HANOVER, N.H. – Yale didn't have a lot of success on third down for the first three quarters Saturday against Dartmouth. But when it mattered the most, the Bulldogs came through. On a 3rd-and-4 play midway through the fourth, quarterback Nolan Grooms and receiver Ryan Lindley connected on a 69-yard touchdown pass that snapped a 24-24 tie and lifted Yale to a thrilling 31-24 victory over the Big Green on a dreary day at Memorial Field.
 
The win was the second straight for Team 150, which is now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Ivy League play. Dartmouth is also 2-2 and 1-1 in the league.
 
BIG PLAYS THE DIFFERENCE
 
The Bulldogs made a number of big plays on both sides of the ball to earn the victory. The first came late in the first quarter when Sean Guyton intercepted a Nick Howard pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown which tied the score at 7-7. Yale's second touchdown of the day came immediately after another long pass, this one a 30-yard Mason Tipton reception. On the next play, Joshua Pitsenberger scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 17-14 halftime lead. Two more big plays from the defense following Lindley's long fourth-quarter touchdown sealed the win – interceptions by Hamilton Moore and Guyton's second INT of the afternoon.
 
KEY STAT
 
The Bulldogs forced four turnovers on the day – three interceptions and a fumble recovery when the ball bounced off a Dartmouth player's shoulder on a Yale punt.
 
QUOTING RENO
 
"It was an incredibly hard-fought game between two really good teams," said Tony Reno, The Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Dartmouth is very good in all three phases. It was a typical Ivy League football game. We knew we'd have to be ready to win on the last few plays of the game. I'm really proud of my team. We know how hard it is to win here."
 
"Last week we opened up the passing game, and we felt we needed to do that to be the best versions of ourselves. We are really confident in our receivers and Nolan as well to be able to make the right decisions."
 
NOTES
 
• The victory was Yale's first at Dartmouth since 2010. The Bulldogs had lost their last five games at Memorial Field.
 
• Grooms finished 15-of-22 for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

• Lindley caught seven passes for a career-high 128 yards. Seventy-one of those yards came after the catch.
 
• Tipton caught a 4-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, his team-leading fifth TD reception of the season.
 
• Guyton's 70-yard interception return for a touchdown was the 10th longest in school history and the longest since Adam Money had a 77-yard return against Brown in 2009. It was the second two-interception game of Guyton's career. He also had two picks at Brown in 2021. Guyton had missed the first three games of this season with an injury.
 
• Pitsenberger returned to the lineup after missing the last two games due to injury, carrying nine times, including the 4-yard TD run.
 
• Dylan Yang had a big sack on Dartmouth's possession following Lindley's tie-breaking touchdown. It forced the Big Green into a 2nd and 19. Two plays later, Moore intercepted a pass to end the drive.
 
• Moore had an interception for the second straight game.

• Joseph Vaughn finished with a team-high 15 tackles.
 
• The Bulldogs were just 2-of-10 on third down conversions.
 
UP NEXT
 
It's right back to Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field for the Bulldogs, who host Sacred Heart in the final non-league game of the season next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for noon. It's the first of three straight home games for Yale, who won't be back on the road until Nov. 4 at Brown.