The Bulldogs travel to Fenway Park this Saturday to take on the Harvard Crimson at 12 PM EST. If you won’t be in attendance, be sure to watch The Game on ESPN2.
Harvard enters the contest with an identical record to the Elis at 5-4 overall and 3-3 in Ivy League play. Harvard lost to Rhode Island, Cornell, Princeton and Dartmouth although the largest margin of victory by an opponent was just 8 points.
Senior QB Tom Stewart leads the Crimson offense this season as Murphy elected to go with the veteran player over sophomore Jake Smith who started last season. Stewart’s completion percentage of 50.9% isn’t stellar, yet he has only thrown one interception all year. With Shelton-Mosley out of the lineup due to an injury, Harvard receivers Adam Scott, Henry Taylor, Tyler Adams and Jack Cook have picked up the slack and performed well. Scott is a very fast wideout that our secondary will have to keep on eye on at all times. Aaron Shampklin, Charlie Booker and Devin Darrington split carries at the running back position. Shampklin is a 180 pound sophomore that has great vision and speed while being surprising hard to tackle despite his size. Booker and Darrington are the classic Harvard backs with a combination of power and agility. Senior Larry Allen is the most talented member of the Crimson’s offensive line that features three seniors, a junior and a sophomore. Harvard has historically had playmakers at tight end, but the tight ends haven’t been much of a factor this season as the position was ravaged by injuries.
Harvard’s strength as a team lies in its defense. Sophomore linebacker Jordan Hill has been making plays all over the field for the Crimson as he’s racked up 63 tackles, 24 more tackles than any other teammate. Hill’s success is a testament to the stout defensive line that has kept blockers from reaching the second level. Senior defensive tackle Richie Ryan leads the defensive line in tackles with 36 including 5 tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks. Ryan’s fellow senior defensive tackle Stone Hart has 8 tackles for losses, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Senior safety Cole Thompson has been out of the lineup for the last two weeks, however, Harvard is very deep at safety and the secondary has not missed a beat thanks to the performances of Max Jones and Zach Miller. Senior cornerback Wesley Ogsbury has picked off 6 passes this season, so an errant pass from O’Connor in Ogsbury’s direction could spell doom for the Elis.
Jake McIntyre has been an excellent kicker this season converting 12 of 14 attempts with a long of 42 yards. He has been perfect on extra points as well. Punter Jon Sot is averaging 41 yards per punt and boomed one for 75 yards.
Beat Harvard!
20 replies on “Harvard Preview”
Bulldog Bulldog bow wow wow Eli Yale
Bulldog Bulldog Bow Wow wow our team can never fail
When the sons of Eli break through the line that is the sign we hail
Bulldog bulldog Bow Wow wow Eli Yale!!!!!!!!!!
Beat them up pound them into the turf Big Bad Blue! But try not to hurt the little fellas
Let’s go Yale let’s make it three in a row Rah Rah Rah
Yale you want to beat harvard set the tone early. Go right at there defense line be physical show them we mean to kick there ass. This has to be done. First play from yale. Tight end screen to howland this play has never been used by yale do it .Second play action pass to klubnic over the middle. .First down Third down screen to the right for lamar touchdown yale Keep them on there toes all day. Defense has to be physical all day. LB stop the run early set the tone for the day. DB keep the WR in front of you be physical in run support. One more thing hit the OB all day. Good luck Yale.
Here are some observations after looking at the Ivy League website, considering team stats only from league games, which is illuminating because both teams have played the same league opponents.
* Caveat first – there are no stats on fumbles, making a giveaway/takeaway analysis impossible. Hard to believe.
* Penalties – Harvard had the fewest in the league. Yale had the most in the league — by far. This could obviously be a crucial differentiator on Saturday.
* 3rd down conversions – an interesting matchup, as Yale is #1 in the league in converting, while Harvard is #1 at preventing conversions.
* Pass defense – stats are similar for both teams, with three notable exceptions:
1) Harvard has 7 interceptions (over 1 per game) — Yale has had only 1 int. in league play all year.
2) Harvard gave up over 7 fewer points per game to opponents than Yale did.
3) Yale has made 17 sacks (tied for 1st w/ Pr), Harvard 10.
* Offensive yards gained – we know Yale’s offense has been prolific, but Harvard’s has been, too (despite no J S-M). Yales passing offense is #1 in YPG, but Harvard is #2 (albeit, 90 YPG behind the Blue).
* Defensive yards allowed – while the offenses are both prolific, only Harvard’s defense has been stingy. Yale gave up 40 more YPG than the Crimson to date, and 30 more YPG rushing (no surprise, given D and Pr shredding us w/ the run).
* Kicking PAT’s – Harvard perfect on the season, Yale worst average in the league.
* 4th Down Conversions – both are average at converting, and Harvard is average at preventing. Yale gave up the most 4th down conversions in the league, to date.
* Harvard gives up the most punt return yardage in the league.
Summation?
Of the four primary platoons, Yale’s defense is the one that stands out, mostly in bad ways. This is not news, and it’s also probably not news that the pressure is on that unit to step up and win the day, just as they have against Harvard the past two years. Make it three in a row!!
An excellent Preview, as always. Harvard has been getting stronger and stronger as the season goes by. I assume this is largely due to players returning from injuries (Why is it that Yale’s injuries always seem to be “season-ending”?!) and a senior led squad with lots of depth. Yale has been impressive but inconsistent on offense ( 10 points against Columbia?) and miserable on pass defense. Now the running defense is, at best, suspect. Let’s hope Tony has some surprises up his sleeve, as in 2016.
