Half Alive
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Harvard 35 Columbia 21
Why Harvard Won
The Crimson shook off some sloppy plays and let its deep passing game doom the Lions in a blistering third quarter run. QB Collier Winters threw for 323 yards and three TD's.
Why Columbia Lost
Once again, Columbia came out in the second half looking flat-footed and lost its momentum quickly. The Lions opening drive of the third quarter ended in a three-and-out and the second possession ended in a turnover that Harvard turned into the lead they never gave up.
Key Turning Points
-Leading 7-0 with a little over five minutes left in the first quarter, the Lions had the Crimson in a tough 3rd and 25 situation at the Harvard 39 thanks to three false start penalties in the same series. But the Crimson got the first down on a brilliant sideline pass to Chris Lorditch that went for 27 yards. Three plays later, Harvard had tied it at 7-7.
-With the score tied 14-14 in the third, Sean Brackett's pass was just a little too wide for a diving Mike Stephens, who got a hand on it but couldn't stop it from being intercepted by Brian Owusu who returned it 11 yards to the Columbia 24. Three plays later, the Cromson had the lead they would never give up.
Columbia Positives
-The Lions played extremely well against the league's best team for most of the game, and mostly lost because of Harvard's greatest strength: the passing offense.
-Ross Morand's fantastic interception and 87-yard runback for a TD was the best play of the year for Columbia and a great statement by the senior co-captain.
-Harvard came into the game having yielded just 12 sacks in seven previous games. Columbia got five sacks today including two from Josh Martin, two from Mike Waller, and the first-ever sack by Texas A&M transfer Wells Childress.
-Brackett wasn't 100% perfect, but he looked like the Brackett of 2009 and 2010 with some beautiful runs and improved passing. His 19 yard run for a TD late in the fourth was a thing of beauty.
Columbia Negatives
-The missed tackles were on display many times, leading to a good number of Harvard's scores. Perhaps the worst example was the Crimson's final TD, a 41 yarder from Winters to Kyle Juszcyk that should have been a 15 yarder at most.
-Even though the Crimson moved the ball primarily and effectively through the air, you got the feeling they could have done even better had they stuck more to the run. The fact is, Columbia was lucky that Harvard passed as much as it did.
-The third quarter nightmares continue. The Lions were outscored in the 3rd by 14-0 today, bringing the season total in that stanza to 100-20.
Columbia MVP
Ross Morand was brilliant with five tackles, two pass breakups, and that super pick six that won't be soon forgotten.
RANDOM CELEBRITY SIGHTING
After the game I saw actor Danny Aiello hanging outside the Chrystie Field House. I got the feeling he was somehow related to a Harvard player. If anyone can explain why he was there, let me know.
posted by Jake @ 6:06:00 AM
60 comments
60 Comments:
Great first half team! Unfortunately, it was abundantly clear tbat we do not have the athletes, or depth of Harvard.
Finally, the ROCKET SCIENTISTS decided to play Wells Childress. And guess what??? He got a sack, of all things... NASA thanks you!
Jake:
I went to my first game at Kraft Field, Wien Stadium, Baker Field Complex. Followed your guide on how to get there.
My Impressions:
I want to salute Columbia football and players for spending time with the bunch of youngsters who were attending the game. The youngsters were mostly ethnic minorities. I sat several rows behind them. Several Columbia players who were out of action because of injuries came to them during halftime and spent time talking to them. It was great
Game itself
1. QB Sean B: His running reminded me of Judd Garrett. His passes were somewhat wobbly, perhaps because of the apparent injury he suffered.
2. Harvard played sloppily in the first half.
3. Columbia play calling in the opening moments of the second half was rather tepid.
4. Columbia: poor tackling
5. Columbia time management in the late 3d and 4th quarter very poor. No sense of urgency from coaching staff to move things along.
6. Collier Winters ran and threw very well. Harvard's freshman RB Zach Bolden looked big, fast, and slippery.
7. Columbia football stadium: very small and not as impressive as H/Y or Princeton stadiums. But bathrooms closeby.
A few turning points in a valiant effort: Fraser went down in the third quarter; one really bad punt; Lorditch pulling the ball away from our DB for a long TD; and several near sacks from which Winters escaped to make completions. Offensive play calling was mystifying in the third quarter. When we spread the field and opened things up for Brackett to either pass or run we usually made yardage. I was generally impressed by 42. He looks like the power back we need. I was less impressed bu our WR play insofar as we seemed a bit slow and unable together separation.
