Yale Football Blog

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. 3^rd downs proved troubling for the Bulldogs as they converted on just 2 of 11 3^rd 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 3^rd downs, 2 of 4 on 4^th 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 4^th quarter and averaged 42.3 yards per punt. The botched long snap on a punt could have doomed Yale in a tight contest.

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 3^rd 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.

The Bulldogs earned their first win of the season knocking off the Morgan State Bears 45-3 on Saturday at the Bowl. Yale improved to 1-2 on the season and gained much needed momentum heading into a tough contest at Dartmouth. 

The first quarter was a rough one for the Yale offense as the traditional rushing attack was stymied and the Bulldogs were forced to rely on carries by Grooms to move the ball downfield. Yale was able to get into the redzone on its first possession before the drive stalled and the field goal attempt was blocked. The Bears stuffed the Bulldogs on their second offensive possession and then strip sacked Grooms on the Bulldogs’ third possession. Given the final score of the contest, it’s hard to imagine that this was a tight 0-0 contest heading into the second quarter. On Yale’s first possession of the second quarter, two long runs from Grooms moved Yale into the redzone again but the Bulldogs were unable to punch it into the endzone and were forced to settle for a field goal after a false start moved them back from the 1-yard line. Everything seemed to click for the Yale offense from that point as Grooms threw a beautiful 31-yard touchdown pass to Tipton and later drove 66 yards in 6 plays to go up 17-3 at the half. Morgan State had no answers for Yale in the second half as Grooms found Tipton open for a 33-yard passing score and never looked back adding an additional two offensive scores for five total offensive touchdowns on the day. Grooms was magnificent in the contest finishing 29 of 38 on passing attempts for 363 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Our fearless QB was also the leading rusher with 9 carries for a whopping 87 yards or 9.7 yards per carry. Peterson and Alston had limited productivity once again combining for just 34 yards on 14 carries. The offensive line struggled to open rushing lanes for much of the contest but were solid in pass blocking only allowing a single sack. Tipton had a magical day with 9 receptions for 136 yards receiving with 2 touchdowns. Lindley and Felton both had huge days combining for another 12 catches and two touchdowns. The offensive staff did a great job with the play calling in the 2nd quarter and beyond to keep Morgan State off balance. Grooms spread the ball around with Hawes, Yates, Shipp, Alston and Peterson in the mix in the passing game. 

The defense finally put together a performance to be proud of. There was yet another new starting defensive lineup with Shaber now starting alongside Gulley at DT and Patterson and McDonough at DEs. Patterson was a problem for Morgan State all day and was far more impactful than his 2 tackles and a sack on the stat sheet would indicate. Larry had the best contest of his career at Yale also adding a sack. Baker started at LB alongside Vaughn and Moore. Moore bounced back with a solid performance highlighted by an interception. Vaughn also intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown to cap off the scoring for the afternoon. The secondary lineup remained the same as last week with Owens and Webster at CBs and Tarver and Daniyan at safeties. There are still cracks in the pass defense, but the tackling has improved and the blatant mental mistakes have decreased. Freshman Abu Kamara was very impressive displaying rare speed and explosiveness when tested at safety. Morgan State was limited to just 2.4 yards per carry and their quarterbacks combined for a 50% completion ratio with no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The defense really stepped up on 3^rd and 4^th downs as Morgan State was just 5 of 17 on 3^rd downs and 0 of 2 on 4^th downs. This was a great step forward for the defense as Dartmouth will be challenging to contain in Hanover.

Bosman was 1 of 2 on field goal attempts, but in his defense, the snap on the blocked field goal was high and altered his rhythm. He had a great day punting the ball averaging 42.0 yards per punt.  

The Bulldogs fell to the Big Red on Saturday in a disappointing 21-23 contest to open the Ivy season. Yale is now 0-2 heading into another tough game versus Morgan State.

While the poor weather conditions were a factor, the offense never quite found the consistency needed to secure a win. The offensive line was unable to control the linebackers in the run game and struggled against the blitzes and stunts in pass blocking. There were flashes of Grooms’ dominance, but Cornell was able to neutralize him as he finished with just 129 passing yards (38.9% completion rate), 76 rushing yards, 2 passing TDs, and an interception. Much of the blame lies with the offensive coaching staff who have failed to put Grooms in good positions on short and medium passing plays. Far too often the offense fell into the stale rhythm of seasons past with short runs up the middle and low probability shots downfield to stall drives. The running back duo of Peterson and Alston did not find much success against a stingy front seven of Cornell. Pitsenberger was sorely missed in the running game as was Pantelis in the passing game. Tipton and Nenad made the most out of their targets each with a long touchdown reception. The Grooms to Tipton touchdown on 4th and 20 was a phenomenal play that will be overshadowed by the loss. The offense still has the pieces in place to succeed but the mental mistakes and poor play calling need to be cleaned up with haste.

The starting defensive line was shuffled with Jordan and Gulley at defensive tackles and Patterson and McDonough at ends. The defense had a strong showing on the first drive capped off by a nice stop by McDonough on 3^rd down. Cornell was able to expose cracks in the defense on the second drive as they marched downfield methodically before a jarring hit from Vaughn forced a fumble that Yale recovered. Patterson played well but no other defensive lineman has become an every-down nuisance for opponents. Egodogbare appeared to be suited up on the sidelines, so hopefully his return can be expected at some point this season. Vaughn led in tackles with 12 and was a bright spot for the defense. Moore has had a rough start to a season in which he was expected to dominate. Baker made a few nice plays splitting time with Ayo-Durojaiye. The secondary was picked apart once again and became thinner with an injury to Hickey that left him on crutches. Freshman Brandon Webster filled in for Hickey and was no match for Cornell’s talented wideouts. Guyton or Da’Quan Gonzales would have seemed to be natural replacements for Hickey if healthy. The safety position seemed to be in constant flux with Reno assessing various athletes such as Daniyan, Haaland and Joseph Gonzales in the wake of Benn’s injury in Week 1. Tarver will need to show massive improvement at the other safety slot to build the defense’s confidence. Yale will not win contests with receivers slicing through the secondary and backs cutting through wide rushing lanes. Only two of eleven starters on defense, Patterson and Vaughn, have performed close to expectations thus far into the season.

Bosman missed two critical field goals that could have swayed the contest in Yale’s favor. This was truly a team loss with the offense, defense, and special teams all failing to perform.