NEW YORK—This is the 18^th feature in a #CUFootball150 series on Top-10 Historical Lists for Columbia Football. Below is a list of the Top-10 Moments in Columbia Football history. These moments are not exactly a list of best wins, they are key moments in the 150 Year history of the Columbia Football program.
 
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15. Lou Little Carried Off Field Following His Final Home Game at Baker Field | Nov. 3, 1956
Little is carried off the field by his jubilant players following a 25-19 win over Cornell in his final home game at Columbia. Quarterback Claude Benham throws three touchdown passes, runs for a fourth, and sets up a touchdown with an interception in Little's final game at Baker Field. The Lions still had three games left and three weeks later in Little's final collegiate game, Benham connects with wide receiver Ron Szczpkowski for a touchdown pass in the game's final two minutes to send Little out in style with an 18-12 road win at Rutgers.
 
14. Late Blocked Field Goal Sets Columbia Up For Victory | Sept. 21, 1996
In the 1996 season opener that set the table for a six-game win streak, Columbia claims a hard-fought come-from-behind 20-13 overtime decision over Harvard at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. With emotions running in overdrive, Lions players swarm the field and create a pile up after the dramatic win. Columbia scores 20 unanswered points, Marcellus Wiley blocks a late field goal to send the game into overtime and a 12-yard pass from quarterback Bobby Thomason to David Ramirez in overtime gives Columbia the seven-point victory. Columbia trails 13-0 in the second quarter and overcomes a 13-7 deficit in the third quarter. The second of two Matt Linit field goals (48-yarder) ties the game at 13-13 with seven minutes to play. Harvard drives deep into Columbia territory and the Lions defense forces a 23-yard field goal, which was swatted down by Wiley with 1:02 left in regulation. The victory begins a six-game win streak for the Lions, who finish the year 8-2 overall and in second place in the Ivy League with a 5-2 record. The contest marks Columbia's first-ever overtime game.
 
13. Columbia's First Football Game | Nov. 12, 1870
Columbia plays its first football game, losing to Rutgers in New Brunswick, 6-3. The Columbia campus was abuzz with the report that Rutgers had issued a "challenge" to Columbia to meet in the then one-year-old game of football. The entire 125-member student body travels to New Brunswick to watch the game, which turns out to be the fourth football game ever played. After refreshments had been served by the Rutgers hosts, the Scarlet and Columbia baseball teams engage in a two-inning baseball game with Columbia winning 7-5.
 
12. Victory Celebration Following Upset Win Over Penn | Oct. 12, 1996
Columbia defeats Penn 20-19 in overtime on the road at Franklin Field after a blocked point after attempt by Brett Bryant and a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Paris Childress to Dennis Lee. Matt Linit converts the extra point to break the 19-19 tie and give Columbia the victory. With the first possession in overtime, Penn scores on a 1-yard touchdown run to take a 19-13 lead, but Bryant gets a hand on the point after attempt. Jason Bivens keys Columbia with 94 rushing yards and Childress throws for 197. Current Columbia Head Coach Al Bagnoli was on the sideline as Penn's head coach, while current Lions Offensive Coordinator Mark Fabish racked up 180 all-purpose yards and caught seven passes for 75 yards for Penn. The win gives Columbia a perfect 4-0 start to the season en route to an 8-2 overall record and second place finish in the Ivy League.
 
11. Victory Celebration Following Ben Mathiasmeier Overtime Interception In 2019 Win Over Harvard | Nov. 9, 2019
In overtime, safety Ben Mathiasmeier seals the victory for Columbia as he picks off a Harvard pass at the goal line in walk-off, game-ending fashion. Mathiasmeier steps out of bounds but continues down the field in a dramatic victory run as his teammates charge the field in celebration. Mathiasmeier's interception occurs after Mike Roussos gives Columbia a 17-10 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run. The touchdown is set up by a 25-yard pass from quarterback Ty Lenhart to Rory Schlageter. Columbia sends the game into overtime when Alex Felkins connects on a 26-yard field goal with 1:45 left in regulation. The win gives Columbia its first victory over Harvard in 16 years.
 
10. Columbia Resumes Football Following 10 Years | Oct. 15, 1915
After 10 years of student and alumni continued effort to reestablish football at Columbia, the sport returns to campus as the Lions host their first game since 1905. It was a gala day on campus as the atmosphere is festive with excitement as T. Nelson Metcalf's Lions dominate St. Lawrence 57-0 at South Field. As reported by the New York Times, Columbia "resumed its place among athletic colleges when the Blue and White boys overwhelmed eleven lads" from St. Lawrence. It was also the first-ever real game played at South Field in the middle of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus. Previously, the field was used as a practice venue.
 
