Yale moved to 5-2 (3-1 Ivy) on the season with a 24-10 win over Columbia last week. The Bulldogs are now on a three game winning streak following the last second loss to Dartmouth and can secure the Ivy League Championship as well as an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with three more victories.
Dante Reno was not as sharp as in prior weeks with a 64.0% completion rate and 179 passing yards on the day, but fans must be pleased with his progress in limiting turnovers and correcting mental mistakes. Reno’s two touchdown passes were perfectly placed balls and he continued to improve in the ground game with 4.0 yards per carry. Pitsenberger and Daal were the stars of the afternoon, combining for 244 rushing yards and a touchdown. Pitsenberger racked up 132 rushing yards on 25 attempts (5.3 YPC), while Daal ripped off an 81-yard touchdown scamper, the longest rushing touchdown since 2017. Santiago led the receiving corps with 5 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Brown was stellar once again with 7 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown, while Stephens, Anderson and Daal also made key contributions in the passing game. The offensive line did not allow a sack and paved the way for an impressive 6.0 yards per carry. Yale must improve on 3rd and 4th down efficiency as the Bulldogs successfully converted on just 33.3% of 3rd downs and 50.0% of 4th downs. Five drives were stalled resulting in punts or a turnover on downs and moving forward, 24 points simply won’t be enough to overcome the powerful offenses of Brown, Princeton and Harvard.
Despite Columbia’s top quarterback returning for the contest, the Bulldogs once again had an impressive defensive performance. Columbia’s rushing attack was stymied with just 2.2 yards per carry forcing the Lions into passing situations. Goodwin was held to a 50.0% completion percentage and was hounded in the pocket as Yale racked up 5 sacks on the day. Grant led the Elis in tackles with 8 in his best performance of the season and constantly applied pressure to Goodwin without a penalty. Larry was unblockable at times with 2 sacks on the afternoon. Shaber had a productive outing at defensive tackle with 4 tackles. Eastep and Schmidt made key plays, although it’s still very concerning that Daniyan hasn’t been seen in three weeks. Webster had 2 critical sacks as he led the defensive backs with 7 tackles but was beaten on 2-3 passing routes. Screens and quarterback rushes still haunt the Bulldogs and the lapses must be rectified immediately heading into the Brown contest.
Piper was 3 of 3 on PATs and nailed a 40-yard field goal in very windy conditions. Keeney averaged a decent 38.0 yards per punt and placed 2 of his 4 punts inside the redzone. Santiago was crushed on a punt return that he did not fair catch but luckily was able to secure the football.
One reply on “Columbia Notes”
Great analysis Moderator, Dante seems to have taken a step back against Columbia. His footwork is poor. No zip on the ball. Off target but that seems to be from poor fundamentals. If he can correct that . This kid will succeed. He is running better with the ball. Stop chucking the pigskin into double coverage. Sheez.