Saying Goodbye & Scouting Cornell

Saturday's game will be the last home contest for a group of Columbia seniors who have been to Hell and back. Obviously it would be very nice if they could be winners when they walk off Baker Field for the last time, but win or lose, these young men certainly have my admiration for what they've accomplished and endured.

Leading off this group is tri-captain linebacker Adam Brekke. Brekke's entire career has resembled a trial by fire. He was forced onto the starting lineup as a freshman in the middle of the 2003 season when then-captain Chris Carey went down with a concussion. But Brekke never played like a sub, and he's improved every year.

Then there's free safety Tad Crawford. When Columbia's defensive line was in a shambles during the 2004 and 2005 season, Tad consistently provided the last line of defense and led the team, (and the Ivies), in tackles. No, it's never good when someone in your secondary is leading the team in tackles, but Tad's efforts certainly made sure a lot of bad games didn't get any worse. He is an unsung hero.

Nose tackle Todd Abrams has been a leader on the defense. After three years as a linebacker, Abrams made the difficult switch to nose tackle for this season and he's having his best year ever. I'll miss him and his mom, who faithfully rings her cowbell from the stands every week.

You could argue that left tackle and tri-captain Matt Barsamian has had the toughest job of any of these seniors. He began last season as the only offensive lineman on the team with any game experience and he continues to be the leader of a unit that is under heavy fire week after week. Matt deserves our admiration for his heart more than anything else. I think he's going to be a big success in the financial world after he graduates.

Defensive lineman Darren Schmidt was a relatively quiet contributor during his first three seasons, but the new 3-5-3 defensive alignment has given him a major spot on the stage and he's made the most of it. Who knows what kind of career numbers he could have racked up if this group of defensive coaches had come down the pike sooner?

Spur linebacker Justin Nunez has been one of my favorites from day one. He was originally a walk-on, but he plays so hard that there's nothing second-rate about him. Nunez is a local neighborhood kid, who grew up going to Columbia games. I'm especially gratified to see him having such a great senior season.

Wide receiver Nick DeGasperis has always played hard and this season he's compiling the stats as well. DeGasperis starting out playing both football and baseball for the Lions, but he's focused on the gridiron alone since his junior year. I would very much like to see him get a touchdown before the end of this season.

I've written a lot in the past on the sacrifice offensive guard and tri-captain Uche Osadebe made in the off-season by switching from the defensive to the offensive line. Unfortunately, Uche's hasn't become the force the coaches hoped he would be, but is not due to any lack of effort on his part. This man is "team player" personified.

Wide receiver Adrian Demko has been a vocal team leader and strong player for four years, starting with his time on the junior varsity. Another wide receiver, James Besselman has contributed as well.

Daniel Palmer is another offensive lineman who made the switch from defense to help the team. He's been banged up a bit this year and the team has suffered for it. He will be missed.

The rest of the seniors are Calder Orr, Ben Schori, James Cobb, and Jeff Oke, (who can forget his super performance in the win at Fordham last season?). Thanks so much to all of you.


LOOKING AT CORNELL

Big Green Alert maven Bruce Wood emailed yesterday and wanted to be sure I was aware of Cornell's tendency to gamble on defense which has led to some big plays for opposing teams.

Another overall weakness is Cornell's woes on the road. The Big Red really have been a different team away from Schoelkopf this season and Columbia will need to take advantage of that to win.

And like Columbia, this is a very young team. They're committing too many penalties and showing a lack of focus in second halves of games. But their 4-4 record is impressive when you realize how many underclassmen are starting right now. The running game led by Luke Siwula is the biggest reason why the Big Red aren't having the same kind of overall troubles the Lions are facing with their young squad.

But there aren't a lot of other major weaknesses to find on Jim Knowles' team. Cornell can run the ball very well and the passing game has an occasional bite. The defense is aggressive, and while that does lead to some big plays sometimes, most of the time it has worked.

This team is led by junior tailback Luke Siwula who is having another standout season. He has 740 rushing yards and a 4.6 yards-per-carry average. But he only has four touchdowns and his longest run of the year is just 29 yards. And Siwula has been shut down in a few games this season. He is a good back, but not as good as Harvard's Clifton Dawson or Yale's Mike McLeod. Columbia did not really let Dawson or McLeod beat them, and they must shut down Siwula to have a fighting chance.

Quarterback Nathan Ford is having a good season in his first year as a starter. But he's a far cry from the dangerous Ryan Kuhn, who ran and passed his opponents crazy last season. Ford throws the ball only about 20 times a game, and usually makes the most of his throws. But he does have just as many TD passes as interceptions, (seven), and his longest completion of the year has been for just 40 yards. He's a little more effective as a runner with 294 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Bruce Wood also warned me about backup QB Stephen Liuzza, who ran for an 81-yard touchdown against Dartmouth last year and who Knowles likes to line up as a wide receiver to take advantage of his overall athleticism.

The offensive line is doing a great job this season, blocking nicely for Siwula and Ford and only giving up 13 sacks all year.

Cornell's wide receiving corps is not setting the world on fire. To be fair, two sophomores, Zac Canty and Jesse Baker are doing most of the work and they will get better over time. Canty is the team's leading receiver with 35 catches for 447 yards and two TD's.

The Big Red defense resembles the Lions "D" in that it's often in motion and gives opposing teams a lot of looks. But unlike Columbia, Cornell is giving up about 190 yards passing per game and most opposing QB's have looked better against them than they have against just about any other opponent.

Junior linebacker Ryan Blessing looks like the best defender on this squad. He has four sacks and 56 total tackles.

Junior Colin Nash is leading the secondary with three interceptions and six passes broken up.

But again, this is a young group that can be inconsistent. Columbia's offense could have a decent day if they catch the Big Red on a bad day.

On special teams, the Big Red are pretty solid. Kicker Peter Zell is a perfect 16-for-16 on extra points and nine-of-12 on field goals. Punt and kick returner Bryan Walters is a freshman and he's showing a lot of promise. Cornell's coverage teams have been excellent, the one stain being a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown they gave up to Clifton Dawson at Harvard.