For my money, the weirdest comment in the last few days was someone recommending CU create an undergrad business school---in order to attract better football players?!
And we then change the facade of Butler to read "Homer
Herodotus Sophocles Plato Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley"??
A few turning points in a valiant effort: Fraser went down in the third quarter; one really bad punt; Lorditch pulling the ball away from our DB for a long TD; and several near sacks from which Winters escaped to make completions. Offensive play calling was mystifying in the third quarter. When we spread the field and opened things up for Brackett to either pass or run we usually made yardage. I was generally impressed by 42. He looks like the power back we need. I was less impressed bu our WR play insofar as we seemed a bit slow and unable together separation.
It wasn't that bad a game. And if we'd played that well, and for four quarters, against "foes" like Fordham (which is not very good at all this year), Princeton and Penn...
Interestingly, the free food for season ticket holders in the AD's tent was much more lavish today than for previous games. (There were also a lot of people there who seemed to have some connection with Harvard.) The food, weirdly, seems to get better as the won-loss record worsens.
And I really, really, really hope and think we can beat Cornell next week, even away.
I've never met Toal and I can only say his resume is impressive.
But in his defense, I think the comparison to Gerry Faust is a little unfair. It's one thing to go from a high school program to Notre Dame. Going from Don Bosco to Columbia would certainly be less pressure-packed and seems like a better fit for a team like CU that has talent but lacks solid fundamental preparation.
Getting someone from the HS ranks may be a very good idea.
These are the facts:
Harvard is an exceptional football team this year and an offensive machine. The defense for Columbia did very well in comparison to other teams that Harvard played.
Harvard scored 22 against Holy Cross their only loss.
Harvard scored 24 against Brown
Harvard scored 31 against Lafayette
Harvard scored 41 against Cornell
Harvard scored 42 against Bucknell
Harvard scored 56 against Princeton
Harvard scored 41 against Dartmouth
Harvard scored 35 against Columbia
Harvard was averaging 36.71 points per game so to Columbia's credit their defense held the Harvard's offensive machine below their scoring average. Only Holy Cross, Brown & Lafayette held Harvard to less than 35 points. I think the defense played well overall with the exception of a few missed tackles that lead to Harvard's last touchdown. Moran had a huge interception that lead to a Columbia touchdown, Martin had 10 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, Waller had six tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery, Mistretta is a beast and it was also nice to see Childress in their who also got a sack. The D line played well and again Neil was all over the field. It's hard to win a game when you muster up 14 offensive points. Third quarter play calling was typical and produced nothing. Three & out on your 3rd quarter opening drive is not the result we're looking for. Third quarter play calling was horrendous as usual. Will it ever change?
Lou Holtz always says the first 5 min of the third quarter is the most important time of a game. Once again we were almost non-existent for the third quarter. Very distressing after such a nice scripted opening drive, utilizing short passing to set up run. We did show spark in the 4th which makes it even more upsetting. Can we really pin this on the players or a talent differential?
After much anticipation to suggest otherwise, we have been outplayed at the QB position in almost every game and don't expect this to be different at Cornell or Brown.
Our DBS play very soft (often 12 yds off) and are vulnerable to quick comebacks and slants. We did a terrible job picking up the slot receiver. If you can re-watch the game you will see nobody picking up 44 in the slot at least 5 times. This led to some big timely plays for the Crimson.
Players seemed upbeat again on the sideline. A testament to their incredible fortitude and character. No quit in 4th!
The real turning point for the Wilson era was in the Lafayette game several years ago. Lafayette had a great time and we lost away on the final Lafayette drive thanks to some terrible officiating. Gross and MA were hurt and never the same. That team was poised to compete for a title until those injuries. It has been a gradual decline since that evening three years ago. The question is why?
Any reaction from Murphy or the Harvard sideline to the game?
Q on our DBs versus H DBs. They seem to play tight. And we seem to give a big cushion. Why? The H timing patterns were pretty good, but what would you expect if the receivers don't get bumped at the LOS? And how did Lorditch manage to come up with that sideline pass when our DB had position and his hands on the ball?
