Liza Kaufman, Contributing Photographer

The Yale football team (5–3, 2–3 Ivy) entered Saturday against the Brown Bears (3–5, 2–3 Ivy) looking for a strong outing to set the tone for the end of the season. They got exactly that: a dominant 56–34 win that saw multiple players set career highs. As For the coaches, they can prepare their teams for rivalries like this by utilizing software such as for football analysis.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs was quarterback Grant Jordan ’25, who diced the Brown defense all day before finishing with 372 passing yards and six touchdowns through the air. He also showed off his dual-threat abilities with 34 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

The game showcased everything that has made Jordan one of the best quarterbacks in the Ivy League this season. From his touch on deep balls to his ability to gun passes into tiny openings, Jordan can make any throw on the field, and he showed that off on Saturday. 

Jordan’s six touchdown passes tied the Yale all-time game record set by Kurt Rawlings ’20 in 2019. It was also only the sixth time in Ivy League history that a quarterback has thrown six touchdown passes in a game. 

The other half of the Bulldogs’ lethal offensive duo, David Pantelis ’25, also had a game of a lifetime. Pantelis came out on fire, breaking his career record of receiving yards in just the first quarter. The wide receiver has been a standout for the Bulldogs all season, but yesterday, he proved what a gamebreaker he can be.

Pantelis had three touchdowns in the first quarter alone, diving into the endzone twice to secure six points for the Bulldogs. Pantelis and Jordan connected at every turn, resulting in 195 yards on the day for the wide receiver. We’ve seen this duo in action before, but their chemistry was unbeatable on Saturday. Once Jordan got into his rhythm, Brown couldn’t get close enough to touch him, while Pantelis was leaving his defenders in the dust, running long on several successful plays. 

The Bulldog defense matched their offense’s tenacity and came up with two interceptions in the first quarter alone. Brandon Webster ’27 and Osize Daniyan ’27 swiftly picked off these passes. Throughout the game, the defense continued anticipating Brown quarterback Jake Willcox’s throws, so even when they were completed, the Bulldogs were primed and ready to take them down immediately. 

Webster has been battling injuries all season, and in only his second game of the year, he came up with two interceptions, which has been a big part of the turnaround of the Yale secondary. Led by Webster’s two picks, the Bulldogs’ defense was opportunistic all day, forcing three interceptions and a fumble to turn Brown over and give extra possessions to their offense. 

Saturday was an extremely high-scoring game, but that’s been characteristic of the Bulldogs this year. Because of the performance of Jordan and his offensive unit, the defense got away with letting the Bears put up 34 points. Ending with 56 points on the board and an over 20-point lead, this was precisely what the Yale team needed to keep the motivation high as they attempted to finish their last Ivy matchups against Princeton and Harvard on top.  

The win continued a trend of Yale enjoying huge wins over Brown. The Bulldogs have won the last seven matchups against the Bears, and even more notable is that they’ve won those matchups by an average of more than 28 points. 

Next weekend will be the Bulldogs’ last home game of the season as they take on the Princeton Tigers. This marks their final match before the Bulldogs head to Boston for the highly anticipated Yale-Harvard game. Kickoff will be at noon at the Yale Bowl, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.