Heading into the halfway point of the season, the Bulldogs are still searching for their first win at the Yale Bowl in 2012.
Yale (1–3, 0–2 Ivy) will host Lafayette (3–2, 1–0 Patriot) tomorrow afternoon. Over the course of the season, Lafayette has made the most of their chances, Leopard head coach Joe Walton said.
“We were very opportunistic,” Walton said. “Taking advantage of turnovers and taking advantage of great defense. But also driving the football when we have to.”
In last week’s loss to Dartmouth (3–1, 1–1 Ivy), quarterback Eric Williams ’16 and the Elis posted their first turnover-free game of the year. The Bulldogs still lead the Ivy League in turnovers — 12 so far.
Wide receiver Cameron Sandquist ’14 stated that he has been impressed with how Williams has improved.
“[Williams has] been asking lots of questions since he’s shown up,” Sandquist said. “He’s detail-oriented. If we complete a ball but it’s not how he wants it, he’s going to ask questions about where I’m going be, what I saw. It’s really not what you’d expect from a freshman quarterback.”
Williams and the rest of the offense will have to run on all cylinders to make up for the absence of running back Tyler Varga ’16. Varga was witheld from last week’s loss to Dartmouth due to questions about his NCAA eligibility after transferring from the University of Western Ontario. Head coach Tony Reno stated that there is no timetable for Varga’s return to uniform, although Varga is practicing with the team.
The loss of Varga is nothing new to the Elis, as they have seen a string of missing players this season. The Elis have also played all season without last year’s top two wide receivers, Chris Smith ’13 and Deon Randall ’13. Reno stated that he has had to mix-and-match throughout the season to put Yale’s best foot forward.
“Moving guys around that you feel you have the best chance to win football games, that’s what we’re constantly doing,” Reno said. “It’s not the guys on the bus — it’s the guys on the right seats in the bus.”
Kickoff tomorrow will be at noon. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.