Did the team have parkas? :)
In reply to the Marxian-like poster who thought it was weird to propose the establishment of a undergraduate business school at Columbia: I would respectfully suggest that an undergraduate business school makes sense at Columbia whether or not you like football. Columbia is located in the business capital of the world and yet does not have a undergraduate business school to attract business-minded students, or to otherwise harvest the multiple academice and financial opportunities that comes with the existence of an outstanding undergraduate business school. I fully understand that there are people like yourself who for whatever personal reasons may have an anti-business bias, but I am surprised that you are a reader of Jake's blog. If you really are a fan of Columbia athletics and perticularly football, you must be aware that this is a very sensitive issue for many Columbia football coaches and fans as Columbia has often lost top high schooll student-athletes to Penn or other Ivy League schools because they choose to attend that school's undergraduate of business rather than pursuing a general liberal arts education at Columbia. If you don't believe me, ask of the Columbia coaches whether I am right. The number of top student-athlete we have lost to Penn over the years because of the Wharton School is astounding. Same thing with Cornell which has practically its entire men's basketball team enrolled in the Dyson School of Business. Just wondering, but do you have the same intellectual problem with Columbia having an undergraduate engineering school as you do with an undergraduate business school?
Credit Griffin Lowry with giving us a running game for the first time this season. Also, credit Mike Stephens for making some tough catches. Finally, credit the defensive line and the linebackers, for playing very well against a tough foe.
A recurring theme this season and last has been losing to teams that are not much better than us overall, but have more speed at running back or wide receiver. Not bringing in a star replacement for Austin Knowlin was the Kiss of Death for Columbia Football.
Who works with the kickers? They are are a talented group, but much too inconsistent.
Columbia could very easily beef up its business education to undergrads if it wanted to. As of now, undergrads can only major in economics, (which is a flawed social science like any social science and why they give Nobel Prizes for it is beyond me. Where's the Nobel Prize for Sociology or Women's Studies?), as opposed to finance or business administration. Those majors could easily be established. They would not challenge the core curriculum either, (I think they would enhance the theoretical aspect of the CU education with more of the "real," and hey, at $60K per year, it's time to stop eschewing reality). A bigger step would be allowing undergrads, outstanding ones who are juniors and seniors that is, access to some classes in the business school. Columbia's B-school, once a laggard, has been a top 10 or top 5 rated school for the last 15 years or so. It is also getting the lion's share of the space in the Manhattanville expansion. There will be room and I bet a good willing attitude from the relatively sane B-school faculty, (hint, they're not the ones who keep inviting Ahmadinejad to visit), to let the undergrads join a class or two.
Surely the pseudo-intellectual, anti-undergraduate business school guy is aware that the glory of ancient Greece was based on a strong economy. There are no employment opportunites in Greece today for guys like Plato and Homer, because the business environment stinks! Go Lions! Beat Cornell!!!
I totally agree with he establishment of an undergraduate B-School! We chased Yale and NYU with our new Arts program, so why not business? Yes, it could sway a couple of athletes from Penn and Cornell. We could call it the Kraft, Campbell (no jokes about he BC center PLEASE), or the Kluge B-School. By the way, I would also rename the School of General Studies to one of the aforementioned names...
How is the Ivy Academic Index working out for CU? Theoretically it should equalize football talent across the Ivy League, but it seems that Harvard always gets the players they want.
"How is the Ivy Academic Index working out for CU?" asks one poster. This is intended to ensure that the athletic teams mirror the student body academically. That is why in football there are four bands of recruits (band 4 be highest) and only a few band 1 or band 2 atletes can be admitted. These are very good students, just slightly below the average admitted student in test scores and HS gpa. Each school has its own academic index as it is based upon the school's own admitted students. Who polices this I do not know. Here is a website with a table that shows the slight differences in SAT scores of each of the schools.
http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/ivy_league_table.asp
This discussion of the football players and business school is great! Jake's suggestion of letting undergrads take classes in the business school and/or major in business seems to make sense. Why not?
Oh, and just a thought: the economic glory of ancient Greece was actually based on slavery, as the founders of the Confederate States of America were fond of pointing out. But let's not go there!
I would rather have an undergraduate B School than the insane growth of GS, which advertises for students, takes up resources, and accepts any warm body who can pay the tuition. GS does nothing for the university but the politically correct trustees apparently love it. As far as Harvard is concerned, can you imagine a GS up ere?
