NEW YORK-Ben Mathiasmeier has a nose for the football and knack for sniffing out big plays at critical moments.
 
Columbia's All-Ivy League strong safety had an interception vs. Harvard in 2018 to seal a 17-10 overtime triumph, the Lions' first win over the Crimson since 2003.
 
On Saturday, Mathiasmeier did it again. When Georgetown was driving down the field midway through the third quarter of a tight game, he telegraphed a Pierce Holley pass, intercepted it and raced 68 yards down the Columbia sideline. He was tackled at the 8-yard line, but his play set up a touchdown for the offense, and also led to some post-game ribbing from his teammates.
 
"I broke on the out route, saw that there's a defender, I think was an offensive lineman so I cut back a little bit and got back on the sideline, and I'm hearing it in the locker room from these guys for not punching it in for six," Mathiasmeier said. "But it was a good play. It created some momentum and we're glad that our offense posted for six in the grand scheme of things."
 
The return set up a 1-yard touchdown run for quarterback Ty Lenhart, shifted momentum and extended Columbia's lead to 28-17 midway through the third quarter. 
 
"You know the old saying, 'defense wins championships,'" Lenhart said. "We lean on our defense as an offense and when they make big plays, they put us in a position to be successful. For example, when Ben made that pick—that touchdown is obviously not happening without what he did. So we're going to keep leaning on those guys and they're going to keep giving us the ball and we're going to try to score off those plays."
 
Later in the game, Mathiasmeier outjumped a Georgetown receiver for a second interception with 18 seconds left to seal Columbia's 35-24 win and secure the Lou Little Cup. The win brought the trophy back to Campbell Sports Center at Baker Athletics Complex for the third time in the last four years in a rivalry game which was established in 2015, with the winner earning bragging rights to the Lou Little Trophy. Trophy namesake Lou Little served as the head football coach at both institutions.
 
For the head coach who looks at such rivalry and "trophy" games as an ideal way for the Lions to build more program tradition, Mathiasmeier's big playmaking ability at crucial moments of the game comes as no surprise.
 
"Our best players have to play well and he falls in that category. They're going to have opportunities planned in the secondary to make plays," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli said. "His picks were critical. The first one, we returned all the way deep into their territory and then we're able to convert for a touchdown. Then the second was important because we don't want to get in any kind of Hail Mary situations with an onside kick to follow and that kind of nonsense."
 
Mathiasmeier also had six tackles, five of which were solo, and a pass breakup to garner the Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Week award. While he's seemingly everywhere on the field, he's quick to credit his teammates for doing their jobs and putting him in the position to make plays.
 
"First and foremost I'm one out of the 11 out there, so I do my assignment just like everyone else does their assignment right. And there were scenarios that allowed me to create two interceptions," Mathiasmeier said.  "I'm just doing my part to put the defense in the best position to come up with a victory at the end of the day."
 
A fifth-year senior who will graduate in February 2022 with an economics degree, he is the Lions' nominee for the prestigious Wiliam V. Campbell Award, which is the most prestigious award in college football behind the Heisman Trophy. Known as the "academic Heisman," it recognizes an individual as the best in the county for their academic success, football performance, and exemplary leadership. 
 
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound football lifer from Katy, Texas—with his father, Thomas, an Academic All-American and All-Southwest Conference defensive back for Texas Tech in the late 1980's—made the decision to take a semester off to maintain his eligibility and have one more go around at Columbia.
 
"It really tests your patience because — before we played last week — it's been two years since we've been on the field," Mathiasmeier said. "So, patience and just staying consistent back home, and we finally got up here in the summer with the guys consistently working on preparing for game one. 
 
"And game two obviously it was with a W as well, so 2-0 moving on to Princeton. But we need to play a lot better than we did today in order to come out on top next week and have a great week of preparation as well."
 
The team captain knows things are about to ramp up with the first of seven Ivy League games, starting on the road with Columbia's nearest neighbor in Princeton. 
 
As Ancient Eight play begins, the 27,800 seat stadium on the Tiger's New Jersey campus will have a bigger atmosphere than the Lions non-conference games. Something new for the entire first-year and sophomore class after COVID-19 knocked out last season, as well as traveling on the road for the first time all year after playing the first two games in the cozy confines of Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wein Stadium.
 
"Ivy League games are different from non-conference games. They mean more," Mathiasmeier said. "Obviously, this game was a trophy game, so we want to come out on top, but Ivy League games just mean more. And we tried to stress it this summer and this fall camp on the importance of starting Ivy League play right. Obviously we have a great competitor in Princeton this week.
 
"We'll look forward to growing as a team and hopefully instilling in these young guys the importance of Ivy League play."