October 17 | 3:30 p.m. | Robert K. Kraft Field at Wien Stadium
Penn

Columbia

NEW YORK - Columbia and Penn will battle it out this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Homecoming Football Game presented by Turismo Chile on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUTAl Bagnoli earned his first win as the head coach at Columbia when the Lions knocked off Wagner, 26-3, in a home game at Wien Stadium. Quarterback
Skyler Mornhinweg rushed for a 32-yard touchdown,
Max Keefe returned a fumble recovery for a score and Cam Molina also rushed for a touchdown in the win.
PENN'S STATUSFirst-year head coach Ray Priore is off to a 1-3 start in 2015. The Quakers dropped their opener at Lehigh, 42-21, before earning a win at then ranked No. 4 Villanova, 24-13. Dartmouth was victorious over Penn by a 41-20 margin, as was No. 12 Fordham last week, 48-45.
KEEFE DOES IT AGAINA week after earning Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week,
Max Keefe scored his first career touchdown. After Wagner bobbled the snap from center, the linebacker picked up the fumble and returned it two yards for six. The fumble recovery touchdown was the first by a Columbia player since Eugene Edwards took a fumble 69 yards to the house against Brown in 2007.
DEFENSIVE EFFORTFor the first time in 18 years, the Columbia defense has allowed under 13 points in back-to-back games. In 1997, Columbia held Yale to 10 points followed by a shutout of Princeton. The past two weeks, the Lions held Princeton to 10 points and Wagner to three.
THE SAFETY DANCE, PART IIFor the second straight week, Columbia tallied a safety against Wagner. When the Seahawks brought out a kickoff after the Lions built up a 24-0 lead, the ball went into the end zone after it had been brought out, and taken down for a knee, giving Columbia two points. The Lions earned another safety the week before at Princeton, after Keefe blocked a third quarter punt into the end zone.
THE TURNOVER BATTLEWhile Keefe gathered the first turnover of the game against Wagner, the Lions were also able to take the ball back twice more, finishing the turnover battle at a +3. In the second half, senior defensive lineman
JD Hurt grabbed his second career interception and sophomore defensive back
Cameron Roane tallied his first career pick.
ON YOUR HONORKeefe and Mornhinweg landed a spot on the Ivy League Honor Roll after their efforts in the win over Wagner this past week. Mornhinweg earned his second weekly honor, while the pair joined
Cameron Molina,
Dominic Perkovic,
Scooter Hollis,
Matthew Cahal and
Alan Watson, who represented Columbia previously this year.
SOLID IMPROVEMENTSOn both sides of the ball, Columbia has seen drastic improvements from 2014 to 2015 through four games. Here's a look at a few categories where the Lions have seen a numbers boost:
TAMING THE TIGERSThe Lions held one of the top offenses in the FCS to just 10 points and 183 total yards at Princeton on Friday, Oct. 2. Columbia got to the quarterback for three sacks and added six tackles for a loss. The Tigers cames into the game No. 1 in the Ivy League in third down conversions, but went just 4-of-15 against Columbia.
BAGNOLI vs. PRIORELong-time defensive coordinator and first-year head coach Ray Priore of Penn has spent the last 29 years on the sidelines with the Quakers, winning a total of 10 Ivy League titles during his tenure. Priore won nine of those titles under Bagnoli, who spent the last 23 seasons at Penn.
A REUNION OF SORTSBagnoli is not the only Columbia coach with Penn ties, as three members of the staff are former Quakers. Associate Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach
Mark Fabish won two Ivy League titles as a player at Penn in 1993 and 1994, before spending 2009-14 on the Penn staff. Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator
Jon McLaughlin spent nine years in Philadelphia from 2006-14 as the offensive coordinator and coach of the offensive line. Tight Ends Coach
Joe D'Orazio won two Ivy League titles as a player at Penn in 2009 and 2010.
NEW ERAThe 2015 season marks the first for
Al Bagnoli as the Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football. Bagnoli comes to Columbia after 23 years at Penn. The winningest football coach in the FCS, Bagnoli comes into 2015 with a 232-91 record, while his Quaker teams claimed nine Ivy League titles.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREEThe current staff of Columbia coaches have combined to win 43 conference championships, including 22 from the Ivy League.
THE CAPTAINSRunning back
Cameron Molina, tight end
Nick Durham and defensive lineman
Chad Washington were voted as the 2015 team captains.
FRIDAY'S ON THE LAWNThe final practice on the South Lawn will get under way this Friday.
SEE HIM ON TV, ANY GIVEN SATURDAYWhen the Ivy League announced its most expansive national television coverage in conference history, Columbia came through as the beneficiary. The Lions will be featured on television twice more this fall. Columbia will take on Yale on FOX College Sports on Saturday, October 31 at 12:30 p.m., followed by a Friday, Nov. 20 contest with Brown will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.
WNYC'S “THE SEASON”The Season is a weekly podcast presented by Ilya Marritz and Matt Collette of WNYC, where the pair will follow Columbia's football team over the entire 10-game season. Archived podcasts can be found at www.wnyc.org and on iTunes, with new episodes being released every Thursday.
WHAT ARE YOU, NEW?A total of 25 athletes joined the Columbia football team this fall. Along with 22 first-year players, three transfers made up the incoming class.
HE AIN'T HEAVYTwo more transfers will be featured for the Lions in 2015 when Jackson and
Christian Conway suit up. The twins are currently juniors, as Christian will line up in the defensive backfield, while Jackson will be featured at fullback. Senior
Max Keefe played alongside his brother
John Keefe '15CC a season ago, as did sophomore
Turner DeMuth, brother of
Garrett DeMuth '15CC and junior
Keith Brady, brother of
John Brady '15CC.
#TEAM125This year marks the 145th anniversary of Columbia's first intercollegiate football game against Princeton in 1870. It is the 125th competitive season of Columbia Football.
BEVERAGE SERVICEA reminder about FREE beverage service at home football games! All beverages, including water, soft drinks and beer, are complimentary beginning 90 minutes prior to kickoff and ending 30 minutes before kickoff in the pre-game picnic area. Beverage service at home football games reflects the University's alcohol policy. Complimentary food is provided to all guests, and one alcoholic beverage per hour (over a total of two hours) may be consumed by fans 21 years of age and over. Please drink responsibly.