GAME NINE: COLUMBIA FOOTBALL PLAYERS CLUB SENIOR DAY
BROWN (2-6, 1-4 Ivy League) at COLUMBIA (5-3, 2-3 Ivy League)
Saturday, November 13, 2021 • 1 p.m. ET • Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium • New York, N.Y.
 
THE FACTS
 
Television: ESPN+ (Lance Medow and Josh Martin '13CC; Producer: Sol Steinberg) | Watch Live
 
Columbia Online Radio: Not Available.
 
Live Stats: www.gocolumbialions.com | Live Stats Link
 
Coaches: Columbia- Al Bagnoli, 7th year at Columbia (27-31), 39th year overall (262-129). Brown- James Perry, 3rd year at Brown (4-14), 5th year overall (16-34).
 
Complete Game Notes: Click here.
 
Series: Columbia and Brown meet for the 85th time in a series which began on Nov. 8, 1902. Brown holds a 53-29-2 all-time advantage in the series, but Columbia has won three of the last four matchups. The Lions won three straight from 2016-18 (two in Providence and one in New York City).
 
GAME NOTES
 
NEW YORK—Columbia (5-3, 2-3 Ivy League) hosts Brown (2-6, 1-4 Ivy League) for its second straight home game and Ivy League matchup at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 13. Kickoff is slated for a 1 p.m. ET start for a contest televised on ESPN+.
 
Columbia (2-3) is in fifth place in the Ivy League standings, while Brown is one game behind in sixth place. Columbia and Brown meet for the 85th time overall and 66th consecutive season.
 
As part of Columbia Football Players Club Senior Day, the Lions will honor their seniors in a pre-game ceremony.
 
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES
 

• Columbia enters its ninth game with a 5-3 overall record. The Lions are 5-3 or better upon entering their ninth game of a season for the sixth time since 1961. Columbia was also 6-2 in 1961, 5-3 in 1962, 5-3 in 1971, 6-2 in 1996, and 6-2 in 2017.
• The contest marks 2021 Senior Day. The Lions will honor the Super Senior class which ranks as the winningest senior class at since 1963 (22 wins).
• Columbia Head Coach Al Bagnoli entered the 2021 season as the nation's second active winningest coach throughout all NCAA divisions. He is the nation's winningest active coach at the FCS level. He has a 262-129 overall record.

 
ABOUT THE LIONS
 
With two games left to play in the 2021 season (vs. Brown, at Cornell), Columbia owns a 5-3 record (2-3 Ivy League) after winning three of its last five games following back-to-back losses to Harvard (49-21) and Yale (37-30). Previously, Columbia won three straight games, including a19-0 shutout win over previously unbeaten and No. 25 Dartmouth, a 23-14 Homecoming win over Penn, and a 22-20 win over at Central Connecticut State in its final non-conference matchup.
 
The Lions fell behind early and never recovered against Harvard, dropping a 49-21 contest.
 
Columbia dropped a closely-contested 37-30 decision at a rainy Yale Bowl last Saturday. The Lions led 23-14 before Yale scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions. The Lions totaled 344 offensive yards and won the turnover battle with two fumble recoveries, but had to settle for three field goals and scored touchdowns on two of their four trips into the red zone. For Columbia, Ryan Young scored a career-high three touchdowns and totaled a team-best 132 all-purpose yards, Joe Green completed 22 of 44 passes for a career-high 223 passing yards, Dante Miller finished with 85 all-purpose yards (35 rushing and 85 on kickoff returns) and Scott Valentas led the defense with 10 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss.
 
Using a suffocating defense, efficient rushing attack and timely offensive drives, Columbia Football registered its first shutout in 112 games with a dominant 19-0 victory at No. 25 Dartmouth Friday night at Memorial Stadium. With a dominating first half, Columbia built a 13-0 halftime lead with two Alex Felkins field goals and a Gabriel Hollingsworth touchdown run. The Lions added a third quarter touchdown pass from Joe Green to Mike Roussos to go up 19-0 and seal the victory. Columbia's defense limited Dartmouth to season-lows for points (zero), total offense (262 yards), rushing yards (60), and first downs (13), and held Dartmouth to just 25 percent (4-16) on third down conversions. The Big Green came into the game averaging 32.4 points per game, 406.0 yards of total offense per game, 200.6 rushing yards per game and 21.6 total first downs per game.
 
