Tugging on Superman's Cape
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Columbia Lions vs. Harvard Crimson
November 5, 2011
Location: Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium on the Baker Athletics Complex
Kickoff Time: 12:30pm
Gametime Weather Forecast: Sunny, breezy, 52 degrees.
The Spread: Harvard is favored by 28 points.
Columbia Game Notes
Harvard Game Notes
TV/Radio
You can catch video and audio of the game on the SideLion Pass on GoColumbiaLions.com with Jerry Recco and Sal Licata. If you're in your car, WKCR student radio is at 89.9 FM, (and you can get its feed over the internet too).
HOW TO GET TO THE GAME:
My 2011 Guide to getting to Wien Stadium
*REMEMBER* the #1 Subway train WILL NOT be running tomorrow!
Backstories
This is a matchup between the #1 team in the league and the #8 team in the league.
A rout is expected.
Columbia has lost eight straight and 12 out of the last 13 games dating back to last year.
Harvard is on a six game winning streak and never looked better than it did against Dartmouth last Saturday night in a 41-10 win.
Columbia Head Coach Norries Wilson is on his way out.
Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy is in his 18th season in Cambridge and isn't going anywhere despite the semi-annual rumors that a big FBS program is seeking his services.
Columbia hasn't been able to run the ball effectively all year.
Harvard has two running backs in Treavor Scales and Zach Boden who seem to be of the 1,000 yard per season quality.
Columbia's top QB Sean Brackett has been badly hurt all season and the Lions have not been able to adjust.
Harvard's top QB Collier Winters was out for a few games this year and was replaced by Colton Chapple who shredded enemy defenses like he was on loan from the Patriots in Foxboro.
You get the picture...
Columbia's Keys to the Game
Don't Get Star Struck
Yeah the Crimson are very, very good.
But it will do no one any good to stand in awe of how great these guys may or may not be.
The Lions need to go at Harvard with all the confidence they can get.
Pass the Ball
Harvard has been giving up more passing yardage than you'd expect and perhaps they'll be vulnerable to a varied passing attack.
Get Physical with the Receivers
A strong pass rush has been what the Lions have needed all season, but they just haven't had one except for the opener at Fordham.
So barring that, Columbia will need to do all it legally can to jam the receivers on the line to disrupt the intricate patterns Harvard always has them running.
Let it all Hang Out!
Harvard has everything to lose and very little to gain tomorrow at Wien Stadium.
Columbia has a chance to pull off the biggest upset in many years in the Ivy League.
It would be nice if the Lions looked like the team under less pressure tomorrow.
posted by Jake @ 11:10:00 PM
15 comments
15 Comments:
Yes, we can! Go Lions!
I'll certainly be there tomorrow. Proudly going against the current, bullying "party line" that seems to be in vogue on this site of late. But there, and cheering, and hoping, and even praying that we can push out a win.
Cathar, your prose about Columbia possibly winning a game sounds like a description of a cat giving birth to an elephant. Thank you for vividly describing the state of this program now and for the past 60 years.
And if complaining about that is being a bully, then I'm shocking myself by being proud of it. I think the real bullies are the ones who say "Take the contempt and misery we give you and shut up." You'd do very well in politics right now.
Regarding a local practice field, another option would be to restore South Field to its original use as an athletic field. Such restoration would not only be a significant step in recreating the grandest period of Columbia Athletics, namely the 1920's and before, but would more specifically serve to enhance the outdoor Columbia University experience for all Columbia students and faculty members by allowing greater and more varied use of the South Lawn area. Assuming that a willing donor could be found, the often muddy South Lawn would be replaced with artificial turf at no cost to Columbia. As with a prosepctive practice field at the Manhattanville Site, the field on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus would only be used by the Columbia Football Team on weekdays for the NCAA maximum of 20 hours. In the spring, a portion of the practice field could be used by the baseball team and other Columbia athletic teams. Just my opinion, but I believe that the combination of the new exciting Campbell Athletic Center at Baker Field and the restored local practice field on the "Lou Gehrig Lawn" would significantly improve Columbia's football fortunes overnight. Jake, I wonder what you and other devoted Columbia Football Fans think of my idea.
The Mountain Lion
To 11:04, using the south lawn for practice during season has alot of merit. Exposure to the student population, convenience for the players, you could run Thurs -Friday practice during home week up town, Mon - Wed on campus. Some obstacles, moving team equipment, retro-fit campus locker rooms, size of south lawn, turf, etc. But if the CU Admin. wants to get serious about building a winning program, your idea is first rate in my view and should be studied. As a former player, I would have loved being on the south lawn. Thanks.
