Courtesy of Yale Athletics

The Yale football team (1–2, 0–1 Ivy) will face Dartmouth (2–1, 0–0 Ivy) at Memorial Field at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday in their first away game and second Ivy League matchup of the season. 

The Bulldogs hit the ground running last week in their 45–3 victory over Morgan State University, marking their first win of the season. The Blue and White will now face Dartmouth for the schools’ 106th matchup, hoping to widen their 55–44–6 series lead. 

“Each team is the guardian of that great history and tradition of football and we want to build on that history of tradition,” head coach Tony Reno said. “When you’re fortunate to be part of a football family like this … it’s not that you don’t rely on it, you build on it, and that’s what these guys do a really good job of.”

The last time the Yale football team faced Dartmouth was on Oct. 8, 2022, when the Bulldogs earned a 24–21 win. With 36 seconds remaining in the final quarter, linebacker Hamilton Moore ’24 intercepted a pass by quarterback Dylan Cadwallader to secure the game. 

The Yale defense limited the Big Green to just 20 yards rushing, and the offense executed several plays that were instrumental in the Bulldogs’ victory. Running back Tre Peterson ’24 rushed for 173 yards and one touchdown, wide receiver Mason Tipton ’24 caught six passes for 73 yards, wide receiver David Pantelis ’25 had eight catches for 67 yards and quarterback Nolan Grooms ’24 was 19-of-22 for 170 yards and one touchdown.

While Yale hasn’t managed to secure a win in Hanover since 2010, the Elis hope to re-assert their dominance this Saturday and build a winning streak. 

“It’s a tough place to win,” Reno said. “Every game is hard to win. For us, this year is this year. We’re going to focus on what we do.”

In their game against Morgan State last Saturday, Yale’s defense limited the Bears to 204 yards in total offense, and Grooms threw for 363 yards — a career high — and rushed for 87, tying for fifth most total yards of offense in a single game in Yale history. 

Multiple players saw success in addition to Grooms, who earned the weekly Gold Helmet Award from the New England Football Writers Association and was named the Ivy League Player of the Week. 

“We’re all excited to get back out there on Saturday,” running back Spencer Alston ’24 said. “The intensity will be there … we’ll hold each other accountable to that.”

Last Saturday, wide receivers Ryan Lindley ’24 and Tipton each had nine receptions, career-highs for both players. Tipton also tallied 136 receiving yards and two touchdowns, both career highs, and leads the Ivy League with four touchdown catches this season. 

Defensive lineman Clay Patterson ’24 also recorded a sack, his sixth consecutive in six straight games, and is 12th in the nation with his three sacks this season. Patterson has also recorded five tackles for loss on the season. 

“We were up at halftime and now it was like, ‘Who are we?’” Moore said. “Are we going to be the people who finish it and chase them out of here or the people who let them come back into the game?”

Dartmouth began their season with a 24–7 loss against New Hampshire on Sept. 16, followed by two wins, a 34–17 defeat of Lehigh on Sept. 23 and an overtime 23–20 victory over the University of Pennsylvania on Sept. 30.  

This year, Big Green quarterback Nick Howard has made it back on the field after an injury last season. Howard has been proven to be a dangerous rusher, and he leads the team with 190 rushing yards and three scores. Cadwallader was injured in Dartmouth’s game against UPenn, so it is possible that quarterback Jackson Proctor will need to step into his place. 

“Cadwallader plays well,” Reno said. “They’ve continued to play that two quarterback system … Nick’s a great player and Cadwallader is a great player, and they’re a really good team. So we’re continuing to focus on being the best versions of ourselves.”

Dartmouth has not had any receiver surpass 45 yards per game so far this season, with the exception of wide receiver Paxton Scott’s 153 yards in their season opener, but the Big Green has had more success in their defense and special teams. Dartmouth ranks 12th in the FCS in yards allowed per game (278.3), and ranks third nationally in opponents’ third-down percentage (28.9 percent). 

In their game against UPenn, Dartmouth recovered three fumbles, which led to a 10-point lead for the Big Green. 

Dartmouth rookie kicker Owen Zalc was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for two weeks in a row after booting three field goals, the third granting Dartmouth its overtime win last week. Punter Davis Golick also had a career-high of eight punts, averaging 39 yards per punt. 

“What we talk about a lot on our team is process over outcome,” Moore said. “It’s just trusting ourselves and trusting that we know how to go through this process and we know how to get it done right and just constant believing and not showing any doubt.”

The Elis, however, are ready to continue their strong play from last week and take it with them to Hanover. 

Peterson has picked up nearly 5 yards per carry on his 33 season carries, also tacking on two touchdowns. Another back, Joshua Pitsenberger ’26, who has been injured the past two games but was practicing this week, tallied 36 yards on nine rushes in Yale’s game against Holy Cross. 

Tipton leads the receivers with 15 catches for 248 yards, and Lindley has also added 117 yards. Alston also recently returned to the field after a season-ending injury in 2022. 

“That was a tough pill to swallow just because that had been my senior season, [but it] taught me a lot, kept things in perspective,” Alston said. “Now I’m able to come back and help these guys win games.”

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, while the offense may see some players return, the defense has not been so lucky. 

Cornerback Dathan Hickey ’24 and safety Brandon Benn ’24, both opening-day starters, have suffered injuries that leave their returns this season up in the air. The secondary will now rely on young players and the leadership of captain defensive back Wande Owens ’24. 

There is good news for the Bulldogs secondary though, as last year’s starting cornerback Sean Guyton ’25 will look to make his season debut against Dartmouth after recovering from an injury during the preseason. Guyton played in every game for the Elis last year, recording 37 tackles, one sack and two interceptions.

On special teams, punter and kicker Jack Bosman ’24 has also helped the Elis in each of their contests this year, averaging 40.3 yards on 10 punts. 

Linebacker Joseph Vaughn ’24 leads the defense with a team-high 25 tackles, one sack, an interception, a forced fumble and three tackles for loss. Owens has also notched 19 tackles and two pass breakups. 

“It was really great to be a part of that on Saturday, watch it on Sunday and just see the growth we made,” Reno said. “We made the base jump. So now it’s like okay, can we continue to make these jumps as the season goes on?”

Coming off their win, the Bulldogs are eager to earn a win in Ivy League competition and defeat Dartmouth in Hanover. 

The game will be televised on NESN and streamed live on ESPN+.