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The Yale Bulldogs square off against the 0-5 Bucknell Bison on Saturday at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPN+.

Bucknell dropped 3 close contests to Towson (in OT), VMI and Lafeyette, but were blown out in games versus Central Michigan and Holy Cross. Last week, Holy Cross generated 521 yards of total offense and limited Bucknell to just 169 yards of total offense in a 57-0 route.

Junior QB Nick Semptimhelter (6’1”, 190 lbs.) started in the Holy Cross game for the Bison and has completed 48.5% of his passes this season for 155 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Sophomore QB Ethan Grady (6’2”, 215 lbs.) played the majority of Bucknell’s first 4 games completing 46.1% of his passes for 507 yards, 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Grady’s 3 interceptions versus Lafayette forced Bucknell to turn to Semptimhelter, although given the lack of offensive production in the Holy Cross game, it’s uncertain who will start at QB for the Bison this week. Sophomore RB Rushawn Baker (5’11”, 225 lbs.) is a very talented back who has averaged 4.5 yards per carry on the season. Baker splits carries with junior RB Coleman Bennett (5’11”, 185 lbs.), an explosive runner who is also a danger out of the backfield on passing plays, as well as junior RB Danny Meusuer (6’0”, 200 lbs.) who had a respectable 73 yards rushing versus the Crusaders. The offensive line averages 283 lbs. across the board and all 5 starters had prior starting experience in their careers. Bucknell’s line has really struggled at run blocking with running backs averaging just 2.8 yards per carry on the season. The lack of success rushing the ball has allowed defenses to tee off on passing downs as the Crusaders racked up 4 sacks on Semptimhelter last week. Junior WR Damian Harris (6’0”, 185 lbs.) leads the Bison in receiving yards with 129 yards on 10 receptions. Freshmen WRs Josh Gary (5’11”, 190 lbs.) and Okeyo Ayungo (6’1”, 185 lbs.) have had strong starts to their college careers each hauling in 9 receptions. Freshman TE Charlie Kreinbucher (6’5”, 230 lbs.) is the leading tight end for the Bison with 3 catches for 34 yards.

Bucknell’s defense has allowed opponents to generate 403.6 yards per game for a total of 22 touchdowns. Opponents have scored in the red zone on 17 of 21 drives with touchdowns on 15 of those drives. Senior S Brent Jackson (6’2”, 205 lbs.) leads the Bison in tackles with 50 and has started since his freshman season. Junior LB Blake Leake (6’1”, 215 lbs.) and senior LB Ben Allen (6’1”, 220 lbs.) are both returning starters from 2021 who have combined for 73 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and half a sack. Junior DE Tyler Alston (6’2”, 230 lbs.) has been very disruptive racking up 27 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. The focus this week for the Bulldogs will need to be executing and finishing drives for scores while limiting injuries. The offensive stagnation in the fourth quarter for Yale nearly allowed Howard and Dartmouth to claw back from deficits. As Reno likes to put it, this will very much be a “Yale vs. Yale” contest in which execution will be critical to avoid a trap game.

Bucknell’s struggles have extended to their special teams units as well. The Bison have yet to make a field goal on 4 attempts and are just 1 of 3 on PATs. Junior P Ruben Anderson (6’2”, 215 lbs.) is a solid punter though averaging 41.5 yards per punt and has placed 9 punts inside the red zone. RB Coleman Bennett is a talented kick returner with a long of 39 yards on the season.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Bison!

The Yale Bulldogs defeated the Dartmouth Big Green on Saturday in a 24-21 contest at the Bowl. Congratulations to the players and coaches on improving to 2-0 in Ivy League play.

