Following First Loss Of The Season, Football To Play Central Connecticut State In Last Non-Conference Game

Upper West Side NY

13 October, 2021

11:21 AM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM OCTOBER 7, 2021 With a full gauntlet of Ivy League games looming, Columbia football will travel to New Britain, Connecticut this weekend to take on Central Connecticut State in the Light Blue's final non-conference competition of the season. Saturday's clash will be the fourth ever meeting between Columbia (2-1, 0-1 Ivy) and CCSU (1-3). Though CCSU holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series, the squads traded their most recent matchups: In 2018, the Light Blue claimed a 41-24 victory over CCSU, but in 2019, the Blue Devils prevailed at Baker Athletics Complex 24-14. "[The CCSU players] were athletic. They made big plays, they ran really well, they had a really good scheme, and they were hard to handle," head coach Al Bagnoli said. "They had a terrific team in 2019." The Lions are fresh off a 24-7 road loss against Princeton, a tightly contested matchup until the fourth quarter. While the Light Blue defense came up with several crucial third and fourth down stops through the majority of regulation, it allowed the Tigers to score two late touchdowns which put the game out of reach. This weekend, the Light Blue will focus on avoiding another late-game defensive lapse. "I thought our effort was tremendous. I thought we did a good job keeping things in front of us for the most part," defensive coordinator Paul Ferraro said. "Those last two touchdowns—we just can't do that in the fourth quarter." CCSU enters Saturday's game on the heels of consecutive blowout losses. In their most recent game, the Blue Devils were shut out 69-0 by the University of Miami, a school regularly ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. A week earlier, CCSU took a 56-10 beating at home from Southeastern Louisiana University, the No. 14 team in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. While these losses may seem absolute, the Lions are wary of taking them at face value. "They're playing two national-caliber teams, and so the scores say, 'Oh wow, Central Connecticut just lost their last two games,'" offensive coordinator Mark Fabish said. "[But] you watch them run around against Miami, and there are times where it's like, 'Wow. OK, they belong on the field.'" Against Princeton, the Lions contained quarterback Cole Smith—who had thrown for 637 yards in the Tigers' first two games—to only 119 passing yards. However, Smith did significant damage on the ground, gaining 64 yards on numerous run-pass options and designed runs. This weekend, the Light Blue's defense will be tasked with limiting another dual-threat quarterback in Romelo Williams. The QB is averaging 190.5 passing yards per game and gained 48 yards with his legs in the Blue Devils' season opener. "He's a really good athlete that extends plays longer than you want him to extend plays and puts a lot of stress on your coverage people," Bagnoli said. "I think one of the keys is trying to contain the quarterback, certainly contain him in the run game because there's a lot of quarterback read plays." The Lions' defense will be up for the challenge as they bring back the exact same starting lineup as last week, which held Princeton to 10 points in the first 51 minutes of the game. On the offensive side, Columbia's seven-point performance against Princeton was by far its weakest of the season. According to Fabish, the lack of production can be partially attributed to negative-yardage plays, which came as a result of both penalties and tackles for loss. Fabish wants the offense to focus on "constant forward motion" to avoid such plays against CCSU. While the Blue Devils' defense has allowed 43 points per game, the Lions will have their work cut out for them containing outside linebacker Tre Jones. In his prolific 2019 campaign, Jones recorded 8 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss en route to being named to the All-Northeast Conference First Team and All-ECAC Second Team. However, Fabish noted that he is uncertain about Jones' status for this weekend as the linebacker did not play in the Blue Devils' game against Miami. Fabish also identified defensive backs Dexter Lawson and Jahlil Brown—who's "as good a defensive back as we've seen to this point"—as players he is watching out for. Brown already recorded 33 tackles through four games, and Lawson has recorded an interception and four pass breakups this season. For the Light Blue, sophomore quarterback Joe Green is set to make his fourth consecutive start. Against Princeton, Green threw for 171 yards and Columbia's only touchdown. He has yet to turn the ball over this season. Senior quarterback Ty Lenhart slots behind him in the depth chart and figures to play in spurts as he has throughout the season. The team's quarterbacks will have their full cast of pass-catchers available as the Lions' wide receivers seniors Mike Roussos and Ernest Robertson and sophomores Marcus Libman and Wills Meyer are all healthy. Meyers leads the team with just over 44 yards per game while Libman headlines all receivers with 12 catches. Junior Luke Painton, who was on the receiving end of Green's touchdown pass last week, will start again. Senior running backs Ryan Young and Dante Miller are set to share the backfield again this weekend. They will look to get Columbia's rushing attack back on track after it only gained eight yards against Princeton's formidable run defense. Sophomore Ty'son Edwards and senior Broderick Taylor, who both have scored this year, slot in behind the senior duo. "[When] you come off a game like Princeton, we got to do us," Fabish said. "We have to get back to who we are: playing smart, staying ahead of the chains, getting to situations on second-and-short where we can open up the playbook without being afraid of third down and roll." Saturday's game will be Columbia's last out-of-conference competition. It is also CCSU's homecoming, which has Bagnoli "even more juiced up" to play his alma mater. Still, the Lions' approach will not deviate from their norm of focusing on one game at a time. "I don't know how many guys on the team know who we play after Central, and I like that," Fabish said. "The most important game of the season is this one." Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Viewers may watch through NEC Front Row. Deputy Sports Editor Matt Kim can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @matt_kim9. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. 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