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NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Two losses, in all likelihood, will knock a
team out of the race for the 2010 Ivy League title. That's
why Saturday's game at Yale Bowl on the Class of 1954 Field
is crucial for the Yale football team (4-2, 2-1 Ivy). The Bulldogs
take on Columbia (3-3, 1-2) at noon on the YES Network (DirecTV
631). The game can also be heard on WELI Radio (AM-960), weli.com
and wybc.com.
THE MATCHUP
Team Averages
OFFENSE
Yale Columbia
Rushing Yards
124.3 165.7
Passing Yards
277.7 201.2
Total Offense
402.0 366.8
Scoring
21.8 25.2
DEFENSE
Yale
Columbia
Rushing Yards
102.3 158.2
Passing Yards
217.8 195.5
Total Defense
320.2 353.7
Scoring
19.7
19.8
THE SERIES
Yale has won seven straight and holds a 66-18-2 lead over Columbia,
its most commanding advantage over any league team. The Blue is
34-9-2 at home against the Light Blue.
PENN-ALTIES HURT ELIS
Patrick Witt (Wylie, Texas) completed 34 of 54 passes for 331 yards
and two scores but the Blue dropped a 27-20 game against No. 20
Penn in a battle of 2-0 Ivy League teams before 22,293 at Yale Bowl
last week. Witt led the Elis to a 360-yard offensive day, which
included 11 catches (116 yards) by receiver Jordan Forney
(Bloomington, Ind.). However, one big interception and untimely
penalties (10 for Yale on the day) were part of the reason the home
team was unable to win a third straight game. The other reason was
a strong Penn showing with a balance of contributions to beat Yale
for a third straight season. Two quarterbacks combined to complete
12 passes but TB Brandon Colavita (15-73) may have had the most
important, drive-surviving carries. The Bulldogs got on the board
first with Philippe Panico's (Boston, Mass.) career-long,
39-yard field goal in the first quarter, but the Quakers (5-1, 3-0)
scored 20 straight to put the game out of reach. Brad
Blackmon's 53-yard punt return for a TD in the second quarter
gave the visitors a 13-3 lead at intermission. Luke DeLuca, who
scored twice from a yard out, reached the end zone on the opening
drive of the second half to increase the margin to 17. The Elis
didn't get on the board again until early in the fourth,
after Allen Harris' (Detroit, Mich) first career TD catch,
and they still could have gotten back in the game. On the first
play after Penn missed a short field goal try, Witt's screen
pass was intercepted by Brandon Copeland and returned to the Yale
11. It was the first of Penn's two interceptions. DeLuca then
notched his second score and the Bulldogs scrambled to make it
close. Penn DB David Twamley led all players with nine solos and
three pass breakups, while Yale LB Jordan Haynes (Folsom, Calif.)
had a game-high 12 (7-5) overall stops. Bulldog defensive
backs Adam Money (Whiteland, Ind.) and Geoff Dunham (Dallas, Texas)
each had a pick. "We had our opportunities and didn't
capitalize on them," said Tom Williams, Yale's Joel E.
Smilow Head Coach of Football. "We made too many mistakes
against a good football team."
CAREER-HIGHS
Four Yale offensive players enjoyed career-best days last Saturday:
WR Jordan Forney's 11 catches and 116 yards; PK Philippe
Panico had two field goals, including a career-long 39-yarder; RB
Deon Randall had 30 rushing yards and 72 on kick returns; WR Allen
Harris snared four passes including his first TD.
LIONS CLIPPED BY GREEN
Sean Brackett completed 17 of 31 passes for 188 yards and a score
but his Columbia team fell short of Dartmouth 24-21 in New York
last week. The Big Green had better stats in almost every offensive
category but needed a Nick Schwieger (122 yards) one-yard TD run
with 2:28 left to get the win before 10,904 at Wien Stadium. Lion
LB Alex Gross led all tacklers with 10 solos and 16 overall
stops.
