Volume LXVVIII, No.10
November 18, 2017
YALE FOOTBALL NEWS Published by the Yale Football Association by Chip Malafronte
Bulldogs Capture Ivy Title Outright - First in 37 Years Yale hadn’t owned the sole claim to the Ivy League title since 1980. Yale hadn’t defeated Harvard in the Yale Bowl since 1999. Yale hadn’t hoisted a championship trophy of any kind since 2006. On a crisp, cloudy afternoon last Saturday, the Bulldogs put an end to all three of those droughts by writing a new chapter in the 145year history book that is Yale football. Behind a suffocating defensive effort and a 17-point outburst late in the first half, Yale defeated Harvard 24-3 before a crowd of 51,426 at the Bowl to claim the outright Ivy League title for the first time since the final days of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Yale (9-1, 6-1) had clinched at least a share of its 15th league title the previous Saturday at Princeton. This win was the icing on the cake, cementing Team 145 as one of the best to ever don Yale blue. Only a one-point loss at Dartmouth on Oct. 7 stood in the way of the first perfect season since 1960. “This is more than just a win for Yale,” said Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football Tony Reno. “It was a complete culture change and people showed how football should be played. It’s much more than football and for that I’m really proud of these guys. It completed a furious one-year turnaround from a 3-7 season in 2016; a frustrating campaign in which the Bulldogs were ravaged by injury. On Saturday, a comeback that began with a shocking win at Harvard the previous November came full circle. At some point over the summer, this restoration to glory even earned its own name. The Ivy League Takeover, or, ITO for short. “ Coach had this vision and we all bought into
the Ivy League Takeover,”Senior captain Spencer Rymiszewski said. “We knew it wouldn’t come easy and we put in the work all offseason and this was the ultimate goal. Every day we knew that we had the pieces in place to take this league over.” Rymiszewski and the defense, as they’ve done most of the season, dominated Saturday. Harvard managed only 164 yards of offense, was sacked six times, intercepted twice, forced and recovered two fumbles, with one returned for a touchdown. A first-quarter field goal on the opening drive is all the Crimson could hang its hat upon. Yale’s defense simply wouldn’t budge. Among the heroes of the day was Malcolm Dixon, who returned one of two second-quarter fumbles for a 19-yard touchdown. Matt Oplinger had two sacks, finishing the season with 11.5, second-most in Yale history. Foye Oluokun had nine tackles, a third of which went for losses. Hayden Carlson had an interception and two pass breakups. Deonte Henson intercepted a pass; J. Hunter Roman recovered a fumble. Kyle Mullen two tackles for losses. Rymiszewski a pass breakup. It was a complete defensive effort in every sense. On the other side of the ball, Yale didn’t necessarily have its way with an inspired Crimson defense, but managed two touchdown drives and a field goal to salt away whatever was left of Harvard’s spirit. “Bottom line is Yale has a tremendous team,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “They are by far the best team in the league — they have no weaknesses — and they deserved to win the Ivy League title.” Yale didn’t get on the scoreboard until there was fewer than 7 minutes remaining in the half. Quarterback Kurt Rawlings connected
with J.P. Shohfi for a 9-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead. On Harvard’s next possession, a bad pitch rolled directly to Dixon, Yale’s sophomore cornerback, who scooped up the ball and sprinted down the right sideline to make the score 14-3. “I saw the quarterback. I saw the pitch. Saw him slip. Saw the end zone. Saw the ball,” Dixon said. “That was it.” Alex Galland’s 25-yard field goal came as time expired in the first half, giving Yale a 17-3 advantage. Zane Dudek, Yale’s phenomenal freshman running back, had the lone scoring play of the second half, a 2-yard touchdown run that secured him a program record for freshman with 15 rushing touchdowns and 16 overall. A massive celebration of fans and players punctuated the postgame scene on the field. “This was truly a Yale win,” Rymiszewski said. “This was for everyone, not just for this team. We all made sacrifices to get to this point.”
“ It’s much more than football and for that I’m really proud of these guys.” Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach of Football