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BULLDOGS FACE PENN AT FRANKLIN FIELD

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Yale football team (3-2, 1-1 Ivy) returns to Ancient Eight play and the conference stretch run with a 3:30 game at Penn this Saturday. This Ivy showdown featuring the league's top two defenses at venerable Franklin Field can be seen live on Comcast Network (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC only) and heard on WELI (AM-960, 960weli.com) and WYBC (AM-1340, wybc.com). There will not be a live streaming.

PENN-YALE SERIES

Yale leads the series against the Quakers 44-31-1, though Penn has dominated in recent years, winning 13 of the last 17 meetings. Penn has won seven of the last eight at Franklin Field and the Bulldogs are 16-17-1 at Penn. There has not been a shutout in the last 22 meetings (the last belongs to Penn, 17-0, in 1983). The Blue has won every contest when scoring over 21 points except for a 48-30 Penn victory in 1972 and 2003's 34-31 OT decision. Two of the last three games, and three of the last six, have gone to OT.

THE MATCHUP

A shootout is not expected in the 77th meeting of Yale and Penn. The Yale defense ranks second in the FCS in scoring defense (12.40) while Penn, which only gives up two more points per game, is second in total defense (226.80). Neither is among the Ivy's top two in total offense, though both have potential for big days.

YALE-PENN MOMENTS

2007: Yale's goal-line stand followed a TD run by Mike McLeod '09 in the third OT... 2006: Alan Kimball's '08 35-yard field goal in OT gave Yale a 17-14 victory at New Haven... 2003: Playing its first modern OT game, Yale fell to Penn at Franklin Field (34-31) after erasing a 31-10 deficit. The Blue tied the game with 32 seconds left but had a FG attempt blocked in the extra session... 1991: Nick Crawford ‘92 rushed for a Yale QB record 204 yards in a 31-12 Bulldog win at New Haven... 1987: WR Bob Shoop ‘88 capped off a miraculous comeback at Yale Bowl with a last-second TD reception in a 28-22 Yale victory... 1969: TV star Jack Ford `72 intercepted a Penn pass and went 77 yards for a score in a 21-3 Yale win... 1958: Herb Hallas ‘59 set a school record with a 94-yard punt return, but it was the only points in a 30-6 Quaker win.

RICE RUN BEATS LEHIGH

Paul Rice's (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) 40-yard run on a fake punt in the third quarter was the game's only score as Yale blanked Lehigh 7-0 in poor weather before 5,847 at Goodman Stadium. The Yale defense, the first to shut out Lehigh in 23 years (263 games), recovered three fumbles, picked off one pass and sacked the Mountain Hawks' QB three times while registering the first Bulldog win at Bethlehem in four tries. It was the lowest scoring Yale game since a 3-0 win over Dartmouth in 1979. Lehigh had the edge in total offense (197-189), but Yale had the ball for 13 more minutes in a game that included six turnovers, 19 punts and cold, wet footballs. With a fourth-and-six on the Lehigh 35, the Elis were called for a delay of game penalty and were moved back five yards to the 40. Rice, an up-back in punt formation, took the direct snap five yards behind the line of scrimmage and took off into a pile of defenders. The Yale captain and LB kept moving his feet and plowed through the defense past the first-down marker before breaking free and running down the sideline. A pair of fourth-quarter interceptions of Yale QB Brook Hart (State College, Pa.), who was 12-for-31, 86 yards and three interceptions, kept the home team's hopes alive until a hook-and-ladder resulted in a fumble recovered by LB Sean Williams (Portland, Ore.). Two sacks by Yale's Tom McCarthy (Chester, N.J.), who also had a blocked FG, and another by Pat Moran (Alexandria, Va.) also helped prevent a late comeback. Yale H-B John Sheffield (Portland, Ore.) led all receivers with seven catches for 55 yards, while senior reserve RB Rodney Reynolds (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) came on in the fourth quarter and wore down the Lehigh defense with 11 carries for 45 yards. Drew Baldwin (Alexandria, Va.), a sophomore DB, had a game-high six solos for the Blue.

