Schedule Released
The mystery is over and we now know the Lions 2009 schedule.
2009 Columbia Football Schedule
9/19
at Fordham
9/26 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE
10/3 at Princeton
10/10
at Lafayette
10/17
PENN (Homecoming)
10/24
at Dartmouth
10/31
YALE
11/7
HARVARD
11/14
at Cornell
11/21
BROWN
The most-asked question was who Columbia would play in week 2 at home to replace Iona, which has discontinued football.
The answer is Central Connecticut State U., a much tougher opponent than Iona for sure. CCSU appears to play at a level of a mid-level Ivy team, but not quite as good as last year's co-champs Harvard and Brown.
Coach Wilson's strong ties to the state of Connecticut and the recruiting strides Columbia is making there may have both played a big role in this scheduling decision. But I don't really have the inside story.
I guess I was half-hoping we would see a new opponent in week 4 other than Lafayette. But I am looking forward to revisiting the Lafayette broadcast booth, complete with the cool replay monitor and pretty decent food!
And for those of you looking for some real changes in the order of our games and in the faces of our opponents, I hear you. But remember that the Ivy League is a league that's all about tradition, and change for the sake of change isn't going to happen.
I am happy that the Lions are once again facing a schedule with no "easy wins" right off the bat. I thought Columbia played right up and right down to the competition every week until the Brown game. Playing better opponents should help the coaches forge a better team.
Harvard and Hatch
Ivy football followers are buzzing about former LSU starting QB Andrew Hatch coming back to Harvard where he began his college career a few years ago.
I openly admit that if Hatch were coming to Columbia, I'd be pretty excited too. But objectively, I'm not sure anyone should be handing the 2009 championship trophy to the Crimson just yet.
This is a MUCH tougher league than most people, even our own people, give it credit for. One talented athlete does not make for a championship, especially on a Harvard squad that needs to be more concerned about its 2009 defense anyway.
There's also no guarantee that Hatch will start, let alone be a real impact player. But whoever does start for the Crimson will have such an embarrassment of riches with wide receivers and big tight ends, that I doubt even Tom Brady would make Harvard's passing attack less formidable.
In other words, Harvard was going to be tough regardless of the QB. I don't have a problem with anyone who wants to complain about the great break the Crimson is getting right now... but that's realling baying at the moon.
posted by Jake @ 11:05:00 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Let's say I were one of Harvard's twelve to fifteen or so highly recruited quarterbacks who now have very little chance of playing much varsity football at Harvard. In that case, I might be thinking about transferring to another decent school that doesn't stockpile quarterbacks. Anyway, as a Columbia Football Fan, I couldn't care less about Hatch going back and forth to Harvard and LSU like a yo-yo. The guy is obviously a taker and maybe Harvard should have just said "no" to him. But if all of Harvards many quarterbacks don't care how they are being treated, why should we give a damn.
Jake, you provide a great service to Columbia fotball. You are a great fan. You are an amazing source of infomation. And you provde a focal point for Lion fans to rally around. HOWEVER, when it comes to kmowlege of the game, you cosntistenlty fall short. How in the world can you minimize the impact that a starting QB from one of the best football schools in the country which plays in the toughest league in the country will have on the Harvard team.
In this connection, you also under appreciate the value of the QB to a team's perfomrace, especially a throwing QB.
The only good that can happen from this is if a Crimson QB recruit decides he'll have a better chance of playing for us and comes to us instead.
I'm with Jake. I'm not close to convinced that Hatch will even be the starter at Harvard. Obviously the Tigers were not satisfied with him, and just because he spent some time there does not automaticaly make him better than the rest of the QB's on the Harvard roster.
Yeah--agreed..don't buy the Hatch stuff at all. More disturbed why we continue to throw these schools on non league schedule when we should be competing against schools we recruit against--i.e Holy Cross,Georgetown, Lehigh etc. Central Conn?? come on.....
How many of the schools you mention have an open date the week that Columbia plays CCSU? This only came about because IONA dropped football schedules are usually set years in advance.
I'd still like to see Olawale and Shane Kelly in the backfield together. At least it should be tried during training camp. We don't exactly have any big rushing threat except Millie. With him and Kelly together, either one could take a direct snap, pass, run or pitch out...the Statue of Liberty
and the reverse, with Knowlin in the mix, could take on new meaning.
"How in the world can you minimize the impact that a starting QB from one of the best football schools in the country which plays in the toughest league in the country will have on the Harvard team."
Based on the stats the kid is ok, but, one player does not make a team. Based on Lee's performance, I guessing he would not have been the starter in 2009 at LSU. I am guessing that is why he went back to Harvard.
He is giving up a free ride at LSU which also makes me wonder what else is going on.
good point on scheduling but I'm not sure they are set "years in advance". Maybe a year in advance as we never know firm schedule until early the same year. I think there are soft commitments to possible games,home and home arrangements etc. I just don't see the point of playing teams like Iona,Towson,Central Conn etc as we don't go after the same sort of kid and isn't that the point of non conference games-play "similar" schools outside of the Ivies in numbers and talent? Love the Fordham renewal and playing Patriot League teams.
Ivy League football schedules are done multiple years in advance. schedules are complete through 2016 - some through 2020.
I was told tht Columbia was to play Drake in Des Moines the week of the Central Conn. game. What became of that?
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