LAST YALE-COLUMBIA GAME
TE A.J. Haase's 10-yard touchdown catch with 58 seconds to play -
Yale's third touchdown of the fourth quarter - capped an improbable
Bulldog comeback and finished off a 23-22 win at Columbia last
fall. The Elis got turnovers on Columbia's final three drives of
the game, plus a touchdown-saving tackle from CB Adam Money, to
pull out the victory after trailing by 12 points with just over six
minutes left.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
Senior SS Adam Money (Whiteland, Ind.) is the active career
interception leader for Yale with eight, one shy of the
school's career top 10 list. He leads the team with three
(tie for Ivy lead) this fall. Money has taken back two (77 vs.
Brown '09, 60 vs. Georgetown '08) for scores. Last week he had an
interception, three tackles and recovered Yale's fourth
quarter on-side kick. Money was a 2009 first-team All-Ivy pick. He
has also excelled in the classroom with a 3.46 GPA (biology major)
and has been interviewing at medical schools this fall.
GIO-OLOGY
There's a lot to know about senior WR Gio Christodoulou
(Miami, Fla.). He leads Yale with 30 catches for 476 yards and a
15.9 average per catch. He had eight grabs against Penn for 108
yards. His 11.1 average on punt returns rank first in the Ivy (The
top Yale average for a season is 10.8 by Lou Muller in 1959).
Christodoulou, second on the team with 93 all-purpose yards, had a
career-best nine catches for 124 yards against Georgetown on
opening day. He has two career punt returns for TDs and ranks among
the top 10 at Yale in career punt (492, 3rd) and kickoff (553,
10th) return yardage. He recently passed Gary Fencik '76
(443) for the No. 3 spot on the Yale career punt return list.
HAMMERING HAYNES
No. 42 has a nose for the football. Junior LB Jordan Haynes
(41-23-64) is Yale's leading tackler and is second among Ivy
players with better than 10 per game. He has led the Bulldogs in
total stops in five of six games this fall. The National Football
Foundation High School Scholar-Athlete from Folsom, Calif., also
leads Yale in recovered fumbles (2) in his first year as a starter.
Haynes scored Yale's first TD of the year on a four-yard
fumble return late in the first quarter on Sept. 18.
YALE-COLUMBIA MEMORIES
The Lions did not allow Yale to complete a pass in a 1954 game but
still lost 13-7... Columbia blanked a Yale team in 1961 (11-0) that
was coming off an undefeated campaign. It was the fourth and last
shutout of the Bulldogs by the Lions... Columbia QB Marty Domres, a
future NFL QB, threw for 326 yards in 1966 for the Lions in a
losing (44-21) effort... Yale QB Pete Doherty '67 connected on a
school-record five TD passes in 1966 (44-21 Yale win)... Yale and
NFL great Dick Jauron '73 scampered 87 yards for the deciding score
in a 28-14 win over Columbia in 1972... Ryan LoProto '02 scored on
two interceptions, including one from 67 yards, as Yale won 41-0 in
2000.
FIBROUS FORNEY
One of the most inspiring performances of last week came from
senior WR Jordan Forney, who came in banged up and took hit after
hit before ending up with a game-high 11 catches. Forney is second
on the team with 29 receptions and leads Yale with three TD
receptions. He has a TD catch in three of the last four games. His
87 receptions rank eighth at Yale while his 11 career scoring plays
are seventh.
WITT WINGING IT
Junior QB Patrick Witt (Wylie, Texas), who took as many hits as any
Bulldog last week, managed to accumulate 331 passing yards against
Penn with a pair of TDs. He has completed better than 60 percent of
his passes for 1,439 yards and eight scores this fall. Witt, whose
parents are both commercial pilots, started five of the six games
this year. He ranks first in the Ivy in passing and total
offense (285, which is 10th in FCS). Witt has 16 career TD passes
to go along with a pair of rushing TDs this season. Witt was named
Ivy League co-Player of the Week (35-55, 407) on Sept. 20 after he
threw for 400 yards (6th time it has happened at Yale) and scored
the winner against the Hoyas. A backup at Nebraska in 2008, Witt
started six Yale games in 2009 and led the team with 1,449 yards
and eight TDs.
GOTTA HAVE HART
Senior QB Brook Hart, made his first start of 2010 on Oct. 16
against Fordham and threw for 227 yards. His longest connection was
a 47-yard throw to Chris Smith. Hart completed all three passing
attempts on the winning drive that ended with his 29-yard scoring
play to Jordan Forney in the fourth quarter. He shared (4 games)
the starting duties last year with Patrick Witt and then took
spring ball off to pitch for the Yale baseball team.