PENN PERFECT AFTER WIN AT COLUMBIA

Keiffer Garton threw two touchdown passes and Penn capitalized on seven Columbia turnovers to beat the Lions for the 13th straight time, 27-13, last week in New York and move to 2-0 in Ivy play. M.A. Olawale threw for 192 yards for the Lions, but he also lost three fumbles and threw three interceptions on a cold and windy day. Garton passed for 104 yards and threw two interceptions. Garton threw for a 15-yard score to a Matt Tuten in the first quarter before Olawale hit Andrew Kennedy for 28 yards and Austin Knowlin for 68 to give the Lions a 13-7 lead. Garton answered with an 11-yard touchdown toss to Matt Hamscherr with 3:15 left in the opening half to make it 14-13.

LAST Y-P MEETING

Andrew Samson kicked three second-half field goals as Penn beat Yale 9-7 at Yale Bowl last October. The game was a battle of stingy defenses as Penn limited the Yale offense to six first downs, 15 rushing yards and 92 total yards. Paul Rice's interception and 25-yard return to the Penn 17 early in the first quarter led to Yale's only touchdown - John Sheffied's 7-yard run. The Bulldogs never returned to Quakers' territory in the first half.

DEFENSIVE BULLDOGS

The Yale defense ranks second only to South Dakota State (12.33) in FCS scoring defense with a 12.40 mark. The Blue allows 248.2 total yards per game, which is sixth in the nation. Yale's rushing defense is 11th (84.0) and its pass defense (96.8) is seventh.

SACKS AND PICKS

Six different Bulldogs have QB sacks this fall. Senior DT Tom McCarthy (Chester, NJ), who had two big ones at Lehigh, leads the Blue with three. Three different Elis, from three classes, have two interceptions each. Senior LB Tim Handlon (Valparaiso, Ind.), junior DB Adam Money (Whiteland, Ind.) and sophomore DB Drew Baldwin (Alexandria, Va.) have the Yale picks.

ROOKIE NO MORE

Filling in for the injured Gio Christodoulou (Miami, Fla.), Chris Smith (Midlothian, Va.) no longer seems like a freshman after five games of regular duty. The freshman WR/return man is third in the Ivy and 18th in FCS with 25.8 yards per kickoff return, while he ranks sixth among league punt return men with a 2.8 mark. Smith is fourth on the team with 13 catches.

COACH WILLIAMS

Tom Williams was named the Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Yale Football last January and came to New Haven after spending two seasons as an assistant for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Williams has 11 seasons of college coaching experience. He is the 33rd Yale head football coach but just the third in the last 44 years.

WILLIAMS AFTER LAST SATURDAY

"We wanted to give our players a chance to make a play," said Tom Williams, in reference to Paul Rice's TD run. "It wasn't the call that made the play. Paul made the play. When you can win a game like this on the road, it says a lot about your character and fortitude."

CATCHING WILLIAMS

Tom Williams takes part in three media events each week. Williams can be heard Monday nights on WYBC (AM-1340) from 8 to 8:30 on the Yale Sports Monday Show. The Yale segment of the weekly Ivy League media teleconference is 11:53 AM on Tuesdays, while he and some of his players are at the Yale Bookstore every Tuesday at 2 p.m. for the Dick Galiette Press Conference, which can be seen a few hours later on sportingnewsct.com.

FIRST-YEAR BLUE

Tom Williams, off to a 3-2 start, begins his Yale career following a full spectrum of success in debut seasons. The best debut campaign for a Yale head coach was the first, Walter Camp (13-0 and National Champs) in 1888. The next 20 coaches enjoyed comparable success in the early years of the sport. However, wins for new coaches in the later part of the 20th century did not come so easily. Two of the five Eli mentors since 1950 had better than .500 marks, Jordan Olivar (7-2 in 1952) and John Pont (6-3 in 1963). Herman Hickman went 4-5 in 1948, Carm Cozza was 3-6 in 1965 and Jack Siedlecki was 1-9 in 1997.

