The Bulldogs travel to Providence this Saturday for a 12:30 PM contest versus the Brown Bears. It will be the coldest game that Yale has played in so far this year with the temperature at kickoff slated to be 39 degrees. The game will be aired on ESPN+.
Brown’s offense is led by the dynamic junior dual threat quarterback EJ Perry. Perry has thrown for 1905 yards (272 yards per game), 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions behind a beleaguered offensive line. When the pocket collapses, Perry is a fantastic runner who leads the Bears with 554 rushing yards (79 yards per game). Sophomore running back Allen Smith is very quick out of the backfield and is averaging an impressive 4.7 yards per carry. Senior wide receiver Jakob Prall has been the go-to wideout for years and while he’s no Buddy Farnham, he has the ability to get behind our secondary for big plays. Senior wide receiver LJ Harriott torched our defense three years ago and will pose matchup problems for our defensive backs with his size, speed and strength. The offensive line has been the main weakness for Brown all season, yet EJ Perry’s rare athletic ability has allowed the Brown offense to keep churning despite the lackluster play at the line of scrimmage. Brown has improved tremendously from week one and narrowly lost to Cornell and Penn over the last two weeks. Coach Perry has a very aggressive offensive strategy as Brown often declines to punt the ball on fourth down even in poor field position.
The heart of the Brown defense is senior defensive tackle Michael Hoecht. Hoecht has been dominant since his freshman season and is on pace for an All-Ivy year with 32 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. Brown’s linebacking corps suffered a setback when their 265 lb. middle linebacker Kingsley Ejiogu-Dike was injured earlier in the season. Sophomore linebacker Jason Medeiros has helped fill the void leading the team in tackles with 37. Senior linebacker Brendan Pyne has been solid as well racking up 36 tackles. Coach Perry has played a number of freshmen extensively in this rebuilding season and defensive back Cooper Deveau could be the most talented of the bunch accumulating 28 tackles, 5 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery. Brown’s secondary has struggled against strong aerial attacks giving up 101 first downs through the air and allowing opposing quarterbacks to average 337 passing yards.
Kicker Dawson Goepferich has made 4 of 7 field goal attempts this season, but just 1 of 4 attempts beyond 30 yards. Goepferich is also Brown’s starting punter averaging just under 40 yards per punt with 7 punts placed inside opponents’ redzones. Brown’s punt return and kick return units have been below average for the Ivy League averaging 4.5 yards and 18.7 yards respectively.
Brown is a quality opponent that cannot be overlooked this week. Most importantly, this is the last opportunity for the Bulldogs to improve before difficult contests versus the Tigers and Crimson. We need Princeton to knock off Dartmouth this week to stay in the hunt for an Ivy title after Harvard’s last minute blunder versus Dartmouth last week.
Go Bulldogs!
5 replies on “Brown Preview”
Yales defense of front need to continue the pressure that they exhibit against Columbia. Of course that gives the D backs more Time to shut down Brown’s passing attack
No question that Rawlings Klubnick Shofei and co. are in rhythm with the passing game we need to have sustained running through the next three weeks if team 147 is to contend for an Ivy crown
Let’s go Bulldogs stay focused and keep the intensity coming
Let’s take one game at a time. Yale will need a sustained running attack just to beat Brown. Also, the defense has got to contain QB Perry!
The LB’s will be challenged this week. Covering eligible receivers, especially out of the backfield, has been a weakness at times. Mix in a mobile QB who may slip out of the pocket and try to run for first-down yardage, and it gives the LB corps two cross-purposes to address at once. Stick with a streaking RB or TE? Or charge forward to provide second-line defense against a QB scramble?
It’s similar to the dilemma our opponents face with Rawlings.
What’s up with Rawlings .? Leaving to many points off the board. Wide open Lamar 3 times . He threw it to no one. When head on he’s awesome. When he’s not he is horrible. Take what they give you. Stop trying to do to much. Ok
No depth chart for Brown game what happen.Boy what a joke.