Jake, a practice facility, JUST like Riverbank State Park, solves all of our problems, and saves on space...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&q=riverbank%20state%20park&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=89438l100280l2l100660l21l14l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1024&bih=690&noj=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi
Harvard has an Extenstion school and it is NOTHING like GS. GS has the most credibility of all these types of programs in the Ivies (Penn too). Note, Sid Luckman went to GS!
Riverbank State Park styled facility, PERFECT!!!
OK OK I guess I must be a "Marxian"(?) since I oppose an undergrad B-School....Last time I checked HYP don't have one but what do they know?
Jake - Undergrads can take several classes at Columbia B-school and we do have majors that creeping closer to a genuine business education.
Leadership in Organizations, Managerial Negotiations, Strategy Formulation, Marketing Management, and Financial Accounting are several of the available courses.
http://econ.columbia.edu/financial-economics-major
From experience, the professors of these classes are extremely high quality and, while difficult, the B-school classes were always worth it.
FWIW: if we will be in the market for a new coach, Toal definitely deserves a very close look. He is the most extraordinary h.s. coach I've ever heard about. There are legendary h.s. coaches in each state who have coached at the same school for eons and have developed a feeder system for themselves and the administrative structure to support their success. Toal, however, has coached in suburban, urban and Catholic schools and made each champs. His current school, the national champ Don Bosco, was terrible before he came 11 or 12 years ago. He is a throwback to coaches for whom players are willing to run through walls. He played college ball himself (West VA, I believe), and has 3 sons who played college ball (B.C. and William & Mary). He has developed a northeast school into one that has beaten top schools from FL, CA and OH. That is unheard of. He also has national contacts, having coached in the Army all star game.
Would all of this translate into success at a place such as CU? Hard to predict. I would have put money on Charlie Weiss's success at ND and various other hires, but none of them panned out. But Toal has so many positives that it would be nuts not to give him very serious consideration. One last thing. Someone has said that Toal interviewed one before and was not a particular impressive interview. I have no idea whether that's true or not, but if it is, just because someone doesn't have Wall St. smooth doesn't mean he's not the man for us. Results are everything, and this guy has had extraordinary results.
-Dr.V
Not sure what everybody sees here at running back...Lowry appears to be another running back averaging 3.5 yds a carry with no speed. Probably a good fullback...The only back homerun threat on this team appears to be Gerst..Lets hope we can get this kid healthy..and the next coach knows hoe to use him. Bracket has to learn how to get through a game without turning the ball over.
Any news on Gerst red shirting? His brother coming?
to the person who keeps slamming GS. Give it a rest. GS has a long list of distinguished alums.
Glad you are putting your opinion out there, but I am always surprised that you like to trot out the GS brickbats on a football site. Some of the readers here went to GS.
Your postings would certainly fit on BWOG though, which has a needlessly hostile tone to Barnard and GS ad nausea.
Let's worry about fixing the football program instead of the endless GS slammin, huh?
Agreed! GS is unlike any of it's kind in the Ivies, GREAT place. I went ton the College, but For those of you trashing it, you are showing your ignorance!
Sticking to sports issues, my question is whether there are any students in the Columbia University School of General Studies who are currently competing on Columbia' athletic team? If not, why not? If I recall correctly, the very talented tight end, John Robinson, played football for Columbia about twenty years ago after transferring from S.M.U.
A "Marxian" is defined as a "Marxist" who lives on the planet Mars, but in his heart loves Columbia Football and watches every Columbia football game on the interplanetary space network, aptly named MESPN.
Makes sense for Toal to move into college coaching at Columbia. I wouldn't mind him bringing some of his assistants with him, some of whom have huge experience.
Anyone know what steps Georgetown took to turn around its football program so quickly?
The best running back that we have the team is on defense. whoever the NEW coach is, they need to put Steve Grassa back there at RB. I saw him at BB&N and he returned punts at last year's Spring game. He's much bigger and more durable than Garrett and Gerst. That would shake things up!
Just got an update from the JV game vs Army today. The score is 9-9 Andrew Weiss orchestrated a long Columbia Drive to tie the game with 5 minutes left. Hitting a receiver on a slant for the TD. Go Lions
Excellent question about GS and athletes. Yes, John Robinson was on the '87 team and has done some impressive things afterward (law Degree at Villanova, Head Assistant AD at Houston, and not sure where now). It's a GREAT place to stick transfers for two years who coldn't finish the core in that timeframe (with other outstanding requirements.
