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Columbia Preview
The 2-4 Columbia Lions travel to New Haven this weekend to face the Bulldogs at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPN+.
Columbia’s two wins were both over non-conference opponents as the Lions knocked off the Georgetown Hoyas in Week 2 by a score of 30-0 and then defeated the Marist Red Foxes 16-0 in Week 4. The Lions dropped two very close games against Princeton and Penn and missed several opportunities to narrow the contest last week at Dartmouth.
Senior QB Joe Green (6’4”, 230 lbs.) returned from an injury last week and had a solid showing versus Dartmouth completing 25 passes for 239 yards and an interception. The Lion’s other option at QB, senior Caden Bell (6’0”, 205 lbs.), struggled through five games completing just 41.3% of his passes with a single touchdown thrown. Columbia utilizes three talented running backs that all average 4.4 yards per carry or more. Senior RB Joey Giorgi (5’10”, 205 lbs.) leads the Lions in rushing with 86 carries for 389 yards and a touchdown but did not play in Columbia’s last contest. Junior RB Malcom Terry II (5’9”, 205 lbs.) rushed for 62 yards last week at Dartmouth and is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Rounding out the running back trio is senior Ty’son Edwards (5’11”, 210 lbs.) who leads the team in both yards per carry and rushing touchdowns. The offensive line averages 301.0 lbs. across the board and returns two starters from 2022. The line has paved the way for 3.4 yards per carry on the season and given up 12 sacks to opponents. Columbia has two very skilled receivers in senior JJ Jenkins (6’2”, 200 lbs.) and junior Bryson Canty (6’2”, 200 lbs.). Jenkins leads the team in receptions and receiving yards posting 19 catches for 310 yards and a touchdown. Canty was a 1st Team All-Ivy WR a year ago and is averaging 11.6 yards per catch. Senior TE James Miller (6’4”, 245 lbs.) is adept at run blocking and pass catching. The Lions have had a run-heavy offense but that could all change in this contest based on their study of the Yale vs. Penn film.
Columbia’s defense is one of the toughest in the Ivy League and leads the nation in both red zone defense and scoring defense. The defense has limited opponents to just 103.8 rushing yards per game and 170.7 passing yards per game through 6 contests. Senior LB Anthony Roussos (5’11”, 230 lbs.) has been dominant this season with 57 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. Junior DE Justin Townsend (6’1”, 255 lbs.) is one of the top defensive linemen in the Ancient Eight and has racked up 15 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and an interception. Junior DB Hayden McDonald (5’9”, 180 lbs.) has been a key to Columbia’s defensive success this season with 42 tackles, 3 pass breakups and a fumble recovery. Junior S Aaron Brebnor (6’1”, 195 lbs.) has seen action since his freshman season and is tied for the team lead in interceptions with 2. Opponents have scored just 6 touchdowns on 19 drives inside the red zone and have converted on 3rd down just 35.1% of the time. The Yale offense needs to find its footing in the contest to control the clock and exploit mismatches on the outside.
Freshman K Hugo Merry (6’2”, 215 lbs.) has made 4 of 9 field goals with a long of 42 yards on the season. Senior P William Hughes (6’0”, 175 lbs.) has done a tremendous job punting with an average of 44.2 yards per punt with 9 punts over 50 yards. Senior Carter McFadden (5’11”, 180 lbs.) could be the best returner we’ve faced so far this season and has averaged 14.3 yards per punt return and 25.8 yards per kickoff return.
Go Bulldogs! Beat the Lions!
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Penn Notes
The Bulldogs fell to the Penn Quakers on Saturday in a 17-27 contest dropping to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in the Ivy League. Harvard’s loss over the weekend improved the odds for a team winning the Ivy League Championship with a 5-2 record but the next four games for Yale will all be tough contests.
The offense was able to piece together two complete drives in the first half yet struggled to gain yardage behind an injury plagued offensive line. Grooms was constantly flustered by pressure and was only able to complete 58.3% of his passes for 121 yards and 2 TDs. An ugly interception and two overthrown deep balls to open receivers killed any momentum that Yale had attained. The offensive line was manhandled, allowing 4 sacks and failing to open rushing lanes. Aside from a 44-yard run by Grooms and a 14-yard run by Lindley, the rushing attack failed to produce results despite hard running from Pitsenberger, Peterson and Alston. Lindley, Tipton and Nenad were bright spots for the offense combining for 10 receptions for 96 yards. Like last season’s loss to Penn, the offensive play calling in the second half could not have been worse. For instance, the Quakers had a drive stalled in the 3rd quarter after a bad snap and then had a disastrous punt for just 18 yards. Yale began the drive at the Penn 45-yard line but was quickly forced to punt following two runs up the middle and a deep incompletion to Nenad on 3rd and 4. The Dartmouth contest should have been a clear warning sign that the overreliance on big plays would come back to bite Yale, yet due to ignorance or arrogance, the coaching staff continues to gamble with low probability plays instead of simply trying to move the chains and control the clock.
As poor as the offensive performance and coaching were in the contest, the defensive woes were on a whole different level. Penn’s QB Aidan Sayin had his way with the Yale secondary completing 33 passes for 364 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions. The lack of a pass rush was an embarrassment as Sayin had a carefree afternoon in the pocket with ample time to find open receivers. Freshman RB Malachi Hosley effortlessly ran through arm tackles from the Bulldogs to rack up 86 rushing yards or 4.3 yards per carry and a touchdown. Yale had no answers for Penn’s WR Jared Richardson who set an all-time Penn record with 17 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown. The coaches failed to make any meaningful adjustments to limit Richardson despite accounting for over half of Penn’s completions. On the off chance that Richardson was covered, Sayin had no issues finding other receivers such as Casilli open with no Yale defender nearby. Instead of getting creative with an endless possibility of blitzes, stunts and coverages, the defensive coaches refused to stray from the base zone packages that have failed to limit opposing offenses this season. Brown, Princeton and Harvard all possess more potent offenses than we faced against Penn, so drastic changes must be implemented in a hurry.
Bosman was 2 of 2 on PATs and nailed a 23-yard field goal in the 4th quarter. The windy conditions made punting difficult and Bosman averaged just 30.7 yards per punt in the contest. Felton had a solid showing at kick returner with 2 kickoff returns for 56 yards.
Ivy Standings
Dartmouth 2-1
Princeton 2-1
Harvard 2-1
Penn 2-1
Cornell 2-1
Brown 1-2
Yale 1-2
Columbia 0-3
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Yale 17 Penn 27
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Penn Preview
The 4-1 Penn Quakers travel to New Haven to square off against the Bulldogs at the Bowl this Saturday. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPN+.
Penn soundly defeated Colgate and Bucknell in Weeks 1 and 2 before falling to Dartmouth in overtime in Week 3. The Quakers found themselves in another overtime contest versus Georgetown in Week 4 but prevailed victorious and kept that momentum alive squeaking by Columbia last week. Penn has comparable talent to Dartmouth across the board and may be the most physical team on the schedule this year.
Junior QB Aidan Sayin (6’2”, 200 lbs.) has shown solid improvement from his sophomore campaign and picked apart the secondaries of Dartmouth and Columbia. Sayin has completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,417 yards, 9 TDs and 4 interceptions. Football runs deep in the Sayin family as Aidan’s younger brother is a 5-star QB recruit who has committed to Alabama. Freshman Malachi Hosley (5’10”, 185 lbs.) and senior Jonathan Mulatu (6’0, 205 lbs.) have shared the bulk of the carries for the Quakers thus far and each average over 4.2 yards per carry. Penn has a very talented receiving corps comprised of large targets with 3 leading receivers all over 6’2”. Sophomore WR Jared Richardson (6’2”, 215 lbs.) leads the Quakers in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs hauling in 28 receptions for 310 yards and 3 TDs. Averaging 9.9 yards per catch, sophomore WR Alex Haight (6’2”, 200 lbs.) is another threat to keep on eye on. Senior TE Bryce Myers (6’2”, 230 lbs.) has the speed and hands of a wideout that makes it difficult for smaller defensive backs to contain him. The offensive line is one of the better units across the Ivy League led by multi-year starters Jake Ligos (6’3”, 305 lbs.) and Alex Purcell (6’5”, 305 lbs.). Penn has a balanced attack that will really test all areas of our defense this week. Getting pressure on Sayin and limiting big play opportunities will be crucial.
The hallmark of a Priore team is a tough, physical defense and this year is no exception. At all three levels of Penn’s defense they feature All-Ivy caliber athletes. Senior LB Jack Fairman (6’1”, 230 lbs.) leads the Quakers in tackles with 28 and was an Honorable Mention All-Ivy player in 2022. Senior DB Kendren Smith (6’0”, 205 lbs.) is the most heralded player on the team coming off a 1st Team All-Ivy season in 2022 and has broken up 5 passes on the season. Senior DB Shiloh Means (5’11”, 200 lbs.) has terrorized opposing QBs racking up 3 interceptions. Penn’s defensive line dominated Yale a year ago and returns the powerful senior Joey Slackman (6’4”, 300 lbs.) who has an astounding 7.5 tackles for loss through 5 games. Banged up or not, our offensive line will need to find ways to win battles at the line of scrimmage and our offensive coaches will need to keep Penn’s aggressive defense guessing.
