Day 67: MVP Jackson & a Quickie Scouting Report

Doug Jackson entered the Bristol Hall of Fame in 2006


A lot of us are trying to find out what we can about week 2 first-time opponent Central Connecticut State.

But it doesn't take long to figure out that the Blue Devils are all about running the football.

CCSU ran the ball about 50 times a game last year compared to just about 18 pass attempts per game.

The big ball carrier is rising senior James Mallory, who had 1,520 yards rushing last year, 15 TD's and a 5.3 yards per carry average.

Despite the ball control offense, the Blue Devil defense was not entirely dominant. CCSU gave up about 210 yards passing per game and 19 TD passes in 2008.

It's impossible to truly gauge just how good Central Connecticut is compared to Columbia's Ivy opponents. But it seems like the Blue Devils will be a tougher challenge than teams like Iona or Marist were for the Lions in recent years.


Doug Jackson '76

I have Connecticut on my mind today, so I thought I'd focus on one of Columbia's best ever Connecticut products, Doug Jackson out of Bristol.

Columbia's first-ever Bushnell Cup, (Ivy Player of the Year), winner didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but he really had a breakout season as a senior in 1975. Before that super year, Jackson hadn't been one of the team rushing leaders.

Jackson powered for 914 yards on 174 carries for a 5.3 yards per carry average. He also scored 10 TD's.

His two best games were against Harvard where he had 179 yards in a close loss to the Crimson, and then later in the season when he had 194 yards in a win over Penn. That performance helped the Lions avoid the cellar and clinched the MVP award for Jackson, who also ended up with spots on the All Ivy, All-East, All-ECAC and All-American teams.

Jackson got a chance in the NFL as a back-up/practice squad player for four years with the Cowboys and Giants.

After his playing days, Jackson coached as an assistant at Penn and then back at Columbia before going back to the high school coaching ranks.