Yale Football Blog

The Yale Bulldogs moved to 6-3 with a 42-28 victory over the Princeton Tigers. Harvard’s 4^th quarter comeback against Penn officially eliminated Yale from championship contention.

Yale’s offensive plans were derailed with an early hit on Pantelis that left him motionless on the field. The hit was initially cited for targeting but after review, the targeting penalty was overturned. “Leading with helmet, shoulder, forearm, fist, hand or elbow to attack with forcible contact at the head or neck area” is a targeting penalty per the 2024 NCAA Football Rules Book, so it was a baffling decision to overturn the penalty. Jordan was very efficient in the passing game as he completed 81.3% of his passes for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns. The offensive line was able to generate a push against Princeton’s front seven which allowed Yale to rack up 281 rushing yards and 6.0 yards per carry. Pitsenberger had a fantastic outing with 159 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. Jordan displayed his impressive elusiveness with 59 rushing yards and a touchdown along with the longest run of the game on a 24-yard scramble downfield. Peterson played well with 53 rushing yards on just 9 attempts. Nenad and Felton picked up the slack with Pantelis out of the lineup. Nenad’s 31-yard touchdown in the 4^th quarter was a dagger to Princeton, while Felton made difficult grabs to keep the chains moving. Pitsenberger had a great receiving touchdown as he ran over a Princeton cornerback for the score. Yale’s ability to control the clock with rushing success and covert on all four red zone trips were keys to the victory.

Yale’s defense did not have a stellar showing as 406 yards were allowed with 5.6 yards per play. This contest could have had an unfortunate outcome if it weren’t for Ayo-Durojaiye’s forced fumble for a touchdown and interception in the endzone. Ayo-Durojaiye led the Bulldogs in tackles with 9 and posted 2 sacks to go along with his forced fumble and interception. Biggs and Grant struggled at the other inside linebacker position with difficulty shedding blockers and filling lanes. Kamara was solid in run support with 8 tackles but was beaten for a passing touchdown. Guyton went down early with an injury, leaving Thompson, Gonzales, Saffold and Webster to try to contain Princeton’s talented receiving corps. Thompson was out of position far too often in coverage on Barber and Colella. Tarver and Daniyan seemed to be a step too slow in providing support in pass coverage. Egodogbare and Gulley manhandled interior offensive linemen, although as soon as they rotated out, Princeton gashed Yale with a 37-yard touchdown run from Volker. Egodogbare also returned the forced fumble caused by Ayo-Durojaiye for a touchdown. McDonough continued to be a bright spot for the defense with 2.5 sacks on the afternoon. Harvard has the most talented offense in the Ivy League, so the Bulldogs will need to strive to shore up both the rush and pass defense in practice this week.

Conforti was perfect on all 6 PATs and did not attempt a field goal. Florio had an excellent day with a 43.0-yard punting average. Coverage teams played solidly and Princeton’s poor long snap on a punt attempt gave Yale great field advantage to sway the momentum.

The Yale Bulldogs host the Princeton Tigers on Saturday at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 12 PM ET and the game will air on ESPN+.

Princeton enters the contest with a 2-6 record as numerous injuries have plagued the Tigers all season. The Tigers are coming off a close loss to the Big Green in which Princeton trailed by just one score heading into the fourth quarter.

