Football Drops Heartbreaker to Brown, 32-29

Saturday, November 15

New York, N.Y.

12:00 P.M.

Columbia University

1-8 , 0-6

Brown

4-5 , 1-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Brown

Columbia

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

11/15/2025 4:18:00 PM | Football

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Late score by the Bears spoils the Lions’ senior day

NEW YORK — The Columbia football team dropped a back-and-forth affair to Brown, 32-29, on Saturday afternoon in its home finale. The Bears' (4-5, 1-5) James Murphy threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns, including a 5-yard strike to Matt Childs with 1:53 left in regulation to seal the win.

The Lions took over on their 26 after the kickoff, trying to tie or take the lead late. However, Columbia fumbled on the first play of the drive to give the ball back to the Bears. The Lions made a pair of stops and used two timeouts to force a third-and-8, but Matt Childs picked up 10 on a shovel pass to effectively ice the game.

"It was a very even game and the last team that had the football was probably gonna win," said Patricia and Shepard Head Coach of Football Jon Poppe. "Unfortunately, we didn't have it at the end because of a turnover during a two-minute opportunity. It's just the way this season has gone. The ball didn't bounce our way enough, but we've got to take some hard looks in the mirror and see why we're still not doing some fundamental things well at this stage of the season."

For the Lions (1-8, 1-6), first-year Michael Walters set Columbia's rookie rushing record and ran for a career-high 123 yards and added a touchdown. He is up to 476 yards on the season and eclipsed the previous mark held by Johnathan Reese '02CC of 417 in 1998.

"He's been steady all season," Poppe said of Walters. "You wouldn't know he's a freshman watching or talking with him. He's a veteran at this point and very mature. I'm happy for him to have that kind of success. He's got one more game to put the icing on a great first campaign and build with us into the 2026 season."

Chase Goodwin completed 17-of-25 passes for 168 yards and threw for a career-best three touchdowns, two going to Titus Evans. The duo has connected for four touchdown passes over the past two games.

After trading three-and-outs, Brown capitalized on a dropped would-be touchdown on fourth down to take over on its 34. The Bears marched down the field in eight plays and opened the scoring on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Murphy to Ty Pezza. The Bears elected to go for the 2-point conversion and went up 8-0 at the 2:42 mark of the first.

Brown went up two scores midway through the second quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Murphy to Pearson Hill. Columbia responded with a four-play, 51-yard drive that culminated with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Goodwin to Beckett Robinson to make it 15-7, with 4:03 before the half.

The final 14 seconds of the opening half featured a Columbia fumble recovered by Brown, giving the Bears excellent field position to add on just before halftime. But with four seconds remaining, Caleb Solomon rushed around the edge and blocked the field goal attempt by Brown to keep it a one-possession game heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Columbia's passing attack came to life. Goodwin went 5-for-5 for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Walters powered through the Bears' defense to the tune of 54 yards on eight attempts. Columbia tied the game at 15 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Goodwin to Evans with 8:30 remaining in the third.

The Lions took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter when Walters rushed it up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:33 to play. The back-and-forth play between the two teams resumed with Brown retaking the lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Murphy to Childs.

The Lions' special teams once again made a big impact on the game midway through the fourth. Brown's punter missplayed a snap and tried to rush a punt, but was hurried by the oncoming Mason Robinson, who tackled Murphy for a loss of 13 and a turnover on downs. With the ball deep in Brown territory, Columbia went to work, retaking the lead on a three-play, 28-yard scoring drive that culminated with Goodwin's third touchdown pass of the day, again to Evans, to the right side of the endzone for an 8-yard connection.

Murphy led the Bears 75 yards on the eventual game-winning drive, and was also keyed by a pass interference call on a second-and-12 play. With the ball on the five, Murphy once again found Childs, this time over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown pass to give Brown the lead back for good.

Defensively, Jeremiah Douglas led the way with a career-high 11 tackles. Justin Townsend posted a sack, which brings his career total up to 20.5, moving him just 1.5 shy of the Lions' all-time record.

"We'll put our best foot forward and try to find our edge against Cornell, knowing they are a good team," Poppe said. "We're walking into another dogfight in our Ivy League schedule, and it's their senior day, so they'll have some extra motivation, but hopefully ours is a little stronger and we can end this thing with a win."

The Lions will wrap up the 2025 campaign next Saturday, November 22, when they head to Cornell for the Empire State Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

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POSTGAME NOTES
- Columbia set a season-high in points.
- Walters was the first Lion running back to eclipse the 100-yard mark since Joey Giorgi '24CC in the season finale against Cornell in 2024.
- Solomon's blocked field goal was the first for the program since 2023.
- Columbia honored its 25-member senior class prior to the game.