Wagner College Seahawks (0-4) at  Columbia Lions (0-3)
Gameday Info	October 10, 2015 | New York, NY | 6:00 PM | Robert Kraft Field At Lawrence A. Wien Stadium (17,100)
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Game Notes	Columbia
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(Photo Above by Dave Saffran)

New York, NY - When the Wagner College Football team makes the short trek to Columbia to meet the Lions on Saturday, October 10 at 6:00 p.m., it will mark the first-ever meeting between the schools with each team in search of its first victory of the 2015 season.

Something's Gotta Give
Wagner enters the contest vs. Columbia with a 0-4 record, having most recently dropped a 9-6 home decision last Saturday to Robert Morris in the NEC opener. The Lions are 0-3, having lost its conference opener 10-5 at Ivy League kingpin Princeton last Friday in a game that was played in a driving rainstorm.

Just 29 Miles Apart
According to mapquest.com, Staten Island-based Wagner College and Wien Stadium, located in upper Manhattan, are separated by just 29 miles and travel time between the schools is estimated at 47 minutes. Columbia has been playing football since 1870 while Wagner took up the sport in 1927. In that time, the Lions and Seahawks have competed in a combined 1,813 games on the grid iron.

Seahawks Have played Only One Other Ivy League Opponent
Columbia is one of seven Ivy League institutions that Wagner has never faced on the football field. In fact, the only other Ivy foe that the Seahawks have ever played is Cornell, and the Seahawks and Big Red have met just three times. On October 30, 1999, the Seahawks traveled to Ithaca, NY and dropped a 31-14 decision to Cornell in the first-ever meeting between Wagner and an Ivy League opponent. These two programs met again on two occasions in more recent times. On September 11, 2010, the Green & White earned a 41-7 home win over Cornell. The teams met again at Cornell on October 1, 2011 and the Big Red recorded a 31-7 win.

The Coaches
Jason Houghtaling (say it Ho-tal-ling) is in his first season as the head coach of the Seahawks, taking over for 34-year head coach Walt Hameline, who announced last November that he would be stepping down while remaining as Seahawk athletic director. Houghtaling was the Seahawks' associate head coach and offensive coordinator last season and has spent seven years as a Wagner assistant. In his last three years as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks amassed a 16-6 NEC record with league titles in two of the last three seasons. In 2014, the Seahawks' offense ranked No. 4 nationally in time of possession and did not commit a turnover in the last three games of the season.

Al Bagnoli, a nine-time Ivy League Football Champion and the all-time  winningest head coach in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision history, was  named Columbia's head coach on February 23, 2015.  Bagnoli arrived at Columbia after 23 years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he totaled a 148-80 overall record and 112-49 record in the Ivy League. His Penn teams won nine Ivy League Championships, including six undefeated conference marks (1993, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010) and three perfect seasons (10-0 in 1993 and 2003, 9-0 in 1994).

Houghtaling vs. Bagnoli and Columbia
This will not be the first time that Houghtaling and Bagnoli have stood on opposing sidelines, as the current Wagner Head Coach served as Cornell's Offensive Coordinator in 2013. Bagnoli's Penn squad was bested by the Big Red, 42-41 on Nov. 23, 2013, a week after Houghtaling helped Cornell knock off Columbia, 24-9.

Last Time Out
Connor Shennan booted a 19-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the game to offset a dominant defensive effort by the Seahawks, and a 139-yard rushing day by junior running back Matthias McKinnon (Albany, NY/Jireh Prep), in the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener for both teams. Despite the cold, blustery weather which featured wind gusts upwards of 30 miles per hour, fifth-year senior kicker Bryan Maley (Eagle River, Alaska/Chugiak) nailed a pair of first-half field goals, of 44 and 41 yards, respectively, giving the Seahawks a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter and an eventual 6-3 halftime lead. Wagner held the lead until the 10:19 mark of the third quarter when Shennan's second of three field goals, a 36-yarder, tied the game at 6-6, setting the stage for the eventual game-winner.  

Breakout Game for McKinnon
Matthias McKinnon's career-high 139-yard output vs. RMU came on a career-high 22 carries while fellow junior running back Brandon Peoples (Abington Township, PA/Archbishop Wood/Milford Academy) added 36 yards on nine carries. McKinnon's big day eclipsed his previous career high of 93 yards vs. Alderson Broaddus (10/4/14). The 139 rushing yards amassed by McKinnon also marked the first time a Seahawk has reached the 100-yard mark in a game since former all-time great Dominique Williams gained 177 yards on 31 carries vs. these same Robert Morris Colonials on October 26, 2013.

Two Seahawks Assistant Coaches Once Roamed Sidelines at Columbia
For two current Wagner assistant coaches, Saturday night's matchup at Columbia will mark a homecoming of sorts. Tony Brinson, the Seahawks' Linebackers/Special Teams/Recruiting Coordinator, arrived on Grymes Hill in 2011 after serving three years (2008-2010) as an assistant at Columbia under head coach Morris Wilson. Brinson joined the Columbia staff in April 2008 and was the Lions' tight end coach throughout his tenure there. While at Columbia, Brinson helped mold tight end Andrew Kennedy into becoming a First-Team All-Ivy league, First-Team Walter Camp All-American and a CollegePerformance.com Tight End of the Year as a senior in 2010. Team-wise, Brinson helped produce an offense that ranked No. 2 in rushing in the Ivy League in 2009 and No.1 in passing efficiency en route to a fourth- place finish in the Ivy, Columbia's best since 1996 honor.

Alvin Smith is in his first as Wagner defensive line coach after serving the previous four years (2011-2014) in this same role at Columbia University under head coach Pete Mangurian. While with the Lions, Smith helped Josh Martin achieve First-Team All-Ivy League honors in 2012 after he posted 6.5 sacks and was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs in April 2013.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and @Wagner_Football for all the latest news pertaining to Wagner Football and first-year head coach Jason Houghtaling @HossWagner #CHAOSonthehill. Seahawk athletics can also be followed on Instagram (@wagnerathletics)