Quarterback play has been inconsistent for Princeton as junior Blaine Hipa (6’2”, 195 lbs.) has completed just 54.4% of his passes for 9 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Hipa seemed flustered early in the contest versus the Big Green but settled down to make a few clutch completions when needed. Senior QB Blaine McAllister (6’4”, 210 lbs.) saw limited action against Dartmouth before his arm snapped in a gruesome fashion. Senior RB John Volker (6’0”, 215 lbs.) is a very powerful back with blazing speed in the open field. Volker is averaging 5.0 yards per carry and has scored 4 touchdowns on the season. Sophomore RB Ethan Clarke (6’1”, 215 lbs.) has the talent to develop into a future star for the Tigers and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Princeton’s deep group of wide receivers is the strength of the team. Senior WR Luke Colella (5’10”, 190 lbs.) appears to be on track for a 1^st Team All-Ivy season with 30 catches for 418 yards and 5 touchdowns. Colella torched Yale’s secondary a year ago with 7 catches for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior WR AJ Barber (5’9”, 180 lbs.) is another son of Tiki Barber after the Bulldogs squared off against Chason Barber last week. Barber has been an honorable mention All-Ivy performer for two straight seasons and has 30 catches for 315 yards and a touchdown in 2024. Senior WR Matt Mahoney (6’2”, 190 lbs.) is a big-play threat with 21.4 yards per reception. Princeton’s offensive line averages 305.0 lbs. across the board and features 4 returning starters from 2023. The Tigers have allowed 35 sacks this season and struggled to contain Dartmouth’s talented front a week ago. The keys for the Bulldogs this week will be to shut down the running lanes and force Princeton to become one dimensional. In the passing game, the Bulldogs will need to put heavy pressure on Hipa while not allowing Colella and Barber to find open space in the secondary.

The heart of Princeton’s defense lies in its strong corps of linebackers. Princeton’s defense is led by sophomore LB Chase Christopher (6’1”, 215 lbs.) who has notched 58 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a sack. Junior LB Marco Scarano (6’0”, 200 lbs.) grew up in Connecticut and leads the Tigers in tackles for loss with an astounding 10. Freshman LB AJ Pigford (6’3”, 230 lbs.) blitzes often and leads the team with 2.5 sacks. Senior DL Jack DelGarbino (6’0”, 275 lbs.) is a former wrestler that is very hard to move at the point of attack. DelGarbino was an honorable mention All-Ivy performer in 2023 and has played very well against the run with 37 tackles. Senior DL Collin Taylor (6’5”, 260 lbs.) is a balanced lineman against the rush and pass with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Senior DB Nasir Hill (6’0”, 200 lbs.) is the most talented member of Princeton’s secondary and was a 2^nd Team All-Ivy nominee in 2023. Hill has been very productive this season with 49 tackles and an interception. Junior DB Tahj Owens (5’11”, 205 lbs.) has been a crucial piece of the Tigers’ defense with 45 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. Princeton’s defense has talent that is far ahead of Brown and in line with what we saw from Columbia. Disrupting the linebackers in the ground game will need to be a focal point of the offensive line this week. Princeton will likely send creative blitzes often to disrupt Jordan, so the offensive staff will need quick-hitting short passing plays and screens dialed up to keep Princeton’s defense off balance.

Princeton has been perfect on all 8 field goal attempts this season with two different kickers. Senior K Sam Massick (5’9”, 150 lbs.) is 3 of 3 on field goal attempts with a long of 28 yards, while senior K Jeffrey Sexton (6’2”, 180 lbs.) is 5 of 5 on field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards. Sophomore P Brady Clark (6’2”, 195 lbs.) has been tremendous this season with 42.2 yards per punt with 7 punts over 50 yards. Barber averages 9.8 yards per punt return and has a long return of 46 yards. This contest seems destined to go down to the wire, so the Bulldogs will need strong play in all phases of special teams to walk away victorious.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Tigers!

The Yale Bulldogs defeated the Brown Bears in a 56-34 shootout in New Haven last Saturday. Yale moves to 5-3 on the season with the Princeton and Harvard rivalry matchups ahead.

Jordan bounced back with a tremendous passing performance as he finished 29 of 40 for 372 yards and 6 touchdowns. Pantelis was simply unstoppable with 12 catches for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the opening drive alone, Pantelis racked up 4 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Shipp made unbelievable catches to add another 5 catches for 89 yards and 2 touchdowns to the totals. Felton, Nenad and Belk were all key contributors with Belk scoring his first touchdown of the season on a 14 -yard reception. The rushing attack struggled early on but eventually wore down Brown’s front seven with 138 rushing yards and 4.6 yards per carry. Peterson led in rushing yards with 66 yards and broke free for a 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. Pitsenberger didn’t see much action but still managed to account for 46 rushing yards on just 4 carries. Jordan added another 21 rushing yards and a scamper into the endzone. Jordan and Denney had a botched exchange that led to a fumble. The offensive line improved considerably from the low point of the Columbia contest. The line failed to open rushing lanes early on, although the run blocking seemed to improve on each drive as the contest wore on. Pass protection was stellar with Jordan given ample time to find open receivers downfield. Although two sacks were allowed, one sack was clearly the fault of Jordan who held onto the ball too long in search of an open wideout. The offensive staff deserves praise for putting together their top offensive gameplan of the season albeit against a secondary that was without a potential NFL draft pick.

Performance on the other side of the ball was not praiseworthy as Brown amassed 459 yards of total offense. Willcox completed 66.7% of his passes for 273 yards and a touchdown and his backup, James Murphy, threw for another 70 yards. Brown’s top two backs averaged 4.0 yards per carry or better, while the Bears’ short yardage back was able to bulldoze his way in for two short touchdowns with little resistance. Guyton had a rough contest trying to defend against a large, physical wideout from Brown who caught 10 balls for 115 yards and a touchdown. Webster and Thompson were both out of position at times in coverage although Webster’s two interceptions were crucial difference makers in the outcome. Pass interference continues to plague the secondary with back-to-back penalties at one point. Daniyan seemed to reverse his regression and played very well with 7 tackles and an interception. Kamara racked up 9 tackles and 2 quarterback hits. Gulley was back in action along the defensive line but was not utilized heavily as he continues to recover from injury. Yang did not appear in the contest and will hopefully be ready for the Tigers this week. Egodogbare was a menace for Brown with 6 solo tackles and 2 tackles for loss. McDonough had the top defensive play of the afternoon with an impressive strip-sack that was recovered by Jackson-Bass. Ayo-Durojaiye had his top performance of the season as he led the team with 12 tackles. Princeton has far more offensive talent than Brown, so the defense will need a solid week of preparation to clean up mistakes heading into the HYP rivalry stretch.

Conforti nailed all 8 of his PATs and Florio had a nice day on kickoffs. The wind that aided Florio’s kickoffs was a detriment to his punts as he finished with an average punting distance of just 29.0 yards.

The Yale Bulldogs host the Brown Bears on Saturday at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 12 PM ET and the game will air on ESPN+.

The Bears enter the contest with a 3-4 overall record and a 2-2 record in conference play. Brown sent shockwaves through the Ivy League with a 31-28 victory over Harvard in Week 2 and defeated Cornell 23-21 in a close contest weeks later. Penn jumped out to an early 21-7 lead last week against Brown and held off a late comeback from the Bears to win 38-28.

Senior QB Jake Willcox (6’2”, 215 lbs.) leads the Bears offense and was a 2^nd Team All-Ivy selection a year ago after leading the Ivy League in passing yards. Willcox has completed 62.5% of his passes this season with 9 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. The Bears are able to score in a hurry to claw back into contests as Willcox seems to heat up in the second halves. Willcox is a decent scrambler when the pocket collapses and has rushed for 242 yards and a touchdown. Freshman RB Matt Childs (6’0”, 200 lbs.) is the top ball carrier for the Bears with 4.3 yards per carry and 2 touchdowns on the season. Childs is also very dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield with 20 catches for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior RB Stockton Owen (6’1”, 215 lbs.) splits carries with Childs and was an Honorable Mention All-Ivy performer in 2023. Junior WR Solomon Miller (5’11”, 185 lbs.) is an explosive athlete who can stretch opposing coverages. Miller leads Brown in both receptions and receiving yards with 23 catches for 320 yards. Senior WR Mark Mahoney (6’5”, 240 lbs.) has the speed of a wideout and the size of a tight end. Mahoney leads the Bears in touchdown receptions with 4 and caught 2 touchdown passes against Harvard. Junior WR Chason Barber (6’5”, 215 lbs.) is Tiki Barber’s son and gives the Bears another large target to exploit smaller defensive backs. The Bears’ offensive line averages 294.0 lbs. across the board and is led by senior Jack Connolly (6’4”, 315 lbs.), a 1^st Team All-Ivy Leaguer a year ago. Offensive line play has been up and down for the Bears as Brown averages 3.6 yards per carry and has allowed 14 sacks. Coach James Perry has a very aggressive offensive philosophy and is seldom shy of fourth down attempts even at midfield. The Bears have converted on 61.9% of their fourth down attempts this season but have not been as efficient on third down attempts with just a 44.1% conversion rate. Success on defense this week will rely on limiting the mental errors as Brown’s varied attack will stress all levels of the defense and Perry will not be afraid to dig deep into his playbook for trick plays.