9. Victory Celebration Following Dramatic Two-Overtime Win Over Brown | Nov. 19, 2011
An emotional victory celebration ensues on the field after Columbia stops Brown on a fourth and goal from the 1-yard line to preserve a 35-28 win at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. After the dramatic defensive stand, Columbia players rush the field in celebration. Quarterback Sean Brackett runs for a 16-yard touchdown for the game-winning score in the second overtime period before Brown begins a 10-play drive that ends in the Lions' goal line stand. Columbia battles back from a 21-7 deficit with two fourth quarter touchdown passes by Brackett to send the game into overtime. Brackett rushes for four touchdowns and throws another. The double overtime contest stands as the longest game in school history.
 
8. 2018 Senior Day Following Mike Roussos Kickoff Return Touchdown Versus Cornell | Nov. 17, 2018
First-year Mike Roussos weaves through the Cornell defense while returning a squib kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and 24-21 Columbia lead with 45 seconds to play. Columbia closes out the game and a 45-minute memorable celebration ensues on the field. No one wants to leave the field, especially the seniors whose careers just ended. Roussos' heroics occur after Cornell grabs a 21-17 lead with a touchdown with only 58 seconds to play. Earlier in the game, Roussos returns a punt 91 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Roussos becomes the first Columbia football player in school history to score on both a punt return and kickoff in the same game. The 206-yard all-purpose performance helps the 2018 Columbia Football team register back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1961 and 1962.
 
7. 1931 Come-of-Age Win Over Dartmouth | Oct. 17, 1931
With a 19-6 upset win over Dartmouth, Columbia claims its place among the nation's elite in football. After the win, fans charge the field and tear down the Baker Field goal posts. The Columbia Spectator headline reads "Victory Seen as Turn in Lion Football Fortunes: The Defeat of Dartmouth Presages Rise of Rise of Blue and White in Gridiron World." Led by Cliff Montgomery and Ralph Hewitt, Columbia rushes for 199 yards and 10 touchdowns as the Lions build a two-touchdown lead and kept attacking. Lineman Tony "Red" Matal blocks three punts, including a second quarter swat which he recovered and raced in for the Lions' second touchdown of the day. The victory gives the Lions a 4-0 record en route to a 7-1-1 finish in 1931. The Lions went on to finish 7-1-1 in 1932, 8-1 with a Rose Bowl victory in 1933, and 7-1 in 1934.
 
6. Fans Rush Field After Win Over No. 13 Ranked Penn | October 7, 1995
After Columbia posts a 5-4-1 winning campaign in 1994, many fans point to the following season's Homecoming game against undefeated and No. 13 ranked Penn to find out whether the Lions had turned the corner. The test came against the two-time Ivy League champion Penn, which entered the game as owner of the nation's longest winning streak. Trailing 14-10 in the third quarter, Columbia scores on a 39-yard punt return touchdown by Roy Hanks, then Columbia's Eric Keck recovers a fumble caused by Charles Bettinelli which leads to a 2-yard touchdown run by Mike Cavanaugh to seal a 24-14 win. On defense, Rory Wilfork totals 16 tackles, one sack, and 4.0 tackles for loss for Columbia. The fans were on their feet for the final seven minutes, cheering, chanting, and reveling in the improbable win. And when time ran out, fans storm the field and attempt to tear down the goal posts. At the time, current Head Coach Al Bagnoli was Penn's head coach and current offensive coordinator Mark Fabish finished the game with six receptions for 94 yards and a 40-yard touchdown for the Quakers.
 
5. Victory Celebration Ending 44-Game Losing Streak | Oct. 8, 1988
With a 16-13 Homecoming win over Princeton, Columbia saw its 44-game losing streak come to an end. Princeton misses short on a 49-yard field goal attempt on the game's final play and the Lions erupt in celebration. Solomon Johnson's 2-yard touchdown run with under five minutes to play seals the win. Columbia's Greg Abbruzzesse rushes for 182 yards on 37 carries. The victory also marks Columbia's first-ever win at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.
 
4. Josh Wainwright Celebrates With Teammates and Fans After Scoring Game-Winning Touchdown | Oct. 14, 2017
Columbia wins 34-31 on a dramatic, walk-off 24-yard touchdown pass from Anders Hill to Josh Wainwright in overtime. In overtime, Penn takes a 31-28 lead after a 41-yard field goal on the first possession. But Hill finds Wainwright open in the middle of the field on a third-down-eight play and the Homecoming crowd of 13,081 responds by storming the field in wild celebration. Wainwright is mobbed by his teammates and is picked up in celebration. Students are seen dancing on the field. Fans stick around on the field for an hour after the game celebrating. The fans watch Columbia battle back from a 21-7 fourth quarter deficit with 21 unanswered points. Wainwright catches 10 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns, Hill completes 21 of 33 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns, and linebacker Michael Murphy leads the Lions defense with 12 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two fumble recoveries. With the win, Columbia begins a season with a 5-0 record for the first time in 21 years and snaps a 20-game losing streak to Penn.
 
