Around the League
Nathan Ford and Cornell look strong so far (CREDIT: Cornell Athletics)
Brown 28 Duquesne 17
Jake's Take: Duquesne is not a strong opponent, but Brown's new starting QB and RB looked pretty good. Michael Daugherty had three TD passes and Derek Knight ran for 208 yards and a 61 yard TD. On the other hand, I don't see much that Harvard has to fear before they face the Bears at home this coming Saturday night.
Cornell 38 Bucknell 14
Jake's Take: Cornell had the best weekend of any Ivy school with this strong game and a nice crowd to boot. The Big Red have to be overjoyed by QB Nathan Ford's passing performance, a big improvement over last season. Now Cornell has to improve on its real problem last season: winning on the road. The Big Red go on the road to Yale this weekend.
Colgate 31 Dartmouth 28 (OT)
Jake's Take: The Big Green blew a 28-0 lead and in my experience, losses like these are almost impossible to forget. But if you have to suffer them... it's best for them to come in week 1. Milan Williams had a good day running the ball for 179 yards, but he also had two killer fumbles, the second coming with just 50 seconds left in regulation at the Colgate seven yard line. Now Dartmouth has to take on huge favorite New Hampshire, so good news does not seem to be just around the corner.
Holy Cross 31 Harvard 28
Jake's Take: Harvard's strong defense finished up on a sour note against Yale in 2006, and they picked up where they left off with a surprisingly weak performance against Holy Cross. The Crusaders ran by committee and got 153 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Holy Cross QB Domminic Randolph threw for 339 yards and four TD's against the Crimson's highly-regarded secondary. One good note for Harvard was the decent game put in by Cheng Ho at tailback. He finished with 116 yards and a big 49-yard TD run.
Lafayette 8 Penn 7
Jake's Take: Penn spends the whole offseason obsessing about their kicking game, and then they try a fake punt from their one yard line! But there was some bad kicking too. Andrew Samson missed a 28-yard field goal attempt right off the bat, and later missed a 43-yarder. The worst news for the Quakers is Joe Sandberg injured his hamstring and it's unclear how long he'll be out. Penn QB Robert Irvin was unimpressive, but Lafayette does have a great team.
Lehigh 32 Princeton 21
Jake's Take: A very shaky start for the Tigers, but they recovered to make the score look respectable. Bill Foran's first start at QB mirrored his team's effort; he started slow but finished stronger. Princeton's 2006 rushing woes are continuing into this season.
Yale 28 Georgetown 14
Jake's Take: Yale had a much tougher day than I expected. Mike McLeod had another very strong game, but almost everything else is still a question mark for the Elis as they get set to host the one really hot team in the Ivies right now in Cornell.
posted by Jake @ 10:13:00 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
How many wins do you think the Lions will get this yr?
I predicted 6-4 a few weeks agao, but Fordham was one of the games in my "win" column. So now I'm just not sure.
Jake, thought you did a nice job in opener with honest comments on a downer of a game.
FYI, I heard a sound problem at start--Jerry was loud and clear while you definitely sounded off-mike, and that combo was disconcerting. I had to cut out a few minutes and when I returned, the problem was reversed; you were on mike but Jerry sounded
muffled. Did anyone point that out? Have the tech check mike levels for balance.
Whoa! One game and you are downgrading our season? Fordham was a "trap game" on the road in an inhospitable venue at night against a team that had two games under its belt, with a return to action of a QB who was coming off ACL surgery! My biggest problem is that Dianne Murphy agreed to play this game at night. We are loaded with excellent freshmen and sophomores. Give us a week or so. Is this Roar Lion Roar, or postrings by Asia Sunset? PS, call it schadenfreude, but it was great to see Penn on the basis of a poor kicking game. Despite all of the talk about wanting to see the league do well in general, it's impossible to feel that way about Penn or a Jack-led Yale team.
Wasn't Fordham supposed to be the easiest game on our schedule?
No--probably Marist
2 games or more would be a shock after what I witnessed this weekend. Good news is Marist should be one of them. If not, it truly will be a very long season for the Lion faithful.
I'm not downgrading the entire season... I'm just not sure what games are winnable anymore after good performances by some of the "weaker" teams and bad days from some of the "better" ones according to the preseason polls.
On the technical issues for the broadcast: we knew about many of the issues and should have everthing improved for the next game. That said, I clearly need to pick up my voice and make sure I'm more clear.
I don't understand why we would think Fordham was terrible. Last year they were obviously athletic but made a lot of mistakes. This year they are still very athletic and (with 2 games under their belt) didn't make many errors. Further, I doubt we'll see another back like 25 this year! Put a mark by his name. He'll pile up some yards this year.
The first week is hardest to handicap since most of the upsets are going to occur then. The Marist game should give us a better idea as to where we stand. I cant see how playing the game at 6pm is a big deal. All road games are "inhospitable venues," and in my opinion, a good early test which will only make us stronger for the experience.
I heard that Jerry Recco was getting teased by Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN today. You may wish to point out that at least we held our opponent to under 30 points (unlike the NY Giants).
There have been references to CU's two-deep. Where is it?
Dr.V
Dr. V
The 2 deep is usually in the GAME NOTES at gocolumbialions.com. But before this game I had a hard time finding the GAME NOTES on the web site. The two deep was also posted in the Fordham game program.
Jake,
I thought you added alot to the broadcast. Between the two of you, although I was a thousand miles away, I felt I could follow the game very well. There was a problem initially with you sounding distant, but I understand you will correct that. Congratulations.
Thanks so much... I have a long way to go, but it's encouraging that no one has called for my head after week 1.
How about some comments on all of the surprises in the two deep? A lot of first years and sophomores seemed to come from nowhere.
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