HART HAS TWO STARTS

Junior QB Brook Hart (State College, Pa.), who had a career-best outing in the win over Dartmouth by completing 28 of 40 passes for 390 yards (6th best at Yale) and three TDs, was not nearly as productive (12-31, 3 int) in the wind and cold at Lehigh last week. Hart has completed 60 percent of his passes with four TDs this fall. He started the last five games of 2008 while establishing a Yale record, 62.1 completion percentage. Hart is currently third in the Ivy with a 126.8 passing efficiency.

PLAY OF THE DAY

Paul Rice's fake punt in the third quarter turned into the game-winner as the Yale captain went 40 yards to paydirt. This happened after the Blue was called for a five-yard penalty, which made it even more surprising. "The penalty almost scared us off," said Tom Williams, Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Yale Football. "It actually made it a better situation to run it." Rice's score was the first Yale TD from punt formation since punter Mike Sullivan '80, who was also a RB, went 65 yards in 1977 against Harvard.

HIT OF THE GAME

Until this fall, senior RB Rodney Reynolds (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) had played a number of positions for the Yale JV team without getting much of a varsity look. In pre-season camp Reynolds impressed the new coaching staff enough to win the starting job until he suffered consecutive hamstring injuries before the opener. He got his first legitmate chance to show his stuff in the fourth quarter at Lehigh with 11 big carries and a 4.1 average. On on of his bursts up the middle, Reynolds put a shoulder into a Lehigh DB that knocked the defender out of the game.

LOCAL HERO

RB Alex Thomas (Ansonia, Conn.) has been waiting for his chance to show his skills. After a year of playing primarily JV and early injuries in 2009, Thomas has been an integral part of the Yale offense the last two weeks. He has 14 carries for 46 yards and one TD to go along with three catches.

BULLDOG BITES

Yale has an 85-22-3 record against Patriot League teams... The 43 rushes, Rice's 40-yard scamper and the three sacks at Lehigh were all Yale season-highs... The Elis are now 11 of 14 (78.6%) in the red zone... The Blue has not had a 100-yard runner since game nine of 2008 (6 games)... Lafayette's Maurice White (131) is the only opponent runner to make triple-digits this fall.

ROOKIE RECORD

Yale's career reception leader Ralph Plumb '05 had two total catches his freshman season while former NFL player Eric Johnson '01 caught four balls his rookie year. It's fair to say rookies rarely get many Yale passes thrown their way. That's why it's so unusual to see

a pair of freshmen WRs with a combined 20 catches midway through this fall. Allen Harris (Detroit, Mich.) established a Yale record for catches by a freshman in a game with five against Dartmouth and has seven this fall. Chris Smith (Midlothian, Va.) is fourth on the team with 13 grabs.

ABARE LEADS ELIS

Senior DB Larry Abare (Acton, Mass.) leads the Blue with 30 overall stops, including a season-high 7-4-11 against Lafayette. His twin, Bobby '09, an All-America LB, is now a graduate assistant coach for the LBs at Wagner College (2-2, 1-0 NEC) who was on the sideline at Lehigh.

SCOTT ON PATH

Yale senior RB Brandon Scott (Chatsworth, Calif.), a biomedical engineering major, has enjoyed his first varsity snaps this fall with five carries for 17 yards. Scott has also enjoyed working on his career over the summer. This past break he worked at a drug delivery research lab that specialized in researching anti-cancer drugs. Scott's focus was researching ways to include an MRI contrast agent in a drug delivery system with hope that that drug administered in the system could be detected in a host via MRI.

OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN

Junior LB Jesse Reising (Decatur, Ill.), who has been out with an injury, took part in officer candidate school with the U.S. Marine Corps last summer and plans to join the marines after graduation. He lost 20 pounds during the grueling training. Reising, who played in all 10 games last fall, was class valedictorian at Eisenhower High School.

BALSAM FINDS BALL

Junior WR Peter Balsam (Orland Park, Ill.) had two straight weeks of getting his hands on or around the ball often. Against Dartmouth, he had two catches, recovered Yale's on-side kick and made two special teams tackles. The week before against Lafayette, he caught three passes, recovered a Lafayette fumble on the opening kickoff and caught a three-yard TD pass. He is second on the team with 15 catches and also has six total tackles.

