PENN at YALE
Sat., Oct. 21 – Noon
Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field
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Yale Game Notes | Game Day Central
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Team 150 continues its three-game home stretch this Saturday when Penn visits Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field. More importantly, it is the first of five straight Ivy League games to finish the season. Both the Bulldogs and Quakers have split their first two Ivy contests. Kickoff is slated for noon, and Justin Gallanty and Jack Siedlecki have the call on ESPN+.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
 
• Six teams currently sit at 1-1 and tied for second place in the Ivy League. Harvard (2-0) is the only unbeaten team and Columbia (0-2) is the only team searching for its first win.
 
• In their final non-conference game last Saturday at the Bowl, the Bulldogs rolled to a 31-3 victory over Sacred Heart. Mason Tipton scored two more touchdowns – one receiving and his first career rushing score – and the Yale defense held the Pioneers without a touchdown.
 
• Tipton's six receiving touchdowns lead the Ivy League and are the fourth most in the nation. He has caught at least one touchdown pass in all five games.
 
• Quarterback Nolan Grooms has thrown a league-leading 12 touchdown passes, which is 15th in the nation. In addition, he is seventh nationally in passing efficiency (166.4). Grooms, who also leads the team with 279 rushing yards, has thrown just two interceptions on the season.
 
• Grooms' three touchdown passes last Saturday give him 42 for his career, which is second all-time at Yale. He trails only Kurt Rawlings, who threw 60 TD passes from 2016 to 2019.
 
• For the third consecutive week, a Bulldog was honored by the Ivy League with a weekly award. Clay Patterson was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week after making a team-high nine tackles  against Sacred Heart. Seven of Patterson's stops were solo, and he also added a pass break up and was in on a sack. Patterson's 3.5 sacks on the season are third in the Ivy League, and his 21.5 career sacks are tied for third all-time at Yale. He has had at least half-a-sack in all but one game this season. Grooms was the Offensive Player of the Week following the Sept. 30 win over Morgan State, and defensive back Sean Guyton was the Defensive Player of the Week after the Oct. 7 victory at Dartmouth.
 
• Yale has won three straight games and is averaging 35.7 points during the streak, while allowing just 10.0 per game.
 
• The Bulldogs have committed just four turnovers on the season, which is the eighth fewest in the nation. Yale has forced nine turnovers, including eight in the last three games.
 
• Yale has scored two defensive touchdowns on the season – a 70-yard interception return by Guyton in the victory over Dartmouth and a 36-yard interception return for a score by Joseph Vaughn in the win over Morgan State.
 
• Vaughn, Guyton and Hamilton Moore have each picked off two passes this season.
 
SCOUTING PENN
 
The Quakers (4-1, 1-1 Ivy) are coming off a 20-17 win at Columbia last Saturday. Penn trailed 17-10 early in the fourth quarter, but Bisi Owen's 7-yard touchdown reception tied the score, and Graham Gotlieb's 23-yard field goal with 5:48 left provided the winning margin. The Quakers' first Ivy game was also decided by three points, this one a 23-20 overtime loss vs. Dartmouth. Penn quarterback Aidan Sayin is second in the nation in completion percentage (67.4) and completions per game (30.20). Defensively, the Quakers are fourth in the nation in total defense, yielding just 268.6 yards per game.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
Penn snapped a four-game losing streak to Yale with last year's 20-13 win at Franklin Field. Jonathan Mulatu's 1-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter was the winning score. The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings between the teams at the Bowl. Overall, Yale leads the series 51-36-1. The first game was played in 1879.