Author: Moderator

Coach Reno decided to start Rafe Chapple at QB, but also experimented with Tre Moore and Kurt Rawlings on Saturday.  Moore’s series sputtered, while Rawlings series ended with a turnover on downs and an interception.  It’s a shame the QB circus had to play out another week, but at least now we know who will be leading this team forward.

Dale Harris got the start at RB over Salter and Rich, but all three struggled against the stout Raiders front.  The offensive line simply could not open the holes needed to get the run game going.  Penalties by Friedline and Cannon were costly to drives and overall the line could not sustain pass blocks long enough to pick apart Colgate’s secondary.

Jake Melville and the Colgate receivers had their way with the Yale secondary.  The defensive front could not generate an effective pass rush and often left corners Marquise Peggs and Jaelin Alburg in tough situations against the Patriot League’s top receiving corps.  Clearly the defense is reeling from the losses of Spencer Rymiszewski and Copache Tyler.   Even the experienced linebackers performed well below their capabilities in the season opener.

Yale’s next opponent, Cornell, beat Bucknell 24-16 on Saturday.

We are now just under 24 hours away from kickoff tomorrow at the Yale Bowl.  The 2006 Ivy League Championship team will be regathering at the game to celebrate the ten year anniversary of their historic run.  Unfortunately, we received terrible news that Isaiah DeLeon-Mares ’10 passed away suddenly this week.  Isaiah saw varsity action against Columbia in his freshman year, but concussions derailed his promising football career.  He was always a source of energy at practice as a student assistant and was beloved by not only the football team, but also by his Zeta Psi fraternity brothers and the fellow members of his secret society.

Be sure to check out the game tomorrow at 1:30 PM ET on One World Sports or the Ivy League Digital Network.  Ron Vaccaro and Carm Cozza will be leading the radio broadcast on ESPN Radio AM 1300.

GO BULLDOGS!

Coach Tony Reno has not announced the starter for Saturday’s contest and it still appears to be a three horse race with Moore, Chapple and Rawlings duking it out for the top spot.

WR Bo Hines has been ruled out of Saturday’s game.  Hines’ string of injuries since his transfer has been disappointing for fans, but luckily we return veteran pass catchers such as Chris Williams-Lopez, Michael Siragusa Jr., Robert Clemons III, Myles Gaines, Sebastian Little and Leo Haenni among others to take the pressure off of our new QB.

Our beefed up O-Line will be looking to clear holes for the three-headed monster in our backfield.  Rich, Harris and Salter are all at full strength and will be splitting carries this Saturday against a stingy front seven for the Colgate Raiders.  Reno mentioned to the YDN that Salter is in the neighborhood of 230 pounds!

JV Schedule:

Vs. Milford Academy Sept. 25th

Vs. Brown Oct. 2nd

At Harvard Nov. 18th

We are just five days away from kickoff at the Yale Bowl Saturday at 1:30 PM EDT versus Colgate.  As the YDN reported last week, the Bulldogs will be without their returning All-Ivy defenders Copache Tyler and Spencer Rymiszewski.

The game can be seen live on One World Sports or the Ivy League Digital Network.

Colgate is coming off a 9-5 season and was picked to repeat as Patriot League Champion this year.  Yale will need to put pressure up front on an experienced Raiders offensive line to slow down QB Jake Melville and RB James Holland.  On offense, getting blockers on LB Kyle Diener and DE Pat Afriyie will be crucial to opening the running lanes.

The defending Patriot League Champion, Colgate, dropped its first game on Friday versus Syracuse.  Despite starting the game with an early lead after Jake Melville’s touchdown toss to Owen Rockett, the Orange scored 33 unanswered points and gained 554 yards on the day.  Colgate’s front seven did show promise as aside from a big 49 yard play, they limited Syracuse to just 68 yards on 34 rushes.  Colgate’s front seven includes three all-league performers from a year ago, so Yale’s O-linemen will have their hands full in Week 1.  Syracuse constantly found soft spots in Colgate’s secondary and surely this film will give Reno a rough blueprint for aerial success.

Yale has won the last nine season openers including last year’s wild 29-28 finish over Colgate.  The keys to this game will be punching holes in Colgate’s defensive front seven and preventing Melville and company from starting as quickly as they did against the Orange.

We did not attend the closed scrimmage on Saturday, but would love to hear your thoughts on the current position battles.

Brown is returning 15 starters from last year’s squad, so the upcoming closed scrimmage on Saturday at the Yale Bowl should give our team a great opportunity to compete against a veteran unit and put the finishing touches on a fantastic preseason.  The scrimmage should help answer some of these lingering questions:

Will the scrimmage solidify one QB as the starter or will Reno opt to have the contenders compete for another two weeks?

Can the offense get off to a more productive start than in the Blue-White scrimmage?

Will Coach Vashel get more creative in his defensive play calling duties?

Will Coach Conlin expand the playbook this season?

How will Salter, Rich and Harris all be utilized effectively at RB?

Can we manhandle opponents at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball?

Feel free to comment and discuss these questions below.  Yale just announced that the scrimmage will be closed to the public, so the majority of our questions will remain unanswered until kickoff on September 17th.

Our first opponent, Colgate, is gearing up for its opener vs. Syracuse on Friday evening.

Camp Day #6 is officially in the books.  Be sure to checkout the official Yale Football Twitter page for the occasional video highlights: https://twitter.com/Yale_Football

The Yale-Brown scrimmage will be played at the Yale Bowl on Labor Day weekend this year, but the date/time is still TBD.

Incoming Freshman RB Andrew Grinde apparently left Yale prior to the start of camp for unknown reasons.  With the talent returning at RB for the Bulldogs, even a stellar Freshman RB would find himself four slots deep on the depth chart.  Whatever the true reason is for Grinde’s departure, we’re hoping we see Grinde on the field next season!

Tyler Varga confirmed through various media outlets that his decision to retire was due to health concerns.  We can’t blame a fellow Eli for using his brain power to preserve his mind while he still can.

Yale’s first opponent, Colgate, will kick off the season at Syracuse on September 2nd.  We’ll have an in-depth breakdown of their squad in the days following that contest.

The first practice of camp will be held this Friday.  The quest for the 2016 Ivy League Championship is almost here!  Yale had 85 players stay in New Haven this offseason which is very high compared to pre-Reno classes, so let’s hope the dedication in strength and conditioning leads to more wins this fall.  The Ivy League announced the following TV schedule for Yale games: