NEW YORK – The Columbia football team will make its home debut Saturday, September 23 at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in a battle against Georgetown for control of the Lou Little Cup. Columbia posted a 42-6 win in the rivalry series last season and is looking for three-straight wins against the Hoyas. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
COMING HOME
• Columbia and Georgetown meet for the 10th time in program history Saturday as the Lions look to win their third-straight Lou Little Cup.
• Mark Fabish makes his home debut as the Lions' interim head coach after Al Bagnoli announced his retirement prior to the start of training camp in August. He has served as an assistant at Columbia since 2015 and was the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the past seven seasons.
• Columbia is looking for its fourth straight non-conference win at home Saturday against Georgetown. The Lions defeated Marist last year at home and got the streak started with back-to-back wins against Marist and Georgetown to start the 2021 season.
 
LAFAYETTE LEFTOVERS
• Joey Giorgi led the offense with 73 rushing yards on 18 carries.
• Hayden McDonald registered a career-high 14 tackles, while Anthony Roussos added 12, including 2.5 for a loss.
• William Hughes averaged 47.8 yards on four punts, including three inside the 20. Carter McFadden posted 65 combined return yards. Hugo Merry made a 42-yard field goal in his collegiate debut.
• Columbia allowed 243 rushing yards to the Leopards after being one of the toughest teams in the nation to run on last year.
• On third down, the Lions converted on just 2-of-11 opportunities, while Lafayette was 9-of-17.
 
LAST YEAR'S MATCHUP
• Columbia topped Georgetown, 42-6, in Washington D.C. last September. The Lions racked up 469 yards of total offense and went 14-of-18 on third down conversions.
• Defensively, Columbia was dominant in stopping the run and held the Hoyas (1-3) to zero net rushing yards on 14 attempts.
• Joe Green completed 23-of-32 passes for a career-high 270 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory.
• Columbia forced three interceptions, including a program-record 93-yard pick six by Rocco Millia.
• Malcolm Terry II scored his first career touchdown with a 40-yard score in the third quarter. Ty'son Edwards (19 carries, 80 yards) and Joey Giorgi (18 carries, 73 yards) also were key factors in the win.
• Following last year's win, Bryson Canty was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his performance after hauling in eight catches for 139 yards and a touchdown.
 
THE LOU LITTLE CUP
The Lions beat the Hoyas (42-6) on the road last season to retain the Lou Little Cup for the second straight year. Columbia and Georgetown compete in football for the rights to the Lou Little Trophy. The Lions improved to 4-3 since the inception of the trophy in 2015.
 
The trophy's namesake, Lou Little served as the head football coach at both institutions. Little coached at Georgetown from 1924-30 and helped bring the Hoyas into the modern era as he recorded a 41-12-13 record over six seasons, while also serving as athletics director. His .759 winning percentage is still the highest among Georgetown head coaches who have coached more than 20 games. Little took over at Columbia in 1930 and continued his Hall of Fame career until 1956. At Columbia, he posted 110 victories and his most notable win came in the 1934 Rose Bowl, when the Lions defeated Stanford 7-0. Overall, his teams won 149 games, lost 122 and tied 11. The two schools signed on to officially play the Lou Little Cup series in 2015.
 
GEORGETOWN'S STATUS
Georgetown dropped a home contest to Stonehill College last weekend in a back-and-forth 23-20 game. Joshua Stakely ran for 105 yards while also making four catches for 36 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Knoop completed 19 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns. The Hoya defense tallied one sack, one broken up pass and one blocked punt. Georgetown tallied six tackles for loss and was led by Naiteitei Mose with eight tackles, including five solo and three assists.
 
The Hoya defense has shined early this season as the unit ranks fourth in the FCS and leads the Patriot League in total defense, allowing an average of 236.7 yards per game. Georgetown also ranks second in the FCS and leads the Patriot Leauge in passing yards allowed with an average of just 99 yards per game. The Georgetown offense is averaging 407.7 yards a game with 13 total touchdowns this season.
 
CAREER PERFORMANCE
Defensive back Hayden McDonald registered a career-high 14 tackles in the season opener at Lafayette. He leads the Ivy League in tackles after week one and ranks fourth in the FCS. 12 of his 14 tackles were solo tackles as he also leads the league and FCS in solo tackles per game heading into week two.
 
STREAK SNAPPED
Senior wide receiver Marcus Libman was held without a catch for the first time in his career last weekend at Lafayette. He had a reception in 20 consecutive games, dating back to the beginning of the 2021 campaign. The streak was the fourth longest in program history and longest since 2009 when Austin Knowlin set the record of 36.
 
BILLY BIG FOOT
William Hughes was named to the FedEx Ground FCS National Honor Roll after a strong season opener at Lafayette. Hughes averaged 47.8 yards on four punts and pinned the Leopards inside the 20 three times. He also had three kicks that went beyond 50 yards, including a game-long 56-yarder. Last season, Hughes stepped up as Columbia's starting punter for the final four games and averaged 43.6 yards per attempt on 16 kicks to earn All-Ivy League honors.
 
GRAND DEBUT
Hugo Merry made a 42-yard field goal in his collegiate debut last Saturday at Lafayette to score the only points of the day for the Lions. Merry won the job after the departure of three-time All-Ivy League honoree Alex Felkins due to graduation.
 
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF BAKER FIELD
The Columbia football team began playing at Baker Field in 1923. Columbia Athletics is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Baker Field this season. A 32,000-seat wooden stadium was built on the site in 1928. It was in use until 1982, when it was demolished to make room for the current 17,000-seat Lawrence A. Wien Stadium. Baker Field played host to the first live television broadcast of an athletics event on May 17, 1939 as Columbia played Princeton in a baseball game at Robertson Field. New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft played at Baker Field on the freshman squad in 1959. In October 2007, the playing surface at Wien Stadium was dedicated as Robert K. Kraft Field.
 
HONORING BUDDY TEEVENS
Columbia, along with the other eight Ivy League schools will honor former Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens, who passes away on September 19 following sustaining injuries in a bicycle accident in March. Each institution will wear a decal with his initials on their football helmets this fall in Coach Teevens' honor.
 
TICKETS
Tickets start at just $13. Click here to purchase game tickets or call 888-LIONS-11

YOUTH DAY
All youth 12 & under receive free tickets and a free poster.

STUDENT T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY
The first 500 students receive free t-shirts. Students must have a valid Columbia or Barnard ID to receive free t-shirts. 

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