The 2008 Columbia football season was bittersweet for the Light Blue. Its 2-5 Ivy League record landed it in a tie for sixth place in the Ancient Eight, which is a better than its last-place finish in 2007. But there is no doubt that the Lions could have achieved more.
“The season was disappointing,” head coach Norries Wilson said after the team’s final game against Brown. “I put this game away from the other nine because I thought in the other nine we weren’t out-toughed. We got out-toughed today ... I know we only won two of those previous nine games, but we didn’t get out-toughed in those seven games we lost previous to today and we had opportunities to win those games.”
The first five games of the season saw the Lions go 0-5, but each game was decided by fewer than 10 points. The Light Blue held fourth-quarter leads against Fordham and Princeton before dropping those games at home and fell just short in a shootout in the pouring rain against Towson. Strong defense kept the Lions close against Lafayette and Penn, but the offense was unable to seal the deal.
In the sixth game of the season the Lions broke into the win column when they beat Dartmouth, 21-13. Senior quarterback M.A. Olawale got his first start in that game and was able to carve through the Big Green defense. He was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the performance.
After losses to Yale and Harvard, the Light Blue beat Cornell, 17-7, in a game that the defense, which had been the team’s strong suit all season, dominated. It would be the team’s last win, as Columbia was trounced by league co-champion Brown in the final weekend of the season, 41-10.
Two Lions—junior defensive end Lou Miller and sophomore linebacker Alex Gross—received first-team all-Ivy League honors, and five others were given spots on other all-league teams. Miller led the league in sacks with eight and tackles for a loss with 19.5. Not to be outdone, Gross topped all other defenders with 101 tackles during the 2008 campaign.
The second team featured four Lions—three on offense and one on defense—while two spots on the defensive honorable-mention list were also snagged by Columbia players. Senior left tackle Michael Brune, junior wide receiver Austin Knowlin, and senior kicker Jon Rocholl represented the Light Blue on offense while senior linebacker Drew Quinn was recognized on defense. Rocholl was also named to the defensive honorable mention team as a punter along with freshman defensive tackle Owen Fraser. Fraser was the only freshman other than Rookie of the Year Matthew Hanson of Harvard to be selected for any all-Ivy team—an indication that he must have been highly considered for the top freshman honor.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy