Insult to Injury
Columbia's march for a respectable final score backfires as Cornell gets a pick six.
Cornell leads 62-41.
That's not a typo.
posted by Jake @ 3:33:00 AM
26 comments
Roar Lions Roar
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Sunday, November 13, 2011
Cornell leads 62-41.
That's not a typo.
About Me
- Name: Jake
- Location: New York, New York, United States
Jake Novak has been a TV news producer for more than 20 years. He is also a top online writer with a regular CNBC column found at http://www.cnbc.com/jake-novak/
26 Comments:
We've changed running backs, wide receivers, Defensive personnel... what can we change next?????
1. Impossible to figure why Columbia abandoned the passing game in the third quarter after scoring 34 points in the first half.
2. Our defensive backs couldn't match up with Cornell's receivers.
3. As everyone knows by now, the Lion coaching staff obviously did not recruit any speed in the last two classes and that's been the killer. Our offensive and defensive lines as well as our linebackers have been competitive all season, but the lack of speed at running back and in the defensive backfield has been a killer.
4. Finally, in game nine, we make a kickoff return to the outside and our guy looks senasational. Go figure.
5. Jake, I questioned it when you first called for an immediate coaching change at the end of game four. My mistake. You were right.
6. Columbia fought to the end today. I give the players an enormous amount of credit, for their efforts. All the players should take heart in the men's basketball team's turnaround under new Coach Kyle Smith. He took the team to a winning season his first year without a single new recruit.
7. President Bollinger needs to do something dramatic immediately to support Columbia Athletics and particularly the football program. I commend him for obtaining the necessary governmental approvals for the new Manhattanville campus. However, as already been said the Columbia Campaign for Excellence in Athletics has been a complete failure except for the wonderful new Campbell Athletic Center, for which, of course, Bollinger cannot take any credit. President Bollinger has to approve an immediate enhancement of the athletic/recreational facilities for all Columbia undergraduates, whether it be a new world-class indoor facility on the Morningside Heights or Manhattanville campuses, or installing artificial turf on South Lawn and allowing the Columbia Football Team to practice on South Lawn on a limited basis, with the general undergraduate poplulation using South Lawn for the rest of the time. Certainly, some minor improvements to Levien Gymnasium will not do the trick.
8. Seems to me that Dr. Murphy, who I really respect, needs to make a forceful presentation to the President regarding the campus facilities. Dr. Murphy has aptly described Columbia Athletics as a "sleeping giant." I hope that she realizes that the time has come to wake the "sleeping giant."
1:15, most of those personnel changes have been because of injuries. Key players have gone down in much more than the normal numbers, starting in preseason.
Open question: in the last two years, CU outscored opponents in the third quarter, 30-28 (2009) and 78-58 (2010). Can anyone tell what has changed from those years to this year? If coaching is the key to third quarter performance, what were the coaches doing in 2009 and '10 that they're not doing this year? It's an astonishing difference.
I never thought we would score 41 points in one game this year. Of course, I never thought we would score than many and lose by 21. Sure glad we have a new D Coordinator this year. The point total shows how bad Cornell is, not how good of a game Marino called. I cannot express how badly I feel for these players.
Mathews (one T) was 40-46 for 517 Yds passing.
I'm also interested in hearing any answers to Leon L.'s question about 3rd quarter performance.
For me this is the biggest question about the coaching regime. It's easy to wisecrack about how bad an 0-9 team is, about parkas, uniform changes, and how incompetent the staff is. But they seemed to be doing just fine two years ago, and they enjoyed (to my memory) broad support. Not to mention Wilson's first year, a promising 5-5, with the victory over Brown, etc.
So what's changed? Did these guys suddenly forget how to coach? Did they all fall and hit their heads?
Why were they able to bring in the likes of Knowlin, Brackett, Gross, etc., only to be found wanting in so many other areas?
Was there some particular event that caused them to lose confidence in each other, or caused the players to lose confidence in the staff?
Will Norries resign in advance of being fired (with a slimmer of respect), or do we have to wait for the inevitable?
Off with his head!
what is a slimmer of respect?
you cannot keep a coach who is on the downward trajectory that we have here.
Doc/jock
In other news, Columbia men's soccer is up 1-0 in Ithaca. A win would give the Lions their first Ivy championship since the early 90s!
The administration MUST tell him this week that he will not be retained, correct? Anyone has any insight here?
What is a "slimmer", for that matter? A Freudian slip?
One thing about Norries, he has little chance for a "slimmer."
Another thing, sorry to say but being candid, Wilson/Marino just not talented/smart enough to be successful in this (or maybe any) league. I like the chances of Ivy Leaguer Bill Lazor if he's interested.
I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but why didn't we go for 2 after our last touchdown of the first half so we could go ahead by 7 instead of 6? It's the not-so- little things that make a difference.
Leon L., not all changes have been because of injuries. Why have there been so many injuries prior to season starting? (Trainers or Strength and Condition coaches?) and to answer your question about third quarter scoring... the believe it or not some teams run tendency reports and the more you repeat yourself the more predictable you become. They're doing in high school maybe we should try it!
On going for one instead of two, if you miss the two and go ahead by only 5 you can be beaten by two field goals. May not be a good situation to be in later in the game.