3. New York City Celebration Following 1934 Rose Bowl Win | Jan. 8, 1934
Following a four-day train ride across the country which saw it experience alumni celebrations in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Chicago, Columbia's campus celebrates the Lions monumental 7-0 Rose Bowl upset victory over Stanford with a unique tribute at University Gymnasium. Upon its arrival at Penn Station in New York, New York City Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia greets the team at the terminal. The team then travels directly to campus via bus and arrives at University Gymnasium at around 9 p.m. where over 4,000 students, fans and others greet them with thunderous applause and musical versions of "Who Owns New York?" Dean Herbert E. Hawks heads the rally and LaGuardia, Columbia President Nicholas Murray Butler, Head Coach Lou Little and team captain/All-American Cliff Montgomery speak to the jubilant crowd. LaGuardia proclaims the Lion 11 "the All-New York football team" and that both he and Columbia had something in common in that "neither of us were the favorites when we started." Montgomery said "I want you all to know that it was a perfectly wonderful thrill to all us boys to go out there and beat Stanford. What made it even more wonderful was that they were picking us to lose by more than 20 points before the game." Montgomery tells of "the nice receptions in Salt Lake City, Denver, and Chicago," of "the wonderful climate in Tucson," where the team practiced for a week before the game, and concludes, "We'll never forget it." The next night, Alumni members hold a dinner in the team's honor which was attended by 1,500 fans.
 
2. Bill Swiacki, Lou Little Carried Off Field Following 1947 Upset Win Over Army | Oct. 25, 1947
Before a Baker Field capacity crowd of 35,000, Columbia's 21-20 upset victory snaps Army's 32-game unbeaten streak. With a 3-0-1 record (including a 0-0 tie vs. Illinois), Army entered the game undefeated after having outscored its opponents 93-0 and famed journalist Red Smith called the elusive victory over Army "the quarry which the entire American football pack harried for three years, 10 months and 29 days." Columbia claws back from a 20-7 halftime deficit. In the second half, Columbia's unorthodox passing attack allows it to battle back into the game as quarterback Eugene Rossides began finding end Bill Swiacki. On a crucial play late in the game, Swiacki leaps and makes a diving catch of a Rossides pass at the 4-yard line to set up a game-winning 2-yard touchdown run by Louis Kusserow. Ventan Yablonski converts the extra point for a 21-20 lead. Six minutes and 42 seconds later and after Rossides intercepts an Army pass, fans storm the field and tear down the north end goal posts. Swiacki and Head Coach Lou Little are carried off the field by players and fans all the way to the locker room. The victory still ranks as one of the top upsets in college football history.
 
1. Bill Campbell Carried Off Field After Columbia Clinches 1961 Ivy League Title | Nov. 18, 1961
Team captain Bill Campbell is carried off the field following Columbia's 37-6 Ivy League title-clinching victory over Penn before a crowd of 17,066 at Baker Field. A few seconds before the final play of the game, bedlam ensues as Columba fans stream onto the field in celebration. On the sidelines, Columbia players lift Campbell onto their shoulders and carry him through the swarming fans toward the locker room. Ironically, Campbell, an offensive lineman, didn't play in the game due to an injury, but the gesture showed how much he meant to the team as its leader. In the press box, reporters sing "Roar, Lion, Roar." Quarterback Tom Vasell and running back Tom Haggerty also are carried off the field. Head Coach Aldo T. Donelli was seen signing autographs and shaking hands at the press conference. Ten minutes after the final whistle, the parties began and lasted into the night. Columbia's offense gains 388 yards of offense and outrushes the Quakers 328-108. Haggerty rushes for 119 yards in 20 carries, including a 68-yarder, Russ Warren rushes 18 times for 83 yards, catches two passes, and averages 49.0 yards per punt. Columbia dominates the game. After a field goal, the Lions take a 10-0 lead when Dick Hassan blocks a punt that is caught in the end zone for a touchdown by Lee Black. Warren follows with a short touchdown run and the Lions go up 17-0. Dick Sakala makes it 23-0 Columbia on an eight-yard run. Columbia closes out conference play with a 6-1 league record and share of the Ivy League title.