Final Interlude

 

Like stability? Jim Parady has been Marist's head coach for 33 years

Marist Red Foxes (2-2) vs. Columbia Lions (1-2)

October 7, 2023

Kickoff Time: 12:30pm

Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium

Game Time Weather Forecast: 68 degrees and a 40% chance of rain

The Line: Columbia is favored by 27 1/2 points

TV/Radio: The game will be streamed on ESPN+,  Lance Medow will be doing play-by-play and Shawn Fitzgerald '80 is the color commentator. 

Columbia Game Notes

Marist Game Notes have not been posted as of 2pm on Friday

3 Columbia Players to Watch

-DB Hayden McDonald #3 will likely be seeing a lot of chances to pick off or knock down passes Saturday as Marist's passing game really sprays things all over the place. Don't be surprised if McDonald is an impact player. 

-KR Carter McFadden #23 might get a chance to feast off of Marist's looser kick coverage teams. He could break one. 

-WR Marcus Libman #3 (also) may be the beneficiary of a Marist defense that seems to leave receivers open in the middle of the field very often. 

3 Marist Players to Watch

-QB Brock Bagozzi #18: yes, the QB is always in focus, but Bagozzi seems to be evolving and improving as the season goes along. He's also a good runner. Fun to watch. 

-LB Mike Arrington #2 is the team's overall leader and will be specifically focused on stopping the CU running game. 

-WR Matt Stianche #19 is a 6-3 receiver who has been putting up good numbers so far this year. Marist will likely try to test the Lion secondary using his height advantage. 

Week 4 Picks

 

In what continues to be a brutal year, I went 3-5 straight up last week and 3-5 against the spread. My season totals are 16-12 SU and 13-14-1 AGS

Harvard -19 1/2 vs. Cornell

It feels like Cornell's bubble has popped.

Yale -2 1/2 at Dartmouth

The Elis are getting into a groove. 

Brown +7 vs. Rhode Island

I believe in this Bears offense, and good luck. at home.

Lafayette pick 'em at Princeton

The Leopards are for real. 

Penn -13 vs. Georgetown

The only thing consistent about the Hoyas is their inconsistency.

Ivy Power Rankings 10/4

 

1) Harvard

I boldly pick the Crimson for 6th, and as soon as all eight Ivy teams play at least one league game, it's clear Harvard is #1. The convincing win on the road (technically a neutral site) against Holy Cross was worth watching to see the Crimson's overall team speed. Do I get a pass on my preseason prediction because of the caveat I set saying all bets were off if Harvard finds a good QB? (they have). 

2) Dartmouth

What you saw Saturday at Franklin Field wasn't really a team playing for its departed and beloved coach. You saw a very, very good defense confound the Quakers and expose Penn as a team without a varied enough attack. The Big Green's ground and pound plus that defense will win a lot of games this fall. 

3) Yale

Don't look now, but the Elis came back to life last week with a vengeance. This sets up a great matchup vs. Dartmouth Saturday.

4) Penn

Penn needs a RB who can do more  

5) Brown

The Bears have a consistently lethal offense and only a few Ivy teams will be able to match it in an individual game.

6) Princeton

It's hard to really assess the Tigers after their win over the Lions Friday night. For now, it's still wait and see on the Princeton offense.

7) Cornell 

Losing to Colgate at homecoming should never have happened if the Big Red were a very good team. They're not. 

8) Columbia

There are still plenty of chances for the Lions to roar, but the Princeton loss was a huge emotional setback and the passing attack is not developing. 

Let's Party

As millions of people in my generation learned from the movie Animal House, when you're in trouble or feeling down (like we all are after that loss Friday night) the best thing to do is... PARTY!

Luckily, our friend Jon Hart has just released his raucous new novel Party School to get us into the right mood. 

You might remember Jon from his chronicling of the Columbia Football program just after Al Bagnoli took over and a little while afterwards. 

Check it out! 

Inched Out

 Princeton 10 Columbia 7

Why Princeton Won

The Tigers defense was stingy, especially in the 2nd half, while the offense put together one long and gutsy drive that was good enough to win.

Why Columbia Lost

The Lion offense struggled most of the night and blew two golden scoring opportunities early in the game. The passing game especially never got on track.

Key Turning Points

-With just under 7 minutes left in the 1st quarter, Columbia began a 16-play drive that relied mostly on strong running from Malcom Terry and Joey Giorgi that covered 61-yards and set the Lions up with a 22-yard FG try. But a bad hold doomed the kick and the Tigers held on to their 3-0 lead. 

-With 8:21 left in the half and the score still 3-0, Columbia's Ethan Hebb blocked a Princeton punt that helped set the Lions up with the ball at the Tiger 45. Once again, Columbia used mostly the running of Terry to get inside the Princeton 5, but this time the Lions decided to go for it on 4th and 1 from the 3 rather than try another FG. On that play, QB Caden Bell was unable to gain any yardage and the Tigers dodged another bullet. 

-With Columbia leading 7-3, Princeton took possession at their own 19 with 12:14 left in the 4th quarter. The Tigers proceeded to put together a 20-play drive that included two successful 3rd down conversions and three successful 4th down conversions, including a 4th and goal at the 1 that resulted in a John Volker TD that just crossed the goal line. 

Columbia Positives

-Until the final drive, the Columbia defense played extremely well, capped off by an extraordinary interception and TD by DE Justin Townsend. The Lions gave up just 80 net rushing yards. 

-Terry and Giorgi made up a formidable rushing combo for most of the game, combining for 102 yards on 23 carries. 

-P William Hughes had a clutch game, averaging 43 yards a punt and nailing two inside the 20.

Columbia Negatives

-The Lion passing game is just not getting the yards, consistency, or accuracy that it needs and this game was the biggest example with Bell going just 11 for 26 for 71 yards. 

-The final drive was brutal as Columbia missed some key tackles and couldn't stop the clutch plays time after time. 

-The two missed red zone opportunities were a combination of the bad weather and bad decisions. 

Columbia MVP

-Thanks to his amazing TD, a big TFL for a nine-yard loss, and the pressure he put on the Tiger O-line most of the night, the game MVP is Justin Townsend.