Trailing 7-0 in the first, the Lions were able to get on the board with a strong drive at the end of the quarter. Junior quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg, who got the start, was able to move into Fordham territory after completions to Scooter Hollis and Cameron Dunn.

On third-and-one from the 17-yard line, Dunn turned a five-yard hitch until a 12-yard gain, setting up first-and-goal from the five. Mornhinweg ran the ball on a keeper and dove into the end zone for a touchdown, his first as a Lion.

After Fordham was able to score its second passing touchdown of the game in the second quarter, Anders Hill came in to replace Mornhinweg under center. Hill showed off his skill-set with a 32-yard rush on third down, all the way down to the Fordham 36. Hill added a 14-yard completion to Hollis, setting up a 31-yard Cameron Nizialek field goal that split the uprights to make it 14-10.

The Rams were able to add another touchdown in the air at the end of the half, leading 21-10 at the break.

Fordham scored again at the start of the second half to go up 28-10, but the touchdown was quickly answered. On the ensuing kickoff, Alan Watson made a defender missed and scampered down the sideline for a 98-yard touchdown. The kickoff return touchdown was the first by a Lion since Prosper Nwokocha returned a 94-yarder on Sept. 17, 2005, also against Fordham.

After the Rams were able to get into Columbia territory, Hunter Little came up with a sack, putting Fordham out of field goal range in their next drive, as the Lions took over from their own 20. Mornhinweg led Columbia on a 15-play drive spanning 80-yards, capped off by a sneak into the end zone to cut the lead to 28-24 with under two minutes left in the third.

Fordham added scoring drives of 79 and 88 yards in the fourth quarter, going up 41-24 on Columbia with under eight minutes remaining. The Lions picked up two first downs before a crucial fourth down at their own 46. A deep ball over the middle from Hill to Dunn fell incomplete, giving the Rams the ball back in their own territory.

For the game, Mornhinweg completed 21-of-25 passes for 187 yards and one interception, adding 17 yards and two rushing touchdowns on the ground. Hill went 8-for-15 through the air for 56 yards, adding 45 rushing yards.

The defensive effort was led by Matthew Cahal, who tallied 10 tackles and a first quarter interception. Keith Brady had eight stops including two for a loss, while Hunter Little and Dominic Perkovic both had 1.5 sacks, and Hagen Patterson and Niko Padilla had one sack each.

Next up, the Lions will welcome Georgetown on Saturday, Sept. 26 in the 1 p.m. home opener.