At one point Yale was down 21-7 in the 2nd Quarter. From then on Yale turned it around and out scored Merrimack 34-3. And everything was breaking Yale’s way. Merrimack missed a chip shot FG after a Yale fumble. Santiago’s fumbled punt return went right to a Yale player. And Garon Kemp had a tipped pass fall right into his lap as he lay in the end zone for a touchdown. They were almost like gifts from Heaven. Maybe they were….
Where is everyone today?
It was great to see all the sports media coverage of Dante and Coach Reno today. Rest in peace. That being said, our defense and run game continue to remain a problem, we all know how the Dartmouth game goes; great teams find a way to win.
No idea what happened to our elite defense from last year. We don’t look clean at all. Can someone explain where Schmidt is? Injury? Only in a few downs every couple series? Explain why two of our most elite defensive guys are not on field together? Three games in and I’m still not impressed or confident in Eastep. Osize clearly can cover and offers pass defending. Schmidt makes plays every time he’s on the field and could be best open field tackler. Stats and performance speak for themselves. Can we see a Osize/Schmidt combo out there? It’s embarrassing. No defensive adjustments have been made. We used to attack on defense. We used to have exotic blitzes and coverage disguises. Where is all that?
Positive note- Loving how Grant and Webster are playing.
Need to figure this out- our defensive coaching needs some serious work- long season ahead for all of us watching if it doesn’t change!!!
Not a good look for our coaching staff!
Wait; I’ve seen no game footage but from the stats, hasn’t Hugo established himself a reasonable #1 RB?
Definitely.
Some wonderful tributes to Coach Reno, also on the play of Dante. Kemps acrobatic catch for a touchdown was also featured on College Football Final.
I’m hoping to make next week’s game against Dartmouth. 🙏
I think that the refs huddling and spending five minutes discussing every penalty, on both teams, added 30 minutes to the game time.
It’s true. “An afternoon at the Bowl” truly is an entire afternoon.
Yes! The constant lengthy referee conferences to get the calls right were driving me crazy!
Our pass rush was non-existent. Maybe that was a decision to play coverage. But man, nobody even came close to their quarterback.
The lines, both offensive and defensive, will decide the fate of this years team, I think. A better pass rush, which is always the best pass defense, and an offensive line that can open holes is essential.
I think we have some talented backs, but none seem to be the type that can break a lot tackles. We have shown we can protect Reno, but the running game may require more help from the line than was needed the last several years.
I would also like to see Kamara let loose to go after the QB. If anything he may be under utilized.
Good takes. Agree 100%.
Agreed – the best defense against the passing game is to put the QB on his backside. (The 2017 and 2025 defenses say hello.)
Yale’s Kemeni is #4 in the Ivy League, for rushing yards per game. He is averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
Gentlemen; I agree with most of the above comments. It seems we re not playing our best players together in a group, especially on defense. I also agree our blue captain has been so utterly underutilize Somehow the defensive coordinator is not putting him in a position to make plays. As to the office and coordinator the zone reads up the middle have not been working for three games. The zone reads outside the tackle have done. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out then again maybe my expectations are too much.
An interesting observation: Dartmouth’s defensive line is not as formidable as years past. Averaging only 6’2” 280, they haven’t got the quarterback yet this season with 0 (!) sacks so far this season.
On paper that’s great , but that 2024 game when Yale lost in OT 44 to 43 is stuck in my mind.!!
Two missed FG’s cost us that game.
1st and goal from the 4 . On the 1st drive of the game. (Sigh)
From article: “But Dartmouth has already shown it can win a low-scoring Ivy League fight, and now they face a Swiss Cheese defense. Yale can win on the back of Reno, but will that be enough with this defense?”
Time for the Yale defense to step up and prove them wrong. Beat Dartmouth!
