Yale Football Blog

Everything finally seemed to click for the Bulldogs on Saturday.  Almost every position group had their best outing of the season and it could not have come at a better time for our squad.  The offensive line gave Rawlings just enough time to deliver strikes to Klubnik and Shohfi.  The vaunted Harvard defensive line was pushed around in the redzone as Lamar cruised in for a score.  Klubnik caught everything in sight and is our choice for Co-Player of The Game along with Rawlings.  Clemons, Gaines, Little and Rich had fantastic blocks all day to allow Rawlings to break free on the ground and burn the clock.

Coach Paul Rice and his special teams unit performed flawlessly.  From the fake FG to the onside kick, we caught Harvard with their pants down and they never could recover from the momentum swings.  K Blake Horn showed patience and intelligence as he waited for the ball to move 10 yards before scooping it up.  LB Quintin Herbert had the hit of the season on that play as he absolutely blasted the only Crimson player within range of the ball.  Leo Haenni hauled in a wobbly short pass from Andrew Johnson on the fake FG.

The defense stepped up to shut down Viviano, Shelton-Mosley and Firkser.  Linebackers Egu and Manora made plays all over the field and were an absolute nightmare for RB Charlie Booker.  The defensive line and blitzing linebackers/safeties flustered Viviano and forced him to run.  Alessi made game saving tackles and Oplinger had the best game of his career.  Oluokun put a huge hit on Booker in Harvard’s first series and Booker never ran up the middle with the same determination after that punishment.  With Dale Harris out and Marquise Peggs injured during the game, the secondary hung in there and only allowed two big plays (one to Firkser and one to Shelton-Mosley) that did not even go for touchdowns.

Hats off to Reno and the entire staff for a fantastic conclusion to the season!

It’s not often that Tim Murphy gets outcoached, but that’s exactly what happened last week in Harvard’s loss to Penn.  Harvard was gaining yardage at will on the ground, yet Murphy consistently chose to throw down field.  QB Viviano likes to stare down one receiver and if that receiver is covered, he immediately panics and tries to scramble.  Viviano has a great arm and has the speed to run the ball, but when he gets flustered, Harvard’s offense sputters.  The interior of the Crimson’s line is stout featuring Larry Allen’s son, but Penn was able to expose their tackles.  RB Charlie Booker led the Crimson on the ground last week with 62 yards and was aided by Semar Smith (27 yards), Adam Scott (19 yards) and Lavance Northington (17 yards).  The key to shutting down Harvard’s aerial attack is covering electric WR Justice Shelton-Mosley.  Shelton-Mosley had a tame outing at Penn with only 51 receiving yards, but look for Murphy to try to get him in space against the Bulldogs.  TE Anthony Firkser is a staple of the offense and had a big 19 yard reception last week.

Harvard’s defensive line is on par with Princeton’s talented position group this season and has size and strength across the board.  The unit is led by DT James Duberg, a Second Team All-Ivy pick from a year ago.  The linebackers are average for the Ivy League, although the secondary is a talented and experienced group spearheaded by their captain CB Sean Ahern, a First Team All-Ivy selection in 2015.  Keep in mind Penn’s Justin Watson was still able to torch Harvard’s secondary.

Keys to the game:

Get inside Murphy’s head (he’s a lowly Springfield grad)

Fluster and hit Viviano

Key on Shelton-Mosley and Firkser in pass coverage

Protect Rawlings

Spread the ball around

Control the clock with Lamar and Salter

BEAT HARVARD!

The troubles began along the line of scrimmage.  The offensive line performed poorly at both run blocking and pass blocking in the 31-3 loss to Princeton.  The Tigers had 5 sacks and 10 TFLs in the contest.  Lamar and Salter simply did not have the open holes that they had in previous games.  Princeton blitzed frequently and instead of using their aggressiveness against them, we played exactly how they wanted us to.  The plays were too slow to develop and Rawlings (18/37, 164 yards, 1 fumble) held onto the ball too long.  Conlin’s play calling was predictable from the first snap.

Rawlings and Marcinick are clearly not on the same page at all and have not been for weeks.  The receiving corps in general ran sloppy routes and had butterfingers.

The defense has improved since the early woes against the Patriot League opponents, but we still can’t count on the unit to keep the game close when the offense goes three and out every series.  Princeton’s deep routes were open frequently and surely Harvard will try to exploit that this week.  Carlson had a nice interception and return, but the offense sputtered and had to settle for three points.

