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The Yale football team will kick off its 2022 season on Sept. 17 with high hopes of redemption following a middling 5–5 campaign last year. 

The team will hope the return of 23 fifth-year seniors, an irregularity brought on by the COVID-19 cancelation of the 2020 season, and an increase in the roles of key younger players will return it to the top of the Ivy League. With so much roster continuity from last season, the message for the team is clear: Learn to finish the tight games.

“When you look at our consistency, when we’ve had championship-level teams, we’ve been able to be consistent for 60 minutes and find a way to be better at the end,” head coach Tony Reno said at Ivy Football Media Day. “Find ways to put points on the board and stop opponents from scoring late. Those are things that we need to do more consistently.” 

The Bulldogs’ defense promises to be the backbone of Team 149, as experience and depth stand out as key factors on both the line and in the secondary. 

Standout defensive lineman Clay Patterson ’24, who led the Ivy League last season with 11.5 sacks, will be a player to watch nationally, as he was named to the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award which is given to the defensive player of the year in the Football Championship Subdivision, or FCS. 

In the defensive huddle, Patterson will be the star while defensive lineman Oso Ifesinachukwu ’23 will be the leader. Ifesinachukwu, who ended last season with one of his strongest performances against Harvard with four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, will join with Patterson and the rest of the line to create a nightmare for opposing coaches. 

“Our starting D-Line have all played before, our secondary has all played before, we got a lot of experience,” Ifesinachukwu said. “I’m really excited to see what we can do with that understanding of how we play our defense, how we’re going to work together.”

The opposite side of the field features starting left tackle and captain Nick Gargiulo ’23. Gargiulo and the rest of the line will be in charge of the protection for returning dual-threat quarterback Nolan Grooms ’24. 

Grooms, a local product from the Taft School in Watertown, MA, started the final five games for the Elis and enters the new season with high expectations. Grooms has the ability to break down opposing defenses through the air and on the ground, with 1,569 passing and 425 rushing yards in the 2021 campaign.

The quarterback won’t be asked to do it all by himself, with a talented host of skill position players ready to help carry the load.

Running back Spencer Alston ’24 will likely be the lead back for the Bulldogs, as he finished the season strong with 74 rushing yards against Harvard last season. The receiving core will feature a deep group with options both out wide and in the slot.

Last season’s leading receiver Mason Tipton ’24 returns as the biggest weapon in the group, with multiple younger players preparing to step in behind him. 

“We have a lot of guys who have had a lot of playing time and I think that’ll bode well for us. But another thing is we’re going to be going against the best defense in the Ivy League every single day,” Gargiulo said. “We’re going to be getting great work every single day.”

Prior to the season, the Bulldogs’ schedule features two standout games which will be aired on national television by ESPN as part of the Ivy League’s deal with the network. As has been standard since the beginning of the deal, The Game will be aired on an ESPN channel yet to be determined, but the Bulldogs will also have a second game aired nationwide. 

On Friday, Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m., Team 149 will get a chance to play in front of the nation on ESPNU when it travels to New York to take on Columbia. The game will feel like a return to high school for many players, a collegiate version of the Friday Night Lights that so many Bulldogs grew up with.   

“For our team it’s just a great experience to play in that environment,” Gargiulo said. “It really just feels differently, it really does, and I’m so excited that we get to show all of the talent on our team on such a big stage like that on ESPN. I’m really excited for that.” 

Team 149 will start their season at Holy Cross on Sept. 17 at 2:00 p.m. The Bulldogs have faced the Crusaders in the season opener each of the last three seasons and have gone 1–2 against them since 2018.