Junior P/K Albert Jang (6’2”, 200 lbs.) has been exceptional in the punting and kicking games. Jang has averaged 38.5 yards per punt with a long of 52 yards and also nailed a 51-yard field goal. Penn is fortunate to have two talented kickers as senior Graham Gottlieb (5’,10”, 165 lbs.) has connected on 7 of 9 attempts with a long of 42 yards.
Go Bulldogs! Beat the Quakers!
The Bulldogs improved to 3-2 following a 31-3 victory over the Pioneers of Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart managed to outgain Yale in total offensive yards and possessed the ball over 12 minutes longer than Yale, but the Bulldogs were again able to capitalize on opportunities. Grooms found Tipton wide open on the first drive to go up 7-0 and never looked back. Aside from one errant interception, Grooms played well considering the tough weather conditions completing 10 of 19 passes for 123 yards, 3 TDs and 1 interception. The offensive line only featured two Day 1 starters with Mendoza at LT, Sullivan at LG, Bluhm at C, Charron at RG, and Bennett at RT. Amegadjie was seen on the sidelines using a cane, so hopefully his injury is not a devastating one. The running game showed improvements over prior weeks with 4.7 yards per carry and if the 38-yard loss from the botched long snap is removed from the statistics, the Bulldogs averaged 5.9 yards per carry. It was great to see Alston and Peterson escape for long runs of 57 and 32 yards respectively. Blocking was still inconsistent as Pitsenberger and Grooms struggled to rack up yards on the ground and two sacks were allowed. Tipton had another strong showing with 3 receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown as well as one 15-yard rush for a touchdown. Hawes and Yates each had a 20+ yard reception in key moments. 3rd downs proved troubling for the Bulldogs as they converted on just 2 of 11 3rd down attempts. With five tough Ivy matchups ahead of us, we need to find ways to sustain drives, burn the clock and keep opposing offenses on the sidelines.
Yale’s defense wasn’t perfect but found ways to stymie Sacred Heart when needed. The Pioneers gained 344 yards or 3.8 yards per play yet were limited to 6 of 20 on 3rd downs, 2 of 4 on 4th downs, and were only able to score on 1 of 4 trips inside the redzone. Patterson was dominant racking up 9 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack on his way to becoming Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. Egodogbare looked explosive as he blew past offensive linemen to get into the backfield. Tyler, McDonough, and Oxendine each had half a sack in the contest along the defensive front. Vaughn and Moore each had productive days with 6 tackles and a forced fumble apiece. Vaughn also intercepted a Sacred Heart pass and returned it for 85 yards. Biggs had the best performance of his career with 6 tackles and half a sack. Tackling continues to improve in the secondary, although there are still lapses in pass coverage. Owens had a solid outing with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Tarver led all safeties with 6 tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Haaland was a big contributor with 5 tackles and half a sack. The focus in practice this week needs to be sharpening up pass coverages as Penn is averaging 291.4 passing yards per game.
Bosman nailed a 42-yard field goal in the 4th quarter and averaged 42.3 yards per punt. The botched long snap on a punt could have doomed Yale in a tight contest.
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Yale 31 Sacred Heart 3
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Sacred Heart Preview
The 1-5 Sacred Heart Pioneers will travel from nearby Fairfield to New Haven this Saturday for a showdown at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPN+.
Sacred Heart began its season with three straight losses to Lafayette, Georgetown, and Wagner. In Week 4, the Pioneers earned their first win of the season over Saint Francis University on the road. Over the last two weeks, Sacred Heart dropped close contests versus Merrimack and LIU.
Senior QBs Rob McCoy (6’1”, 190 lbs.) and Cade Pribula (6’1”, 205 lbs.) have both played in 5 contests this season combining for a 50.3% completion rate for 746 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The passing game has not lived up to expectations for the Pioneers producing just 124.3 passing yards per game. Sacred Heart features two talented running backs in seniors Malik Grant (5’9”, 200 lbs.) and Jalen Madison (5’9”, 195 lbs.). Grant was a 2nd Team All-NEC selection a year ago and the top running back that we have faced since Week 1 versus Holy Cross. The offensive line averages 294.0 lbs. across the board and does not feature any returning starters from 2022. The offensive line is a slight notch below what we faced last week at Dartmouth paving the way for 3.9 yards per carry and allowing 12 sacks thus far. Senior TE Phil Pasmeg (6’2”, 230 lbs.) is primarily a blocker with just 1 reception for 6 yards on the season. The Pioneers have depth at receiver, but the passing problems have limited their effectiveness. Sophomore WR Aboraa Kwarteng (6’2”, 190 lbs.) leads the team in receptions and receiving yards with 18 catches for 176 yards. The Bulldogs will need to shut down the rushing attack and force the Pioneers to be one dimensional to control the contest.
Senior LB DeAndre Byrd (6’1”, 210 lbs.) is the leader of Sacred Heart’s defensive unit. Byrd has posted 48 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble over 6 games and is a 2-time captain for the Pioneers. Senior LB Ernest Howard (6’1”, 210 lbs.) was a 2nd Team All-NEC selection in 2022 and is second on the team in tackles with 31. The secondary for the Pioneers has played well limiting opponents to just 88.5 passing yards per game with a completion rate of 48.2%. Sacred Heart currently ranks #1 in the nation for pass defense. Senior CB Arsheen Jiles (5’9”, 180 lbs.) could be the most talented of the bunch as a 2nd Team All-NEC performer a year ago. Senior DB Marques Mason (5’9”, 180 lbs.) has made plays all over the field for Sacred Heart with 30 tackles and an interception on the season. The Pioneers have a stout defensive front led by seniors Nick Foglia (6’0”, 300 lbs.), Carson Primrose (6’2”, 280 lbs.), and Tyreke Brown (6’1”, 250 lbs.). Foglia has been the most productive defensive linemen with 30 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. Primrose and Brown are both team captains that have combined for 8 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. The theme for the Bulldogs this week is again establishing the running game that has been underwhelming at best. The coaches will need to rethink the ground attack as it’s evident that the plays that worked so well for us a year ago are now doomed without a dominating center. Yale does not want to be dependent on long passes late in the contest against a top pass defense.
Senior K Sam Renzi (6’0”, 180 lbs.) is 7 of 11 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 44 yards. Senior P Andrew Ryczek (6’3”, 210 lbs.) averages 37.8 yards per punt and has pinned opponents inside the redzone on 9 punts this season.
Go Bulldogs! Beat the Pioneers!
The Bulldogs emerged victorious on their first road trip of the season defeating the Big Green 31-24 in Hanover.
Although the offense was inconsistent and could not generate a rushing attack, Grooms and company delivered big plays in clutch moments. Grooms finished 15 of 22 for 239 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. He had a few errant passes that were nearly intercepted but was on point when needed the most. Lindley had an outstanding afternoon with 7 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown that gave Yale the lead in the fourth quarter. Tipton hauled in 5 catches for 67 yards and a touchdown in another impressive display. Hawes had 2 key catches for 34 yards. The running game was a disaster with 1.3 yards per carry on the day. The decisions to run the ball on two 3rd and long situations were baffling and did not seem to catch any defenders off guard. The offensive line struggled to open holes and allowed 3 sacks on Grooms. Grooms absorbed hard shots and was harassed in the pocket for much of the contest. There were snapping issues with Bluhm at Center that plagued the timing of plays allowing defenders an extra step in pursuit prior to the play developing. The offense finished just 2 of 10 on 3rd down conversions with 11 first downs total. Yale found ways to exploit small mistakes from Dartmouth to generate big plays, yet much work remains to get this offense firing on all cylinders.
The turnovers that the defense was able to create were backbreakers for the Big Green. Guyton’s return was a pleasant surprise and he killed two Dartmouth drives with interceptions, one of which he returned for a 70-yard touchdown just when it seemed as though Dartmouth had gained all the momentum in the first half. Vaughn had another tremendous contest with 15 tackles. Moore has settled back into being a top pass defender adding another interception to go along with 5 tackles. Shaber started again at defensive tackle and notched 4 tackles. Egodogbare was back in the mix but will likely need a few more weeks to reach peak form. Dylan Yang had a nice sack that deflated a Dartmouth drive and Mitchell Tyler made a few solid plays at end. Turnovers aside, it was far from a great defensive showing as Dartmouth gashed us for 5.1 yards per carry and completed far too many passes to open receivers. The pass rush was nonexistent at times giving Dartmouth’s backup QB Proctor far too long to scan the field. Playing our corners so far off the ball gives opponents easy opportunities for short passes on 2nd or 3rd and short.
Bosman nailed a 43-yard field goal and averaged 39.2 yards per punt. Our punt team did an excellent job preventing blocked punts and recovered a fumbled punt that bounced off a Dartmouth returner.