Lightning Strikes in Bronx

As convincing a win as this was for the players, the Columbia skeptic in me wants to dismiss this victory as the fluke win of another 1-9 season. But this was a different win. This was not a fluke. Most Columbia wins, at least over my tenure here, were not "normal." They were gut wrenching, "hope-to-god-the-pass-gets-completed" victories that left you excited but realizing just how lucky the team was.

Saturday night's 23-17 win over Fordham was different. Sure, it was down to the wire, but Columbia's defense made plays in the second half that kept the lid on a potential comeback. Those butterflies didn't leave your stomach until Fordham quarterback Derric Daniels coughed up his team's chance at a comeback with just under a minute to play. Junior defensive end Jeff Oke, in his first varsity game, pounced on the ball and sealed the deal. Columbia's offense didn't punch the ball into the end zone every time it had a chance, but the Lions were three for three in red zone opportunities, including successful 21- and 26-yard field goals by Jon Rocholl and a 12-yard touchdown reception by Brandon Bowser. Had the Lions scored one more touchdown, all the butterflies would have left much sooner. And Rocholl, despite shanking two punts midway through the second half, saved his best kick for the most critical time. When the Rams forced the Lions to a three-and-out with two minutes left, Rocholl booted a 35-yard punt to Fordham's 17-yard line.

"That was probably one of the best team wins that I've ever seen," head coach Bob Shoop said. "I bet you can point to 40 people who made plays during the course of the game that were huge-bigger than just one tackle or something like that."

"You see a lot of [new] faces up here," junior safety Tad Crawford said. "This is a team that just has so many players that are willing to step up and make big plays."

Sophomore Craig Hormann effectively took over the quarterbacking duties from Joe Winters (at least during this game), given his ability to effectively spread the ball around. Hormann had a strong debut, completing 22 of 33 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. But the quarterback proved even more clutch, completing several big passes on third down. The Lions got production out of 11 different receivers but struggled in the running game. The team, too, was consistent on third down, converting over half of their opportunities.Give Hormann a little more time to work on the chemistry between him and Brandon Bowser. Then some of the over-thrown deep balls will become completions instead of misses.

"I mean, for Craig to go 22 of 33 for 215 yards and no picks in his first-to throw no picks, and to throw for 215 yards for two guys who are playing in their first real life action right there is pretty darn good," Shoop said.Winters, too, made a few critical plays, including two sprints for first downs that kept drives alive. The Lions certainly have questions after this victory-their running game, aside from one 40-yard run by Alex Ehrhardt, struggled, and the front seven couldn't stop the run-but this win had a different feel.

Even when Columbia coughed up the ball on the first drive of the game and let up a go-ahead run after just tying the game, the team seemed to take it in stride instead of throwing in the towel. Shoop said his team didn't panic during the game and pointed specifically to Prosper Nwokocha's touchdown return as changing the momentum.

The Lions showed they have playmakers Saturday, not beneficiaries of lucky breaks. And this is a Columbia team that looks like it has a lot of upsides. Now it's time to see whether or not these potential playmakers will be consistent.