big Red player's buttocks in the 4th quarter. More polite folks out there will say the ball landed on the player's back, but I saw it myself and that's where the ball was lying when Olinger made the heads up, (or should I say "bottoms up"), play to grab it. Come to think of it, why was THAT play not on Sports Center????

-With one game to play, RB Marcorus Garrett is fifth all-time in Columbia history for single season rushing yards with 901. He could easily finish next weekend's game vs. Brown at #2, because he needs just 67 yards to surpass the 967 yards Johnathan Reese '02 achieved in 2001. Reese is of course, the #1 all-time single season rusher with 1,330 yards in 2000 and the all-time career rusher with 3,321 yards. 

-But getting those yards will tough against Brown's generally good run defense and the slow grass field at Brown Stadium. If Garrett somehow beats the odds and nets 99+ yards to become Columbia's second-ever 1,000-yard rusher, he should be named the team MVP right away.