The football team lost an embarrassing game to Dartmouth on Saturday. There is no other way to put it. Despite this, and despite the ups and downs of this 2009 campaign, the Lions’ season should not be written off just yet. As they always say in sports, it’s a marathon not a sprint, and believe it or not, Columbia still has a chance to salvage its season against its four remaining Ivy League opponents.
Andy Reid, the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, may give the most boring press conferences in the entire world after games. One phrase he repeats in virtually every conference after a loss is, “I have to put my players in a better position to win.”
For the Lions, it starts from the top down. Everyone has a responsibility on the team, but the accountability starts with head coach Norries Wilson. Wilson, to quote Andy Reid, has to put his players in a position to win, something he has so far failed to do this season.
Columbia has talent on the field this season, that much has been clear from the start. To some extent, that talent has shone through, as it has put the Lions ahead in all but one game this season. But the talent in all three phases of the game has been mismanaged too often by the coaching staff, often leading to embarrassing second-half collapses.
Let’s start on the offensive side of the ball. Sure, the Lions have a dynamic playmaker in wide receiver Austin Knowlin and a dual-threat quarterback in Millicent Olawale, but the Lions’ best offensive player so far this season is senior running back Ray Rangel. Rangel, in his first full season as a starter, came into the Dartmouth game leading the Ivy League in rushing yards with 420 yards. Despite being out-rushed against Dartmouth by 185 yards, Rangel is still in second place in the league in rushing.
In fact, what has been most impressive about Rangel is the way he has made the most of the limited opportunities he has been given. Rangel has the second highest yards per attempt of any rusher in the conference, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He has only had 87 rushing attempts this season, a number far too low for a runner of his caliber.
Against Dartmouth, Rangel had the second most attempts on the team behind Olawale with 15, despite averaging 5.4 when he got the ball. That means that every time he rushed the ball, he was half way to a Columbia first down. Despite his efficiency running the ball, Columbia still attempted 32 passes for a grand total of 89 yards through the air. That’s just over 2.75 yards per attempt. Throw in the two interceptions, and you can see how this game went south in a hurry for the Light Blue.
That brings me to the second area in which the Lions failed on Saturday. Knowlin, a senior, is a terrific player. He is no doubt one of the best playmakers in the Ivy League as well as a threat to score a touchdown every time he has the ball in his hands. The fact that he will end up as the greatest receiver in Columbia history is a testament to both his skill and his work ethic, both of which I believe are second to none. That being said, do you really think opposing defenses don’t know this as well? When Monday rolls around, and they begin to create the game plan to slow down the Lions’ offense, you don’t think the first thing they consider is how to stop Knowlin? Bump-and-run, double coverage, safety help, whatever they need to do to slow him down, they will do.
The coaching staff has got to find a second option to complement Knowlin. Use that option as a decoy if you want, but we need something to allow Knowlin to be freed up just that little bit. By my count, Olawale targeted Knowlin 14 times through the air on Saturday. That’s over 40 percent of his passes directed toward one receiver. Someone, anyone, has to step up and play second fiddle to Knowlin. Knowlin had five catches for 40 yards, while every other receiver had one catch. You simply cannot win in Division I football when nearly 50 percent of your receiving production is through one guy.
The final area in which the Lions have struggled all season is on special teams, specifically in field goal kicking. The departure of Jon Rocholl was clearly not accounted for properly by the coaching staff in the offseason. Freshman kicker Greg Guttas has simply not shown the ability to kick successfully at this level. Columbia is dead last in the Ivy League in field goal percentage, going 1-5 this season, including one missed and one blocked against Dartmouth.
Special teams is the one area of concern in which I fear corrections cannot be made going forward this season. Ray Rangel can get more rushing attempts for the rest of the season, allowing himself a chance to get into a rhythm and giving the Lions’ defense a much-needed chance to rest on the sideline. Tight end Andrew Kennedy and receiver Taylor Joseph are both options for Olawale, who will have to learn to look past Knowlin when trying to find an open target.
But players play, and coaches coach. Wilson and his staff have to find a way to grind out a win against a Yale team that is not quite as mighty as it has been in the recent past. If the Lions win, all hope is not lost, and the season can still be saved. If they lose again, basketball season cannot get here soon enough.
Kunal Gupta is a junior in the School of Engineering and Applied Science majoring in operations research.
sports@columbiaspectator.com
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