NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale football put forth a complete effort in its second-to-last home game of the season in a 45-10 rout of Ivy League foe Columbia on Saturday afternoon at the Yale Bowl. Senior Kurt Rawlings led the way yet again with four total touchdowns and a career-high 390 passing yards.
 
The Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) put up a season-best 580 total yards of offense as they dominated throughout. Yale recovered a fumble on the first drive of the game by Columbia (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) and scored two plays later on a TD toss from Rawlings to senior JP Shohfi and never looked back.
 
Yale built a 24-3 halftime lead and pushed the advantage to 38-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Yale defense held the Lions to just 28 rushing yards and 165 through the air as the Bulldogs racked up four sacks, nine tackles for loss and two turnovers.
 
"This team had an incredible week of practice and preparation and it showed out on the field today," said head coach Tony Reno. "This team continues to get better every week and I give the credit to our seniors who have done an incredible job through their leadership."
 
Shohfi came one catch short of his own SportsCenter Top-10 as he finished with nine catches, making highlight reel plays on numerous receptions. His 189 receiving yards in the game rank sixth-most in the Yale record book.
 
Rawlings ran two touchdowns in and also connected with Darrion Carrington on a 23-yard score for a four-TD day.
 
Junior running back Zane Dudek rushed for 55 yards including a 45-yard touchdown scamper that featured him diving in from the five-yard line over the pile on. The Bulldogs finished with 147 rushing yards in the game.
 
The Bulldogs final score came from senior Alan Lamar who pushed in the inside pass from five yards out on fourth down from freshman QB Nolan Grooms with just over two minutes left.
 
Five different defensive linemen were in on sacks for an impressive showing for the unit. Senior Spencer Matthaei had one for an eight-yard loss and finished with 1.5 tackles for loss and was in on six total tackles. Junior Reid Nickerson was also in on six tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss.
 
Linebacker John Dean came up with a key interception in the redzone during the second quarter that stalled a Columbia drive and gave the momentum back to the Bulldogs.
 
Yale now hits the road for two games with the first next Saturday at Brown with kickoff set for 12:30 p.m.