NEW HAVEN, CONN. ? Yale scored 21 unanswered points in the final 32 minutes of the game to defeat Columbia 21-3 at the Yale Bowl. The Lions have still not yielded more than 21 points in a game this season.
In the closing seconds of the game, Yale held a 14-3 lead, but opted to have backup tailback Matt Murray dive for a one-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-goal with five seconds left to play to complete the scoring. The drive took a game-clinching 10 minutes, 30 seconds off the clock.
Columbia opened the scoring in the second quarter. On a 3rd-and-5 at his own 26, quarterback Craig Hormann patiently found Nick DeGasperis at the left hash eight yards downfield. DeGasperis hauled in the pass and cut to the sideline, racing 42 yards to the Yale 32 before tracked down by Larry Abare. Hormann overthrew Adrian Demko in the end zone on the next play, but on second down, tailback Jordan Davis eluded tackles for 16 yards to the 16 and a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, Jon Rocholl sent a spinning 41-yard field goal attempt through the uprights for a 3-0 Columbia lead 5:03 into the second quarter, giving the Lions their first lead in an Ivy League game this fall.
For Columbia, Davis looked as strong as he has all season in the early going with 35 yards on his first five carries in the first quarter. Yale star tailback Mike McLeod was held to eight rushes for 19 yards after one quarter, but finished the game with 31 carries for 129 yards, while Davis finished with 60 yards.
Yale struggled with penalties, and was flagged for 38 yards-worth in the first 21 minutes of play en route to 105 yards for the game. McLeod earned a 15-yarder for unsportsmanlike conduct after somersaulting his way into the endzone to complete a 21-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. Columbia could not capitalize on the resulting excellent field position in the final minute of the half.
“I think they were hurt more by the penalties against them than we were by the ones against us,” noted Lions' head coach Norries Wilson, whose team had 65 yards of penalties. “But the penalties against us were untimely ones.”
McLeod's run capped a 97-yard drive for the Bulldogs, giving them a 7-3 advantage at the half. Rocholl had pinned Yale back with a 64-yard punt to the Yale seven-yard line and the Bulldogs were called for holding on the return, pushing them back to their own three. However, Polhemus completed 3-of-4 passes for 14, 14 and 11 yards to move the ball, with McLeod rushes sprinkled in between. McLeod's touchdown carry was up the right sideline with no Lion defenders near him.
In the second half, the Lions' first drive ended with a blocked 45-yard field-goal attempt against Rocholl. DeGasperis had moved the Lions into Yale territory with a 17-yard catch over the middle from Hormann. Two plays later, Austin Knowlin caught a pass from Hormann, broke a tackle and spun up the left sideline for a hard-fought first down to the 38. Taylor Joseph had a seven-yard catch on third down just short of a first, setting up Rocholl's attempt.
On Yale's ensuing drive, MacLeod led the Bulldogs as far as the Lions' eight, but Columbia held to force a field goal. The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-0 Ivy) took a delay of game penalty, resulting in a 30-yard attempt that hooked left and kept the Lions very much in the game -- for the moment.
Columbia (3-4, 0-4 Ivy League) moved to their own 48 as Hormann found Jamal Russell open for a 21-yard completion. However, on the next play, the Elis' Bobby Abare intercepted a Hormann pass and rambled 52 yards for a touchdown to give Yale a 14-3 lead.
Yale rushed for 218 yards on the day, but had just 309 total yards despite not turning the ball over.
“Defensively, they are good,” Yale offensive lineman Ed McCarthy noted. “They are real quick and move around a lot.”
Adam Brekke and Drew Quinn each had 10 tackles and Darren Schmidt had a sack for a loss of 10.
“[Columbia] played hard,” said Yale head coach Jack Siedlecki. “They came here to play.”
DeGasperis finished with 97 yards receiving and Hormann was 16-of-29 for 184 yards and two interceptions.
Yale is now the only undefeated Ivy League team in conference play following Princeton's 14-7 loss at Cornell. Columbia heads to Harvard for a 12:30 p.m. game Saturday, November 4.
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Despite predictions of monsoon conditions for the game, there was only a brief squall at the start of the first quarter and nothing more than a slight drizzle the rest of the afternoon. Field conditions were wet and slightly muddy.
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The Lions ended a string of seven consecutive coin-toss losses dating back to the final game of the 2005 season. Lion opponents had won coin tosses in nine of Columbia's last 10 games.
