Taming the Lions

Playing Harvard for the first time in New York since upsetting the Crimson in 2003, the question on every Columbia football player’s mind this week is “can history repeat itself?”

Recently Harvard (4-3, 2-2 Ivy) has not had any luck against the Lions (2-5, 0-4) in New York City—posting a 1-3 record in their last four games there.

In its last visit in 2003, the Crimson—which came into the game heavily favored—lost 16-13 on a Lions touchdown coming with barely a minute left.

“Columbia almost always plays us tough,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “And it’s the case especially when we go down there. We’re expecting a very challenging game.”

The Crimson may be expecting a challenging game, but the odds are stacked against this Lions team.

When asked how he hoped to win this weekend, Columbia coach Bob Shoop joked, “We’re hoping you guys don’t show up this Saturday.”

For a team that is either last or second to last in every major offensive and defensive category, this strategy may be the most promising.

The Lions are last in the Ivy League in scoring offense, rushing offense, time of possession, and total defense. They average 57 yards a game rushing on 2.2 yards per carry, and have tallied only one rushing touchdown the entire season.

To make matters worse, Columbia has not scored a touchdown in its past two games—notching only three field goals during that span.

The defense has surrendered an average of 26.4 points per game on 407 yards, while the offense has scored only 11.6 points per game on 252.7 yards.

“We have to tackle better than we have [been],” Shoop said. “The last couple of weeks we’ve been missing a lot of tackles by going for the legs.”

Losing 37-3 at home against Yale last weekend marked the team’s third defeat this season by a margin of at least 28 points.

Many of Columbia’s problems stem from its lack of experience. Although the Lions have 14 seniors on the roster, many of them are seeing action for the first time this year.

Adding to their inexperience, they are led by sophomore quarterback Craig Hormann, who played in only four games last season.

“There are a lot of young guys playing football for us,” Shoop said. “The best thing they say about freshman and sophomores is that they become sophomores and juniors.”

Yet there is some hope for the Lions, who will look to exploit Harvard’s weaknesses.

The Crimson ranks second in the Ivy League in rush defense, but last in the league in pass defense, allowing 228 yards in the air per game.

“They blitz quite a bit,” Shoop said. “So hopefully we can get some one-on-ones and give our players an opportunity to make some big plays against that [defense].”

A victory would keep the Lions eligible to hit a .500 record at home this season.

But the Crimson has quite a bit to play for as well.

Coming off a 42-14 rout of Dartmouth last weekend, the team finds itself still alive in the Ivy title race, just one game back of a four-way, first-place tie between Brown, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.

“We have a couple of very big games to end our season and what is important is we have to keep Columbia in mind as the most important game on or schedule,” junior running back Clifton Dawson said.

Dawson rushed his way into the record books last weekend yet again, becoming Harvard’s all-time leader in rushing yardage. This week he looks to continue his climb up the Ivy all-time rushing list.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to redeem ourselves and we’re looking forward to a very tough game,” Dawson said. “We know they’re going to bring it.”

If history is any indication of what to expect from the underdog Lions, Harvard can’t take anything for granted.