Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Columbia Opens 2018 Season at Central Connecticut State on Saturday

Game Preview: Kickoff is at 5 p.m. ET at Arute Field in New Britain, Conn.; Lions kickoff 128th season of varsity football on four-game non-conference win streak.

9/12/2018 7:22:00 PM

GAME 1 • Season Opener
COLUMBIA (8-2, 5-2 Ivy League in 2017) at
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (1-1, 0-0 NEC)
Saturday, September 15, 2018 • 5 p.m. ET
Arute Field • New Britain, Conn.

THE FACTS

Television/Streaming: NEC Front Row (Bruce Biel and Marc Robbins). Watch Live

Columbia Online Radio Network: Lance Medow and Ted Gregory. Listen Live.

Live Stats: www.ccsubluedevils.com. Live Stats Link

Coaches: Columbia- Al Bagnoli, 4th year at Columbia (13-17), 36th year (248-115). CCSU- Pete Rossomando, 5th year at CCSU (18-30), 11th year overall (60-43).

Series: Columbia and Central Connecticut State meet for the second time in football. CCSU claimed the first matchup 22-13 on Sept. 26, 2009. Columbia plays its fifth game against a Northeast Conference opponent over the last four years. With back-to-back wins over Wagner, it has a two-game win streak vs. NEC opponents.

GAME NOTES

NEW YORK—Columbia opens its 128th season of varsity football and the 2018 season on Saturday, Sept. 15 at NEC preseason favorite Central Connecticut State (1-1). Kickoff for the game is at 5 p.m. ET. For the complete set of game notes/depth chart (page 10), click here.

NEC Front Row will stream the game live with Bruce Biel (play-by-play) and Marc Robbins calling action. Lance Medow (play-by-play) and former Columbia football player and Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Ted Gregory will call action on the Columbia Online Radio Network available at www.gocolumbialions.com.

SATURDAY'S TOP STORYLINES

Columbia opens its 128th all-time season of varsity football when it travels to Central Connecticut State on Saturday (5 p.m. ET kickoff).
Columbia and Central Connecticut State are two football programs who completed impressive yearly turnarounds last season. Columbia improved from a 3-7 season in 2016 to 8-2 in 2017, CCSU went from a 2-9 record in 2016 to 8-4 last year.
Columbia is coming off its 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.
Columbia coach Al Bagnoli is a 1975 CCSU graduate, where he played three years of football from 1972-74 and led the Blue Devils to 23-5 overall record.

ABOUT THE LIONS

Columbia opens its 2018 season after completing one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2017 under Head Coach Al Bagnoli. The Lions return 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. Columbia recently completed its preseason training camp which began on August 18.

Six All-Ivy League picks return in First Team wide receiver Josh Wainwright (78 catches for school-record 1,001 yards, 8 TD), Second Team safety Landon Baty (66 tackles, 4 INT, 1 FR, 2 FF) and honorable mention honorees in wide receiver Ronald Smith (31 catches for 437 yards and 4 TD in only 7 GP), linebacker Michael Murphy (42 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 2 FR in 8 GP), offensive lineman Markham Paukune (10 consecutive starts) and kick returner/defensive back Will Allen (507 yards on 21 KOR).

Returning offensive starters also include wide receiver Kyle Castner (24 catches, 286 yards, TD), tight end Rory Schlageter, offensive linemen Tyler Schonewolf (20 consecutive starts) and Parker Coogan (10 consecutive starts), and on defense, right end Mike Hinton (18 career starts, 25 tackles), linebacker Jalen Williams (32 tackles, 2.0 sacks), linebacker Sean White (48 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2 INT), defensive back Ryan Gilbert (team-leader with 95 tackles) and defensive back Ben McKeighan (37 tackles, 2 INT). In addition, a variety of other key players who saw extensive action return in 2018.

AL BAGNOLI-CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE CONNECTIONS

Columbia Football Head Coach Al Bagnoli makes a Homecoming to New Britain on Saturday. Bagnoli is a 1975 graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in Physical Education/History. He played three seasons for the Blue Devils from 1972-74 and helped lead the team to a 23-5 record during that span. Bagnoli is an East Haven, Conn. native.

ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS

Central Connecticut State was voted the preseason Northeast Conference favorite after finishing 8-4 in 2017. Central Connecticut State enters Saturday's matchup with a 1-1 record following a 55-0 win last Friday over NCAA Division III Lincoln, Pa. (Sept. 7) and a 42-6 loss to FBS opponent Ball State (Aug. 30).