MANTE MAKES MARK

Senior P/PK Tom Mante (Westford, Mass.), Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week two of the first three weeks, tied the Ivy League record with a 54-yard FG against Cornell on Sept. 26. He had a 50-yard FG at Georgetown the week before. Mante, an NFL prospect, also has punts of 73 and 65 yards and he recovered one of his own on-side kicks. Mante now shares the league long FG mark with five others, but no kicker had reached from that distance since 1976. In addition, no Ivy kicker has hit 50-yard field goals on consecutive Saturdays. Otis Guernsey drop kicked a 54-yarder for the Bulldogs in 1915. Mante, who is first in the Ivy with a 39.6 average, also had a school record 12 punts against the Big Red (six inside the 20) on the way to Walter Camp Yale Player of the Game honors. Mante was an All-Ivy selection at both positions last fall.

STAFF NOTES

Two Yale assistant coaches spent time last summer at NFL training camps as intern coaches. Kefense Hynson, who works with Yale's receivers, was with Oakland. Ikaika Malloe, the Joel E. Smilow '54 Defensive Coordinator, worked with Jacksonville... Mike Sanford, the mentor for the Yale TEs and a former Boise State QB, is the son of UNLV football head coach Mike Sanford... Student assistant coach Isaiah DeLeon-Mares, who worked at the Warrick Dunn Foundation, also worked with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last summer.

CAPTAIN RICE

Paul Rice (Cleveland Heights, Ohio), a senior LB who leads the team with 22 solo tackles and five TFL, is the 132nd Yale football captain. He earned Walter Camp Yale Player of the Game honors at Lehigh after his 40-yard run with a fake punt turned into the game's only points. He came to Yale as a talented RB but moved to defense when asked to his freshman year. Rice, who has 144 total career tackles and six interceptions, started at CB the last three years before moving to LB this season. His father, Lou Rice, played defense for Harvard.

OTHER IVY GAMES LAST WEEK

WR Buddy Farnham accumulated 309 all-purpose yards and scored touchdowns on an 80-yard pass reception and a 92-yard kickoff return to lead Brown to its third straight win, 34-17 over Princeton.. Big plays in the passing game ruined Cornell's Homecoming as Fordham knocked off the Big Red 39-27 at Schoellkopf Field... First half miscues doomed Harvard against Lafayette in a 35-18 decision at Harvard Stadium.. Holy Cross QB Dominic Randolph outdueled Dartmouth signal-caller Conner Kempe in the 24th-ranked Crusaders' 34-14 victory at Fitton Field.

SNAP WITH SPIRAL

Senior DT Matt Kelleher (Southington, Conn.) has handled the long snapping in the first three games. Kelleher, the former Connecticut State Player of the Year as a QB, moved to defense his third year at Yale after injuries prevented him from taking any offensive snaps. He was a starter on defense last year but an injury this fall has limited him to snapping duties.

FATHER OF FOOTBALL

For the 10th straight season, the Walter Camp Football Foundation honors Yale's game MVP as the Walter Camp Yale Player of the Game. This award is handed out both at home and on the road. Walter Camp (class of 1880), commonly known as the father of American football, captained two Yale teams and coached five others. He compiled a 67-2-0 record and won three national titles as coach. Senior RB Jordan Farrell (Orland Park, Ill.) earned the first award in 2009 with a 5.4 average per carry and two scores at Georgetown. Week No. 2 went to senior PK/P Tom Mante (Westford, Mass.), who tied the Yale record with a 54-yard FG and punted a Yale record 12 times with six inside the Cornell 20-yard line. Week three and four went to QB Brook Hart (State College, Pa.), who came off the bench to complete 13 of 17 passes against Lafayette before throwing for 390 yards in his first start of 2009 against Dartmouth. Captain Paul Rice (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) earned the honor at Lehigh with the game-winning TD and five tackles.

SUNDAY BULLDOGS

Seven former Yale football players are working in the game this fall, either in the college or pro ranks. Mike McCaskey '65, chairman of the Chicago Bears, Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron '73, Bob Wallace '78 (Executive V.P. and General Council, St. Louis Rams) and New England assistant coach Pat Graham '01 are the Bulldogs in the NFL. Bob Shoop '88, defensive coordinator at William & Mary, Merchant Marine Academy offensive coordinator Kyle Metzler '02 and Bobby Abare '09, linebackers coach at Wagner, work at colleges.