Brown’s defense hasn’t matched the offense’s performance surrendering an average of 401.1 yards per game. Senior DB Tim Malo (6’1”, 200 lbs.) has been the top defender for the Bears with 51 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions. Senior DB Isaiah Reed (6’0”, 185 lbs.) was a 1^st Team All-Ivy selection in 2023 and is a potential NFL prospect, although injuries have limited him to just 4 games this season. Brown has a solid corps of linebackers in Sam Smith (6’0”, 230 lbs.), Caleb Moorhead (6’4”, 245 lbs.) and John Perdue (6’0”, 240 lbs.). Moorhead earned an Honorable Mention All-Ivy nod in 2023 and has made a living in the backfield with 8 tackles for loss. Senior DL Kyle Philbin (6’4”, 295 lbs.) was another Honorable Mention All-Ivy performer in 2023 and has 18 tackles with a sack on the season. Senior Quincy Eutsay (6’2”, 240 lbs.) and junior Owen Clarke (6’3”, 245 lbs.) are tied for the team lead in sacks with 2 apiece. Penn was able to lean heavily on the rushing attack with 4.1 yards per carry while keeping the Bears’ secondary off-balance with 247 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns. Yale will need long, sustained drives that result in touchdowns to keep pace with the Bears in this matchup. The offensive line needs to bounce back with a stellar performance to spring Pitsenberger and Peterson loose in the ground game. Jordan will have opportunities against Brown’s secondary, but the offensive staff cannot rely on low probability deep shots to keep the chains moving.

Senior K Christopher Maron (5’10”, 180 lbs.) is 7 of 12 on field goal attempts with a long of 44 yards this season. Senior P Austin Alley (5’10”, 180 lbs.) has played well with a punting average of 39.7 yards and 10 punts placed inside the redzone. Both punt and kickoff coverage teams will need to have a strong showing as giving the Bears great field advantage will be a recipe for disaster.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Bears!

Yale reached a recent program low with a 10-13 loss in New York City against Columbia on Friday night on national television. The Bulldogs are tied for last place in the Ivy League despite favorable matchups against backup quarterbacks for the Big Green and Lions.

Jordan was off target in the passing game for most of the night and was not aided by the awful play calling. Jordan finished with just 151 passing yards as overthrows and poor pass blocking doomed the Elis in the contest. Pitsenberger and Peterson combined for 100 rushing yards but were often swarmed by tacklers at the line of scrimmage. Peterson tripped up with open grass ahead of him on what could have been the longest rushing play of the evening. The offensive line failed to get to the second level in the running game and allowed Columbias linebackers to freely wreak havoc. Facing a 3-man defensive front from Columbia, it’s simply inexcusable to not have hands on the linebackers on all running plays. St. Aubyn had a backbreaking holding call on the final drive and the line failed to pick up a blitz on 3rd down with the game on the line. Columbia only recorded one sack on Jordan, yet he was never fully comfortable in the pocket. Yale’s lone touchdown came on a 24-yard pass to Denney in the second quarter and the Bulldogs were only able to add 3 points in the second half as drives quickly stalled out. Pantelis led the receiving corps with 6 catches for 52 yards but dropped a first down after a big hit. Shipp couldn’t hold onto a long diving grab and finished with just 2 catches for 20 yards. Felton was a bright spot with 5 catches for 39 yards. Overall, it was a giant step backwards in performance from the offensive line, quarterback and coaching staff that led to this defeat.

