NEW BRITAIN, Conn.—Columbia totaled 338 offensive yards including 174 rushing, finished with eight sacks, and senior linebacker Cam Dillon set a school-record with 5.5 sacks and a safety as the Lions defeated Central Connecticut State 22-20 Saturday at Arute Field. With the win, Columbia improves to 3-1 on the year and completes its non-conference schedule with a perfect 3-0 record for the third time in the last four years. CCSU drops to 1-4.
 
Dante Miller rushed for a career-high 136 yards on 18 carries and a game-clinching 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, quarterback Joe Green completed 14 of 24 passes for 165 yards passing, and quarterback Gabriel Hollingworth scored his second career touchdown and ran for 30 yards on 10 carries to key the Columbia offense. On defense, Dillon led the Lions with a big day that included eight tackles, a single-game school-record 5.5 sacks, a safety, and a forced fumble, while Justin Woodley contributed seven tackles.
 
Columbia led the entire way, but it was closer than it should have been. After a first half that saw Columbia register only a field goal when it advanced to the CCSU 12-yard line, miss a 38-yard field goal, and throw an interception after advancing into CCSU territory, the Lions were left to hold off CCSU in a tight contest.
 
Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli said it was those missed opportunities in the first half that cost the Lions.
 
"Once again, we left so many points on the field today with missed opportunities with good field position and lack of execution in the kicking game," Bagnoli said." In theory, we should have scored at least another 10 points in the first half. These are the things we have to correct. We've got to eliminate some of these errors, finish drives and not do things to hurt ourselves. It's frustrating because we're capable of doing so much better and yet we needlessly put ourselves in peril. We've got to improve and we've got to button things up. If we do those things, then we're comfortable today, and not winning it on a hands-team onside kick at the end."
 
"I applaud our players, they played hard, but we've got to execute better from start to finish when we have opportunities to score points, whether it's field goals or touchdowns."
 
With Columbia leading 10-7 in the third quarter, CCSU took possession at its own 1-yard line. On a second down play, Dillon stormed through the line, tracked down CCSU quarterback Romelo Williams in the end zone, and tackled him for a safety. That gave the Lions a 12-7 lead with 12:38 left in the third quarter. The play was set up by a 40-yard punt by Drew Schmid that was downed at the CCSU 1-yard line. It was the first time Columbia registered a safety in 24 games since a Nov. 11, 2017 contest at Cornell.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Lions went up 15-7 on a 30-yard field goal by Alex Felkins following a time-consuming 14-play, 68-yard drive which lasted six minutes. The field goal was set up by Columbia's running game which featured an 11-yard run by Ryan Young, 18-yard run by Miller that put the Lions in position to score.
 
Central Connecticut State cut the Lions' lead to 15-13 after it drove deep into Columbia territory and scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Tyshaun James. The Blue Devils faced a fourth and five from the 16-yard line and Williams found James for the scoring play. The Blue Devils subsequently attempted to tie the game on a two-point conversion. On a double reverse, James ended up with the ball and was stopped at the goal line by Columbia's Ben Mathiasmeier.
 
But Columbia, holding a two-point lead, continued its running game. On the ensuing possession, Miller took a handoff and burst through the line and then down the Columbia sideline 65 yards for a touchdown and commanding 22-13 lead with 5:38 to play. The play was reminiscent of Miller's 82-yard touchdown scoring run when the Lions played at CCSU in 2018.
 
CCSU pulled to within 22-20 on a 22-yard pass from Williams to Erik Surratt with 57 seconds to play. Columbia closed out the win after the Blue Devils were whistled for a penalty while attempting an on-side kick.
 
"It came down to a very suspenseful, very tight game, and honestly we put ourselves in harm's way," Bagnoli said.
 
The Lions took a 7-0 lead on its first possession in the first quarter when Gabriel Hollingsworth burst through the line for a 1-yard touchdown run. Columbia's drive went 69 yards in eight plays and the touchdown was setup by two key passes—a 19-yarder and 25-yarder—from quarterback Joe Green to Wills Meyer. Green completed three straight passes in the drive.
 
The Lions went up 10-0 on a 30-yard field goal by Alex Felkins following favorable field position and an 11-yard run by Miller and 14-yard run by Hollingsworth.
 
Central Connecticut State got on the scoreboard and cut Columbia's lead to 10-7 in the second quarter when Williams connected with Jadd Dolegala down the middle of the field for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Pinned back at the eight-yard line, the Blue Devils drove 92 yards in 15 plays. Williams completed a 19-yard pass to Tyshaun James on first down and the Blue Devils converted on a third-and-six play when Williams found James for a 12-yard completion and first down. After three Aaron Dawson runs, Williams round Dolegala for the score.
 
Dillon set the school-record for most single-game sacks with his 5.5 total. The previous record was 3.0 held by five different players on seven different occasions (Josh Martin-2, Lou Miller-2, Hunter Little, Rashaan Curry, and Des Werthman).
 
CCSU was led by Williams, who threw three touchdown passes and completed 29 of 51 passes for 288 yards. James finished the day with 98 receiving yards on 10 receptions and a touchdown, and Kelvin Apari made a game-high 14 tackles, four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
 
"Our defense played pretty well," Bagnoli said. "We had a lot of sacks in the game. We knew we were going to be challenged. Their quarterback is an elusive kid and they've got good skill kids. From that perspective, we knew our players would have to play well. Holding an opponent to 20 points on the road is good, but we've got to shore some things up."
 
Columbia gets back into Ivy League play next week when it hosts Penn for its 2021 Homecoming Game. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.