The Yale Bulldogs defeated the Dartmouth Big Green on Saturday in a 24-21 contest at the Bowl. Congratulations to the players and coaches on improving to 2-0 in Ivy League play.
Heading into the clash with the Big Green, there were concerns about establishing a running game against a tough Dartmouth defensive front. The offensive line quelled those fears with a dominating performance enroute to 270 rushing yards. Even accounting for Dartmouth’s injuries and a targeting suspension on defense, the offensive line has been very impressive against Ivy League competition thus far. Peterson racked up 173 yards and a touchdown on his way to becoming the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. Pitsenberger played after sustaining an injury the week prior but did not appear to be 100% rushing for just 7 yards on 6 carries. Grooms was as slippery as ever rushing for 90 yards on 16 carries. In the passing game, Grooms was a highly efficient 19 of 22 for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He’ll need to clean up some mental mistakes as Dartmouth nearly came away with an additional interception on a dangerous ball forced into traffic. The Bulldogs kept the Big Green off balance with quick passes to Pantelis who reliably gained chunks of yardage. Tipton led all receivers with 73 yards on 6 catches including a spectacular 25-yard touchdown grab. The tight ends had a quiet day in the passing game with one reception for Hawes but were very effective in the ground game. There’s still need for improvement all around especially finishing drives for additional points as 24 will not win the games moving forward. Following the Bucknell game, the schedule heats up with tough matchups against improved Penn, Columbia, and Brown squads in addition to the typical Princeton and Harvard gauntlet.
Dartmouth’s offensive plans were drastically altered in the wake of Howard’s injury. Junior QB Dylan Cadwallader started and was able to find holes in the Bulldogs’ secondary with 248 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bulldogs forced the Big Green to become one dimensional as the rushing game accounted for only 20 yards on 15 carries. With Oso suspended for the first half, Reno opted to shift Patterson to defensive end with sophomore Alvin Gulley, Jr. filling Patterson’s tackle spot. Gulley played well with 2 crucial tackles for loss. It’s hard to argue that any defensive player has been more valuable to the Elis this season than Hamilton Moore. Moore had 9 tackles and a pivotal interception in another fine outing that won him Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. Patterson and McDonough each notched a sack along the defensive front. Oldacre was ejected in the first half following a targeting call but will be available in the first half versus Bucknell. Benn saw increased playing time with Oldacre out and saved the day with his strip of a Dartmouth runner near the goal line. Guyton played in Hickey’s usual spot at corner recording 5 tackles. Owens added another 7 tackles to his season total of 29, second only to Moore’s 30 tackles. Sophomore safety Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye matched Ellis and Oldacre with 3 tackles a piece.
Bosman nailed a key 41-yard field goal and was perfect on 3 PATs. He had one poor punt under duress that brought his average on the day down to 26.5 yards per punt.
Next up: Bucknell