H-BACK AND A TIGHT END

Six-foot-2, 235-pound senior John Sheffield (Portland, Ore.) leads the team with 32 catches and 303 yards and is 17th in the nation with six grabs per game. Sheffield can be found in the backfield, in the slot, next to a tackle on the line or split out wide. He has often been referred to as an H-Back (don't confuse it with HB for halfback), also known as a power back, which is a hybrid combining the TE and FB positions. Sheffield has 97 career catches (6th at Yale), while his one rushing attempt was a lateral pass that turned into a seven-yard TD against Penn in 2008.

BULLDOGS LOVE BOWL

Yale is 364-192-26 overall in 582 games played at the Bowl. The Elis are 124-74-4 in Ivy games. Yale has had seven perfect and 11 undefeated seasons in the Bowl since it opened in 1914.

HAWAIIAN FRIDAYS

Three members of the Yale coaching staff have ties to Hawaii, and Tom Williams has instituted Hawaiain Fridays in the football office. Any staffers caught without a Hawaiian style shirt on a Friday on the third floor of Ray Tompkins House is subject to a one dollar fine. Sophomore OL Gabriel Fernandez (Honolulu) is the first Yale football player from Hawaii in 10 years. WR Jimmy Bennett '00 (Honolulu), who played on the 1999 Ivy League championship squad, was the last Eli from the 50th state.

BROTHER YALE

Seven current Bulldogs have brothers who play or played Yale football. Current Yale football brother combinations include junior OLB Sean and freshman QB Scott Williams (Portland, Ore.) and junior DB Marcus and senior OLB Jack Wallace (Germantown, Wis.).

COUNTRY BOY WITH GIFT OF GAB

Can you picture a 290-pound guy in bib overalls running an auction? If you could, it might be freshman OL Jeff Marrs (Garden Prairie, Ill.), who grew up on a farm of about 2,000 acres near Rockford, Ill. Marrs, his brother and grandfather are all auctioneers. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound former all-state lineman is part of a young offensive line.

ELI VOTE

A survey of this fall's Yale squad revealed interesting character traits about its members. Here are the results of the voting on Bulldog players:

Most Humorous: H-B John Sheffield (Portland, Ore.)

Most Intelligent: QB Rich Scudellari (Saratoga, Calif.)

Most Vocal: DB Larry Abare (Acton, Mass.)

Most Likely to be US President: DL Patrick Moran (Alexandria, Va.)

Unusual Hobby: RB Rodney Reynolds (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.), gospel-rap singing

Best Singer: WR Lars Knudsen (Whitefish Bay, Wis.)

Strongest: RB Alex Thomas (Ansonia, Conn.)

JV BLUE

The Yale junior varsity plays Bridgton Academy on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. at Clint Frank Field before finishing against Harvard on Nov. 20 at home.

YALE ON TV

Eight Yale football games will air live on TV this fall, including four of five home games. Yale on YES is back for a second season with three straight Ivy League games (Columbia, Brown, Princeton) on the network of the New York Yankees. The YES Network, available nationally on DirecTV, Verizon's FiOS service and on select cable systems, is the country's No. 1 regional sports network. Two contests (Cornell, Harvard) will be broadcast on Versus, the national cable home of the National Hockey League that is in more than 73 million homes. Other Yale games aired in 2009 include Penn (Comcast), Lafayette (RCN) and Lehigh (Service Electric 2).

CAMPING OUT

The Bulldogs have begun a tradition befitting the school responsible for shaping the game of football. Prior to every home game, Coach Williams gathers the team under the Walter Camp Field Memorial to remind the Bulldogs of their proud heritage before they walk with the Yale Band and Bulldog fans to the Bowl. Walter Camp '1880, who coached the Blue (67-2) for five seasons and was instrumental in shaping the rules as we know them, is commonly referred to as the father of American football.

