NEW YORK, N.Y. – Friday night football suited the Yale football team just fine. Quarterback
Nolan Grooms threw for a career-high 346 yards and four touchdowns as the Bulldogs cruised to a 41-16 victory over Columbia on a gorgeous late October evening at Lawrence Wein Stadium.
Yale led 24-16 at halftime and put the game away with a dominant second half, outscoring the Lions 17-0. All 17 points came in the fourth quarter.
Yale's defense didn't allow a first down in the third quarter.
"It really started at the end of the first half with the blocked punts," said
Tony Reno, the Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "We were able to swing the momentum of the game. Give Columbia credit, they have a great defense and it made for some tough sledding in the first half. Our guys did a great job of staying the course and making some plays in the second half."
Facing the nation's leading rushing defense, the Bulldogs went to the air and had success. Grooms completed 16 passes to eight different receivers.
Ryan Lindley caught six passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Chase Nenad, who was making his first appearance of the season after recovering from an injury, had three receptions for 117 yards, including a 19-yard TD reception.
Defensively, Yale limited Columbia to just 70 yards rushing. The Bulldogs had nine tackles for loss and two sacks – one each by
Sean Guyton and
Reid Nickerson.
Joseph Vaughn finished with a team-high six tackles, while
Kyle Ellis and
Hamilton Moore added five apiece.
The special teams also contributed, blocking two punts, one of which led to a touchdown.
Columbia struck first on a 27-yard field goal from Alex Felkins midway through the first quarter.
The Bulldogs answered with a big play. Grooms connected with Lindley on an 83-yard touchdown pass, which tied a Kurt Rawlings to JP Shohfi TD in 2017 for the fifth longest in school history.
The Lions regained the lead on a Joey Giorgi 13-yard TD run that started a frenzy of scoring in the second quarter.
Jack Bosman booted a 41-yard field goal to put Yale in front 10-9. Columbia's last lead of the night came when JJ Jenkins scored on a 64-yard touchdown reception.
The Bulldogs then scored the final 14 points before halftime. The first TD came on Nenad's 19-yard TD reception. A big special teams play set up the next score.
Ryan Belk broke through the line and blocked Cameron Burt's punt, Yale's second blocked punt of the night. One play later, Grooms found a wide-open
Jackson Hawes for a 14-yard touchdown and the Bulldogs had a 24-16 halftime lead.
It stayed that way until early in the fourth quarter when Lindley caught his second touchdown pass of the night, this one from 10 yards.
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Joshua Pitsenberger 1-yard TD run midway through the fourth increased the lead to 38-16, and Bosman's second field goal, this one from 32 yards, capped the scoring.
The Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1 Ivy) will enjoy the rest of the weekend, while beginning preparations for next Saturday's home game vs. Brown. Kickoff at Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field is slated for noon.
