GAME TWO: LOU LITTLE CUP
GEORGETOWN (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League) at COLUMBIA (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League)
Saturday, September 25, 2021 • 1:05 p.m. ET • Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium • New York, N.Y.
 
THE FACTS
 
Television: ESPN+ (Lance Medow, Ted Gregory; Producer: Sol Steinberg) | Watch Live on ESPN+
 
Columbia Online Radio: None.
 
Live Stats: www.gocolumbialions.com | Live Stats
 
Coaches: Columbia- Al Bagnoli, 7th year at Columbia (23-28), 39th year overall (258-126). Georgetown- Rob Sgarlata, 9^th year at Georgetown (22-45); 9^th year overall (22-45).
 
Complete Game Notes: Click here.
 
Series: Columbia and Georgetown meet for the eighth time in a series which began in 1901. Columbia holds a 4-3 advantage over Georgetown and has claimed two of the last three contests. The last time the two schools met was in 2019 at Robert K. Kraft Field, a 24-10 Georgetown win.
 
GAME NOTES
 
NEW YORK—Columbia (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) plays its annual Lou Little Cup contest and second non-conference game when it hosts Georgetown (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League) on Saturday. The contest will be played on Sept. 25 at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
 
Today's game also marks Columbia's second straight Northern Manhattan Neighbors Appreciation Day promotion.
 
TODAY'S TOP STORYLINES
 

• Columbia Football looks to begin a season with two straight wins for the third time in the last four years.
• A win would give CU its 10th non-conference win in its last 12 games.
• The two schools meet for the eighth time in series history with the Lions owning a 4-3 edge. CU has claimed two of the last three meetings.
• Columbia and Georgetown meet in their annual Lou Little Cup game for the sixth time. The winner earns the right to the Lou Little Trophy.
• Columbia's Al Bagnoli enters 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.

 
ABOUT THE LIONS
 
Last Saturday, Columbia returned to the gridiron in fine fashion as the Lions claimed a 37-14 season-opening victory over Marist. Marist jumped out to a 14-0 lead just five minutes into the game, but the Lions scored 37 unanswered points, piled up 465 total offensive yards, and rushed for 311 yards in the victory, which marked the Lions' fourth straight win in a season opener.
 
The contest marked Columbia's first game in 664 days as the Ivy League Council of Presidents canceled the 2020 football season in July 2020 due to the COVID-19  pandemic. The Council announced during spring 2021 that sport competition would begin again in the fall.
 
Because all of Columbia's students were attending classes virtually during the 2020-21 academic year, the Lions did not have the benefit of having spring practice sessions. Columbia was the only Ivy League football program to not hold spring practice drills.
 
Over 90 of Columbia's players were on campus this summer to prepare for the 2021 season.
 
Columbia returns 14 total starters from its 2020 roster, including six on offense and eight on defense. The Lions also return a variety of players who suffered season-ending injuries during the 2019 campaign. A total of 72 lettermen return to the squad and the Lions add 62 student-athletes from the sophomore and first-year classes who had never attended a class on campus. In addition, nine fifth-year players are back to compete for the Lions. Columbia does not have a graduate student on the roster.
 
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.
 
COLUMBIA, GEORGETOWN COMPETE FOR SIXTH ANNUAL LOU LITTLE TROPHY
 
Columbia and Georgetown will compete in the Lou Little Cup game for the sixth year as the rivalry was established in 2015. The game's winner earns the right to take home the Lou Little Trophy. The matchup is one of two "trophy" games for Columbia as the Lions also compete for the Empire State Bowl Trophy with Cornell.
 
Columbia has claimed two of its last three meetings against Georgetown, including back-to-back victories in 2017 and 2018. In the series' last meeting in 2019, Georgetown claimed a 24-10 victory over the Lions in New York City.
 
 The Cup's namesake, Lou Little, served as the head football coach at both institutions. Little coached at Georgetown from 1924-30 and helped bring Georgetown football into the modern era. Little recorded a 41-12-3 record over six seasons, while also serving as athletics director. His .759 win percentage is still the highest among Georgetown head coaches who have coached more than 20 games on the Hilltop.
 