Dieter Eiselen went down with an injury and we hope he’s OK.

Most people outside of the Princeton program did not see this squad as a contender for the crown, but the Tigers are sitting at 6-2 with their only Ivy League loss coming to Harvard in OT.  Last week, Princeton shutout Penn 28-0 and sent a shockwave through offices around the league.  QB Chad Kanoff is a smart and efficient passer completing 62.6% of his throws, but has thrown only 5 touchdowns with 6 interceptions.  Princeton likes to bring in QB John Lovett to run the ball when close to the goal line and Lovett has 15 rushing touchdowns on the season.  Lovett isn’t just a threat on the ground, however, as he has attempted 63 passes on the year and hauled in 23 receptions with one TD.  RBs Joe Rhattigan and Charlie Volker lead the Tigers in rushing with 480 yards and 410 yards respectively.  Our secondary will have to keep WR Isaiah Barnes in check as he averages 16.5 yards per reception and has accumulated 496 yards receiving on the year.

The Princeton defense is led by LBs Luke Catarius (60 tackles) and Rohan Hylton (43 tackles).  The Tigers’ defensive line might be the most talented in the Ivy League anchored by Kurt Holuba (5.5 sacks, 7 TFLs) and Henry Schlossberg (2 sacks, 7 TFLs).  The secondary has been sharp the last few weeks and will not give up easy throws to Rawlings.

The Bulldogs will have to play mistake-free ball on Saturday to walk away with a victory.  Yale needs to hit Princeton in the mouth from the first play of the game and limit the Tigers to under 28 points.  We beat this squad 35-28 last year and can knock them off once again with the right gameplan.

Kurt Rawlings might develop into a star in the years to come, but he’s clearly not there yet.  He was great at eluding defenders in the pocket and made a number of tough throws, but the misses to Marcinick in the endzone and the ugly interception were crucial to Brown’s victory.  The receiving corps did not bail out Rawlings.  Clemons dropped a touchdown pass that looked like it was going to be picked off, Klubnik tried to haul in another deep ball with one hand, and Leo Haenni bobbled an easy catch.  The offensive line struggled all day against Dewey Jarvis with Lamar and Salter hit behind the line of scrimmage on several run plays.   Jeho Chang was back in the lineup at left guard.  JP Shohfi was the offensive player of the week for Yale after a number of impressive receptions.

Despite a number of blunders on the defensive side of the ball, the defense still gave our offense every chance to pull out a victory.  Crowle and Egu were not seen on Saturday and we speculate they are out with injuries.  Freshmen Spencer Matthaei, Joshua Keeler, and Julian Fraser all saw action at defensive tackle.  Sophomore Quintin Herbert replaced Egu at linebacker.  Oluokun had his worst game of the year as he missed several tackles and could not stop the quick outs thrown at him.  Harriott’s big TD run in the first quarter and Demetri Jackson’s TD reception in the second half should have been minimal gains, but defenders simply did not wrap up.

The special teams played well until the very last play of the game.  Alessi has to catch that punt whether he is going to return it or not and the blockers need to be aware of where the ball is before turning their backs.  The officiating was horrendous all day and the Ivy League must implement replays to supplement the worst referees in the FCS.

The Bulldogs travel to Providence this Saturday to take on the Brown Bears at 12:30 PM ET.  Even in down years, the Bears can knock off nearly any opponent in the Ivy League.  Last week, Brown limited Penn to only 21 points in 21-14 loss to the Quakers.  This is a well coached football team with a talented QB (Thomas Linta) and dangerous receivers such as Alex Jette and Garrett Swanky.  The defensive unit for Brown lacks star players, but plays cohesively and forces turnovers.  Special teams have been a disaster for Brown all year and Galland’s strong leg gives a huge advantage to Yale in a close game.

To win this game, Yale needs to execute offensively and limit big pass plays defensively.  Look for the Brown Bears to put heat on Freshman QB Kurt Rawlings who has emerged as the starter after last week’s stellar performance against Columbia.  Our offensive line needs to bounce back after last week’s horrific display of run blocking to get Lamar and Salter moving on the ground.  If the secondary stays healthy this week and the defensive line can pressure Linta, the Bulldogs should emerge victorious.