All mediocre things must come to an end

Having witnessed the worst sports-related loss of my life, earlier this week, I could not fathom writing about anything but the Dodgers.

They lost to the Phillies in the National League Championship Series three games to one—again. Given a chance to rebound after a tough loss, they failed—again. After exhibiting heart and grit all season, they lost their identity in just a few games—again.

Yet Saturday, our very own Columbia Lions proved that they, too, have a propensity to underperform.

Again.

More disappointing than the Dodgers? Maybe not. More surprising? Not that either.

More embarrassing? Absolutely. It was downright offensive.

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote that this was the year for Columbia to compete for an Ivy title, or at least finish in the league’s top half. I was not alone in this sentiment. From the few close followers of Ivy League football to players on the team, expectations were high. Head coach Norries Wilson had a team full of his recruits, loaded with experience, playing under a well-established system in a down year for the Ivy League.

How did they respond to their 2-1 start?

A string of ugly losses culminating in their breaking the one rule of Ivy League play: you don’t lose to Dartmouth. No matter where the game is played or what the conditions are, you do not lose to Dartmouth.

The Big Green had not won a game since 2007, as their ineptitude produced a losing streak of 17 games overall and 11 straight in league play. Then Columbia took the field and all of a sudden Dartmouth transformed to match the class of the Ivy League. The Big Green played like the New England Patriots, and the Lions—well, they were like the Lions (Detroit that is). They were dominated from start to finish in a 28-6 loss.

Sadly, could we expect anything more?

After a 2-1 start to the season, Columbia took a 21-10 lead into halftime against Lafayette two weeks ago. This was after Lafayette had beaten Penn and trounced Yale. True to form, the Lions came out flat in the second half, did not score a single point, and watched as the Leopards controlled the ball against an exhausted defense.

Sound familiar? Two weeks before that, the Light Blue took a 13-9 lead into halftime against a favored Central Connecticut State team and watched the Blue Devils run all over them in the final two quarters for a 22-13 win.

Still, Lafayette was just the beginning. Last weekend, Columbia welcomed Penn for Homecoming with a chance to move to 2-0 in league play, but the Lions managed to turn back the clocks two years, when they lost to the Quakers 59-28.

This time around they turned over the ball seven times, with six turnovers by Millicent Olawale, and somehow the Quakers only won 27-13.

That brings us to this week, the worst of all. Dartmouth entered Saturday 0-5. They had lost every game but one by at least 15 points. Even Yale beat them 38-7—the same Yale team that was shut out by Penn on Saturday and has scored just seven points since beating Dartmouth.

When it was Columbia’s turn to pick up the easiest win on its schedule, the Lions surrendered 279 yards on the ground and turned it over three times.

I cannot continue to mercilessly recount these horrible losses, but they share common themes—poor special teams, bad play-calling, inconsistency, second-half collapses, and the list goes on.

The blame for this does not fall on the players. Could they have performed better the last few weeks? Of course—even they would say that.

However, we have seen that this is a talented and motivated team. How else do you explain recapturing the Liberty Cup, trouncing Princeton, and sustaining leads for much of the game against good teams like Lafayette and Central Connecticut State?

Unfortunately, we have also seen this team’s talent squandered and its confidence dashed.

A quarterback who dominated the start of the season has struggled mightily ever since. A very talented defense has fallen apart, both physically and performance-wise. We have seen missed kicks, and more missed kicks. Most of all, we have seen a slew of problems that can almost all be traced to one flaw—poor coaching.

Clearly, the team has not been the same since losing at Lafayette, which was heartbreaking in more ways than one. It was the coaching staff’s job to help refocus and reenergize the team.

It is also the staff’s job to utilize its talent and the offensive play-calling has been dreadful. Ray Rangel, a starting running back who is averaging nearly six yards a carry, has fewer carries than Olawale. Olawale is very talented, but when Rangel continues to run effectively, why not feed him the ball? Yet this has never seemed to trouble Wilson or offensive coordinator Vinny Marino, who continue to run draw after draw, wearing down their quarterback and sending their defense back out onto the field.

Still, the coaching staff’s play-calling may actually be better than some of its personnel decisions. How else do you explain the absence of Alex Gross and many others on defense? Gross, the team’s defensive MVP two years in a row, went down for the season after sustaining an injury on special teams. Like many other top defenders, Gross has consistently covered kickoffs and punts since coming to Columbia. Need I point out the absurd and unnecessary risk in this?

Finally, there is special teams itself. No, Wilson and his staff are not at fault for all of the missed field goals. However, as any good football coach will tell you, special teams is a vital part of the team, something that can swing the balance of any game. It has also been a problem in one way or another since Wilson arrived. This year, when the punter couldn’t punt, he was replaced by the kicker. But the kicker had been struggling to even convert his PATs. When you are in the process of building a program, do you not make sure you have a capable successor for John Rocholl?

I wrote three weeks ago that if the team did not contend late in the season, then it was time for a change.

I rarely think coaching changes midseason help. I also firmly believe that a coach deserves a full four years before he can be properly judged. Nevertheless, this has to stop.

A message must be sent. Mediocrity—a generous description—will not be tolerated. Second-half collapses, embarrassing losses, and inexplicably poor play-calling are inexcusable.

Which, as of now, can only mean one thing—the Norries Wilson era at Columbia must end.

Lucas Shaw is a Columbia College junior majoring in political science. sports@columbiaspectator.com