Yale Preps for Richmond

Senior tailback Alan Lamar busts a move against Fordham at the Yale
Bowl earlier this season.

NEW HAVEN—For the first time in the 147-year history of Yale University football, the Bulldogs (3-0, 1-1 Ivy) head to Richmond to take on the Spiders (3-3, 2-1 Colonial) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. ET at Robins Stadium. The Elis aim to go 3-0 in nonconference play and avenge their lone loss (at Dartmouth last week), while Richmond looks to keep things rolling after knocking off then-No. 18 Maine (FCS).

The Series

It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams and kicks off a home-and-home series between the two schools as Richmond will play at the Yale Bowl next season. The game also marks the first time in six years that the Bulldogs will take to the skies. The Elis’ last flight for a game came in 2013, a 24-10 victory at Cal Poly.

Receiving Recognition

Yale continues to receive votes in the STATS FCS Top-25 poll. The Bulldogs have 37 votes in STATS’ rankings along with Ivy League compatriots, Princeton (No. 17, 1301) and Dartmouth (No. 21, 717). Yale has received votes in the top-25 poll every week this season, including the preseason. This is the first week that the Bulldogs are without votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25.

Bulldog Breakdown

Yale looks to get back on the winning track this week as the Bulldogs wrap up a two-game road trip. The offense will look to get back to its high-scoring ways in Week 5 as the Elis lead the nation in time of possession, holding the ball for an averaged of 36.31 minutes per game.

Senior quarterback Kurt Rawlings continues to move his name up the Yale record books. He is first all-time in completion percentage (.633), tied for second in touchdowns (37), second in efficiency (141.75), third in total offense (5,974), fourth in passing yards (5,493), third in competitions (445) and fifth in attempts (703).

Wideout JP Shofi is on Yale's all-time Top 10 list for TD receptions and
receiving yards.

His classmate receiving duo of Reed Klubnik and JP Shohfi have benefited from stellar QB play throughout their careers as they are both in the top-10 of Yale’s all-time touchdown reception and receiving yard lists. Klubnik ranks fifth with 1,914 yards, seventh with 13 touchdowns and fifth with 132 receptions. Shohfi is just behind at sixth with 1,675 yards, tied for 10th with 11 touchdowns and 12^th with 109 catches.

On the other side of the ball, the Yale defense has several strong metrics in its favor this season. The Bulldogs have been particularly strong on third and fourth down as they rank fourth in the nation in third down conversion percentage at just 26.7 percent and eighth on fourth down at 25 percent. Additionally, they are 11th in the country in rushing defense at 90.0 yards per game and 21st nationally with 7.5 tackles for loss per game.

The defensive pressure charge has been led by senior linebacker Ryan Burke who averages 1.5 tackles per loss a game.

On special teams, senior kicker Sam Tuckerman leads the Ivy League and is 11th in the country with a .857 field goal percentage and is also tops in the conference and 13^th nationally with 1.50 field goals per game.

Scouting Richmond

Richmond steps out of Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend for is final non-conference matchup of the regular season.  

Junior linebacker Tyler Dressler had a game for the ages Saturday in the Spiders’ win over No. 18 Maine as he recorded a career-high 20 tackles in the victory, earning himself Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week honors. His 20 tackles are the most by any player in the NCAA FCS this season. Freshman linebacker Tristan Wheeler is second on the team with 49 tackles, despite coming off the bench in the first three games. His 8.2 tackles per game ranks 11th overall in the CAA this season.

Senior defensive end Maurice Jackson was named the CAA preseason Defensive Player of the Year over the summer after leading the league in sacks last year with 10.0. Jackson has started to heat up his game recently, moving into the CAA lead on the year with 7.0 sacks this season—all solo sacks. He has recorded 5.0 sacks in the past two weeks alone, recording 3.0 against Albany and 2.0 against Maine. Jackson has also moved into ninth place all-time in Richmond Spider history for career sacks with 19.5, despite only playing defensive end the past two seasons.

Another big reason the Spiders posted their 24-17 victory over No. 18 Maine was Richmond was not called for a penalty all game long while the Black Bears were whistled for six penalties, accounting for 64 yards. It marks the first time that Richmond has not been called for a penalty in a game since September 28, 2013, ironically also against Maine.

Redshirt quarterback Joe Mancuso posted his third start of the season last week and the first start since Boston College as he led the Spiders to the victory over Maine. Mancuso accounted for all three Richmond touchdowns in the win, scoring two on the ground and adding a 66-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keyston Fuller.

—Staff Reports

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