Heading into the clash with the Big Green, there were concerns about establishing a running game against a tough Dartmouth defensive front. The offensive line quelled those fears with a dominating performance enroute to 270 rushing yards. Even accounting for Dartmouth’s injuries and a targeting suspension on defense, the offensive line has been very impressive against Ivy League competition thus far. Peterson racked up 173 yards and a touchdown on his way to becoming the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. Pitsenberger played after sustaining an injury the week prior but did not appear to be 100% rushing for just 7 yards on 6 carries. Grooms was as slippery as ever rushing for 90 yards on 16 carries. In the passing game, Grooms was a highly efficient 19 of 22 for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He’ll need to clean up some mental mistakes as Dartmouth nearly came away with an additional interception on a dangerous ball forced into traffic. The Bulldogs kept the Big Green off balance with quick passes to Pantelis who reliably gained chunks of yardage. Tipton led all receivers with 73 yards on 6 catches including a spectacular 25-yard touchdown grab. The tight ends had a quiet day in the passing game with one reception for Hawes but were very effective in the ground game. There’s still need for improvement all around especially finishing drives for additional points as 24 will not win the games moving forward. Following the Bucknell game, the schedule heats up with tough matchups against improved Penn, Columbia, and Brown squads in addition to the typical Princeton and Harvard gauntlet.

Dartmouth’s offensive plans were drastically altered in the wake of Howard’s injury. Junior QB Dylan Cadwallader started and was able to find holes in the Bulldogs’ secondary with 248 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bulldogs forced the Big Green to become one dimensional as the rushing game accounted for only 20 yards on 15 carries. With Oso suspended for the first half, Reno opted to shift Patterson to defensive end with sophomore Alvin Gulley, Jr. filling Patterson’s tackle spot. Gulley played well with 2 crucial tackles for loss. It’s hard to argue that any defensive player has been more valuable to the Elis this season than Hamilton Moore. Moore had 9 tackles and a pivotal interception in another fine outing that won him Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. Patterson and McDonough each notched a sack along the defensive front. Oldacre was ejected in the first half following a targeting call but will be available in the first half versus Bucknell. Benn saw increased playing time with Oldacre out and saved the day with his strip of a Dartmouth runner near the goal line. Guyton played in Hickey’s usual spot at corner recording 5 tackles. Owens added another 7 tackles to his season total of 29, second only to Moore’s 30 tackles. Sophomore safety Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye matched Ellis and Oldacre with 3 tackles a piece.

Bosman nailed a key 41-yard field goal and was perfect on 3 PATs. He had one poor punt under duress that brought his average on the day down to 26.5 yards per punt.

Next up: Bucknell

The Yale Bulldogs host the Dartmouth Big Green on Saturday at the Bowl.  Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPN+.

The Big Green enter the contest with a 1-2 overall record (0-1 Ivy) following surprising back-to-back overtime losses to Sacred Heart and Penn. Keep in mind that Dartmouth is just plays away from a 3-0 record and will be playing with a do-or-die attitude to stay in the hunt for the Ivy League title.

The Dartmouth offense is led by bruising senior QB Nick Howard (6’2”, 225 lbs.). Howard is Dartmouth’s top rusher with 351 yards (5.6 YPC) and 6 touchdowns on the season. Yale defenders will need to stay low and wrap up Howard to have any chance of slowing the Big Green’s rushing attack. Supplementing Howard in the ground game is senior RB Zack Bair (5’10”, 205 lbs.) who is a talented all-purpose back. Bair left the Penn contest with an injury, but we’ll certainly need to plan for his participation. Howard has struggled through the air averaging 94.3 yards per game with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions overall. With Dartmouth’s strength in the run game, if Howard can get on the same page as his receivers, this will be a dangerous offense. Dartmouth’s offensive line is very technically sound and held their own versus a stout Penn defensive front. The Big Green’s offensive line is one of the smaller units we will face this season averaging 284 lbs. across the board, but they make up for it with quickness and tenacity. The receiving corps is a talented bunch that just have not been given opportunities to shine. Senior WR Jamal Cooney (5’9”, 155 lbs.) is a very explosive wideout who is tied for the lead in reception yards for the Big Green with 5 catches for 49 yards. Junior WR Paxton Scott (6’1”, 190 lbs.) leads the team in overall receptions with 6 for 49 yards. Senior WR Jonny Barrett (6’3”, 200 lbs.) is the lone receiver with a touchdown reception. Senior TE Joe Kramer (6’5”, 245 lbs.) is a large physical player that the Big Green will likely try to utilize much more moving forward. Dartmouth’s offensive philosophy to keep defenses off balance remains largely unchanged. The Big Green want defenses to commit defenders to stopping the QB runs up the middle and then hit them with jet sweeps and reverses to the outside. Once defenses have adjusted to the varied rushing attack, they then seek to take deep shots down the field. Look for Teevens to utilize trick plays that are subtle variations to the base offensive plays. The announcers during the Penn-Dartmouth contest referenced a play that they had seen in practice with the running back pitching the ball to a streaking wideout for a reverse (or reverse pass).

