Yale Athletics

The Yale football team (5–2, 3–1 Ivy) posted one of its most impressive victories of the season, defeating Columbia University (3–4, 0–4 Ivy) in a lopsided 41–16 score. 

Despite one fewer day of preparation than ordinary weeks, the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders in front of a crowd of 3,551 fans on Friday night. 

“Friday was a great team win,” offensive lineman and captain Nick Gargiulo ’23 said. “We were executing well in all three facets of the game.”

Just over six minutes into the first quarter, Columbia kicker Alex Felkins tallied the first three points of the game with a 17–yard field goal. 

Determined to answer back, under two minutes later, quarterback Nolan Grooms ’24 connected with wide receiver Ryan Lindley ’24 on a beautiful over-the-shoulder deep ball for Yale’s first touchdown of the game. 

The 83-yard touchdown pass tied the mark for the fifth longest in school history. 

“The offense was able to establish success in the pass game,” Gargiulo said. “Chase Nenad [’24] and Ryan Lindley both had breakout performances.”

Over the course of the game, Grooms threw a career-high 346 yards and four touchdowns. Lindley also had an impressive game, catching six passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Lions snapped back less than three minutes into the second frame, with a 13-yard run into the endzone for a touchdown, although the Bulldogs’ defense stopped an attempt for the two-point conversion. 

While Columbia briefly had a lead, kicker Jack Bosman ’24 booted a 41-yard field goal with 9:27 left in the half to give Yale a 10–9 advantage. 

“Give Columbia credit, they have a great defense and it made for some tough sledding in the first half,” head coach Tony Reno said to Yale Athletics. “Our guys did a great job of staying the course and making some plays in the second half.”

A minute and 24 seconds after the Bulldogs scored, Columbia regained the lead again, as Lions quarterback Caden Bell threw a 64 yard pass to wide receiver JJ Jenkins, who scored another touchdown for Columbia. 

Despite losing their lead, Yale remained determined. 

Nenad, a wide receiver who had a total of three receptions for 117 yards, received a 19-yard pass from Grooms and scored his first touchdown of the season. This was the first time Nenad has made an appearance in the 2022 season after recovering from an injury. 

“I thought this game could be a pivotal moment in our season, as it was a quick turnaround from a big loss last week,” Nenad said. “Though we still have a lot to improve on, our team showed glimpses throughout the game of how good we can be.”

With less than a minute remaining in the half, the special teams got to work. Tight end Ryan Belk ’25 broke through the line and blocked Columbia wide receiver Cameron Burt, which was the second blocked punt of the game. 

“It really started at the end of the first half with the blocked punts,” Reno said. “We were able to swing the momentum of the game.”

On the first play after the block, Grooms found tight end Jackson Hawes ’24 wide-open for a 14-yard touchdown, which closed out the half. 

The score remained stagnant in the third quarter, with neither team tallying points in period. In the fourth and final frame of the game, however, the Elis saw even more success. 

“It was a kind of a game of two halves,” Columbia head coach Al Bagnoli said to Columbia Athletics. “[In the] first half, we played really solid and it wasn’t until the end we got into some of the kick game woes.”

With 13:34 left in the contest, Grooms threw a 10-yard pass to Lindley, for his second touchdown of the game. 

Less than seven minutes later, running back Joshua Pitsenberger ’26 made a one-yard touchdown to bring the score to 38–16. 

The final three points of the matchup were tallied by Bosman, who kicked a 32-yard field goal, bringing the final score to 41–16. 

The Elis also had a strong defensive performance throughout the game — they had nine tackles for loss and two sacks. Defensive back Sean Guyton ’25 and defensive lineman Reid Nickerson ’23 each tallied one sack. 

“Our defense found success in the second half and was able to stop their defense,” Gargiulo said. “On special teams we had two punt blocks that changed the momentum of the game.”

Linebacker Joseph Vaughn ’23 led the team with six tackles, and Hamilton Moore ’23 and defensive back Kyle Ellis ’23 closely followed Vaughn, each adding five. 

In the third quarter of the game, the Blue and White’s defense prevented the Lions from gaining a single first down. The Bulldogs limited the Lions to only 70 yards rushing for the game, while Yale gained 95 yards on the ground.

Following the strong performance, the Elis remain in the race for the Ivy League title as they prepare to face their next conference opponent back on their home turf.

The Bulldogs will face Brown next Saturday at noon at the Class of 1954 Field at the Yale Bowl.