Before 11,054 fans, Columbia celebrated its 80th Homecoming Game with a 23-14 win over Penn. Running back Dante Miller rushed for a career-best 187 yards and a go-ahead 75-yard touchdown to earn the John Toner Homecoming Player of the Game Award. Quarterback Joe Green threw for a career-high 182 yards and one touchdown on 12 of 22 completions, and Alex Felkins contributed a career-high tying three field goals in the victory. The Lions defense limited Penn to only 83 yards passing, 267 total yards, and yielded only 4-15 on third down conversions.
 
On Oct. 9, Columbia claimed a 22-20 decision at CCSU to wrap up non-conference play with a perfect 3-0 record for the third time in the last four years. 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 in the victory. 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 two forced fumbles, while Justin Woodley contributed seven tackles.
 
At Princeton, the Lions dropped a tightly-contested, low-scoring game after Princeton running back Colin Eaddy scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to give the Tigers a 24-7 win. After Princeton took a 10-0 halftime lead, Columbia cut the deficit to 10-7 on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Joe Green to Luke Painton. The Lions had several other opportunities to score in the contest but fell on the road.
 
Columbia went 3-0 in non-conference play with wins over Marist (37-14) and Georgetown (35-24).
 
The Lions continue to trend upward as they have registered winning seasons in two of their last three campaigns. Seventh-year Head Coach Al Bagnoli guided Columbia to an 8-2 record (second-place Ivy finish at 5-2) in 2017 and 6-4 record (3-4 Ivy) in 2018. In 2019, Columbia went 3-7 and finished sixth in the Ivy League with a 2-5 conference record.
 
SENIOR DAY FOR 40 SENIORS
 
Saturday's final regular season home game vs. Brown marks Columbia's annual Columbia Football Players Club Senior Day. The ceremony will begin prior to the kickoff.
 
Columbia will honor 40 seniors in its pre-game ceremony. The class is the largest senior class in school history. Those seniors include Paul Akere, Will Allen, Cameron Brown, Cameren Carter, Inho Choi, Jordan Colbert, Connor Collins, Cam Dillon, Graham Flinn, John Foreback, John Harris, Devin Hart, Marquis Hubbard, Emerson Kabus, Dante Landolfi, Derric Lee, Evan Loesel, Casey Mariucci, Ben Mathiasmeier, Fara'ad McCombs, Dante Miller, Zach Minch, Drake Morey, Stew Newblatt, Chris Park, Carson Powell, Brandon Radice, Ryan Rhoden, Ernest Robertson, Mike Roussos, Drew Schmid, Mitchell Shinskie, Joshua Smythe-Macaulay, Mitchell Sturgill, Watson Tansil, Broderick Taylor, Xavier Thibault, Justin Woodley, Tyler Worrell, Ryan Young.
 
Depending on individual circumstances, a few of these players could return for the 2022 season.
 
2021 SENIOR CLASS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 
Columbia Footballs 40-member Class of 2021 is comprised of two different groups: those who began playing at Columbia in 2017 and those that started in 2018.
 
The Super Senior 2017 group includes fifth year seniors such as Emerson Kabus, Justin Woodley, Ben Mathiasmeier, Broderick Taylor, Drew Schmid, Graham Flinn, Will Allen, Caeren Carter, an Casey Mariucci. The group has achieved the following:
 

• Will become the first Columbia football senior class to graduate with a winning record since 1963. The group is currently 22-16 overall with two games to play. The 1963 squad accumulated an 18-17-1 overall record.
• 22 total victories and counting and 12 Ivy League wins from 2017-21. This group is 12-14 in Ivy League play.
• The 22 victories is currently No. 1 among all-time winningest senior classes since Columbia joined the Ivy League in 1956. Here is the list: 22 wins, 2017-21; 20 wins 2016-19 and 1994-97; 19 wins, 2015-18, 1995-98, and 1996-99; 18 wins, 1960-63.
• Helped Columbia set the record for most wins in back-to-back seasons (since 1956) with 14 total in 2017 (8) and 2018 (6).
• In 2017, helped lead teh Lions to an 8-2 overall, 5-2 Ivy League record and second place finish in the league, Columbia's best overall record, best Ivy League season, and highest Ivy League finish in 21 years (since 1996). The eight wins tied for the third most wins in school history.
• Defeated all seven Ivy League opponents at least one time.

 
WINNING SEASONS
 
Columbia is searching for its third winning season in the last four years. With two games to play and a 5-3 overall record, the Lions need just one more victory to clinch a winning season.
 
