Columbia Lions 2026 Season Preview

Poppe's Steep Climb

Jon Poppe's 2025 didn't offer much to build on: a 2-8 finish, just 1-6 in the Ivy League, and a power rating that sits at 90th nationally. Those numbers describe a program that lost the margins in nearly every close conference game, not a one-off slump. The path back for Columbia in 2026 runs through fixing that league record specifically, since a staff that goes 1-6 in-conference has nowhere to hide behind schedule strength.

Same Quarterback, Same Questions

Chase Goodwin comes back after throwing for 1,262 yards with as many interceptions as touchdowns, 9 and 9, on an offense that scored just 15.6 points a game, 119th nationally. That volume of turnovers matched a defense that finished minus-5 in margin, so Columbia's path to more than two wins in 2026 runs through Goodwin cutting his interception rate, not reinventing the attack. The passing game, 194 yards a game and 79th nationally, is the closest thing to a strength here, and Goodwin has to lean on it while the run game, 105th at 117 yards a game, sorts itself out.

Chase Goodwin threw for 1262 yards last season but also tossed 9 interceptions against 9 touchdowns, a wash that mirrored an offense stuck at 15.6 points per game, 119th nationally. He is back as the entrenched starter for 2026, and Columbia's ceiling rises or falls on whether he tightens that decision-making rather than on any competition for the job. Caleb Sanchez and Xander Menapace return with modest sample sizes behind him, while Battle Ground Academy product Kaedyn Marable joins as a developmental arm, but the real swing factor is Goodwin cutting into a turnover rate that undercut an offense already 101st in explosiveness.

Michael Walters and Griffin Johnson combined for the bulk of Columbia's ground game a year ago, 534 and 418 yards respectively, and both are back to anchor a rushing attack that still ranked just 105th nationally in yards per game. That production returning matters more than the losses on the perimeter, since departed pass-catching back Lucas Bullock's 191 receiving yards leave a gap in the passing game rather than the run game itself. With Jahmir Pitcher and Brandon Hsing available behind them, Jon Poppe has his top two ball-carriers intact to try to push an offense that managed only 4.68 yards per play toward something more explosive in 2026.

Titus Evans is the one proven weapon in this passing game, having turned 46 catches into 584 yards and 6 touchdowns while Columbia's offense sputtered to 15.6 points per game and ranked 110th in yards per play. Beckett Robinson and Hutch Crow combined for modest production behind him, and none of Jordan Kelley, Ethan Hebb or Cole Freeman, who accounted for a chunk of last year's underneath targets, are back in 2026. Bryce Coleman, Jarod Sersansie and CJ Willingham arrive without college stats, so the passing attack still runs through Evans until one of them proves capable of taking pressure off him.

Braden Dougherty was the only real target at tight end last season, hauling in 19 catches for 225 yards and a touchdown, and he comes back as the clear centerpiece of a passing game that ranked just 86th nationally in success rate. Casey O'Sullivan adds a smaller sample of work, while Blaize Cameron, Santiago Hernandez and Braden James all return without stats on file, giving Jon Poppe bodies at the position but no proven second option behind Dougherty. Until someone else produces, this room's ceiling is whatever Dougherty alone can generate for an offense that averaged just 15.6 points per game.

A line that produced just 4.68 yards per play and 117 rushing yards a game last fall lost five bodies up front, including Ryan Carr, Ewan Clarke and Noah Jordan, forcing Jon Poppe to piece together a new group rather than tweak an existing one. Jalen Campbell, Dylan Clifton, Henry Estes, Jace Eveland, Jaden Hinton and Sean Kimani all return to the room, but with no statistical trail on any of them it is impossible to call this a continuation of last year's front. Bergen Catholic's Rocco Costello and Streetsboro's Cooper Richmond arrive at tackle to compete immediately, and how fast either settles in matters more for Columbia's 79th-ranked passing game than anything on last year's ledger.

Columbia's front lost all five of its named contributors, with Ayden Baker, David Garland, Shawn Lin, Joshua Powell and Owen Thomas among six departures off a line that allowed 165 rushing yards a game and 5.86 yards per play. Nico DePizzol arrives from Mullen to give Jon Poppe an edge presence, but the bigger issue was opponents staying ahead of the chains against this defense, which ranked 100th in keeping opposing plays off schedule. Fixing that gap up front matters more for 2026 than any individual name lost, since a line that cannot disrupt schedule-friendly downs will keep bleeding the 27.9 points per game Columbia gave up a year ago.

Jon Poppe brings back six linebackers who logged snaps last year, with Drew Burmeister, Caleb Chijoke Ihegihu and Liam Donagher joined by James Fealy, Brendan Fournier and AJ George in the room that let opponents stay on schedule 45.4% of the time, 100th nationally. That number, not the departures of Jack Smiechowski and Patrick Sodl, is the real problem to fix, since the run defense already sat mid-pack at 165 yards allowed per game. Continuity up front gives Columbia a chance to tighten those down-and-distance situations rather than start over at the position.

Jon Poppe's secondary gave up 211 yards a game through the air last fall, 58th nationally, and let opponents stay on schedule at a 100th-ranked clip, the real problem behind a 2-8 season. Qwincy Amos, MD Awe, Terell Battle, Jeremiah Douglas, Ethan Fullerton and Galvin Goss all return without a single accumulated stat between them, so this is a group leaning on experience nobody can quantify yet. Cobe Crews, Jayden Marshall and Jalen Smith are gone, and Columbia adds Dripping Springs corner Malachi Igharo and Katy Jordan safety Austin Baird to a back end that has to tighten coverage on early downs before the yardage totals move.

Tommy Sleeman's leg was one of the few consistent weapons on a 2-8 team, and his 42.7-yard average returns to keep Columbia in field-position fights it otherwise lost often. Hugo Merry made just 5 of 7 field goals with a long of 29, capping his range and leaving the Lions without a proven threat from distance, while Sam Pearman gives Jon Poppe a second kicking option to push him. Long snapper Thomas Browne takes over for departed Aaron Yoo, a quiet but necessary handoff behind a punter and placekicker who otherwise know their jobs.

Chase Goodwin's decision-making

Goodwin threw 9 touchdowns and 9 interceptions last year, and that even split is the whole season for Columbia. With Titus Evans back after a 46-catch, 6-touchdown year and Michael Walters and Griffin Johnson splitting carries behind him, the pieces exist for Goodwin to turn those turnovers into scoring drives instead. No transfers arrived to change the equation, so it is Goodwin's own improvement, not a new arm, that has to cut down the picks.

Backable Underdogs, Rarely Favored

Columbia was live money almost exclusively when nobody expected anything, covering 40% as a road underdog and going 1-1 against the spread against ranked teams even while losing both straight up. The one time books made the Lions a home favorite, they failed to cover, and that single data point matches the broader story of a program with almost no margin at home, covering just once in five tries. Jon Poppe's group is a bet on chaos and long shots in 2026, not on backing them once oddsmakers start believing in them.