Columbia Hopes To Break Ivy League Deadlock In Saturday Standoff Against Yale

Upper West Side NY

28 October, 2021

1:08 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY MATTHEW KIM OCTOBER 27, 2021 Entering the game as 17.5-point underdogs, according to numerous sportsbooks including the Action Network, Columbia football spoiled Dartmouth's Fall Family Weekend on national television last Friday, shutting the Big Green out 19-0 for its first loss of the season. "I feel like a lot of people didn't have the confidence in our team that we did," senior linebacker Cam Dillon said. "So being able to go out there and perform and showcase what everybody here already knows is huge." While the win was a massive confidence boost for the Lions, it also put them well in the race for the Ivy League title. Behind Princeton (6-0, 3-0 Ivy), Columbia (5-1, 2-1 Ivy), Yale (3-3, 2-1 Ivy), Harvard (5-1, 2-1 Ivy), and Dartmouth (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) currently hold a tie for second place in the Ancient Eight. The Lions will travel to New Haven, Connecticut to take on Yale in a crucial Ivy League matchup this Saturday in hopes of breaking the deadlock in their favor. The Light Blue now faces the challenge of game-planning for a multi-threat quarterback with a limited amount of film. After former Yale starting quarterback Griffin O'Connor was benched following his 59-yard, three-interception half against the then-winless University of Connecticut on Oct. 16, Nolan Grooms was thrust into the Elis lineup to finish the 15-21 loss. A week later, the sophomore quarterback turned heads in his first career start, throwing for 283 yards and two touchdowns on only eight attempts en route to a 42-28 victory over Penn. Grooms' first start marked the Bulldogs' highest scoring output this season. Grooms creates major problems for defenses with his rushing ability as well. In just those three halves of play as the primary quarterback, the South Carolina native ran for 180 yards, including a dominant 113-yard, two-touchdown performance against Penn. His 236 rushing yards ranks second on the team. "[Grooms is] really athletic," fifth-year linebacker Justin Woodley said. "He's dynamic, so we're going to have to do a really good job containing him and just making sure that we know where he is, keeping him in the pocket." Head coach Al Bagnoli said that Grooms does a lot of his damage not on designed runs but rather using his "escapability," which allows him to extend plays and gives the Yale offense an extra dimension. The Lions are no strangers to stopping high-volume rushing quarterbacks, though. A record-breaking 5.5 sacks by Dillon gave dual-threat quarterback Romelo Williams nightmares in the Light Blue's 22-20 victory over Central Connecticut State. Against Dartmouth, the Lions implemented an unconventional strategy of playing three defensive tackles up front to stifle Big Green wildcat quarterback Nick Howard, holding him to only 23 rushing yards. Junior Mitch Moyer, who was moved from his normal position of defensive tackle to defensive end last Friday, said that Columbia may employ a similar scheme to stop Grooms. Having a bigger body on the edge helped funnel Dartmouth's rushing attack to the middle of the field, Moyer said, and the Lions hope to do the same against Yale. Grooms will be throwing to two talented receivers in Mason Tipton and Melvin Rouse II, who lead the Bulldogs with 61 and 46.8 receiving yards per game, respectively. Rousse II was named to the All-Ivy Honorable Mention team in 2019 for his play at cornerback. "Offensively, I think they have great skill," Bagnoli said. "They're a little bit inexperienced in some positions up front, which historically they haven't been, but they have really good players." However, the Light Blue defense may be without some of its key players. Fifth-year strong safety Ben Mathiasmeier will be forced to sit the first half after being called for a targeting penalty in the second half against Dartmouth, a call Bagnoli characterized as "controversial." Woodley, who sustained a shoulder injury earlier in the season that is "getting better every day," said that his status is uncertain at the moment despite having practiced on Tuesday. Senior free safety Fara'ad McCombs' status is also up in the air. "It's a lot of little things. It's nothing catastrophic," Bagnoli said of the injuries. The Light Blue will go up against a strong Yale defense that has limited opponents to just over 281 yards per game. The Elis front four is headlined by sophomore Clay Patterson, who leads the conference with 9.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Patterson has a strong running mate on the line in junior Reid Nickerson, whose four sacks ranks eighth in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs also boast an impressive linebackers unit as linebackers John Dean and Micah Awodiran rank third and fourth in the Ancient Eight with 43 and 42 tackles, respectively. The Lions will likely continue to lean on the explosive play of senior running back Dante Miller, who leads the Ivy League with 608 rushing yards this season, in no small part thanks to his three runs of more than 60 yards this season. Senior running back Ryan Young is once again listed as a dual starter with Miller. Sophomore quarterback Joe Green, who was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after his performance against Dartmouth, is set to make another start, though he could be without one of his favorite targets in sophomore wide receiver Wills Meyer—the team's runner-up in receiving yards who may miss his second-straight game due to a calf injury. Green still projects to have the rest of his cast of pass-catchers as sophomore wide receiver Marcus Libman, senior wide receiver Mike Roussos, and junior tight end Luke Painton are all set to start. Forecasts for rain and winds upward of 15 miles per hour suggest that neither team will be helped by the weather. Still, Bagnoli is confident that his players, many of whom come from rain-heavy areas, will adjust. With only four games remaining, the Light Blue will need to capitalize on every opportunity to take home its first Ivy League crown in 60 years. Riding high off their first win against a nationally ranked opponent since 2003, the Lions will enter Saturday's matchup with no shortage of motivation. "We deserve to be in the conversation for a title this year," Moyer said. "We're tired of people thinking that playing us is just an easy win." Kickoff is at noon. Viewers may watch in-person at the Yale Bowl or at home on ESPN+. 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. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.