Game Week!

Skelton and Martin operate out of the spread (CREDIT: Fordham Athletics)

It's now officially game week and instead of focusing on the entire season, the task at hand is Fordham. This Saturday. 12:30pm. Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium at the Baker Athletics Complex. Liberty Cup VII.

All opening games are exciting, especially after our ungodly long Ivy League offseason. But this game is especially exciting because we will have some new starters, including at quarterback, and some new looks on both offense and defense.

I also sense the players are very hungry for a chance to prove that last season, and not the encouraging 2006, was the real fluke. This is obviously their first chance to prove that.

At this early stage, it appears the weather will be fantastic so everyone should make an extra effort to get to the game. I'll have some updated tips on getting to and enjoying gameday at Columbia later this week.


On Fordham

If you've read the last several posts, you can probably deduce that I think this is a good Fordham team. It might be better than last year's Patriot League champs and better than the 2002 Ram team that ended up winning an FCS, (called D-IAA back then), playoff game.

The good news is that Columbia usually plays Fordham very well. Last year was an exception with a 27-10 loss in The Bronx, and that was not exactly a total slaughter.

In 2002, the Lions actually beat those playoff-bound Rams at Wien in the most exciting of all the many exciting Liberty Cup games. The 2003 Fordham team tied for the Patriot League title and Columbia came very close to beating that team as well in a tough game at Fordham.

That said, I do see a real game-changing culture change at Fordham right now. Coach Tom Masella brought in tremendous recruits in 2006 and 2007, and the administration seems to be backing him a lot. After tasting the big success in 2002 and 2003, the team fell apart very quickly from '04-'06. I think they've decided not to let that happen again.

Strengths

It all starts with Ram junior QB John Skelton. He's 6"5 and 220 pounds. He played a small role in Columbia's loss to Fordham last year, but Skelton has been at the center of everything since then. The Rams throw the ball a ton, mostly short balls, and Skelton handles it well by spreading those passes out to several receivers. The offensive line makes things easier for him, but they complement each other well.

There is no one main receiving threat, just a lot of guys who can hurt you. But it does seem like Asa Lucas and David Moore are the main go-to guys and so far they are sharing the role very well.

Xavier Martin is having a good year so far, and he will be a true test of Columbia's run defense that was such a problem last year. Martin is averaging 22 carries a game and 5.3 yards per carry.

The defensive line was good last year and now it seems like it's a whole lot better. Fordham has allowed a grand total of 81 rushing yards after two games this season. Granted, neither URI not Dayton had great running attacks, but that's an impressive stat. The defense has a very respectable 7 sacks and has generally harrassed opposing QB's.



Weaknesses

There's not a lot here. But Fordham has had a problem with fumbles. They've fumbled six times, and lost it four of those times. They've also had a punt blocked and returned for a TD and two PAT's blocked, one of which was returned for two-points going the other way.

Red Zone offense is also puzzlingly mediocre. Fordham has scored just 4 times in seven trips to the red zone with three TD's.

All this could be the result to early season rustiness. But there could be a problem that many run-and-gun type teams face: they move the ball really well outside the 20's, but when the field shortens up they get tight. I'm sure that's something Coach Masella and his staff will address this week.


Intangibles

The Rams are coming off a tough loss and a long road trip to Dayton and there may be a few cobwebs still getting cleared out on Saturday. Columbia will hope to use the element of surprise to make up for Fordham's two weeks of actual game experience.