24 replies on “Yale 41 Merrimack 24”
At one point Yale was down 21-7 in the 2nd Quarter. From then on Yale turned it around and out scored Merrimack 34-3. And everything was breaking Yale’s way. Merrimack missed a chip shot FG after a Yale fumble. Santiago’s fumbled punt return went right to a Yale player. And Garon Kemp had a tipped pass fall right into his lap as he lay in the end zone for a touchdown. They were almost like gifts from Heaven. Maybe they were….
Where is everyone today?
It was great to see all the sports media coverage of Dante and Coach Reno today. Rest in peace. That being said, our defense and run game continue to remain a problem, we all know how the Dartmouth game goes; great teams find a way to win.
No idea what happened to our elite defense from last year. We don’t look clean at all. Can someone explain where Schmidt is? Injury? Only in a few downs every couple series? Explain why two of our most elite defensive guys are not on field together? Three games in and I’m still not impressed or confident in Eastep. Osize clearly can cover and offers pass defending. Schmidt makes plays every time he’s on the field and could be best open field tackler. Stats and performance speak for themselves. Can we see a Osize/Schmidt combo out there? It’s embarrassing. No defensive adjustments have been made. We used to attack on defense. We used to have exotic blitzes and coverage disguises. Where is all that?
Positive note- Loving how Grant and Webster are playing.
Need to figure this out- our defensive coaching needs some serious work- long season ahead for all of us watching if it doesn’t change!!!
Not a good look for our coaching staff!
Wait; I’ve seen no game footage but from the stats, hasn’t Hugo established himself a reasonable #1 RB?
Definitely.
Some wonderful tributes to Coach Reno, also on the play of Dante. Kemps acrobatic catch for a touchdown was also featured on College Football Final.
I’m hoping to make next week’s game against Dartmouth. 🙏
I think that the refs huddling and spending five minutes discussing every penalty, on both teams, added 30 minutes to the game time.
It’s true. “An afternoon at the Bowl” truly is an entire afternoon.
Yes! The constant lengthy referee conferences to get the calls right were driving me crazy!
Our pass rush was non-existent. Maybe that was a decision to play coverage. But man, nobody even came close to their quarterback.
The lines, both offensive and defensive, will decide the fate of this years team, I think. A better pass rush, which is always the best pass defense, and an offensive line that can open holes is essential.
I think we have some talented backs, but none seem to be the type that can break a lot tackles. We have shown we can protect Reno, but the running game may require more help from the line than was needed the last several years.
I would also like to see Kamara let loose to go after the QB. If anything he may be under utilized.
Good takes. Agree 100%.
Agreed – the best defense against the passing game is to put the QB on his backside. (The 2017 and 2025 defenses say hello.)
Yale’s Kemeni is #4 in the Ivy League, for rushing yards per game. He is averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
Gentlemen; I agree with most of the above comments. It seems we re not playing our best players together in a group, especially on defense. I also agree our blue captain has been so utterly underutilize Somehow the defensive coordinator is not putting him in a position to make plays. As to the office and coordinator the zone reads up the middle have not been working for three games. The zone reads outside the tackle have done. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out then again maybe my expectations are too much.
A look forward at the Dartmouth game:
https://www.stingcoverage.com/Yale/preview
An interesting observation: Dartmouth’s defensive line is not as formidable as years past. Averaging only 6’2” 280, they haven’t got the quarterback yet this season with 0 (!) sacks so far this season.
On paper that’s great , but that 2024 game when Yale lost in OT 44 to 43 is stuck in my mind.!!
Two missed FG’s cost us that game.
1st and goal from the 4 . On the 1st drive of the game. (Sigh)
They turned it over on downs
Great tribute to Coach Reno
https://x.com/ChildersRadio/status/2107526554888941928
A truly eloquent and poignant tribute to Coach Reno.
https://x.com/fcsnationradio1/status/2107891135435997560?s=61
From article: “But Dartmouth has already shown it can win a low-scoring Ivy League fight, and now they face a Swiss Cheese defense. Yale can win on the back of Reno, but will that be enough with this defense?”
Time for the Yale defense to step up and prove them wrong. Beat Dartmouth!