Football Looks To Clinch Winning Ivy Record In Season Finale Against Cornell

Upper West Side NY

20 November, 2021

7:14 AM

Description

Columbia Daily Spectator BY BERNARD WANG NOVEMBER 18, 2021 Two years ago, Columbia football finished an injury-riddled season with a 3-7 record after losing 9-35 against Cornell in the season finale. Now, the Lions are heading into a Saturday game against the Bears one win away from a 7-3 finish, hoping to flip last season's record on its head. The stakes for this year's Empire State Bowl are vastly different from the last. After scoring 23 unanswered points against Brown (2-7, 1-5 Ivy) to complete the comeback in its last home game of the season, Columbia (6-3, 3-3 Ivy) will close out its season at Cornell (2-7, 1-5 Ivy) with a chance at finishing with a winning conference record and a top-half placement in the standings. "I think it's important because you want to go out on good vibes," head coach Al Bagnoli said. "You want to have a little bit of momentum for your off-season program. And you want to feel good about where you are." While Cornell has only one win in conference play, the Bears have a variety of talented players and a large pool of experience to draw from, according to Bagnoli. A whopping 51 seniors returned to Ithaca for their last season, compared to 40 for the Lions, and Bagnoli expects them to play with an extra edge in the last game of their collegiate careers. "They want to win for their seniors as much as we want to win for ours," he said. Cornell's experience is most evident in its offensive line, whose starters consist of a junior and four seniors. Together, the line ranks ninth in the nation and first among the Ancient Eight in fewest sacks allowed per game with 0.9, posing a formidable challenge for the Light Blue defense. Behind the offensive line, the Big Red employs an untraditional three-quarterback rotation, mixing in two main throwers Richie Kenny and Ben Mays with run-heavy Jameson Wang. Kenney has dominated Cornell's passing attempts, with 240 on the season compared to Mays' 57 and Wang's 30. However, Wang has shined on the ground, leading his team with 324 rushing yards on a team-second 54 rushing attempts. "He's a really talented runner," Bagnoli said. "He's actually explosive, and he's got really good balance and got really good vision, so we have to make sure that we can contain him." Columbia has had its fair share of struggles with dual-threat quarterbacks this season, with two of its three losses coming in games in which an opposing quarterback gained 69 or more yards on the ground. On Saturday, the team allowed Brown quarterback EJ Perry to gain 81 rushing yards, contributing to the Light Blue's early 14-0 hole. In addition, lining up on the outside for the Big Red is "one of the stronger receiving corps in the league," according to fifth-year strong safety Ben Mathiasmeier. The Bears have a trio of receivers who have recorded more than 480 receiving yards in Thomas Glover, Curtis Raymond III, and Alex Kuzy. Glover, whom Mathiasmeier expects to primarily cover, has 718 receiving yards: the second most in the league. Bagnoli is well aware of the challenge posed by a Cornell offense that has "a tremendous amount of maturity, age, and experience." However, the Big Red has struggled to translate that advantage into success—at 19.4 points per game, Cornell averages the fewest points in the league. Cornell's robust passing numbers can be partially attributed to its need to air out the ball, being outscored by 8.9 points on average. "They've had some big outputs," Bagnoli said. "They scored 40-something against Brown, so they're certainly capable. They just haven't done it as consistently as they hope to, and hopefully they don't figure it out this week." Looking to slow down the Cornell passing game, senior Will Allen and sophomore Seth Parker will start at cornerback, joining Mathiasmeier in the secondary. The Lions will once again be without senior defensive back Fara'ad McCombs, with senior Jordan Colbert starting in his place. The Light Blue's formidable defense held Brown to only 17 points on Saturday, tying with Brown's season low, and held Perry to 224 yards—his worst output of the season. Besides Glover, the Big Red has another player among the league leaders, this time on the other side of the ball. Inside linebacker Jake Stebbins enters Saturday with 86 tackles, leading the Ivy League, and is tied for fifth in the conference with 10.0 tackles for loss. In the secondary, Eric Diggs leads his squad with two interceptions. "They do a lot of different things to try to make you feel uncomfortable," Joe D'Orazio, Columbia's running backs coach and director of learning and team development, said. "A lot of different blitzes stem in and out of different fronts, find ways to try and isolate their playmakers, get them through the line." Bagnoli echoed that sentiment. "They've got experience on all three levels, which gives them the versatility and capabilities to be really multiple," he said. "We're going to have our hands full." Despite the creativity of its defensive scheme, Cornell has given up 28.3 points per game, good for second-worst in the league. Last week, Dartmouth poured 41 points on Cornell, aided by quarterback Nick Howard's four-touchdown and 172-yard day on the ground. The Lions' third-best rushing attack in the league will similarly look to take advantage of Cornell's second-worst rushing defense. Senior running backs Dante Miller, who currently paces the league with 771 rushing yards, and Ryan Young, who most recently accumulated 126 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against Brown, will start on Saturday. D'Orazio said the key to the game will be "just being as simple as possible and making sure that our guys know how to block each play against the different looks." Sophomore Marcus Libman, junior Jack Ertz, and senior Mike Roussos will start on the outside. First-year Bryson Canty, who scored his first career touchdown last Saturday, will provide a spark off the bench. Roussos, who was recently named to his fifth career Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week award, will also continue his punt and kickoff return duties. The New Port Richey, Florida, native is fresh off a game with one touchdown and 120 all-purpose yards, including a 57-yard kickoff return in the third quarter that sparked the Light Blue comeback. The offense will be helmed by sophomore quarterback Joe Green, who won his third Ivy League Rookie of the Week award last week after helping Columbia come back against Brown with 176 passing yards and a career-high three touchdown passes. Thanks to Green's steady, disciplined play, the Lions have only thrown two interceptions this season, ranking fewest in the nation. If Columbia emerges victorious, the team will end the season with its best record since 2017, when the Light Blue went 8-2 in Bagnoli's third year. Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, the Lions have already clinched three winning seasons in the past four years—last achieved in 1945-48 before they joined the Ivy League. For Mathiasmeier, the prospect of playing in his last collegiate game has not set in yet. "[I'm] just trying to stay focused as much as I can and not let it get to me," Mathiasmeier said. "It'll probably hit me after the game, but I've been so blessed and fortunate to play football here." Despite ultimately being eliminated from the championship race, Bagnoli is proud of what the team has achieved in its first nine games back from a pandemic-induced hiatus. "I certainly think we've accomplished a lot and hopefully we can finish on a good note and make this into one of those seasons that you look back [on] and say 'Wow'—give our kids a lot of credit for all the obstacles and hurdles and all the roadblocks that were placed in front of them." Kickoff for the season finale is at 1 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Matt Kim contributed reporting. Staff writer Bernard Wang can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Spectator Sports on Twitter @CUSpecSports. 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.