10 points against Columbia was most likely due to losing Rawlings week before against Penn. O’Connor didn’t start until the Brown game. Ultimately this game comes down to whether Yale’s freshman sensation can continue to put up the kind of numbers on the scoreboard that he did against Brown and Princeton. Prolific scoring is a requisite to beating the Crimson as it is highly unlikely the defense will be any stronger than what has been displayed through 9 games; and may be weakened by two key defensive players who were injured in the Princeton game – both did not return to the game after their injuries.
Although this year’s game carries no meaning in terms of the Ivy championship it will still be a battle between arch rivals that have a lot of talented players. It should be an exciting game – not what I thought it might be after Rawlings got hurt. The spotlight will be on O’Connor and so far he has displayed impressive poise and confidence even after making freshman mistakes. In short, he has what it takes to lead Yale to a victory over Harvard.
“…may be weakened by two key defensive players who were injured in the Princeton game – both did not return to the game after their injuries.”
What game were u watching?
I was watching the defense that gave up 59 as in 5-9 points, 489 rushing yards and 145 pass yards.
“May be WEAKENED”!?
I’ll say one thing for this board, it’s good for a few laughs now and then.
To What the *!#?
To respectfully answer your question – presumably the same game you were watching but maybe with a higher degree of observation and different perspective.
I was also watching the opposing defense give up 43 as in 34 more points than they gave on average to their previous opponents, 465 points passing (to a rookie qb playing only his second game), 130 yards rushing. Margin of victory for Princeton 16 points – hardly a blowout and only 8 points more than their margin over Harvard. Total Offense Princeton 634 yds Total Offense Yale 595 yds, a mere difference of 39 yards. This game was not a route by Princeton where the Tiger defense dominated the game, Nor did their defense show vast superiority over the Yale defense ; instead it gave up almost as much yardage as Yale and by now we all know the impact of graduation on Yale’s defense compared to last season.
As far as the two injured players, I certainly hope #18 and #43 will be ready to play as I believe their absence would certainly “weaken” the Yale defense against Harvard. So, not sure how you were trying to connect the dots from the board to “a few good laughs.”
Nonetheless enjoy “The Game.” Look forward to a Yale victory.
Princeton was up 42-7 and obviously had a let down defensively after that. It’s hard to maintain focus sometimes when you are blowing the opposition out. Granted Yale put up big yardage totals but c’mon, did anyone ever think Yale was going to win that game? Yale made the score respectable but defense was a sieve the entire game and O’Connor threw 4 picks.
Ask that question to the Yale and Harvard players on the 1968 team.
Chances of a win were obviously slim but then Lovett and starting offense stayed in the game. So ask Surace too.
What the heck is going on inside the program? Has anyone seen some of the postings on the Ivy blog?
http://www.voy.com/152805/
Yale 38, Harvard 34 (OT)
I’m no math major, but I believe it is arithmetically impossible to win a game in OT with that final score.
The score at the end of regulation would have to be 31-31. Yale would get the ball first in overtime, scoring a touchdown to make it 38-31. In Harvard’s ensuing possession, head coach Tim Murphy makes a strategic decision which will rank with Tom Williams’ fourth-and-22 fake punt. Murphy has Harvard kick a field goal to make the final score 38-34. In the post-game press conference, Murphy will say, “No wonder I’m losing recruits to Princeton and Yale now.”
gentlemen; the key to victory lies on the shoulders of the defensive co-ordinator and our blue squad’s ability to tackle. lets hope both disciplines are positive. i will have my white hanky available just in case.
Special teams, turn overs and limiting penalties will be crucial to winning this game on Saturday. Yale 27, Harvard 24. Boola Boola, Eli Yale !!!
Yale Daily News picks Harvard week to run attack stories on the captain leaving school this summer, lack of information about it from coaches and administrators, and then runs a podcast featuring students complaining about standing in line for tickets to Fenway tussle “even though they really don’t like football.”
Hatchet job through and through……..
Yah they did the same thing before the season started.? Bunch of creeps.?
No, not a bunch of creeps. This is an organized attempt to change the perceived social order at Yale. Football- the only male only sport is a target. Have you noticed the blatant and constant hit jobs on DKE? #metoo has been weaponized.
gentlemen; mr. remember is correct numbers 18 and 43 are two of our best blue squad linebackers who will be needed to stop the anticipated cantab rushing attack which most certainly will follow the tiger playbook after the rushing onslaught this past weekend. the question remains whether our blue defensive coordinator can place our squad in the right position to tackle and otherwise defend the cantab offense. another question is what happened to all of the highly recruited freshman linebackers beside number 30.
Gentlemen, I have viewed this board all season long with interest and at times amusement.
Rawlings is a tremendous talent. I’d say he’s phenomenal. When he got injured — go back and view the comments on this board about posters’ outlook on the rest of the season.
Who was the back-up? When Rawlings went down? (Hint: it wasn’t O’Connor at #2)
Enter stage left… Griffin O’Connor.
Pretty. Freakin. Awesome.
Mr. O’Connor would never have seen the light of day this season had it not been for injury and then separately, an “awakening” and switcheroo.
Ask yourself, how much playing time would Dudek have had last year without the Lamar injury?
So now my question for all of you….
Who else is standing in the wings? Who’s the next unsung hero?
THAT. Is the question you should be asking. (And, in fact some of you are. What happened to so-and-so ?)
This attitude that the coaches put the best players on the field – like they have a clue – WHO the best players are is ?.
Let’s not forget these YALE players are not dumb jocks. Some (most) are brilliantly smart. Smarter than these coaches.
Take a look at the other Ivy head coaches. Most are former Ivy players. Reno?
Apples and Oranges.
#timetomoveon