Football Suffers Setback at Yale

Saturday, October 28

New Haven, Conn/Yale Bowl

12:00 P.M.

Columbia University

2-5 , 0-4

Yale

4-3 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Columbia

Yale

Photo by: Brian Foley for Foley Photograph

10/28/2023 3:56:00 PM | Football

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The Lions fell to the Bulldogs, 35-7, on the road

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Yale's Nolan Grooms threw for 234 yards, gained 109 yards on the ground and scored twice to lift the Bulldogs past the Columbia football team, 35-7. The Lions fell to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in Ivy League play.

Senior Joe Green was 16-of-32 for 120 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jack Larsen, the first of the tight end's career. Safety Jayden Marshall led all players with eight tackles after filling in for starter Aaron Brebnor, who was injured in the first quarter. Justin Townsend and Joshua Powell each posted sacks, while Cobe Crews picked off a pass in the fourth quarter for the first takeaway of his career.

"It's always disappointing when you don't get your desired result," interim head coach Mark Fabish said after the game. "We worked hard during the week and were good in the meeting rooms, and it's tough when the score is as lopsided as it was. I told the team after the game that we need to make sure we stick together to put ourselves in position to move forward."

Columbia was held to just 194 yards of total offense. Yale racked up 459 yards, the most allowed by the Lions' defense all season and were 9-of-15 on third down to keep the ball for 37:44 of game time.

"Offensively, it wasn't one thing (that prevented us from scoring until the end)," Fabish said. "It's week seven, and it's up to us to execute across the board. We have to be able to sustain drives and keep our defense off the field. Yale is a good team with good players, and they are well-coached, but we need to execute."

Yale marched 70 yards on its first drive of the game, featuring two big designed runs by Grooms. The Bulldogs punched it into the endzone on a 1-yard rush from Joshua Pitsenburger to go up 7-0 just over five minutes into the contest.

After trading defensive stops, Yale used another long possession to double its lead in the second quarter. A Joshua Powell sack set up a third and 15 from the Columbia 18, but Pitsbengurger came through with a big run to make it fourth and inches and pushed for a first down to keep the drive alive. Two plays, later, Pitsenburger plowed through the middle for his second touchdown of the day.

Columbia answered with its best drive of the half, but it stalled near midfield. A William Hughes punt pinned the Bulldogs inside the 20. However, Yale struck quickly and used a 23-yard connection from Groom to Mason Tipton over the middle to go up 21-0 at the half.

The defense kept Yale off the board in the third, but the Eli's scored two rushing touchdowns in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Larsen's touchdown catch came with 11 seconds left, and the Bulldogs fell on a squib kick to run out the clock.

The Lions return home to face No. 23 Harvard on Saturday, November 4, for a noon kickoff. Tickets can be purchased by calling 888-LIONS-11, visiting GoColumbiaLions.com/tickets or contacting lionstickets@columbia.edu.

Fans can also catch the action on ESPN+.

For the latest on the Columbia football team, follow @CULionsFB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.

POSTGAME NOTES
- Yale was 4-for-5 in the red zone against the Lions' defense that came into the game ranked No. 1 in the country in that category.
- The 35 points allowed was the most for the program since last year's game against the Bulldogs (41).