Little took over at Columbia in 1930 and continued his Hall of Fame career until 1956. At Columbia, he posted 110 victories and is the school's all-time winningest coach. His most notable win at Columbia came in the 1934 Rose Bowl, when Columbia upset Stanford 7-0. Over his career, his teams won 149 games, lost 122 and tied 11.
 
LIONS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT SEASON OPENER VS. MARIST
 
Columbia opened its 2021 season with a resounding 37-14 victory over Marist last Saturday. It marked the Lions' fourth consecutive win in a season opener. Columbia battled back from a 14-0 deficit in the game's first five minutes with 37 unanswered points.
 
Columbia rushed for 311 yards, its first 300-yard rushing game in 33 years as Dante Miller (career-best 117 yards), Ryan Young (career-best 95 yards), and Broderick Taylor (42 yards, TD) anchored the ground attack. Starting quarterback Joe Green completed 13 of 20 passes for 155 yards, including a 69 yard-TD pass to Ernest Robertson, who also added a 17-yard touchdown run on an end-around play. Quarterback Gabriel Hollingsworth added a 15-yard touchdown run of his own and Alex Felkins kicked three field goals and finished with 13 total points as the Lions rolled to victory.
 
Columbia's defense limited Marist to nine first downs, 242 total offensive yards, 64 yards rushing, and 1-12 performance on third downs. Marist only had the ball for 25 minutes and had one red zone opportunity.
 
FELKINS EARNS IVY LEAGUE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
 
Columbia junior placekicker Alex Felkins was named the Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday morning.
 
In Columbia's season-opening 37-14 win over Marist on Saturday, Felkins scored 13 total points, converted all three of his field goal attempts and all four of his point after attempts. He connected on field goals of 28, 19, and 36 yards, and registered four touchbacks on eight kickoffs. His team-leading 13 points scored ranks tied for the second most in Columbia game history for a placekicker.
 
With the honor, Felkins earns his third career Ivy League weekly accolade as he was named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Week on Sept. 23, 2019 and Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 21, 2019.
 
RECAPPING SATURDAY'S 37-14 WIN OVER MARIST
 
Following are some notes from Saturday's season-opening victory over Marist:

• The win gave Columbia its fourth straight season-opening win, its fifth all-time victory over Marist and improved the Lions to 5-0 all-time vs. the Red Foxes.
• It also gave Head Coach Al Bagnoli his 258th career victory. Bagnoli entered the 2021 college football season as the winningest active coach in FCS football.
• After trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, Columbia scored 37 unanswered points to win 37-14.
• On offense, Columbia totaled 465 yards, rushed for 311 yards, and passed for 154 yards.
• On defense, Columbia held Marist to 242 yards of total offense and 64 yards rushing, 1-12 on third downs, and allowed just one red zone opportunity. The Lions made 11 tackles for loss on the day, finished with three sacks and one interception.
• Columbia's 311 yards were its most rushing yards in a game since Nov. 19, 1988, when the Lions ran for 444 vs. Brown. That was 310 games ago. It was also the first time Columbia rushed for over 300 yards in 33 years.
• For the first time in 23 games and four years, Columbia had a 100-yard rusher. Dante Miller finished with a career-high 117 yards on 18 carries. The last time a Columbia player rushed for 100 or more yards was Chris Schroer (183) at Cornell on Nov. 11, 2017.
• Columbia played its first football game in 664 days and first game since the 2019 season.
• Columbia played a team playing its first game of a season for the first time in 22 years (Harvard, 1999).
• Sophomore quarterback Joe Green made his first start at Columbia and completed 13 of 20 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. In the first half, he was 12 of 15 for 138 yards.
• Sophomore quarterback Gabriel Hollingsworth scored the first rushing touchdown of his career on a 15-yard run in the first quarter. It was the first touchdown of the season for the Lions. Hollingsworth finished with three carries for 15 yards and a touchdown and completed one of two passes.
• Senior Ernest Robertson scored a career-best two touchdowns on the day. He registered his first career touchdown on a 69-yard TD pass from Joe Green in the second quarter. It was Green's first career touchdown pass. The 69-yard touchdown reception tied for the 26th longest pass in school history. Later, in the third quarter, Robertson scored on a 17-yard touchdown run on an end-around play. The play gave the Lions a 31-14 lead. Robertson finished with two catches for 87 yards and 104 all-purpose yards.
• Senior Dante Miller rushed for a career-high 117 yards on 18 carries. His long run of the day was 23 yards and he averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
• Senior Ryan Young finished the day with 118 total all-purpose yards, rushed for a career-high 95 yards on 18 carries, and caught four passes for 23 yards.
• Senior Broderick Taylor scored his first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard run in the second quarter. It marked his second career touchdown. Taylor rushed for 42 yards on the day.
• Senior defensive back Fara'ad McCombs and senior linebacker Justin Woodley both led Columbia's defense with seven tackles apiece. Senior defensive back Ben Mathiasmeier also finished with six tackles on the day.
• Senior Cam Dillon made his first career interception in the second quarter. He also finished with two tackles and 1.5 sacks on the day.
• Junior placekicker Alex Felkins converted three field goals on the day: a 28-yarder in the second quarter, 19-yarder in the third quarter, and a 36-yarder in the fourth quarter. He finished the day with 13 points. The 13 points rank tied for the second-most points scored by a placekicker in Columbia's game history. The record is 15 held by Oren Milstein vs. Wagner in 2016.
• Senior Justin Woodley registered his first career sack in the second quarter.
• First-year linebacker CJ Brown registered his first career sack in the fourth quarter.
• Making their first career starts were Marcus Libman (wide receiver), Ernest Robertson (wide receiver), Jack Ertz (wide receiver), Matt Painton (tight end), Joe Green (quarterback), David Sawyer (right tackle), Matt Klenk (right guard), Tyler Worrell (center), Thomas Thibault (defensive end), Mitchell Shinskie (defensive tackle), Mitch Moyer (defensive tackle), Paul Akere (defensive end), and CJ Brown (linebacker).

 
LIONS EXPERIENCE SUCCESS IN NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
 
Columbia has won nine of its last 11 non-conference games. A 24-10 loss to Georgetown on Sept. 28, 2019 ended Columbia's school-record non-conference win streak at eight games. The streak began at Wagner on Oct. 8, 2016. Previously, the record was four straight non-conference wins from Sept. 28, 1996-Oct. 4, 1997.
 
GEORGETOWN GAME DUBBED SECOND STRAIGHT NORTHERN MANHATTAN NEIGHBORS APPRECIATION DAY
 
Saturday's game vs. Georgetown will be second of two Northern Manhattan Neighbors Appreciation Days. All residents of the Inwood and Washington Heights community may receive complimentary tickets. To redeem tickets, contact the Athletics Tickets office at 888-LIONS-11 or visit the Northern Manhattan Neighbors table at the game. All residents must show proof of address to redeem the tickets.
 
ABOUT GEORGETOWN
 
Georgetown will play its third contest of the 2021 season. It enters Saturday's game with a 1-1 record after defeating Delaware State, 20-14 in Dover, Del., and dropping a 44-9 loss to Harvard last weekend in Washington D.C. The Hoyas' first game, scheduled for Sept. 4 vs. Marist, was canceled due to COVID-related reasons.
 
Georgetown is led by quarterback Joseph Brunell, who has completed 38 of 69 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns.  He is averaging 223.0 yards passing per game and 211.0 total yards per game. His leading receivers are Cameron Crayton (11 catches, 187 yards, 1TD), Asante Das (seven catches for 100 yards), and Joshua Tomas (eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown). The Hoyas have only gained 41 yards rushing.
 
On defense, the Hoyas are led by Ahmad Wilson, who has made 19 tackles (12 solo), along with Justin Fonteneaux (21 tackles, one interception and a blocked kick).