Lions Picked Sixth in Ivy League Preseason Football Media Poll
8/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
WEST HAVEN, CONN. -- Columbia has been picked to finish sixth in the conference in 2007, based on the Ivy League Preseason Poll released today. The poll is based on the votes of 16 members of the media that cover the league's schools.
The Lions collected 44 votes, to finish ahead of Brown and Dartmouth. Yale, which tied with Princeton for the Ivy League title in 2006 with a 6-1 record, was chosen to finish first by 14 of the 16 voters.
"I think the poll was fair," Norries Wilson, the Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football, said.
"We have a chance to have a winning football team this season," Wilson said. "We have some holes to plug up just to have a chance to be competitive. Our goal each week is to win the game and improve from the week before."
The team's strength, according to Wilson, will be improved depth. "We are playing a lot of kids who have some experience," he said. "Last year, we relied a lot on first-years and sophomores. We expect to have the sophomores come in and be better than they were last year."
On the flip side, size and strength may still be a concern for the squad. "We're still not physically strong enough," Wilson explained. "Our offensive line play has to improve. We can only run as much as your offensive line blocks, so we'll need the guards to step up."
He continued regarding the running game, saying: "We have a chance to be decent on the ground. I'd love to be an I-back offense. I don't know if we can do that."
The Lions anticipate having the services of returning starting quarterback and senior captain Craig Hormann, it will just be a question of when. "I don't expect him to start on opening day," Wilson said. "The quarterback is an open position right now. Whoever can get out there, grasp the offense and lead the team the best, will lead the team that day."
The Lions' defense will again feature a 3-3-5 formation. "It fits the kind of student-athletes that we have," Wilson noted. He noted that he expected opponents to be more prepared for the defense in 2007.
The team's schedule will feature many of the league's traditionally powerful teams at home in 2007. "Each week, we're playing against a well-coached football team," Wilson said. "Coach Knowles [Cornell] and I are the only coaches in this league who haven't won an Ivy League title."
Wilson noted that the recruiting trail has opened some opportunities for the team to improve. "We have gotten a lot more interest from kids who are not only good students, but also good football players," he said.
Ivy League Football Media Day took place at the Yale Golf Club in West Haven.
Results of the media poll
1. Yale (14), 125
2. Penn (1), 102
3. Harvard (1), 95
4. Princeton, 87
5. Cornell, 62
6. Columbia, 44
7. Brown, 33
8. Dartmouth, 28
Number of first-place votes in parentheses.
