Columbia
Georgetown
Football Hits Road to Face Georgetown Saturday
9/23/2026 4:19:00 PM | Football
The Lions and Hoyas will vie for the Lou Little Trophy in their annual meeting
OPENING DRIVE
• The Lions will hit the road for the first time when they face Georgetown this Saturday. Columbia is coming off a thrilling 40-34 OT win over Lafayette.
• Columbia has now won five consecutive home openers and eight of its last nine dating back to the 2017 season.
• Wideout Bryce Coleman earned Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week honors after posting seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
A WIN WOULD...
• Make the Lions 7-4 in Lou Little Trophy games.
• Improve the Lions' record to 22-7 against non-conference opponents since 2016.
• Be the 48th win for the program against a Patriot League school.
THE LOU LITTLE CUP
Since 2015, Columbia and Georgetown have competed for the rights to the Lou Little Trophy. The Lions are 6-4 since the trophy's inception.
The trophy's namesake served as the head football coach at both institutions. Little coached at Georgetown from 1924 to 1930 and helped bring the Hoyas into the modern era, recording 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. Littletook over at Columbia in 1930 and continued his Hall of Fame career until 1956. At Columbia, he had 110 victories, and his most notable win came in the 1934 Rose Bowl when the Lions defeated Stanford 7-0. Overall, his teams went 149-122-11 at Columbia.
LAFAYETTE LEFTOVERS
• The Lions held a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter before Lafayette put together a scoring drive and used a strip sack for a touchdown to knot things up. The teams then traded field goals late in regulation to force overtime.
• MD Awe picked off the first pass from scrimmage, and nearly returned it for a touchdown after a 66-yard return. However, Columbia struck on the very next play when Chase Goodwin connected with Beckett Robinson for a 25-yard touchdown pass to end the game.
• Columbia posted 524 yards of offense in the win, the fourth-highest single-game mark in program history. It was the team's first 500-yard performance since the Lions put up 515 yards against Brown in 2018.
• Chase Goodwin had a career day, going 25-of-39 for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
• Goodwin connected with eight different receivers on the day and had a long strike of 45 yards.
• Griffin Johnson posted his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game (dating back to the end of last season) after piling up 124 yards in Week 1.
• Senior quarterback Xander Menapace found the endzone twice, one passing and one rushing.
• Caleb Solomon led the defense with 10 tackles.
GEORGETOWN'S STATUS
• Georgetown enters the matchup 0-2 through its first two games of the season. The Hoyas are averaging 17.5 points and 271.0 total yards per game.
• Georgetown's offense is averaging 158.5 passing yards and 112.5 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Jack Johnson has thrown for 246 yards and four touchdowns while completing 57.6 percent of his passes. Jayden Sumpter is averaging 54.0 rushing yards per game, while Hassan Mahasin is averaging 60.0 receiving yards per game.
• Georgetown's defense is allowing 34.5 points and 520.0 yards per game, including 296.5 passing yards and 223.5 rushing yards. Brian Allen leads the Hoyas with 10.0 tackles per game, while Jack Casey is averaging 7.0 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss per game. Chigozie Oge-Evans has recorded a sack and forced a fumble.
• On special teams, Josh Leff is averaging 39.9 yards per punt, while Hassan Mahasin is averaging 15.0 yards per kickoff return. Georgetown has also blocked one kick through its first two games.
LAST YEAR'S MATCHUP
Columbia bested Georgetown, 19-10, to clinch the Lou Little Cup on Saturday afternoon. The Lions' defense forced three turnovers, highlighted by Jack Smiechowski and Charlie Newton each collecting their first career interceptions, while Justin Townsend registered his first two sacks of the season.
After a slow start, the Lions struck on their third drive. Quarterback Chase Goodwin got the passing game going and connected with Hutch Crow in the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown catch to put the Lions in front with 2:53 left in the first quarter. Goodwin capped another scoring drive with a quarterback sneak to extend the lead to 13-0 with 12:14 left in the half.
Coming back from the break, Georgetown tried to close the gap as Jayden Sumpter broke loose for a 21-yard touchdown run to cap a lengthy 5:57 drive and cut Columbia's lead to 16-10 with 5:41 left in the third quarter. Columbia's defense clamped down, forcing stops and protecting the one-score lead. In the final frame, Columbia's defense kept the Hoyas scoreless, forcing a turnover on downs and Smiechowski sealing the win with his second pick of the afternoon.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Lions and Hoyas will meet for the 13th time on Saturday, with Columbia holding an 8-4 lead in the series.
• Columbia has won five of the last six meetings between the schools.
COLUMBIA/LAFAYETTE CONNECTIONS
Lafayette head coach John Troxell spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Columbia (1994-96) under head coach Ray Tellier. In 1996, Troxell oversaw a secondary that recorded the third-best passing defense in the country. Troxell helped Columbia to its first winning season in 23 seasons in 1994. An 8-2 mark and the program's best finish in 15 years followed in 1996.
COLUMBIA/GEORGETOWN CONNECTIONS
Current Columbia running backs coach Kenneth Tinsley spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons in the same role with the Hoyas.
BE MERRY
In just three-plus seasons, kicker Hugo Merry ranks among Columbia's all-time leaders in field goals made (26 - third) and extra points made (59 - fourth). Merry set a program record by making 11 straight field goals, surpassing the old mark of eight, between the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He also converted on 38 consecutive PATs from the end of 2023 until the Georgetown game last season, a new Columbia record.
For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on X, Instagram, Facebook and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
