Ivy League Crowns Unlikeliest of Co-Champions As Columbia Beats Cornell 17-9 To Finish Atop League
NEW YORK CITY – Once the laughingstock of college football, Columbia added another moniker that was farfetched at the start of the 2024 season: Ivy League Champions.
The Lions led from start to finish on the way to defeating Cornell 17-9 on Nov. 23 at a blustery Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.
The win assures Columbia of the Ivy League title for the first time since 1961.
The Lions end the season with share of the title with Harvard, despite its 34-29 loss to famed rival Yale in their annual meeting in the season finale, and Dartmouth. The Big Green rolled past Brown 56-28 on the final day of the season.
All three champions finish with 5-2 conference records, while Yale completed the season with a 4-3 conference record.
“Just a tremendous job by all the seniors, coaches and staff,” said Columbia coach John Poppe, who guided the Lions to a 7-3 record in his first season at the helm of the Lion program.
The seven wins are the most for a first-year Columbia coach since 1899. It is also the most wins by a first- year Ivy League coach since Ray Priore led Penn to seven wins in 2015.
“What a tremendous feeling,” Poppe added. “Sixty-three years … until now, and just seeing a lot of that history myself, this just brings a feeling of elation.”
A drought, which plagued the New York area for more than a month, came to an end two days before the Big Red arrived in town looking to put an end to Columbia’s title hopes.
While the steady rains had come to an end, a biting wind that gusted at time to 30 miles per hour, slowed both offenses.
But it was the Lions who overcame the elements the best.
Columbia quarterback Caleb Sanchez scampered in from one yard out to put the Lions on the board with a 7-0 lead following Hugo Merry’s conversion kick with 6:27 remaining in the second quarter.
The Big Red managed a 34-yard field goal from Alan Zhao with 1:58 to go before halftime to get on the scoreboard, but the Lions still led 7-3 in the game.
Columbia increased its lead to 14-3 late in the third quarter when Sanchez found Ethan Hebb down the middle of the field for a 73-yard completion to the Cornell 3 yard line.
It was the lone catch for Hebb on the afternoon, but it was enough for him to lead the Lions in receiving.
Two plays later Joey Giorgi ran in from one yard out for the score to give the Lions some breathing room with a 14-3 advantage with three seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Cornell managed to pull to within 14-6 on a 45-yard field goal early in the final period, but Merry nailed a 25-yard field goal to push the Columbia lead to 17-6 with 1:54 left in the game.
Zhao added his third field goal of the game, this one coming from 22 yards out, with 10 seconds left in the game.
The onside kick was recovered by the Lions, who ran out the clock to secure the win.
Sanchez finished the day with an impressive 11-of-19 passing for 221 yards, despite the gusty conditions, including some key completions on third down to keep drives alive.
Giorgi, meanwhile, ended the day with a career-high 165 yards on 29 carries, also the most in his career.
Giorgi became the third player in school history to surpass 2,000 yards rushing in his career. He finishes with 2,112 yards and ranks No. 2 on the school’s all-time rushing list. He rushed for 860 yards this season, the sixth-best single season total in Columbia history.
Cornell QB Jameson Wang finished with 154 passing yards after completing 14 of 25 passes, including 93 yards on seven completions to Samuel Musungu. He also led the Big Red with 97 rushing yards on 20 carries. Ean Pope added 53 yards on 14 carries in the contest.
Columbia’s defense, which tallied a season-best three sacks of Cornell, was spearheaded by CJ Brown and Hayden McDonald, who both came up with key interceptions in the game.
McDonald’s pick came deep in Columbia territory midway through the final period to thwart Cornell’s comeback bid.
“Starting on Monday, we’ll have a team meeting to close out this season and start building for the next one,” Poppe said.
| Cornell | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Columbia | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
COR: Wang,Jameson (154), Wang,Jameson (97), Musungu,Samuel (93)
COL: Sanchez,Caleb (221), Giorgi,Joey (165), Hebb,Ethan (73)
Attendance: 4,224
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | COR | COL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | 06:27 | COL – Sanchez,Caleb 1 yd run (Merry,Hugo kick), 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 04:16 | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | 01:58 | COR – Zhao,Alan 34 yd field goal 10 plays, 58 yards, TOP 04:29 | 3 | 7 |
| 3rd | 00:03 | COL – Giorgi,Joey 1 yd run (Merry,Hugo kick), 3 plays, 76 yards, TOP 01:16 | 3 | 14 |
| 4th | 11:44 | COR – Zhao,Alan 45 yd field goal 8 plays, 47 yards, TOP 03:19 | 6 | 14 |
| 4th | 01:50 | COL – Merry,Hugo 25 yd field goal 13 plays, 78 yards, TOP 06:24 | 6 | 17 |
| 4th | 00:10 | COR – Zhao,Alan 22 yd field goal 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 01:40 | 9 | 17 |
A native of Bismarck, N.D., Ray is a graduate of North Dakota State University where he began studying athletic training and served as a student trainer for several Bison teams including swimming, wrestling and baseball and was a trainer at the 1979 NCAA national track and field championship meet at the University of Illinois. Ray later worked in the sports information office at NDSU. Following his graduation from NDSU he spent five years in the sports information office at Missouri Western State University and one year in the sports information at Georgia Tech. He has nearly 40 years of writing experience as a sports editor at several newspapers and has received numerous awards for his writing over the years. A noted sports historian, Ray is currently an assistant editor at Amateur Wrestling News.