Despite the low score, the defensive performance was also a letdown. Columbia was able to run and pass at will with second stringers at various positions. Gonzalez, Guyton, Tarver and Webster were torched often in coverage, and Guyton gave up the winning score on a long throw to Columbia’s Canty. The defensive line was pushed around in the running game and the linebackers were easily neutralized by the Lions as they averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Columbia’s quarterback rushed for 82 yards as the Bulldogs have yet to find a way to slow quarterbacks in the running game. Yang returned from an injury but failed to make much of an impact as he wound up being pancaked by a tight end on a long quarterback run to seal the game. McDonough was one of the lone bright spots with 6 tackles and a sack. The Bulldogs were fortunate that Gonzalez forced a fumble early on that stopped a Columbia drive at Yale’s 11-yard line.

Conforti missed a 42-yard field goal that came back to bite the Bulldogs and has really struggled on field goals longer than 40 yards all season. Punt coverage was lackluster and gave Columbia great field advantage on two occasions. Unfortunately, the highlight of the game was Florio’s 58-yard punt.

The Bulldogs travel to the Big Apple this week for another Friday night contest at Columbia. Kickoff is slated for 7 PM ET and the game will air on ESPNU.

Columbia enters the contest with a 4-2 record (2-1 Ivy League) with close losses to Georgetown and Dartmouth. Dartmouth defeated Columbia by a score of 24-21 last week in New York but the Lions prevailed versus the Tigers and Quakers earlier in October.

Junior QB Cole Freeman (6’0”, 205 lbs.) will make his second start of the season after sophomore QB Chase Goodwin (6’2”, 215 lbs.) suffered a knee injury last week. Freeman has played in all six contests this season for the Lions and has completed 55.1% of his passes for 447 yards, 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Freeman is a dual threat transfer from Northwestern who leads the Lions with 2 rushing touchdowns. Senior RB Joey Giorgi (5’10”, 205 lbs.) has played very well this season averaging an astounding 6.1 yards per carry. Senior RB Malcolm Terry II (5’9”, 210 lbs.) is a former Navy transfer who gives Columbia a solid second option out of the backfield. Senior WR Bryson Canty (6’2”, 205 lbs.) was a 1^st Team All-Ivy selection in 2022 and has dominated opponents with 28 catches for 387 yards and 6 touchdowns. Junior WR Edan Stagg (6’1”, 180 lbs.) is also heavily targeted with 24 catches for 277 yards and a touchdown. Our linebackers and safeties will need to keep an eye on sophomore TE Braden Dougherty (6’5”, 245 lbs.) who has scored twice on receptions. Columbia’s offensive line averages 308.0 lbs. across the board and has been very efficient in run blocking with the Lions averaging 4.8 yards per carry as a team. Pass blocking is one area of weakness for Columbia as the Lions have given up 13 sacks on the season. Dartmouth was able to slow Columbia’s rushing attack to just 2.4 yards per carry and force Columbia into obvious passing situations which allowed the Big Green to rack up 4 sacks. Yale will need another great performance out of the front seven to stymy Giorgi, Freeman and Terry in the rushing game while limiting the mental errors in the secondary against a deep unit of receivers.

Columbia’s defense is led by senior LB Anthony Roussos (5’11”, 225 lbs.) who was a 1^st Team All-Ivy performer in 2023 and is second on the team in tackles with 43. Senior LB Rocco Milia (6’2”, 225 lbs.) leads the team with 44 tackles and has been equally impressive in pass coverage with 3 pass breakups. Columbia’s defensive line is a notch below Dartmouth’s defensive line in terms of talent but does a tremendous job of keeping blockers off of the linebackers. The defensive line is led by senior DL Patrick Passalacqua (6’2”, 295 lbs.) who has 22 tackles and a forced fumble on the season. Senior DL Justin Townsend (6’1”, 255 lbs.) notched 13.5 sacks a year ago but has not been seen in recent weeks due to an injury. The Lions’ secondary limited Dartmouth’s aerial assault to just 70 yards a week ago. Columbia’s defensive backfield features 3 returning starters from 2023 and has intercepted opposing quarterbacks on 7 occasions. Senior DB Hayden McDonald (5’9”, 180 lbs.) has had a stellar season thus far with 41 tackles and 3 interceptions. Senior DB Carter McFadden (5’11”, 180 lbs.) was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection last year and has 3 interceptions with 7 pass breakups. Senior DB Aaron Brebnor (6’1”, 195 lbs.) has seen action since his freshman season and has 22 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and an interception. Getting blockers on Columbia’s talented linebackers will be crucial in this contest to establish the running game. Jordan will need to shy away from heaving balls into tight coverage against the experienced defensive backs who have an aptitude for intercepting passes.

