NEW YORK — Columbia football (1-5, 0-3) will close out a two-game road swing at Yale (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday, November 1. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.

OPENING DRIVE
• Columbia will finish at a two-game swing in New England when it faces Yale on Saturday.
• The Lions' last three opponents have been ranked or receiving votes in top-25 polls.

A COLUMBIA WIN WOULD...
• Snap a four-game losing streak.
• Be Columbia's first Ivy League win of the season.
• Be the Lions' first road win of the season.
• Give the Lions their first win in New Haven since 2015.

SERIES HISTORY
Columbia and Yale will meet for the 103rd time in a series that dates back to 1872. The Bulldogs are 72-23-2 all-time against the Lions. Columbia snapped a four-game losing streak against Yale with a 13-10 victory in front of a nationally televised audience at Wien Stadium.

Columbia's last victory in New Haven was a 17-7 decision in 2015.

YALE'S STATUS
• Yale is coming off a 35-13 victory over Penn. South Carolina transfer and son of head coach Tony Reno, Dante Reno, threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns, with two of them going to Nico Brown. Josh Pitsenberger rushed for a season-high 145 yards and recorded a touchdown, while Abu Kamara returned a fumble recovery 63 yards for a touchdown.
• Tony Reno is in his 13th season leading the Bulldogs and in his nineteenth season overall at Yale. Yale finished last season with a 7-3 record and went 4-3 in Ivy League Play. 
• Pitsenberger leads the Ivy League in rushing attempts (141), yards (684), yards per game (114), and touchdowns (9). Pitsenberger's 114 yards per game are good enough for fifth in the nation. Nico Brown is third in the Ivy League in receptions (34) and second in receiving yards (521). 
• Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye leads the Ivy League in tackles (71), solo tackles (33), assisted tackles (38), and tackles per game (11.8). Ayo-Durojaiye's 71 total tackles are good enough for seventh in the nation. Kamara is tied for second in the Ivy League in passes broken up (6) and interceptions (2). 
• On special teams, Noah Piper is 7-for-8 in field goal attempts this season, with two from 40+ yards.

DARTMOUTH LEFTOVERS
• Dartmouth used big plays and capitalized on a pick-six, blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery deep in Columbia territory to build an early lead and a 49-3 victory on Friday night.
• The Lions posted a season-high 156 rushing yards on the night. First-year Michael Walters had a career-best 86 yards in 19 attempts, and junior Griffin Johnson rushed 12 times for 64 yards.
• Jack Smiechowski recorded 10 tackles, reaching double-figures for the second time this season.
• The contest marked Columbia's most lopsided defeat since a 53-7 defeat against Princeton in 2013.
• The Lions used their sixth quarterback of the season after Cole Freeman took a shotgun snap for a rush in the fourth quarter.

LAST YEAR'S MATCHUP
Cole Freeman launched a 44-yard touchdown pass to Bryson Canty late in the fourth quarter, electrifying the home crowd and lifting the Lions to a dramatic 13-10 win over Yale in Friday night matchup. Down 10-6 with just under five minutes left, Freeman engineered a 96-yard drive, capped by his pinpoint throw to Canty, who eluded Yale defenders to dash into the end zone. Hugo Merry's extra point pushed Columbia ahead as the Lions' defense held firm in the final minutes, stifling the Bulldogs' last-ditch attempts at a comeback.

The game saw Yale control the early scoring, with Grant Jordan's 24-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Denney in the second quarter and Conforti's 38-yard field goal in the third giving the Bulldogs a 10-3 lead. But Columbia (6-2, 4-1 Ivy) chipped away at the deficit behind Merry's field goals — a 22-yarder in the second quarter and a 43-yarder in the fourth — setting up the decisive scoring drive.

COLUMBIA/YALE CONNECTIONS
• Columbia offensive coordinator Seitu Smith was on Tony Reno's staff from 2021-23, serving as a running backs coach from 2021-22 and assistant head coach/run game coordinator in 2023.
• The Lions' secondary coach, Andrew Kukesh, was with the Bulldogs in 2017 as an assistant defensive line coach.
• Yale tight ends coach Paul Rice spent two seasons with the Lions as linebackers coach and special teams coordinator.

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