Some thoughts following Columbia's 42-6 win over Georgetown:
1. Momentum. Putting aside the final score of Saturday's game with Columbia, those of us who have followed this series have noticed something in every season: the Columbia talent gets better every year. Al Bagnoli will go into the College Football Hall of Fame for his nine Ivy championships at Pennsylvania, but his work at Columbia may be some of his best coaching yet.
From 1951 to 2015, Columbia posted a total of four winning seasons in football. Four. To put this in comparison, even with 13 seasons for not playing at Georgetown, the Hoyas managed 22 winning seasons in that same period. If the Lions split their remaining games this season, Bagnoli will have posted winning seasons in four of his last five. He's done it in spite of the headwinds that have bedeviled Lion football for generations: the facilities 100 blocks from campus, the indifference and insouciance of its student body, and seven fellow schools who recruit against Columbia the same way the SEC recruits against Vanderbilt: "there's no winning there."
So many coaches have walked across Baker Field, and later went headlong into a brick wall: Aldo Donelli, Frank Navarro, Bill Campbell, Bob Naso, Jim Garrett, Larry McElreavy, Ray Tellier, Bob Shoop, Norries Wilson, Pete Mangurian. From 1979 to 1991, Columbia won a total of nine games. When Bagnoli took over in 2015, the Light Blue was a combined 4-36 in the prior four.
Columbia isn't Fordham, and it's not even Harvard. Saturday's game with Princeton will say a lot about where Columbia fits in the 2022 race; while picked sixth, the degree to how their defense will mature will say a lot if they can move up the ranks.
Georgetown won the first two games in this nine game series versus Columbia and Columbia has won four of the next five. Those four have all come under Al Bagnoli, and that's no accident.
The players notice it, too.
"We have so many dudes that can get it done. I think me adding another is just adding more versatility to the offense,” said WR Bryson Canty. "Already in the first few games, we’ve improved so much from last year, because I remember last year we struggled to put up points sometimes."
At 69, this is likely Bagnoli's last job as a head coach. More than most, he has left a legacy to his successor and to Columbia University as a whole: if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
2. Lessons From Week Four. When an opponent is 14 of 18 on third down conversions, trouble follows, no matter if the opponent is Columbia or Clemson. Following a missed field goal midway in the first quarter, the Lions scored on seven of seven of its final eight possessions.
This starts on the ground, where Georgetown is allowing 4.5 yards per play. That's leaving a third and one, on average. The defensive line is not getting the penetration and this gives an opposing offense that most valuable of resources: time. It's a toxic combination when the Hoyas face Fordham on Saturday, given the skill of its passing offense. The Rams have more passing touchdowns in 2022 (22) than Georgetown has in total this season (nine) .
Georgetown hasn't given up on the run (32 carries per game) but if there was a week to do so, this may be it. The Rams are allowing 374 yards per game in the air, which is more than Georgetown averages overall (347.3), so it brings a question following rushing struggles with Monmouth and Columbia: do you just make this a passing contest?
Tempting as it may be, Georgetown doesn't win that argument. The Rams have not scored fewer than 48 points in four games this season, while the last Division I school that the Hoyas scored 48 points on was Marist...in 2011. Georgetown has never scored 48 points in a Patriot League game.
Time of possession is the only way, perhaps, for Georgetown to stay close with Fordham. That starts on the ground and it ends on the defensive line. Both need a spark this week.
3. Around the Patriot League: Week four saw the continuing distance between the top two and the bottom five.
Ohio 59, Fordham 52: It didn't take long before the artillery started flying: 1,332 yards and ten passing touchdowns later, Ohio overcame a 49-38 deficit and two fourth quarter fumbles to prevail, 59-52. The Rams' defense continues to have serious questions, but its offense is without peer. This week: vs. Georgetown (1-3).
Holy Cross 35, Colgate 10: In its first serious test of the season, the Crusaders overcame a 10-7 deficit to Colgate before a convincing 35-10 win over the Red Raiders at Fitton Field. The first of two challenges to an undefeated season for the Purple comes Saturday, where they seek its first win in Cambridge since 2000. This week: Holy Cross at Harvard (2-0), Colgate vs. Cornell (1-1)
Princeton 29, Lehigh 17: A competitive game through the third quarter, three Lehigh turnovers turned the corner for Princeton. Still a lot of questions for the Engineers, but this game was won they will look back upon as an opportunity lost. This week: vs. Monmouth (2-2)
Penn 12, Lafayette 0: The Leopards struggled on the ground, with one net yard against the stronger Quaker defense. Lafayette was stopped in its only red zone possession of the game, and that was enough. A battle of attrition follows Saturday at winless Bucknell (0-3), who was off this past week.
