Ball Control Saved Football From Blowout

There is an endless list of variables that help decide the outcome of a football game, and among the most important and least controllable of these factors is momentum.

That was the problem facing Head Coach Bob Shoop and the Lions after the first quarter of Saturday's game against Princeton.
After taking a lead early in the quarter thanks to a backbreaking 71-yard completion from quarterback Matt Verbit to receiver B.J. Syzmanski, the Tigers seized not only the lead, but also control of the game. Two more touchdowns later, the Lions were faced with a large deficit--but one they had sufficient time to overcome. Winning became a matter of controlling the clock.

In Shoop's smashmouth style of football, the key to taking control of the game's momentum involves the Columbia offense's methodical march down the field, eating up clock time and giving the defense a chance to rest. Down 20-0, the offense entered the second quarter desperately needing to string together a drive in order to put some points on the board and give a wounded defense a break.

"We really didn't do a good job coming out of the gate and coming ready to play," said junior quarterback Jeff Otis. "We can't screw around for two drives. ... We had two three-and-outs at the beginning. We just need to come out and play--I don't know if we have to play with the mentality that we're down already, but we really need to come out and play."

With a drive that began with :46 remaining in a disastrous first quarter, the Lions slowly began to take control of the game by moving the ball down the field.

After spending a mere 4:17 on offense in the first quarter, the Lions slowly built a 13-play, 60-yard drive that began to turn the tide in their favor, also managing to take up over six minutes. With a conservative game plan, the Lions moved the ball methodically down the field, chiefly by coming through in the clutch; sophomore fullback Gordon Radlein moved the chains on a crucial fourth-and-one, and Otis found junior tight end Wade Fletcher for 26 yards on a key third-and-four. Despite the Lions' inability to push their way into the end zone, junior kicker Nick Rudd put three points on the board and changed the feeling of the game dramatically.

"That was a real key--the first quarter was just all them," Shoop said. "I knew that once we got a field goal, once we broke the ice, the guys would move the ball. The second quarter kept our defense off the field, and I think our guys really responded. Our confidence started to rise."

Said Otis on Saturday: "That's kind of how our offense goes. It's imperative that we get those third-down conversions. That's what they ask out of us. That's kind of my job, getting those third-down conversions--and then the receivers, they play a huge role in that. There were a few plays today where I just got it, and I just got it out of my hands and got it to a guy, and he just ran for a first down."

After getting a chance to rest, the defense looked like a different unit, holding the Tigers to a three-and-out.

"We're not good in the first half. We were three-and-out every single time, and that keeps our defense on the field for a long piece of time," Fletcher said. "We know that if we can just get a first down, and eliminate the three-and-outs, we can put our defense in a lot better position."

After getting the ball back, the Lions' offense took further control of the game. Taking over at their own 21, the Lions moved 72 yards in 5:30, stalling just short of the goal line and setting up another Rudd field goal.

Toward the end of the half, receiver Travis Chmelka's punt return to Princeton's six-yard line set up the Lions' first touchdown. That quarter, the Lions spent 11:34 on offense, leaving no question about who was in control of the game at the half.

After taking the kickoff, the Lions' confidence continued to increase with a nine-play, 48-yard drive that brought them to the Princeton goal line. Despite the drive's ending in an interception, Columbia left no doubt it would move the ball throughout the second half.

After an energized defense once again shut down the Tigers, Otis and company picked up where they had left off, embarking on an eight-play, 57-yard drive, with Rudd helping the Lions inch closer with a field goal to cap the drive.

"We're a team that has to get to third-and-four, third-and-five, and just move the sticks and operate the offense," Shoop said. "And it's good for us on defense too, because I think our guys were really gassed in the first quarter."

Despite their troubles in the red zone, the Lions' offense was clearly taking control of the game. Otis led the next drive, a 14-play, 75-yard one that seemed to further tire Princeton's defense. Otis hit Zach Van Zant and Chmelka for two first downs each, keeping the chains moving as the third quarter wound down. Although the Lions were again stopped short of the end zone, the Princeton defense looked even closer to breaking.

"In the second half, we just found a really good rhythm, and honestly, it felt like practice out there," Otis said. "We were just executing like its practice. We got a sense that we couldn't be stopped."

With the Princeton defense on its heels and the momentum clearly on the Lions' side by this point, Columbia reached the end zone on its final two drives of the game, finally making the last play against a tired and battered Princeton defense.

Perhaps most promising for the Lions' offense was its performance on key possessions, converting six of 15 third downs, as well as the one fourth-down opportunity.

"More games are lost than are actually won, and I think on offense, we've got to make the easy plays," Shoop said. "Early on, we didn't convert on third downs, didn't make big plays. It's critical--when we make big plays, we move the ball down the field."