The Lions are 5-3 or better after eight games for the sixth time since 1961. Columbia was also 6-2 in 1961, 5-3 in 1962, 5-3 in 1971, 6-2 in 1996, and 6-2 in 2017.
 
Columbia needs wins in each of its last two games to have a winning season in Ivy League play. Wins over Brown and Cornell would give Columbia a 4-3 Ivy League record.
 
LIONS PUT TOGETHER THREE-GAME WIN STREAK
 
Columbia's previous three-game win streak ranks as its longest since a seven-game win streak from the end of the 2016 season to Oct. 28, 2017. The school-record for most consecutive wins is eight, two times: Sept. 26, 1903-Oct. 31, 1903 and Oct. 28, 1933-Oct. 20, 1934.
 
DANTE MILLER LEADS IVY LEAGUE, RANKS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN RUSHING
 
With 708 yards rushing on 116 carries, senior Dante Miller enters week nine as the Ivy League's leader in total rushing yards and rushing yards per carry (6.1 yards per carry). He is second in rushing yards per game (88.5). In national statistics, he ranks No. 16 in rushing yards per carry (6.10) and No. 34 in rushing yards per game (88.5).
 
In previous back-to-back wins at CCSU and Penn, Miller accumulated 323 rushing yards and two touchdowns (75 yard TD, 65-yard TD) on 23 attempts for a phenomenal a 9.5 yards per carry average. The 323-yards in two games ranks as the third-best total for rushing yards in consecutive games ever at Columbia. The two-game stretch is the first-back-to-back 100-yard rushing performance in 26 games for Columbia.
 
His 187 yards vs. Penn ranks tied for the 11th highest single-game total in school history and his 11.7 yards per carry ranks as the eighth-best game mark in school history.
 
Miller has flair and speed for the big play as he has run for plays of 75 yards, 65 yards, 63 yards, 41 yards and 40 yards on the year.
 
The last time Columbia had a player lead the Ivy League in rushing was Cameron Molina in 2015.
 
COLUMBIA, LIONS AMONG NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
 
Through eight games, Columbia is ranked among the nation's top-25 FCS teams in eight different team statistical categories:

• No. 1 in passes had intercepted (1).
• No. 1 in turnovers lost (4).
• No. 10 in fourth down conversion percentage defense (30.4).
• No. 13 in fourth down conversion percentage (66.7).
• No. 14 in fumbles lost (3).
• No. 17 in kickoff returns (24.38).
• No. 24 in sacks (2.75).
• No. 25 in first downs defense (148).

 
In addition, Columbia ranks high in sacks allowed (No. 26), rushing defense (No. 29), turnover margin (No. 29), and team tackles for loss (No. 35).
 
Individually, the Lions rank among the top-25 national statistical leaders in seven different categories:

• Will Allen, No. 4 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
• Alex Felkins, No. 11 in field goals per game (1.62).
• Dante Miller, No. 16 in rushing yards per carry (6.10).
• Mike Roussos, No. 18 in punt returns (9.5).
• Cam Dillon, No. 19 in sacks (0.88).
• Mike Roussos, No. 20 in kickoff returns (25.6).
• Dante Miller, No. 24 in rushing yards per game (88.5).

 
COLUMBIA IN IVY LEAGUE STATS
 
Several Columbia Lions are ranked among the top-5 Ivy League leaders in several statistical categories:

• Will Allen: No. 1 in kickoff return touchdowns (1).
• Cam Dillon, No. 3 in sacks (0.88); No. 3 in tackles for loss (1.2).
• Alex Felkins: No. 1 in field goals per game (1.62); No. 4 in scoring (7.5), No. 5 in field goal percentage (61.9).
• Joe Green: No. 4 in completions per game (15.88), No. 5 in completion percentage (58.0), No. 5 in passing efficiency (116.0), No. 5 in passing yards (1,139), No. 5 in passing yards per game (167.4), No. 5 in total offense (166.5), No. 5 in yards per pass attempt (6.11).
• Ben Mathiasmeier: No. 2 in interceptions per game (0.4).
• Dante Miller: No. 1 in rushing yards (708); No. 1 in rushing yards per carry (6.10); No. 2 in rushing yards per game (88.5); No. 4 in all-purpose yards per game (102.0).
• Drew Schmid: No. 3 in punting (40.0).
• Scott Valentas, No. 5 in total tackles per game (7.0).