WELI RADIO

NEWS/Talk 960 WELI broadcasts all Yale football games on AM (960) and online at weli.com. Yale football coaching legend Carm Cozza, a 2003 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, is in his 12th season as the color commentator for WELI broadcasts. Ron Vaccaro '04 returns for his fourth year as play-by-play announcer. Vaccaro is a two-time Emmy Award winner for his work with NBC Olympics, his primary employer since 2004. His on-air resume also includes the 2008 Beijing Olympics for NBC and the 2009 World Swimming Championships for Universal Sports. Sideline reporter Alex Goldberger '08, engineer Tom Ivanovich and spotter Kevin Guarino add the finishing touches to the broadcasts.

3RD QUARTER

Stephen Schmalhofer '08, a former Yale DT, will join Carm Cozza and Ron Vaccaro in the WELI radio booth for the third quarter this Saturday at Penn. Schmalhofer was part of the Yale team that won a 2006 Ivy League title. John Pagliaro '77 (Georgetown), Greg Burkus '83 (Cornell), Will Conroy '04 (Lafayette), Tom Doyle '75 (Dartmouth) and Chandler Henley '06 (Lehigh) have all been guest commentators this fall.

YALE-BROWN VIDEO STREAM

Fans outside the footprint of YES Network can see a live stream of the Yale-Brown game at Yale Bowl on Nov. 7 on yalebulldogs.com. The stream includes audio from WELI's broadcast.

WYBC RADIO

WYBC (AM 1340) also covers each game. WFAN Radio personality Bob Heussler, WYBC's Director of Football Radio Broadcasts, and Anthony Brooks '03 MM, the station's sports coordinator, lead a talented group of Yale students who can also be heard on wybc.com. Yale football is also included in WYBC's Monday night sports lineup from Lansdowne Bar & Grill (179 Crown Street). At 8 pm, Tom Williams, the Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Yale Football, makes a weekly appearance on "Yale Sports Monday."

BULLDOGS AT YORKSIDE

Yale coaches and athletes will frequent Yorkside Restaurant (York Street, New Haven) Monday nights from 8-9 for WYBC Radio's sports lineup. At 8, Tom Williams, the Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach of Yale Football, makes a weekly appearance on "Yale Sports Monday" with Anthony Brooks'03 MM and Sam Purdy ‘10. Athletes and coaches from all sports, including football, will be interviewed each week on "Yale Sports Monday" from 8-9.

TEAMLINE

Another way to listen to Yale games live is by calling TEAMLINE at 800.846.4700 and using Yale's code 5682.

BULLDOGS AT BOOKSTORE

The Dick Galiette/Yale Football Press Conference has moved from the Course at Yale back to campus with the first edition on Sept. 15. The new location is the Yale Bookstore, which will host this event for 10 Tuesdays at 2 p.m. Coach Williams and a selection of players will take part in the press conferences that are streamed live by Sportingnewsct.com. They will take place on the second floor where all the book signings are done. The press conferences are open to the public, but questions for Williams and his players are limited to the working media. The Yale Bookstore is also the sponsor of the Yale Sports Hotline (203.432.YALE), where Yale fans get game-day scores without going to their computers.

CHAT ON BULLDOGS

Every Wednesday at 2 p.m. the New Haven Register's Jim Fuller has a live chat about Yale football on newhavenregister.com.

NETCASTS/PODCASTS

Ron Vaccaro '04 hosts a series of video netcast interviews, which will include the Yale football team and other Yale athletics content, on yalebulldogs.com. Vaccaro also has a set of audio netcasts featuring the team for Apple iTunes users at itunes.yale.edu.

YORKSIDE AT BOWL

Media take note... The Yale Bowl may be in West Haven, but the press box has a taste of New Haven with Yorkside Pizza & Restaurant serving slices and salad on home Saturdays. Rather than interrupting your work with a lunch at halftime, the food is now served on its arrival before kickoff.

TRUE BLUE ROSTER

The 2009 Yale football roster includes 60 high school football captains and 41 captains of other sports. The Elis also list 52 National Honor Society members, six student body presidents, six valedictorians and three salutatorians.

Filed by Steve Conn, Yale Associate AD & Sports Publicity Director