Brown’s Robert Ranney just pinned the Bulldogs inside their own 5-yard line with a great punt. With 3:35 left in the half, Yale just needs to move the ball down field and avoid giving Brown a short field before the half.
The Yale Precision Marching Band just chanted “We got sousaphones!”. I’m at a loss for words.
After a solid drive aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty against the Bears, the Elis were able to respond to Brown’s field goal with a field goal of their own. With 6:23 remaining in the first half, the teams are all squared at 3.
After marching down the field with some success into Yale territory, the Eli defense bent, but didn’t break — again. The Bears settled for a 39-yard field goal to put the first points on the scoreboard. With 8:52 remaining in the first half, Brown leads 3-0.
By watching this game so far, you’d think that the questionable offense heading into the contest was Brown’s and not Yale’s. The Bears can’t get much of anything going and are pretty much one-dimensional. The only run plays they’ve tried have been direct snaps and end arounds. That will make things a lot easier for the Yale defense. This Eli unit is already one of the top in the nation and letting them concentrate on just stopping the pass game is going to make things tough for the Brown offense, as evidenced in the first quarter.
Well the Yale defense went right back to it’s been doing all season — shutting down in opponent in the red zone. On third down, linebacker Jay Pilkerton intercepted a Michael Doughtery pass. The pass looked like it was intended for a receiver who was picked by his own man on a crossing pattern. This is why the Bulldog D is the nation’s top-ranked scoring unit.
Gio Christodoulou just muffed a Brown punt inside the Yale 20. The Browns now start their second drive inside the Bulldog 20. This is exactly what the Elis didn’t need.
Yale received the ball to begin the game and looked good marching down into Brown territory but were killed by two penalties. The Bulldogs were forced to punt on a 4th and 18.
The Elis can’t shoot themselves in the foot like that considering how the offense has struggled this season. They need to play mistake-free football.
It’s a misty, ugly, wet day here in Providence as we wait for the start of the football game pitting Yale against host Brown. Brown Stadium sits in a beautiful setting in Providence, but the stadium itself isn’t as easy on the eyes. The entire stadium — press box included — is outdated and in need of some sort of renovating. Maybe it’s me being spoiled by the beauty that is the Yale Bowl. Whatever.
In preparations, Brown seemed more pumped up than Yale. You’d think the Bulldogs would come out with a little more spunk on the first-place team’s home field, especially in a must-win situation, but it was the Bears who came 0ut a little more fired up. We’ll see if that translates to game time.
The offense was able to end the game with possession and milk the clock away to conclude the contest. After a first half of more struggles, the Bulldogs were able string together effective drives and pull off a crucial 27-12 victory to keep their slim Ivy League championship hopes alive. The win improves Yale’s record to 4-3, 2-2 Ivy.
Kyle Hawari did it again for the Bulldogs, and forced his second fumble of the contest. With under 3:30 remaining, it looks like the Elis will come out of this one with a crucial victory. When it comes down to it, Yale made fewer mistakes and took advantage of Columbia’s numerous miscues.