The BLOG has also mentioned on several occasions that it should recruit former athletes who have joined the armed services and wish to go to an Ivy League school (andplay a sport). They can come here, through GS, for FREE!!! See below...
http://www.ny1.com/content/109544/yellow-ribbon-program-lets-vets-attend-columbia-for-free
To 11:47 Georgetown now has an innovative offensive coordinator as opposed to an imposter!
It is that simple Columbia! IMHO
Re running backs: when Marcorus Garrettmsaw some action as a freshman he broke off some nice runs. He is bigger and stronger this year. The problem is tha the run blocking is not very good. I still fail to understand why a big and talented OL has done so badly in the run game.
Watched jv game; we lost 16-9. D played very well, particularly since it was on the field two-thirds of the time. O not particularly effective, with some exceptions. Most impressive re D was, with two or three exceptions, our ability to stop the run. The players on D: 11, 26, 20, 8, 35, 45, 92, 56, 66 90 and 19. 92 was particularly impressive at tackle, even though he's not that big. On O, 37 runs very hard. 14 had some nifty runs, but passes were not so great.
1st Q: our D forced two straight 3 and outs. Our O couldn't do anything. Our QB, 14, fumbled. Army had good field position repeatedly, finally scored TD on short pass after nice reception on 25-yarder. Missed EP. Score: 0-6.
2nd Q: Our D stopped Army on 4th down at our 34; after exchange of punts, 92 tackled Army QB for safety; we then stopped Army on 4th at our 20; 66 recovered an Army fumble. Score: 2-6.
3d Q.: Our 19 intercepted a pass; our QB 14 got hurt (looked like left shoulder or something like that); we missed 37 FG; our 10 recovered an Army fumble deep in our zone. Score: 2-6.
4th Q: Army FG; Weiss several nice runs; 28 very nice run; Weiss TD pass to 31. Score 9-9. Army marches down field and its QB scores from 25 out. With 2:50 to go, we march down the field to Army 10; 3 passes incomplete; first two tough, but catchable; third should have been caught. Score: 9-16.
-Dr.V
The poster was joking but no we'd never put "Goldman Sachs" atop our library. But we did change the hallowed name of a Van Am quad dorm to "Wallach" to honor a donor. I'm sure Lawrence Wien was a fine gentleman and I'm happy that he put up the seed money for the stadium instead of Anthony Weiner.
I hear Gerst's brother has offers from every Ivy and many D1's..sounds like Nick is redshirting
Thanks Dr. V for that fine report on the junior varsity football game. Impressive fourth quarter performance by Weiss, leading the team to one touchdown and almost another.My questions to the good doctor are (1) Is #28, the freshman, Augie Braddock, who looked so impressive on film last year? and (2) Did anyone impress on kickoff or punt returns?
Dr. V.,
Thanks for the great report on the JV game...sounds like another woulda/coulda, huh? Is Augie Braddock playing RB rather than WR as listed? (you said #28 had a very nice run) If so, that's good news, we'll need his talent at RB. If he joins Lowery, Garrett, Gerst, and Fisher (plus maybe a top-notch recruit), we'll have a solid group of RBs next season. Silvio sounds like a nice addition at fullback. Good thing too that you liked the frosh D-backs, since that's the area where we'll be hit hardest by graduation, losing 4-5 starters.
Good stuff on Greg Toal...anybody know if he'd be interested?
http://donbosco.powermediallc.org/2011/10/25/following-coach-toal-through-the-years/
To the Sun Nov 06, 08:46:00 AM PST poster I respectfully think you need to get off the Gerst ban wagon. 42 by far has shown the best running skills this year and based on this last game is definitely not “slow”. If you look at our opposition their key backs are big as well as fast. Garret and Gertz are very talented and we are lucky to have them, but, compared to the teams we play they are small. You play the guys that actually are making things work at the time which in the case is 42. All we need now is less tendencies in play calling. First down run a couple yards. Almost guaranteed the next play will be a pass. Result 3 and out first series of the 2nd half. The young 2nd team lineman that started this week due to injuries handled things well.
Childress did really great this week. Moving him to an end position was a great decision. He really didn’t work well in the past weeks when they tried him at the tackle position. He looks like he has some great speed and that really showed at the end position including a sack. Defense was good. They still have issues with outside containment. The back in the 2nd half was taking the ball and delayed long enough to see which side wasn’t covered by the DBs (usually the short side) and headed that way. DBs need to do a better job of following the ball and not the flow of the play. The big runs up the middle came when Summers or Groth were not in. I noticed they corrected that problem quickly. They did a much better job at covering the receivers this week, but, they really need to hit them more at the line. Why Harvard wasn’t bombing us with short quick passes like everyone else was a mystery.
