Full Arsenal

Columbia 41 Marist 17

Why Columbia Won

The Lions played a perfect first half, scoring on every possession and forcing two Marist turnovers en route to a 38-0 lead at the break. QB Anders Hill was lethal, throwing for 350 yards, three TD's, and running for two more. Meanwhile, the defense forced Red Fox QB Mike White to throw his first 10 passes incomplete.

Why Marist Lost

The Red Foxes had no answer for the Columbia passing game and could not get their offense going into well into the 3rd quarter.

Key Turning Points

-The Lions set the tone early in their first drive when Columbia elected to go fot it on a 4th and 1 from their own 46. Hill took the ball himself for the 1st down run and the offense never looked back. Eight plays later, it was 7-0 after Hill's first TD throw of the game.

-On Marist's ensuing possession, White was stripped of the ball by freshman DL Ashton Cooper and the fumble was recovered by freshman LB Justin Woodley at the Red Fox 42. Columbia then took the ball and converted a tough 3rd and 12 and a 4th a 3 en route to a Hill two yard TD run on 4th an 2 for a 14-0 lead that emotionally broke Marist for the rest of the day.

Columbia Positives

-The Lion passing game didn't seem like it could be much better, but it was on Saturday as Hill spread the ball around to nine different receivers. Freshman WR Emerson Kabus had a breakout game with 4 catches for 114 yards, including a 65 yard catch and run down the sideline and a fine grab of a pass darting away from his body in the end zone for a 19 yard TD.

-Kabus wasn't the only relatively new face to get into the action. WR Kyle Castner made two incredible catches in heavy coverage en route to four total receptions on the day. RB Lynnard Rose got into his first game of the year and flashed some speed. Defensive players like Wilson and DL Alex Robin got extended playing time and looked good.

-After a bit of a shaky start this season, K Oren Milstein made both of his FG attempts, both from a longish 39 yards out. He was also 5-5 on PAT kicks, putting his career perfect record on extra points at 28-for-28.

Columbia Negatives

-A couple of Lions, including Woodley and DB Cameron Roane seem to have sustained injuries, but it's not clear if they are serious at all. Roane may have just slightly turned an ankle.

-It seemed like every snap from center was too high, often hurting Hill's rhythm especially on running plays. C Tyler Schonewolf needs to get that under control.

Columbia MVP

In my full season preview for Columbia, I emphasized over and over just how important the play of Anders Hill would be for this team. After four games, his improvement over last year has been the most obvious constant. Against Marist, he was near perfect and the key reason for the blowout win.

Keep the Train Rolling

A bird's eye view of Marist


Columbia Lions (3-0) vs. Marist Red Foxes (3-2)

October 7, 2017

Kickoff Time: 12:00 noon

Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field

Game Time Weather Forecast: 75 degrees and mostly cloudy

The Line: Columbia is favored by 16 1/2 points 

TV/Radio: The game can only be seen on the Red Fox Network, (I don't know if there's any charge), for free on Marist's Facebook page, and can be heard on the Columbia online radio network with Jay Alter and Shawn Fitzgerald '80 on the call. 

Leading Storylines

1) Columbia is suddenly on everyone's radar thanks to the 3-0 start and the thrilling win over Ivy League preseason favorite and previously undefeated Princeton. The conventional wisdom is that the Lions could overlook Marist amid the newfound positive fame and stumble. Very hot temperatures, and a potentially large Marist crowd in a tiny stadium might add to the pressure. 


2) Marist has two demonstrated strengths: A decent passing game and a good defense against runs up the middle. Columbia cannot hope to continue running right up the middle and succeed. The Lions will also have to do more to get to QB Mike White, who doesn't scramble and run.


3) Columbia QB Anders Hill needs better protection than he got against Princeton. If the Lions can't get a running game going, the Red Foxes will blitz him mercilessly and make the game dangerous. 

Week 4 Picks

Well after a couple of stellar weeks, my luck ran out big time in week 3 with a lousy 3-4 straight up record and even worse 2-5 record against the spread. That leaves me for the season at 14-7 straight up (.666) and 13-8 ATS (.619).


Dartmouth pick 'em vs. Yale

If this game were at the Yale Bowl, I'd probably pick the Elis. But it's in Hanover and Homecoming besides. It'll be Dartmouth in another thriller.

Harvard -14 1/2 at Cornell

The Big Red look like they're struggling all over the place now. Harvard is getting used to some new offensive realities, but they're coming on now.

Georgetown +24 1/2 at Princeton

I feel like the Tigers will still be hurting emotionally after the loss to Columbia and will not blow the Hoyas out. This will be more like a 14-to-17-point win.

CCSU +13 1/2 vs. Penn

Penn is also on a bit of a low after their loss to Dartmouth. The Quakers will win, but it will be closer than this spread.

Brown -21 at Stetson

I don't think I'd take Stetson at any spread.

Duquesne -5 over Wagner

I'm still not convinced the Seahawks have bounced back.

Mike Donnelly Passes

The man who put together Columbia's greatest defensive units in modern history has passed away. 

Mike Donnelly, who left the job as the Lions defensive coordinator in 1997 to take the head coaching job at Muhlenberg College, died yesterday of leukemia at age 65. He had held that head coaching job at Muhlenberg for the last 22 years and seen great success there.

Because of that success, I called for him to be considered as the replacement for Norries Wilson in 2011. 

Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and players.

The Marist Challenge

The view from the visitors bench at Tenney Stadium


Before the season started, it sure looked like Marist was the weakest opponent Columbia would face all season.

It's not that the Red Foxes have proved to be a surprise powerhouse, but after their road wins over Georgetown and Davidson and a decent showing in all but one game it's clear Marist is not without some punch.

The defense's play has been inconsistent, but the biggest weapon the Red Foxes were expected to sport all season has come through in red shirt junior QB Mike White. White does the best with what he has, and stands tough in an often collapsing pocket.

This season he's boosted his completion percentage to a decent 56%, up from 48% last season. But his TD-to-INT ratio has deteriorated, most likely because of a continued lack of any potent running game to use as another option. Marist is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry.

The defense is posting better numbers overall than last year, but inconsistency is the key here. Perhaps the most telling Red Fox game this year for Columbia to study is the 44-37 loss Marist suffered to Jacksonville on September 23rd. This was a game against a conference opponent on the Red Fox home field. And in that game, Marist never led and gave up five yards per rushing attempt.

On offense, White passed for 315 yards and four TD's, but he was also picked off four times and only completed 50% of his passes. The Red Foxes only netted 42 yards rushing and 2.1 yards per carry.

Marist has a huge offensive line with an average weight of 301 pounds, but for some reason they're just not getting a push for their running backs.

The intangibles are a little more daunting for the Lions. This is Marist's Homecoming game, and things could get intense in that 5,000-seat bandbox stadium of theirs. By the way, by my count there are fewer than 400 reserved seats left to buy as of Wednesday at noon. Otherwise, you might be subjected to sitting on wet grass behind the CU bench.