While the Dartmouth defense lacks the star-studded lineup of years past, they are a very strong unit that does not make many mistakes. Senior OLB/DE Marques White (6’2”, 235 lbs.) stood out on the Penn film with his physicality and was a 2^nd Team All-Ivy selection a year ago. Senior DL Shane Cokes (6’3”, 275 lbs.) was also a 2^nd Team All-Ivy selection in 2021 and has had a stellar start to the season with 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Senior DL Luca Di Leo (6’2”, 295 lbs.) has seen varsity action since his freshman season and is brother to former All-American Rocco Di Leo. Junior LB Macklin Ayers (6’3”, 230 lbs.) is a tackling machine for the Big Green with 35 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Senior CB Tyron Herring (6’1”, 200 lbs.) is a feisty athlete that had an interception versus Sacred Heart and an impressive pass breakup versus Penn. Senior S Quinten Arello (6’1”, 210 lbs.) has started since his freshman year and has racked up 18 tackles and a forced fumble on the season. With the Big Green’s defensive line posing more issues than we’ve faced over the last two weeks limiting rushers to 3.4 yards per carry, our most favorable matchups will be against Dartmouth’s linebackers, safeties, and corners in the passing game. Protecting Grooms this week will be vital to unleashing Tipton, Pantelis, Hawes and Yates.

Dartmouth’s woes in the kicking game were a huge factor in the loss to Penn. Senior K Ryan Bloch (5’9”, 200 lbs.) had one kick that was so ugly that the referees assumed it was no good and had to utilize replay to overturn the call. Teevens tested freshman WR Ivan Hoyt (6’1”, 190 lbs.) at kicker in the 4^th quarter but Hoyt missed by a wide margin on his first ever collegiate attempt. Bloch’s blocked field goal in the second overtime gave Penn the opportunity to closeout the contest with a score. Sophomore P Davis Golick (6’1”, 205 lbs.) is averaging just 35.7 yards per punt. Our punt team will need to be sharp to contain Cooney from breaking loose on punt returns.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Big Green!

The Yale Bulldogs defeated the Howard Bison on Saturday at the Bowl in a 34-26 contest. 9,200 brave souls attended the rainy event and were treated to a fantastic halftime performance by the Howard band.

Yale led 27-6 in the third quarter before a late rally from Howard narrowed the score to 27-20. Tre Peterson’s 44-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter sealed the victory as the Bison’s comeback attempt fell short despite a last-second touchdown reception. The victory could prove very costly as Pitsenberger was injured and Oso was suspended from the first half of the Dartmouth contest following a late targeting call.