GATOR
Greg Carlsen (4 punts, 42.0) was a freshman at the University of
Florida last year and did not try out for the football team. He
began missing the game while attending UF contests. That's when he
decided to send his video around to some schools and see if anyone
was interested in his services. Carlsen, who was No. 1 out of 702
in his high school class, owns his school's record for most punts
(67) and yardage (2,407) in a season. He was a first-team
all-county and all-metro punter for a two-time regional champion
and a state runner-up squad in the football crazy Sunshine State.
TOUT THOMAS
Alex Thomas leads Yale with 302 rushing yards and four TDs and is
fourth with 18 catches. The junior RB from Ansonia, Conn., scored
three times in an opening day win. His 124 yards (matched
career-high vs. Harvard '09) and 6.9 average were game-highs
at Cornell. His 47-yard run at Cornell is the longest run by a
Bulldog this fall. He is the most prolific (8,279 yards, 114
TDs) runner in Connecticut High School history.
FRONT AND CENTER
Yale QBs have been sacked five times in six games, a far cry from
the 32 sacks given up in 10 games last fall. It's clear the
offensive line has improved in 2010. Freshman Wes Gavin (San Diego,
Calif., 6-5, 275) and senior Alex Golubiewski (Green Bay, Wis.,
6-6, 280) started at tackle the last two weeks. Juniors Colin
Kruger (Sarasota, Fla., 6-3, 300) and Gabe Fernandez (Honolulu, HI,
6-0, 273) got the nods at guard last week. Junior Jeff Fell (6-5,
286, Garden City, N.Y.) was the starting center in place of an
injured Jake Koury (Dublin, Ohio, 6-2, 270, who came back last week
against Penn.
CAPTAIN
Senior DE Tom McCarthy (Chester, N.J.), the Yale captain, has
started three straight games since missing games two and three with
an injury. He had a career-high 3-6-9 at Dartmouth in his return.
His 15 total tackles rank second among Yale linemen. The
second-team All-Ivy pick last fall (4 sacks) was Yale's MVP
of the defensive line. He earned a medical hardship from his
freshman year and is now the fifth Yale captain since 2001 who has
taken a fifth year of eligibility.
FROSH IMPACT
San Diego natives OT Wes Gavin and RB Deon Randall, WR Cameron
Sandquist (Redmond, Wash.), DT John Oppenheimer (Menlo Park,
Calif.), TE Keith Coty, TE/LS Kyle Wittenauer (Richmond, Va.) and
DB Nick Okano (Los Angeles, Calif.) are the class of 2014 Elis who
have seen varsity action this fall. Gavin and Wittenauer (LS) are
the only starters among the newcomers but Randall has seen regular
action.
BANNON FIRE
Senior Shane Bannon is Yale's H-back, the guy who can block,
catch passes and run with the ball. He had a career-high six
catches at Hanover and snared two last week. Bannon now has 10
catches for 78 yards this fall. His first career carry resulted in
a TD at Princeton in 2009, his first catch went for a score against
Georgetown in 2008. Bannon, who nearly had to rule out playing in
2010 because of an injury, has not missed a practice in two
years.
BULLDOG BITES
Four different Elis lead the team with two sacks... Yale leads the
Ivy in passing and total offense and punt returns… Four
different players have led the Blue in rushing in six games this
season… The Blue has made two interceptions in each of the
last two games… Javi Sosa's 24 carries against Fordham
were a team-high for 2010… Yale had six sacks in the first
two games but has just four over the last four Saturdays.
EXPIRING TIME
Yale has scored game-winning TDs as time expired in the fourth
quarter twice this season. Patrick Witt dove into the end zone from
a yard out to erase a deficit against Georgetown on the
game's last play. Philippe Panico split the uprights at
Dartmouth with no time left. The Elis have not won a pair of games
in a season on the last play since 1937. In addition to the
two wins on the last play, the Blue also has a one-point win over
Fordham.
COMMON SURNAME
Smith is the most common surname in America, so it's no
surprise that Yale has three (Caleb, Chris, McConnell) from
different classes on its roster. All three are on offense, two are
WRs (Chris, McConnell) and Caleb is an end. Chris and Caleb (West
Orange, N.J.) have seen varsity action this fall, McConnell
(Chagrin Falls, Ohio) is looking for his first chance.
