Shot to Spoil Harvard's Year for CU

One thing’s for sure: things aren’t getting any easier for the Columbia football team.

After facing undefeated Yale last weekend, the Lions will face that other undefeated team in the Ivy League—Harvard—tomorrow. Since the Bulldogs have not lost this season and the Crimson has two nonconference losses, the Elis receive the accolade of being the most dominant team in the Ivy League, but Harvard will provide as much of a test as Yale did last week.

The nature of Harvard’s success comes from a strong defense that forces turnovers and an offense that has the ability to capitalize when its defense gives it extra opportunities. The Crimson defense has the second-most takeaways in the Ivy League with 22—five fumble recoveries, and a league-best 17 interceptions. Leading the defense with seven interceptions is senior cornerback Steven Williams, who also leads the league with 13 passes broken up.

Williams and the Harvard defense are the staunchest against the run in the Ivy League, only allowing 92.4 yards per game. Unless Columbia—which is currently last in the league in rushing offense—can establish a running game early against Harvard, the Lions will become one-dimensional and have to take aim at trying to best the Crimson’s strong pass defense, which allows the lowest percentage of completions in the league at 49.3 percent.

Last week against Yale, the Lions came out strong in the first half, stopping the Bulldogs from scoring and curtailing their ability to run. They did this by tackling better than they had all season and by forcing turnovers. The rain may have contributed to the Light Blue’s success, but, rain or shine, it will have to attempt to duplicate its success, as Harvard will likely run the ball consistently against a Columbia defense that has not proven that it can stop the run for a full game.

“We’re not a team where one person can have a breakdown and the other 10 cover up for it, especially on offense,” head coach Norries Wilson said. “On defense we can’t have a guy not do his job and have enough speed to cover it up with running to the football. So we have to be perfect in everything we do just to have a chance.”

Harvard, like Columbia, does not have a definite star running back, but instead utilizes two running backs in its ground attack. Sophomore Cheng Ho has only 17 more carries on the season than freshman Gino Gordon, but he is generally the starter even though Gordon has proven himself to be a more than adequate replacement, rushing for 300 yards in his first season.

If the Lions are able to stop the Crimson from running the ball, however, they will have to deal with senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti, who has thrown for the fourth most yards in the Ivy League while also throwing four interceptions, the fewest among starting quarterbacks in the Ancient Eight. His favorite target is fellow senior Corey Mazza, who leads all Harvard wide receivers in receptions and yards and has been on the receiving end of five of Pizzotti’s seven touchdown tosses.

With Columbia and Harvard being relatively opposite to one another in terms of record and statistics, this game will be a test for the Lions. If they are to pass the test, it would have major implications not only for the program, but also for the Ivy League. The Lions have the chance to play spoiler and hurt Harvard’s chances at a league title.

“We relish the opportunity to compete against a good team,” Wilson said. “We know it’s going to be a tough test for us and have definitely a lot of respect for what they do offensively and defensively, and we think it’s a challenge for us to go out there and play one of the best teams in the league.”