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| Yale, which topped Holy Cross in the season opener, now will face the Big Red of Cornell in the Bulldogs' Ivy League opener on Saturday at the Yale Bowl. |
Saturday’s matchup represents the
82nd all-time meeting between the two rivals, with Yale leading the series
49-30-2. Indeed, the Bulldogs have won 13 of the last 18 meetings, seven of the
last 10 and the past two meetings vs. the Big Red. The Elis have not lost to
Cornell at home since 2009 when they dropped a 14-12 decision.
Yale continues to receive votes
in both the STATS FCS and the American Football Coaches (AFCA) Top-25 poll. The
Bulldogs have 48 votes in in STATS’s rankings along with Princeton (268) and
Dartmouth (86) who are both just outside top-25 (No. 25 – Citadel, 339). Yale
has 15 votes in the AFCA poll which gives them the 29th-most votes in the
nation. Additionally, three Bulldogs were tabbed to the Ivy League Honor Roll
after Yale’s 23-10 win over Holy Cross:
- Senior Quarterback Kurt Rawlings
- Senior Defensive Lineman Spencer Matthaei
- First-Year Punter JP Bosman
Bulldog Breakdown
Yale opened its 147th season of
collegiate football with a 23-10 victory at home over Holy Cross on Saturday.
The Bulldogs totaled 507 yards of offense, including 276 yards on the ground
while the defense stood strong as it allowed just 11 first downs.
The Elis scored on the very first
drive of the year, capped by a two-yard rush by junior Zane Dudek and
never looked back. Holy Cross got a field goal in the second quarter to get on
the board and trailed 6-3 at halftime, but the Yale offense answered in the
second half with 17 points to seal the deal.
Senior quarterback Kurt
Rawlings was involved on the Bulldogs' second two touchdowns, throwing a
24-yard strike to classmate Caden Herring five minutes into the third
quarter and added a rushing score of his own with just over nine minutes left
to play. Rawlings finished with 232 yards through the air and totaled 58 on the
ground. The Elis also spread the wealth in the air as eight different receivers
caught passes. Five boasted at least two receptions and six had at least 24
yards.
On defense, the Bulldogs held
Holy Cross to only 237 yards of total offense and only 145 yards through the
air. Yale forced the Crusaders into eight punts and a combined 2-of-14 on third
and fourth downs.
Senior lineman Spencer
Matthaei led way in the trenches with four tackles including three for loss
and a sack. Defensive back Kyle Ellis was also extremely active with
five tackles, four solo, and two pass breakups.
The victory was the 39th for head
coach Tony Reno who is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bulldogs.
The Elis have now won their last two home openers and are 7-1 in Yale Bowl
openers during Reno’s tenure. The Elis are also 5-2 in second games of the
season under Reno.
Scouting Cornell
The Big Red limited Marist to
just two rushing yards in their season-opening win last Saturday. That included
zero yard in five cracks inside the one-yard line with goal to go. Cornell
opened its 2019 season with a 21-7 victory as the Red Foxes fell to 1-2.
Cornell’s defense held Marist to
220 yards of offense and eight first downs while controlling the ball for 40:06.
It was the Big Red’s first season-opening win since 2016 and by its largest
margin since topping Bucknell 45-13 - exactly six years to the date in head
coach David Archer's coaching debut.
Senior captain Jelani Taylor had
a team-best six tackles and a tackle for loss, while David Jones had five
stops, 1.5 tackles for a loss, three pass breakups and an interception to lead
the way. Nathaniel Weber, a senior making his first collegiate start, notched
five tackles and 1.5 sacks in the win. Jones was recognized as the Ivy League
Defensive Player of the Week.
The offense piled up 419 yards,
including 263 on the ground, and moved the chains 21 times. Cornell converted
all three fourth down attempts as its defense stopped all four of Marist's.
Harold Coles recorded his sixth career 100-yard rushing game with 127 yards and
a touchdown on 16 carries, while Mike Catanese added 79 yards and two scores.
He also completed 15-of-20 passes for 130 yards. John Fitzgerald led eight
receivers with at least a catch with a pair of receptions for 46 yards.
The Skinny
- Date & Time: Saturday, September 28, 2019 – 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Yale Bowl (61,446)
- Series: Yale leads, 49-30-2
- Last Meeting: Yale 30, Cornell 24 – 9/22/18
- Video: ESPN+, Josh Hess (play-by-play), Jack Ford (color)
- Radio: WELI 960 AM, Ron Vaccaro (play-by-play), Jack Siedlecki (color)
—Staff Reports
#yalefootball / @yalefootball / #ivyleague
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