PRO UPDATE
Two former Bulldogs are coaching in the NFL this season. Dick
Jauron '73, who has spent 32 years in the NFL playing and
coaching, is the new secondary coach for the 4-3 Philadelphia
Eagles. His unit is tied for second in the league with 11
interceptions, they are fourth in sacks with 21. Jauron was the
2001 AP Coach of the Year with the Chicago Bears and his most
recent head coaching gig was at Buffalo. Pat Graham '01, a
former Yale tight end and defensive lineman, is a defensive
assistant coach for the 5-1 New England Patriots, winners of four
straight. The Pats' defense is tied for third in the league
with two rushing TDs allowed. Graham was a member of Yale's
1999 Ivy title team.
CATCHING THE BULLDOGS
For the 13th consecutive season, all 10 Yale Football games can be
heard live on New Haven's News/Talk 960 WELI-AM and free
online at 960WELI.com. Ron Vaccaro '04 (play-by-play) and
Carm Cozza (color) have the call, which can be heard on AM radio
throughout Connecticut and across Long Island Sound, for their
sixth season together.
BARKING DOGS
Every third quarter this season, a different former Yale player
will join the WELI Radio broadcast. P.J. Collins '04
(Georgetown), Rick Fehling '74 (Cornell), Jay Pilkerton
'09 (Albany), Kevin Kelly '78 (Dartmouth), Joe Walland
'00 (Fordham), Bobby Fernandez '75 (Columbia), Matt
Polhemus '08 (Penn), Chuck Mercein '65 (Princeton) and
Bill Primps '71 (Harvard) are the 2010 lineup.
COZZA HONORED AT MIAMI
Former Yale Football Head Coach Carm Cozza, the winningest coach in
Ivy League history and a member of the College Football Hall of
Fame, was honored at Miami University last weekend for being one of
the "Cradle of Coaches." Cozza, one of three former Miami players
included in that weekend's events, had his statue unveiled in a
ceremony at Yager Stadium prior to the Miami-Ohio University
football game.
JOEL E. SMILOW '54 HEAD COACH OF FOOTBALL
Tom Williams, the Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Football at
Yale, is in his second season at Yale and his second as a head
coach overall. Williams is 8-8 overall with the Bulldogs and 1-0
vs. Columbia. He came to New Haven after two seasons as an
assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars and is in his 13th season
of college coaching. Williams has worked at his alma mater,
Stanford, Hawaii, Washington and San Jose State. He has been part
of four Bowl Game appearances and two Bowl victories.
FIELD OF STREAMS
All six home games this season will be video streamed live (pay per
view) on yalebulldogs.com through Yale's All Access with Ron
Vaccaro and Carm Cozza providing the call.
PRACTICE
The Bulldogs, off on Mondays, are on the field at 7:30 a.m. (until
approx. 9:30) Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday behind the baseball
stadium. Fridays are walk-through days either at Yale Bowl or on
the road and times vary. Players and coaches are available for
interviews with working media following the practice if there are
no class conflicts. All schedules are subject to change.
STUDENTS OF THE GAME
Broadcasts of Yale football, along with several other sports during
the year, are available on the Yale student station, WYBC, and can
be heard free on-line at wybc.com. Sports director LeRoy Cole
'12 heads each broadcast.
TUESDAYS AT MORY'S
Tom Williams, the Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Yale
Football, and some of his players are at the world famous
Mory's (306 York Street) every Tuesday (Sept. 14 through Nov.
16) at 2 p.m. for the Dick Galiette Yale Football Press Conference.
This event is limited to media only. Please contact Yale Sports
Publicity Director Steve Conn (steven.conn@yale.edu) if you would
like to attend.
YALE ON YES
This Saturday is the third and final game of Yale on YES for 2010.
YES can be seen on many cable systems as well as DirecTV, AT&T
U-verse and Verizon FiOS. Chris Shearn handles the play-by-play
while former Yale defensive player Jack Ford '72 and Ross
Tucker, a former Princeton and NFL offensive lineman, provide the
color.