The third quarteritis that Leon L has referred to is more evident this year than the last two for several reasons including the fact that our offensive schemes are so predictable, and our defensive flaws are so obvious that it is rather easy for opposing coaches to make effective adjustments against us at halftime. Also, prior to this year, we had some outstanding players who seemed to get stronger as the games went on--M.A. Olawale, Alex Gross, Andrew Kennedy, Calvin Otis and Adam Mehrer to name a few. And, Sean Brackett was healthier so he led second half comebacks such as at Penn and Yale. Morale and expectation issues are probably other factors contributing to the lopsided scores against us in the third quarter. However, these are all guesses. I'm sure the players themselves can answer the question more definitively.
Our lack of speed in the defensive backfield was already evident in the season opener against Fordham when their two freshman wide receivers burned us several times, On offense, once Mike Stephens got injured early in the season returning a kickoff, we lacked a breakaway threat who could spread the opponents' defense. It would have been a much different year if Columbia team had a couple of speedsters.
This is probably my first and only post this blog though I have been a CU football fan for many years. I grew up watching the team in the 80's and with just a few fits and starts to show promise, nothing has changed. We are still asking ourselves the same questions, saying the same things. I don't follow every game religiously as I used to hoping for more. I hate expecting to lose and I hate wishing every lame coach gets fired. It's always the same result on that front. More than anything I am bored of persistent coverage of a status quo of the CU football program.
Is the strength and conditioning coach a part of the football staff? With the number of injuries dating back to before the season started, whatever he's doing is an unqualified disaster and really put this team in a hole. Whatever happens with the coaching, there needs to be a change in this area.
Response to "On going for one instead of two." Yes, but with Brackett and the team moving so well at that point, it would seem worth it to try to capitalize on that momentum and go for the two. It's important to show confidence in your team. On the other hand, we did go for the fake punt and it worked, hallelulah.
Mathews is excellent but allowing him to go 40-46 is inexcusable. That has to be some kind of record, another Hall of Shamer for us. For the most part it was like we had nobody back there. I think our athletes are better than that, need a clean sweep in coaching.
The clearest example of our being outcoached this year was a the Penn game, when Bags worked the refs to look for the motion penalties when we were at the three yard line with a first down. If Bags had our team, even with our lack of speed, he would have gotten 6 or 7 wins. Likewise Murphy or estes. We are not well coached. Look up Cromwell's speech to the Long Parliament when he sent them on their way. Somebody needs to make that speech to this staff. I feel just awful for our players, most of whom worked their tails off all summer by staying on campus. they deserved better, and so do we.
Al's Wingman post is depressing, but true. The funny thing is that with all the bright people at Columbia no one has yet to figure out a way to solve the basic problem, namely, we do not get as many big-time high school football recruits as the Ivy League Schools. Gee whiz, maybe they have some recruiting advantages over us, such as better name recognition (Harvard, Yale and Princeton) undergraduate business schools (Penn and Cornell), hotel administration and other rinky-dink state schools (Cornell) bucolic environment(Dartmouth)and open curriculum (Brown). Whoever takes the head coaching job needs to insist that Columbia give him a local practice field w/locker room facilities, some leeway in recruiting and money to hire great assistant coaches
Like the perfect storm, many components add up to produce a winless season (or an undefeated season for that matter). Blaming one or 2 things is naive. As a newcomer to CU football and this blog, I have appreciated many current and long standing woes. Overall, I recognize that similar sentiment and a culture of losing has been part of the CU football tradition, which is sad. This is most effectively dealt with at the administrative level.
I personally witnessed the cohesion, spirit, and bond that a competitive football program brings to any university, even at CU (yes president Bollinger, Columbia) at this years homecoming. Although we lost to Penn, we were competitive and the game was well attended and the homecoming atmosphere exciting. Even after the game, walking down Amsterdam Ave at 10pm, there were clusters of CU's most eclectic and diverse student body standing around on the street corners talking about the game. Despite the administrations perception, based on the commitment and sacrifices of the players and the nature of the competition, football can have this positive effect on ANY campus in America.
Regarding specific issues raised by bloggers: for Ivy league stds, there is speed on this team. However, when most teams are breaking down film on Sundays, our boys are out running "mini marathon" sprint drills. The ice baths are full and the legs are dead. I'm not convinced this falls on the strength and conditioning coach alone. I would love to see the 40 times pre-season and now. This also likely contributes to the myriad of injuries.
There have been very few adjustments made during halftime of any of the games. I cannot comment on years past. However, this does offer the most likely explanation for past success and recent slide. A new regime comes in and has some success, enough to create some job security. The competition analyzes and makes proper adjustments. If your staff cannot keep pace in this regard, you fall further and further behind. This is the most plausible explanation for what is going on here.
The big fix is a recognition of the value of athletics to campus life by the administration, a university commitment to being at least competitive and getting quality mentors to lead this incredible group of dedicated athletes who sacrifice and endure so much for the program. I will leave it to you who have been through this for so many years to address the details!
GO LIONS!
BEAT BROWN!
Excellent post. Interesting comments. Thank you.
I find the comment about dead legs very interesting. When my son was a freshman at CU he also told me that come saturday instead of peaking for the game he often felt like his "legs were gone" from being worked so hard during the week. He played both ways in high school and special teams, could walk out on the track and run a sub-50 400 at any time. I was pretty surprised about his complaint at the time but I guess that same complaint is still being made.
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