NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale football team rallied from a 17-6 deficit against Columbia on a rainy Saturday at the Yale Bowl to improve to 3-1 in Ivy League play with the 37-30 victory. Junior running back Spencer Alston scored the Bulldogs' first and last touchdowns of the day and tied a career high with three total scores.
 
The Bulldog struck first in the game, but Columbia went on to score 17 unanswered points in the first half. Columbia added a field goal at the start of the third quarter to make it 23-14 but it was all Bulldogs from there.
 
Yale scored the next three touchdowns midway through the third and at the start of the fourth quarter and used key defensive stops late to secure the win. The Eli defense held Columbia to just 4-of-19 on third down conversion attempts.
 
"I was so proud of the way our team rallied together for the victory. We did not play up to our standard in the first half, but we were able to make the adjustments needed and executed at a high level in the second half," said Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow Class of 1954 head coach of Yale football. "Spencer played a great game for us and came up with plays that turned some of the momentum around for us."
 
Alston indeed stepped up in a big way for Yale with 116 rushing yards and two ground touchdowns on 16 carries, both season highs. The Reston Va., native also added two catches for 12 yards and a touchdown.
 
After a scoreless 10 minutes to start the game, Yale got on the board first as Alston went up and over the pile on third and goal for a 6-0 lead.
 
Columbia answered just 41 seconds later as running back Ryan Young got loose for a 60-yard score. Young added his second score of the game on a one-yard run five minutes into the second quarter and the Lions made it three-straight scores with a field goal on their next drive thanks to a Yale turnover.
 
The momentum began to swing when the Yale defense forced a punt with less than two minutes left in the half with Melvin Rouse II back to receive. Rouse weaved his way through the Lions and took it back for an 86-yard touchdown, the third-longest punt return in Yale history. Rouse also shares the record for longest kickoff return at Yale as he went 100 yards in 2018.
 
Columbia was able to connect on field goals at the end of the second and start of the third quarters, but Yale locked in from there.
 
Yale went full throttle as sophomore quarterback Nolan Grooms went deep on back-to-back plays to classmate Mason Tipton for 30-plus yard gains. Grooms then capped the five-play, 75-yard drive in just 1:26 as he found Alston for the score. Yale went for two to make it one-point game as Grooms connected with senior wideout Darrion Carrington for the conversion.
 
After a stop on defense, Grooms and Tipton went right back to work, connecting on a 43-yard bomb that highlighted a seven-play, 78-yard drive that took less than 140 seconds. Yale went ahead as Grooms found Carrington again, this time for a 10-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs went for two to go up seven as Tipton and Carrington switched roles on the drive with Grooms going to the former for the conversion.
 
Alston scored what proved to be a pivotal touchdown five minutes into the fourth quarter as Columbia scored one midway through the final period. Alston powered his way through the Lion defense and got loose for a 54-yard touchdown; a career long.
 
Columbia had one final chance to tie it up as their final drive got them to the Yale 36-yard line with under two minutes to play.
 
The Bulldog defense came through three times in a row as defensive linemen Adam Raine and Brett Gerber registered back-to-back sacks before cornerback Wande Owens sealed the game with a pass breakup on fourth down.
 
Owens had a game-high three pass broken up and led the Yale defense with nine tackles.
 
On offense, Grooms finished 20-of-29 for 279 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 40 yards on the ground. Tipton finished as the team's leading receiver with 112 yards on four catches.
 
The Bulldogs now hit the road for a two-game road trip starting with Brown next Saturday, November 6 at noon.