The wet conditions were not favorable to Yale’s passing game. Grooms completed 10 of 24 passes for 111 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Grooms’ interception came on a very questionable decision to throw into tight coverage which resulted in the pass being tipped high in the air. The Bulldogs will need to practice with wet balls much more moving forward as surehanded receivers such as Pantelis dropped multiple passes while Grooms and Peterson each had a fumble. The offensive line did a stellar job creating holes for Peterson, Pitsenberger, Eboboko and Grooms. Pitsenberger started at running back for the second straight week rushing for 87 yards on 9 carries (9.7 YPC) with a touchdown before limping off with an injury. Peterson stepped up with 144 yards on 12 carries (12.0 YPC) with a touchdown. Grooms’ athleticism overmatched Howard’s defense as he rushed for 130 yards on 16 carries (8.1 YPC) including a 54-yard touchdown run. The offensive line did not allow a sack, but Grooms was often pressured and had to utilize his skills as an escape artist to extend plays. Hawes bounced back from his struggles against Cornell making an impressive diving catch for a touchdown. Tipton caught 1 pass for 35 yards and likely would have scored on a long pass from Grooms that was overthrown by mere inches.

There was very sloppy play on the defensive side of the ball that will need to be corrected this week heading into a barn burner versus Dartmouth. The pass pressure from the defensive line was not consistent enough and Howard’s QB was able to easily avoid several sacks with his quickness. The secondary seemed to give too much spacing to the Bison receivers resulting in easy short to medium throws to open wideouts, although this may have been intentional to negate Howard’s big play ability and speed on the outside. Tackling deteriorated from the Cornell contest with defenders not getting their pad level low enough and being dragged for extra yardage. Hamilton Moore was the highlight of the defense with 12 tackles and an interception. Moore’s fellow linebackers Vaughn and Abraham struggled at times but do seem to be improving each week.  The defensive line had a relatively quiet outing with Oso and Nickerson combining for 7 tackles and 1 sack. Oso delivered a crushing blow to Howard’s QB that resulted in his suspension due to targeting a quarterback by initiating head-to-head contact. Teams have really focused on shutting down Patterson thus far which has impacted his statistics but not his overall disruption at the line of scrimmage. Owens continued to rack up tackles with 7 on the afternoon and still leads the defense in total tackles this season. Hickey was cited for a costly pass interference penalty at the 1-yard line but made up for it with a fantastic interception.

Bosman had a great day averaging 41.0 yards per punt and was perfect on both field goals and PATs. Lindley had an explosive 45-yard punt return while Felton racked up 38 yards on just one kickoff return.

Next up: the Dartmouth Big Green!

The Bulldogs host the Howard Bison this Saturday at the Bowl in the NAACP Harmony Classic. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Howard enters the contest with a 1-3 record opening with 3 losses before a 31-0 win over Morehouse College last weekend. The Bison cannot be overlooked as they are a very athletic squad that was competitive for 3 quarters against FBS opponent USF.

Senior QB Quinton Williams (6’5”, 200 lbs.) has completed 68.5% of his passes this season averaging 236.5 yards per game with 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Williams is a solid passer but will not be as much of a threat in the run game as Sluka or Wang. Howard’s top 3 rushers average over 4.3 yards per carry each. Junior RB Jarrett Hunter (5’10”, 205 lbs.) leads all rushers with 190 yards and 3 touchdowns over 4 games. The offensive line play has been inconsistent for the Bison paving the way for 130 rushing yards per game while allowing 9 sacks on the season. Senior Anim Dankwah (6’8”, 365 lbs.) will likely be the largest offensive lineman we will face all season and was a 2^nd Team All-MEAC selection last season. Senior WR Antoine Murray (6’0”, 188 lbs.) is Williams’ favorite target in the passing game with 19 catches for 323 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sophomore WR Nah’shawn Hezekiah (6’3”, 210 lbs.) is another weapon averaging 14.0 yards per reception. This should be a great opportunity for our secondary and linebackers to improve against talented skill position players. Keeping Howard out of the redzone will be critical as they have scored on 75% of their trips inside of the 20.

