Bulldogs return to Yale Bowl after losing 34-20 at hands of Penn Quakers

The Yale Bowl will be a sight for sore eyes as Coach Tony Reno’s football squad returns home after four consecutive road contests, including last Friday’s 34-20 beating in Philadelphia at the hands of the Penn Quakers (3-3, 2-1 Ivy).

The Bulldogs (4-2, 1-2 Ivy), are in “must win” territory, if they expect to keep their slim hopes alive in pursuit of what appears to be a piece of the Ivy League football title.

Harvard and Dartmouth are 3-0 and sit at the top of the Ivy standings. The Big Green and Crimson will face each other this weekend at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, with the winner in control of their title destiny with three games left in the regular season.

Coach Al Bagnoli’s Columbia Lions visit to New Haven presents the Eli with a bounce back opportunity after a disappointing showing in the Penn loss.

Last Friday, at historic Franklin Field, Penn quarterback Alek Torgersen had a career-best in leading the Quakers to victory.

Torgersen, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week, threw for 350 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while the Quaker defense forced four turnovers that highlighted the win.

Penn senior linebacker Tyler Drake, was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, who led the Quaker defensive effort with a sack, interception and forced fumble.

Penn capitalized on Yale turnovers to score 20 points in the second quarter to take a 20-13 halftime lead.

Yale mounted a mild rally to close the score to 27-20 but the Quakers sealed the win with a 97-yard, clock-consuming touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

Yale amassed over 400 yards of total offense against Penn but the defense allowed 533 yards.

Yale returns to action Saturday afternoon when they host the Columbia Lions (1-5, 0-3). The 12:30 p.m. start at the Yale Bowl can be viewed on Fox College Sports TV (Atlantic) and can be heard on the Yale Football Radio Network (WELI Radio AM-960 in New Haven).

BULLDOG BITES

Yale quarterback Morgan Roberts passed for 318 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in the Penn loss.

In last year’s win over Columbia, Roberts was 21-42 for 267 yards.

In six games, Roberts has connected on 147 of 267 passes (55.1%) for 1,647 yards.

Eli senior wide receiver Robert Clemons III had 99 yards receiving and one touchdown (17-yards) against Penn.

Yale kicker, Bryan Holmes, leads the team in scoring with 33 points. Holmes has connected on 8-of-10 field goals, including a career-long 44-yarder against Lehigh.

Yale has a commanding 69-19-2 series record against Columbia.

The Bulldogs have won eleven of the last twelve meetings with the Lions, including last year’s 25-7 win at Baker Field.

The Yale defense will have their hands full defending the Lions senior running back, Cameron Molina. Molina has racked-up over 100 all-purpose yards in three of his last four games.

Harvard, (6-0, 3-0 Ivy), the overwhelming preseason pick to win the Ivy League title, remains in 15^th place in the latest FCS National Coaches Poll.

The Crimson, who currently own a 20-game winning streak heading into this weekend’s game with No. 22 Dartmouth, will face Yale in THE GAME on November 21 in New Haven.

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