We do not have open practices. This is not a good idea. The players would lose focus. However, during the early part of the Wilson era I understand that we were negotiating for practice space at CCNY. I do not know why that fell through. If we could practice nearby from Monday through Thursday from 7 to 9:30 AM either in Morningside or Riverside Park, with practice at Baker Field on Fridays, that could be a workable system.
Why don't we just put a practice field in Morningside Park? It's right next door! It's so convenient! Nobody will complain!
1. My understanding is that CCNY constructed an office building on its sole practice field; 2. Morningside Park is still stigmatized by the craziness of the sixties, which resulted in nothing being built or used there, all to the obvious detriment of Columbia and the Harlem Community; furthermore,there are no locker room facilities in or near Morningside Park; 3. Riverside Park doesn't work because it is also owned by the City of New York so Columbia cannot control what is going on from day to day; further there are has no locker room facilities in or near Riverside Park; 4. "Closed" practice sessions, if necessary, can be held at Baker Field; 5. Hard to believe that the players would lose "focus" as one reader has suggested. I think the players would be thrilled to practice outside their dormitories on "Lou Gehrig Field, despite any perceived distractions; actually, it might be encouraging to the players to actually have some students and faculty watching them practice; and 6. Presumably the Columbia Athletic Department has considered the South Field proposal in the past and rejected it for whatever reason. However, until we know the reasoning behind such objection, if any, it would seem that the idea should be fully discussed on this forum, and perhaps elsewhere.
have the womens' teams (vb, fh) shown the way vs. the Crimson? (3-0, 3-0)
Don Brown looks good. He was head coach at three schools, won titles at all three including National Championship at UMass, currently DC at UConn.
Got him down, Jake? Know if he's interested?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Brown_(American_football_coach)
Paraphrasing: Elwood: It's 250miles to Baker, we got a full tanks of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it.
Leaving at 5am in a few minutes to cheer on the Lions to victory. GO LIONS! We are behind you!
Riddle me this:Is Parka gate the real reason we have yet to win this year?
Our Lions have been outscored in the third quarter of all our games by 60 points (lions:20 vs opp:86). After halftime they should have warmed up.
Doc/jock
Today David meets Goliath
One of the biggest upsets in College Football History happened in September, 2007.
Division 1-AA Appalachian State beat Michigan who was ranked #5 in the nation 34 to 32 in front of 110,000 hysterical fans. No Division I-AA team had beaten a team ranked in The Associated Press poll between 1989 and 2006, and it's unlikely that it had ever happened before.
When a team has the heart, passion, motivation, desire and will to win; upsets become reality. I believe our Lions have all the above and are more than capable of beating Goliath today. They must play turnover free and expose the giant’s weakest link their pass defense. Our Football Lions Defense must hit hard, play fast, furious and cause turnovers. If they truly believe they can beat Goliath, they will and we the fans will witness a part of Ivy League Football History that will be talked about for years to come.
Today’s game is yours to win or loose, make the difference on every play, go further today then you ever thought you could, believe in you and your brother next to you, play with a passion that you never knew existed and a determination that never quits. Today it’s David vs. Goliath and I believe you’ll find amongst yourselves the inspiration; the talent and skill trapped within the depths of your lion hearts a way to defeat the giant. Today victory is at hand, it’s your choice and your choice alone. Believe that you can and you will. Believe in the thrill of victory and avoid the agony of defeat. If you want this win today then take it, if you want to make history today then do it.
Columbia Football Players on your walk down to the field today I and others want to hear and feel the roar like we never heard or felt before. Believe in the team, believe in yourself and throughout the game; react, adapt and improvise your way to the ultimate goal; beating Harvard the current Goliath of Ivy League Football.
Today is your day; JUST DO IT, God Bless and Roar, Lion, Roar
And wake the echoes of the Hudson Valley! Fight on to victory evermore,while the sons of Knickerbocker rally round
Columbia! Columbia!
Shouting her name forever!
Roar, Lion, Roar
For Alma Mater on the Hudson Shore!
Butler library was built on a large part of South Field - that is why no more baseball or football was played there.
doc/jock:
How did you know the 3rd quarter would be our undoing? very impressive.
Also, I would say Parkagate is one of many symptoms that indicate our program has needed major changes for years.
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