Sophomore K Hugo Merry (6’2”, 190 lbs.) has made 8 of 10 field goal attempts with a long of 43 yards. Senior P William Hughes (6’0”, 175 lbs.) was a unanimous 1^st Team All-Ivy selection in 2023 and is averaging an impressive 41.3 yards per punt. McFadden is a dangerous punt returner who always seems to be one tackle away from breaking a punt return loose for a touchdown.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Lions!

The Bulldogs put together their most complete game of the season with a 31-10 victory over Penn at Franklin Field. Yale moves to 4-2 on the season with a tough Friday night matchup at Columbia this week.

Grant Jordan got back into rhythm completing 80.0% of his passes for 289 yards, 4 touchdowns and one interception. Pantelis had some of the most impressive receptions in Yale’s history on his way to 123 receiving yards and a touchdown. Shipp and Nenad were both banged up at times but fought through injuries with 7 catches for 70 yards and 4 catches for 36 yards respectively. Nenad displayed surprising power on his touchdown reception as he bowled his way through defenders at the goal line for a score. Santiago and Felton added another 54 receiving yards combined while Belk, Mermans and Foster filled in admirably for the injured Yates at tight end. The offensive line had another great outing as they paved the way for 5.9 yards per carry and did not allow a sack against a tough front from Penn. Lewis had a false start and missed a few blocks, but overall, the linemen continue to build momentum as the season progresses. Pitsenberger led the squad in rushing with 83 yards and broke tackles with ease. Peterson ripped off 80 rushing yards on just 10 carries while Jordan had impactful rushes for 25 yards. Yale averaged 7.6 yards per play and was able to dominate the time of possession as the Bulldogs held the ball for over 34 minutes. There’s still room for improvement on 3^rd downs where Yale struggled with just 5 conversions on 12 attempts. With 497 yards of total offense though, the staff and players deserve tremendous praise for an excellent week of preparation.

Despite the absence of Gulley, Yang and Shaffer, the Bulldogs limited Penn to under 200 yards of total offense. Hosley was kept in check in the ground game as he posted just 3.7 yards per carry. After Pantelis’ special teams blunder gave Penn the ball in great field position, Kamara changed the entire trajectory of the contest with a strip sack of Sayin that injured the talented signal caller. Kamara led the defense in tackles with 7 to go along with a sack, a forced fumble and an interception. Having Kamara, Daniyan and Tarver on the field at the same time did wonders for the defensive scheme. Biggs had his best performance of the season with 5 solo tackles and Ayo-Durojaiye played more at the inside linebacker position than we’ve seen previously. Phoenix Grant played well at linebacker and combined with Egodogbare for a touchdown saving tackle on a goal line stand. Egodogbare was a dominant force at the defensive tackle position with 6 solo tackles and a tackle for loss. Yale’s pass rush was finally able to make an impact with Tyler posting 1.5 sacks, McDonough notching a sack, and Jourdain adding another half a sack. Yale rotated defensive linemen often to keep the front seven fresh and saw great performances out of Jackson-Bass, Tate and Cave. Aside from a few mental mistakes, coverage was solid as Penn completed just 40.0% of passes. Richardson was held to only one catch for 11 yards after torching the Bulldogs a year ago. The quarterback rushes are still a concern moving forward as Penn’s backup Liam O’Brien rushed for 4.7 yards per carry and a touchdown.

Conforti was perfect on PATs and made his only field goal attempt on a 22-yard try in the 4^th quarter. Florio averaged 37.0 yards per punt, placed one punt inside the redzone, and had a nice tackle. Outside of Pantelis’ error on the punt return, execution was much improved on special teams.