Notes on the Win Over Cornell

The Bulldogs held on for a 23-17 win over the Big Red on Saturday in front of 4,916 loyal fans in attendance at the Bowl.  Yale improves to 1-1 on the season and will travel to face 0-4 Lehigh this Saturday.

The Yale offense made strides from Week 1 to Week 2, but there remains much work to do before we face stronger Ivy League competition.  The Bulldogs won the time of possession battle (32:30 to 26:56) and bested Cornell in total offensive yards (409 yards to 336 yards).  The Bulldogs continued to struggle however on third and fourth down conversions with just 2 of 11 successful third down conversions and 1 of 2 successful fourth down conversions.  O’Connor had a much better performance this past week completing 23 of 38 attempts for 317 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions.  Communication along the offensive line was improved this week allowing just one sack versus a very aggressive Cornell defense, yet Cornell was able to limit the rushing attack allowing just 2.9 yards per carry on 30 rushing attempts.  Holding penalties along the offensive line will need to be cleaned up this week as they were crippling to some drives and erased a fantastic run by Dudek in which he broke multiple tackles for a first down.  Carrington led all Yale receivers in yardage with 3 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown.  Rouse led the Elis in receptions with 5 receptions for 61 yards including a 44-yarder.  Sandifer, Nenad and Aaron all had clutch plays from their wideout positions, while Hawes and Howland continued to excel at tight end.  We haven’t seen the production from Tipton that we expected coming out of pre-season as the timing between him and O’Connor has just seemed off the last two weeks.  The Lehigh contest should serve as an opportunity to get Tipton and O’Connor on the same page.

The Bulldogs played very stingy defense in the first half, yet mistakes caught up with them in the second half allowing Cornell to come back within one score of victory.  Cornell was limited to 4 of 16 on third down attempts but was more efficient on fourth downs and in the red zone going 2 for 3 and 3 for 5 respectively.  Cornell’s two quarterbacks combined for a mere 48% completion percentage on 52 attempts with 3 interceptions.  The Big Red’s receivers did not help with their offensive efficiency dropping two possible touchdown passes.  Wande Owens had a career day racking up 7 tackles, half a tackle for loss and an interception.  Rodney Thomas constantly came up with big plays including two interceptions and a pass breakup.  We were fortunate that Thomas’ late targeting penalty was reversed as that would have left the Bulldogs’ secondary vulnerable in the first half versus Lehigh.  Sophomore Clay Patterson started at defensive tackle and proved that he could be Yale’s best pass rusher registering 2 sacks.  Outside of a 28-yard rush by Cornell, the Yale run defense was more consistent than in the Holy Cross contest. The secondary played aggressively limiting the short and medium routes that Cornell favors but deep routes remain a concern has Cornell often had receivers 1-2 yards ahead of our corners and safeties.

Bosman struggled in his kicking duties going 2 for 3 on PAT’s and 1 for 2 on field goal attempts missing a 20-yard chip shot from the right hash.  He was solid in his punting duties averaging 40.2 yards per punt and pinned the Big Red twice inside their 20-yard line.  The kickoff return team deserves praise this week as Thomas ran back one onside kick for a touchdown and the Bulldogs were able to recover Cornell’s second onside attempt to effectively seal the game.