Before his first season at Columbia began in 2006, coach Norries Wilson offered a bold prediction in an interview with Columbia College Today.
"We will not win the Ivy League championship," he said. "I'm guaranteeing that."
The words proved prescient, as the Lions stumbled to a 2-5 conference mark.
In '07, there was no guarantee, but an even more frustrating result - 0-7 in the Ancient Eight, with all losses by eight or more.
This year, Wilson is again declining to engage in such prognostication. (He declined to comment for this story.)
In lieu of help from the man himself, one is left to consult the facts concerning Columbia's '08 squad.
And the facts ain't pretty.
Departed quarterback Craig Hormann - the Ivy's second-leading passer and a marginal NFL draft prospect last spring - leaves the offense in the hands of four quarterbacks with a combined 32 pass attempts at the collegiate level.
Thankfully, leading rusher Jordan Davis and wideout Austin Knowlin, who led the League with 988 yards last season, return to help likely starter Shane Kelly, a junior transfer from Temple now in his second season with the Lions.
The defensive side of the ball, however, may be of greater concern.
Though Wilson's roster does return its eight leading tacklers from last year, the unit allowed 32 points per game in '07, including 59 against the Quakers.
On the surface, the pass defense was a lone bright spot, as the Lions surrendered a conference-low 169.5 yards per game through the air.
However, the Lions allowed a staggering 231.1 yards per game on the ground, a league worst by 42 yards.
Without some serious improvement from the front seven, Columbia is unlikely to pose much of a threat to the perennial powers of the Ivy League.
That's a guarantee.