The Bison defense has really clamped down on opponents on 3^rd downs limiting them to a 26.2% success rate. 1^st and 2^nd downs have not been as favorable for Howard as opponents have averaged 6.2 yards per play overall. Junior S Kenny Gallop, Jr. (6’1”, 210 lbs.) leads all defenders with 26 tackles. Sophomore LB Terrance Hollon (6’1”, 220 lbs.) has been all over the field for the Bison with 25 tackles and 2 interceptions. Senior DL Darrian Brokenburr (6’4”, 260 lbs.) was a 2^nd Team All-MEAC player a year ago and has racked up 13 tackles. Senior DL Jevin Jackson (6’1”, 265 lbs.) is another big-bodied defender that has been highly productive with 14 tackles. Opponents have had success through the air with 7.2 yards per attempt, but the Bison secondary members have great hands and have already intercepted 5 passes. Howard’s defense was dominating in its most recent performance limiting Morehouse to 218 yards of total offense while not allowing a point. Achieving the same offensive success as last week will be difficult against this experienced squad.

Senior P Richard Phillip is averaging 35.9 yard per punt, while Howard has played two different kickers that have gone 3 for 6 on the season on field goals. Our punt and kickoff teams will have to tackle well this week to keep Howard’s explosive returners from getting loose.

See you at the Bowl!

The Bulldogs evened their record to 1-1 on Saturday with an impressive 38-14 win over the Big Red. In a mirror image of the 14-38 loss to Holy Cross in Week 1, Yale displayed dominance over many facets of the game. Coach Reno and his staff had an impressive week of preparation to get this team on track in a hurry.

No one bounced back in a bigger fashion than Nolan Grooms. Grooms finished 12 of 17 for 187 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. In the ground game, Grooms averaged 6.1 yards per carry over 9 attempts. Grooms looked poised in the pocket and delivered perfectly placed strike after strike. Tutas entered the contest midway through the 3^rd quarter and put on an impressive display completing 4 of 5 passes for 85 yards. The rushing attack was led by freshman Joshua Pitsenberger who has looked exceptionally polished over his first two contests. Pitsenberger averaged just under 5.5 yards per carry as he rushed for 93 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. The talented first-year also hauled in a shuffle pass from Grooms on the opening drive. The running back stable of Peterson, Saffold, Denney and McElwain all got in the mix with Peterson adding a touchdown. The offensive line put together one of the most impressive performances we’ve seen since 2019. Large holes were opened for Pitsenberger and company while Cornell’s All-Ivy linebackers were neutralized. Grooms was only sacked once and the snapping issues appear to be resolved. Yates and Hawes were able to stretch the defense from their tight end positions. Hawes did have two critical drops, although one would have been canceled by a holding call on Gargiulo. Tipton and Pantelis were simply too much for the Cornell secondary to handle. Tipton just embarrassed defenders on a nifty catch and run that is surely the top highlight of the season thus far. Pantelis delivered in crucial moments hauling in a catch on 4^th down before half and later catching a bomb from Tutas down to the 1-yard line.

The defense once again came out firing on all cylinders on the first drive before allowing a 36-yard passing touchdown from Wang on Cornell’s second drive. Any concerns of a high scoring shootout were quickly erased as the defensive line established dominance at the line of scrimmage to ease the pressure on the linebackers and secondary. Oso was explosive as he racked up 6 tackles and 2 sacks, while Patterson and Nickerson each notched a sack. Hamilton Moore was the most impressive linebacker who crushed backs in run support. Wang’s quickness on runs posed issues for Vaughn and others, but overall the tackling was much improved from the week prior. Outside of the long passing score early on, the secondary of Owens, Hickey, Ellis and Oldacre clamped down on the Big Red. Owens and Hickey were able to contain receivers and support from the safeties was much improved. The ability to continue to limit the big plays will be vital down the stretch.

Bosman nailed a 25-yard field goal in the 3^rd quarter and was perfect on PATs. The snaps from Mann have been solid so far this season.

The Bulldogs return home to square off against the Howard Bison at the Bowl.