GAME 7 • IVY LEAGUE MATCHUP
YALE (4-2, 2-1 Ivy League) at COLUMBIA (3-3, 0-3 Ivy League)
Saturday, October 27, 2018 • 1:05 p.m. ET • Robert K. Kraft at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium • New York, N.Y.
THE FACTS
Television: ESPN+, SNY tape-delayed basis (Lance Medow and Sal Licata; Producer: Sol Steinberg).
WATCH LIVE.
ESPN+ FAQ
Columbia Online Radio Network: simulcast: Lance Medow and Sal Licata, listen live on gocolumbialions.com.
LISTEN LIVE
Live Stats: www.gocolumbialions.com.
LIVE STATS
Coaches: Columbia-
Al Bagnoli, 4th year at Columbia (16-20), 36th year (251-118). Yale- Tony Reno, 7th year at Yale (34-29), 7th year overall (34-29).
Series: Columbia and Yale meet for the 97th time since the series began in 1872. Yale holds a 73-21-2 advantage in the series. The Bulldogs have won two consecutive games played vs. the Lions in New York City. The last time Columbia defeated Yale at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium was on Oct. 27, 2012, a 26-22 victory.
GAME NOTES
NEW YORK—Columbia (3-3, 0-3 Ivy League) hosts Yale (4-2, 2-1 Ivy League) on Saturday at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. The contest marks the final of two more home games for Columbia in 2018.
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES
- Columbia hosts defending Ivy League champion Yale (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday at Robert K. Kraft Field.
- Columbia has 20-plus players who are either sidelined for the year or have suffered injuries this season including five players who earned All-Ivy League honors in 2017. Columbia's top three quarterbacks have all endured injuries this season.
- Columbia has won five of its last eight games and 12 of its last 17 games dating back to the conclusion of the 2016 season. The Lions are coming off their most successful season in 21 years after posting an 8-2 record and second place finish in the Ivy League at 5-2 in 2017.
WHERE TO LISTEN/WATCH
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Lance Medow (play-by-play) and Sal Licata (color analyst) calling action. The Columbia Online Radio Network will also air a simulcast of the television broadcast live with Medow and Licata. The audio-only broadcast is available for free at www.gocolumbialions.com. The game will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on SportsnetNY (SNY) on three different air dates: Saturday, Oct. 27 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Oct. 30 from 2-5 p.m. ET and Wednesday, Oct. 31 from 8-11 p.m. ET.
ABOUT THE LIONS
Winners of 12 of its last 17 games, Columbia continues Ivy League play after coming off a 28-12 loss to No. 24 Dartmouth in which the Big Green opened up a closely-contested game with three second half touchdowns. Columbia sustained long drives, totaled 314 yards of offense and completed 72 percent of its passes (31-43) for 228 yards, but the Lions could not convert enough of their long drives into touchdowns. The Lions ventured three times into Dartmouth's red zone and came away with only one touchdown. Nine Columbia players were carried off the field with injuries and the Lions went through three quarterbacks on the day as starter
Josh Bean and
Ty Lenhart—both were sidelined with injuries.
In a closely-contested 13-10 loss to Penn on Oct. 13, the Lions had several opportunities to win the game but couldn't convert.
On Oct. 6, Columbia concluded its non-conference schedule with a 3-0 record after defeating Marist 34-24 The Lions' Ivy League opener was a 45-10 loss to No. 21/25 Princeton on Friday, Sept. 28. Columbia won its first two games against Northeast Conference champion and NEC preseason favorite Central Connecticut State (41-24) and a Lou Little Cup win at Georgetown (23-15).
Columbia is also coming off one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2017 under Head Coach
Al Bagnoli. In 2018, the Lions returned 14 of 22 starters (seven on offense and seven on defense) and six All-Ivy League selections from a program that recorded its best season in 21 years. Last year, Columbia posted an 8-2 record, finished second in the Ivy League with a 5-2 record, began a season with six straight wins for the first time since 1996, put together the school's longest win streak since 1935 (seven games) and posted one of the nation's top-five best yearly comebacks in the FCS with a five-win improvement from 2016 to 2017. Along the way, it was the Lions' resiliency, toughness and work ethic that captured the attention of their fans, the New York City media and national media members alike.
LIONS SUFFER INJURIES
More than 20 players and five returning All-Ivy League selections from the 2017 season have suffered injuries for Columbia this year.
Columbia has already lost seven players to injury this season: offensive lineman
Charlie Flores, starting wide receiver
Josh Wainwright, key running back
Alexander Filacouris, placekicker
Oren Milstein, starting running back
Dante Miller, starting middle linebacker
Justin Woodley and defensive end
LinDon Harris.
Others who have missed action and could miss more action include starting quarterback
Josh Bean, backup quarterback
Dillon Davis, third-string quarterback
Ty Lenhart, cornerback Ben McKeighan, cornerback
Will Allen, offensive lineman
Markham Paukune, safety
Landon Baty, wide receiver
Christian Everett, offensive lineman
Joseph Scowden, tight end
Kyle Baskin, wide receiver
Ronald Smith and wide receiver
Darion Acohido, among others.
COLUMBIA, LIONS PLAYERS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS IN A VARIETY OF CATEGORIES
Columbia ranks among the nation's top-25 FCS teams in 10 different team statistical categories. According to the NCAA, Columbia is ranked:
- No. 1 in blocked punts allowed (0).
- No. 3 in time of possession (33:45).
- No. 3 in fumbles lost (1).
- No. 5 in kickoff returns (27.23).
- No. 5 in fourth down conversion percentage (.733).
- No. 12 in fewest penalty yards (261).
- No. 13 in first downs defense (104).
- No. 13 in fewest penalties per game (4.75).
- No. 19 in fewest penalties (34).
- No. 22 in fewest penalty yards per game (43.5).
Individually, several Lions also rank among the top-25 national statistical leaders in six different categories:
COLUMBIA, LIONS PLAYERS LEAD THE IVY LEAGUE IN VARIOUS STATS
Columbia and its players rank among Ivy League leaders in a variety of statistics:
- As a team, Columbia leads the league in kickoff returns (27.2) and field goal percentage (.917).
- Will Allen leads in kickoff return average (27.0).
- Chris Alleyne leads in field goal percentage (91.7%), field goals (11) and PAT percentage (100%).
- Cameren Carter leads in fumble recoveries (2)
- Mike Hinton is tied for the lead in forced fumbles (2).
Other Lions are ranked among league leaders in a variety of statistics including
Dante Miller (7th in rushing yardage),
Josh Bean (7th in passing yards per game, 8th in passing efficiency, 7th in total offense),
Kyle Castner (5th in receptions per game),
Ronald Smith (6th in receptions per game, 9th in receiving yards per game),
Chris Alleyne (2nd in field goals, 5th in scoring, 2nd in kick scoring),
Ty Lenhart (6th in touchdowns, 9th in pass efficiency),
Ryan Gilbert (2nd in tackles),
Sean White (7th in tackles),
Daniel DeLorenzi (2nd in sacks, 11th in tackles for loss), Ben McKeighan (9th in passes defended).
CHRIS ALLEYNE EARNS IVY LEAGUE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR SECOND TIME
For the second time this year, Columbia senior placekicker and kickoff specialist
Chris Alleyne was named the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday afternoon. He earns Columbia's fifth weekly Ivy League honor through the season's first six weeks.
Alleyne earns the honor after he converted field goals of 42 and 33 yards respectively and registered two touchbacks on three kickoffs in Columbia's 28-12 loss to No. 24 Dartmouth Saturday. Previously, Alleyne was named the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 24. He becomes the first player since
Oren Milstein in 2016 to earn two Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the same season.
For the year, Alleyne has converted 11 of his 12 field goal tries and is a perfect 13-13 on extra point attempts. His lone miss was blocked. He leads the Lions in scoring with 46 points, ranks No. 6 nationally in field goal percentage (91.7) and No. 2 nationally in field goals per game (1.83). Alleyne also leads the Ivy League in field goals (11), field goal percentage (91.7) and PAT kicking (13-13, 100 percent) and ranks fifth in scoring (7.7 points per game). On kickoffs, he has also totaled 14 touchbacks on 29 kicks this year. He has kicked five field goals of 40 yards or more.
With four games left in 2018, Alleyne is also approaching a variety of Columbia season placekicking records:
- His 11 current field goals made ranks as the fourth most in a season with the record being 13 held by Luke Eddy (2012) and Matt Linit (1996).
- His current 91.7 percent field goal accuracy currently ranks third in season records.
- His current PAT accuracy of 100 percent (13-13) ties Columbia's season record with seven other players.
- His current 46 points scored ranks as the sixth highest total for most points scored by a placekicker in a season at Columbia. The record is 58 points set by Joe Aldrich in 1994.
- His 13 consecutive PATs made ranks seventh on Columbia's season consecutive extra points list.
- With his two field goals Saturday, he set Columbia's record for most field goals by a senior with 11. The previous record was 10 by Tom Boccafola in 1991.
- His two career-long 46-yard field goals rank tied for the 13th longest field goals in school history.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Defending Ivy League champion Yale enters Saturday's matchup with a 4-2 overall and 2-1 Ivy League record. The Bulldogs are on a two-game win streak following a 35-28 win vs. Mercer and 23-10 win over Penn.
Quarterback Kurt Rawlings has completed 67.4 percent (122 of 181) of his passes for 1,562 yards and nine touchdowns. Alan Lamar has rushed for 107.3 yards per game, 6.3 yards per carry and three touchdowns and has 429 yards on 68 carries on the year, while 2017 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and All-American Zane Dudek has three touchdowns on 47 carries and 279 yards. Rawlings' top two targets are Reed Klubnik (46 catches for 568 yards and six touchdowns) and JP Shohfi (35 catches for 502 yards and two touchdowns).
On defense, Ryan Burke leads the Bulldogs with 29 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss. Noah Pope (26 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2.0 sacks and 4.0 TFL), John Dean (23 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 3.0 TFL) and Rodney Thomas (21 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 3 pass breakups) are all key defensive contributors.