THE GAME OF THE WEEK
The Yale-Harvard game on Nov. 20 at Boston is the Ivy League Game
of the Week on Versus, the national sports cable TV company.
REACHING OUT
Five Bulldogs recently visited the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower
Naugatuck Valley's Joel E. Smilow Clubhouse in Ansonia to
help kids learn the importance of eating healthy and staying
fit… Junior RB Alex Thomas (Ansonia, Conn.) and Ansonia
native John Coughlin (Yale Football Office) spoke to 125 fourth
graders this fall at John G Prendergast Elementary School in
Ansonia... Junior CB Drew Baldwin (Alexandria, Va.), co-chair of
the Yale Black Men's Union Community Outreach Committee, is
in his third year of outreach work. Baldwin is responsible for
creating the lesson plans and the calendar of events, working to
promote personal growth and development through educational
activities. "We try to do this through exposing the mentees
to new ideas and experiences and, most importantly, through
building lasting relationships between mentor and mentee. We
work toward trying to help these high school kids become young
men. In the Black Men's Union we measure success by how many
lives we impact. Because our mentoring program puts us in a
position to impact lives to a great extent, we take that
responsibility very seriously," said Baldwin (31-8-39 last
year with two interceptions), who has mentored over 30 kids.
Classmate Jordan Haynes works closely with Baldwin on the
project.
REISING SEMIFINALIST FOR CAMPBELL TROPHY
Jesse Reising (Decatur, Ill.), a senior LB, has been named a
semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, a scholar-athlete
award handed out December 7 at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan by
the National Football Foundation. The finalists will be announced
on Oct. 28. Reising, third on the team with 32 tackles after six
starts, owns a 3.75 GPA with a focus on economics and political
science. He may be locked in on his majors and football right now,
but this Eli has his sights set on his country. The Bulldog
defensive standout was home last summer taking classes to get his
flight license before he completes Marine Corps Officer Candidate
School next year. Reising recently spent time in Washington, DC,
working closely with veterans' service organizations such as the
Wounded Warrior Project, American Legion and Disabled American
Veterans. Reising, the class valedictorian at Eisenhower High
School, also participated in various community outreach activities
through his Yale fraternity, including events to raise money to
fight prostate cancer, Relay for Life, and making care packages for
Navy SEALs in Afghanistan. Yale players are often selected as
semifinalists for the Campbell Trophy, but only 10 have made the
final squad picked as NFF Scholar-Athletes since Rick McCarthy
became the first in 1967. Casey Gerald, who spoke at the national
event representing all the scholar-athletes in 2008, was
Yale's last selection.
GOLDEN BLUE
This season marks the 50th anniversary of Yale's last perfect
football squad. The 1960 Elis, who shared the Lambert Trophy with
Navy, were Ivy champions and ranked 14th in the final Associated
Press poll, went 9-0. They will be honored during the weekend of
the Princeton game at the Bowl.
INDIVIDUAL WEEKLY AWARDS
Here are the weekly league or conference awards garnered by
Bulldogs:
Ivy League Offensive Player of Week: QB Patrick Witt (9/20)
Ivy League Honor Roll: LB Jordan Haynes & WR Chris Smith
(9/20); RB Alex Thomas (9/27); WR Jordan Forney (10/3); QB Patrick
Witt & DB Chris Stanley (10/11); LB Jordan Haynes (10/19)
ECAC Offensive Player of Week: QB Patrick Witt (9/20)
ONE BIG LOCKER ROOM
High on the facility wish list of Tom Williams was moving his team
from multiple rooms at the Smilow Field Center to one large locker
area. That wish came to fruition in the form of the Carm Cozza
Complex. A dressing area designed by ProZone Lockers and meeting
rooms for coaches and players highlight the complex that will also
include a shrine to the hall of fame former Yale head coach.
LEADERS COME TO YALE
The annual survey of Bulldogs produced the anticipated results;
Yale is a team full of leaders who produced as much off the field
as they did on it. Here is the 201 breakdown.
81 players were captains of their high school
football team
55 players were captains of another sport in
high school
57 players were a national honors society
member
8 players were class president at their
high school
8 players were student body president at
their high school
11 players were class valedictorian at their
high school
2 players were class salutatorian at their
high school
filed by Steve Conn, Yale Sports Publicity Director