Senior quarterback Jacob Dolegala has completed 65.6 percent (21-32) of his passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Enyce Walker leads the rushing attack with 109 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown and also leads the squad in all-purpose yardage (170 yards). Running back Aaron Dawson has scored three rushing touchdowns on 16 carries and 87 yards and Drew Jean-Guillaume has two rushing touchdowns on 11 carries and 80 yards. Joey Fields, Jr. (73 yards) and Jose Garcia (28 yards) both have five receptions. Defensive back DJ Exilhomme leads the Blue Devils with 13 tackles, defensive back Tajik Bagley and linebacker Tre Jones have made nine tackles each.

In its 55-0 win over Lincoln, Central Connecticut scored on its first six possessions in posting its first shutout since 2015.

JOSH BEAN EARNS STARTING QUARTERBACK NOD

Sophomore quarterback Josh Bean earns the start behind center against Central Connecticut State on Saturday. Making his first career start, Bean saw backup duty last year as he became a short-yardage run option, scoring eight rushing touchdowns and completing 1-1 passes for a one-yard touchdown against Harvard. Bean set a school-record for most touchdowns per carry (eight TD on 22 carries) and his eight touchdowns ranked No. 10 in school history among top season totals. Sophomore Dillon Davis will serve as the backup.

COLUMBIA, CENTRAL CONNECTICUT POST TOP-5 FCS TURNAROUNDS IN 2017

Columbia and Central Connecticut State completed two of the nation's top-5 season turnarounds in 2017. Here is where the five-game turnaround ranks among other FCS schools. Note: Ivy League teams play only 10 games compared to 12 for the rest of FC.

Turn.	School	Record: 2016 to 2017
+7.5	Austin Peay	0-11 to 8-4
+5.5	Elon	2-9 to 8-4
+5.5	Central Conn. State	2-9 to 8-4
+5	COLUMBIA	3-7 to 8-2
+5	Howard	2-9 to 7-4
+4.5	Western Carolina	2-9 to 7-5

COLUMBIA ON FOUR-GAME NON-CONFERENCE WIN STREAK

A victory at Central Connecticut State on Saturday would give Columbia a school-record fifth consecutive non-conference win. Columbia enters its 2018 season on its current four-game win streak vs. non-conference opponents. The current streak which began at Wagner on Oct. 8, 2016 is currently tied for the record with a four-win streak which began at Fordham on Sept. 28, 1996 and ended at Lafayette on Oct. 4, 1997.

In 2017, Columbia completed its three-game non-conference schedule with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 2006 season. The Lions defeated Wagner (17-14), Georgetown (35-14) and Marist (41-17). Columbia has completed perfect non-conference seasons only three times since the Ivy League was formed in 1956: 1996, 2006 and 2017.

LIONS OPEN SEASON WITH BACK-TO-BACK ROAD GAMES FOR FIRST TIME IN 35 YEARS

For the first time since 1983, Columbia opens a football season with two road games. In 1983, Columbia opened its season at Harvard, then traveled to No. 17 Lafayette. In 1983, the Lions played their entire schedule on the road or at neutral sites while the school was building its current facility, Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.

SEASON OPENERS

Columbia is on a one-game win streak in season openers following last year's 17-14 home victory over Wagner. Columbia is 60-47-2 all-time in season openers since 1900 and is 12-22 all-time in season openers on the road. It is the first time in three seasons that Columbia opens a season on the road. The last time Columbia opened a season on the road was in 2015 at Fordham (44-24 loss).

COLUMBIA OPENS 2018 SEASON ON TWO-GAME WIN STREAK

Columbia enters its 2018 season on a two-game win streak after closing out the 2017 season with back-to-back victories at Cornell (18-8) and Brown (24-6). It is the first time since the 2010 season that the Lions enter a new season following back-to-back wins in a previous season.

COLUMBIA VS. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE

The Lions enter 2018 with a 4-3 all-time record against opponents from the Northeast Conference. It has claimed three of its last four meetings against NEC opponents. Saturday's contest marks the fifth game against an NEC opponent for Columbia in the last four years. It defeated Wagner 26-3 in 2015, lost to Saint Francis U 13-9 and defeated Wagner 15-13 in 2016 and beat Wagner 17-14 in 2016.

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