I believe #28 was Braddock; I say believe b/c some of the numbers matched up with our program, and some didn't. The run by #28 was after a catch. No one impressed on returns.
-Dr.V
Agreed, great and Garrett don't compare to Harvard, Penn, PU, or the Yale backs. Please, please, enough on Gerst's yards per carry. He's just too small and can't turn the corner. YES, he is a gutsy kid because he give his entire body when he blocks and yes, he was misdiagnosed with they type of hamstring injury that he had, I (we) get it. Also, it makes no sense running him up the middle when we have papas and mcHugh available (even though the latter has ZERO caries this year??? How about putting Nick on KO and Punt returns? Maybe a DB?
I think player evaluation or re-evaluation will happen with the new incoming staff! Hopefully, the right players will be on the field in the right positions!
At this point, it becomes moot to say who should see playing time. Player development, and a strength program will be critical. We need not just big linemen, but strong linemen.
I'm just a Lion fan. no expert, and maybe the following is something that happens with every team and not only Ivies. But with Columbia, I've gotten the impression more than ever that there are little or never used players with good talent who don't get to show it until they are juniors or even seniors. Are they late bloomers? Or just too many to use (I doubt this at CU).
Besides poor or inconsistent play-calling, is there a lack of evaluation of talent and positioning? Maybe this isn't a valid issue. But somehow the
talent pool doesn't seem to come together into a well-functioning unit. Maybe the coaching is to blame. I don't know. Maybe spring and pre-season training are too short. But if we want to compete in the Ivy League, we have to do better with what we have. The seven other teams have the same
rules to follow, don't they?
The big mystery this year is Brackett. His passing has been off taget for much of the year, and he can't seem to throw the deep ball. Also, we don't seem to have the timing patterns which our opponents utilize. Is he injured?
Was also also at the j.v. game and was also really impressed by Weiss. Showed the same poise and competitiveness as at Darthmouth. It is so obvious that he is a skilled QB you got to ask where has he been or is the misuse of talent really that bad here. Led two perfect drives and wins or ties game had it not been for two bad drops in the endzone. Showed excellent accuracy on throws and runs hard and smart.Agree with Nov. 7,08:31AM PST Post that Brackett has been off target all year and it's clear Weiss is a more accurate roll out passer,especially to his left. If Brackett is hurt Weiss should get more time.The good news is CU is deep at QB for next season with Brackett/ Weiss.
Yes, Brackett is hurt. He hurt his shoulder in training camp which was compounded by other injuries later. He couldn't throw well and he couldn't run well. It is one of the major reasons that CU has not won any games this year.
Brackett has been getting better but is still not 100%. His healing has shown up in his improved performance over the last couple of games.
CU has been plagued by really key injuries this entire season. Brackett has been hobbled since training camp, Gerst and Garrett have been hobbled, and they have never started the OL group that they wanted to start because of injuries to key players in both training camp (Franz was lost for the season) and during the season.
So to summarize, the QB, the running backs, and the OL have been hobbled by injuries all season. The OL has never put its best five on the field together once this year. One guy matters, Mangold gets injured and the Jets OL looked like high school players against the Ravens. OL's need to gel as a group.
If your QB is hurt or at 75%, you are going to have real trouble. Just ask the Colts.
Most Ivy league teams have good starting players but usually don't have great depth. A few key injuries can turn a season upside down. It happens in the NFL and it can really happen in the Ivy league. It is not much more complicated than that.
I am now addicted to this blog. I don't particularly care so much about football. Just an old alum enjoying the jousting I loved as an undergrad.
Next up, B-ball. As a New Yorker transplanted to the Midwest I hope Jake will cover the Lions in that sport, or someone else will, in the runup to March Madness. As someone who watched the Dotson/McMillen era, bring back defeating Princeton for the Ivy title in 1968!
No offense to the football fans.
Weiss was used strictly as a punter his first two years, even though he was a very good QB in high school. Why that happened is a mystery.
If Brackett has maxed out look for a QB competiton next season, especially with new coach that will have to evaluate players at every position. Saw Weiss play both football ( all county ) and hoops in High School.He could start at any Ivy easy.
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