Yale Season Review

Since its heartbreaking loss to Brown to open the 1999 season, the Yale football team has been on a roll, winning eight games in a row to post its longest winning streak since 1981. After a dismal 1-9 record in Coach Jack Siedlicki's first season at Yale in 1997, the Bulldogs showed vast improvement last year in going 6-4 to finish tied for second in the Ivy League. Siedlicki now looks to take the next step, with his team at 8-1 and poised to take a share of the league title.

Brown 25, Yale 24

In a match-up of the two teams who would enter the final weekend tied for first in the Ivy, Yale appeared to have this game wrapped up, leading 24-10. But Yale quickly discovered that no lead would be safe with quarterback James Perry at Brown's helm. Perry led the Bears on consecutive scoring drives in the fourth quarter, cutting the Bulldog lead to 24-23.

It appeared that Brown would kick the routine extra point to send the game into overtime, but then Yale safety Ben Blake blocked the extra point, apparently sealing the victory for the Elis. The ball, however, bounced right into the hands of Brown's Mike Powell, who pitched it to Rob Scholl, who strolled in for the two points, giving Brown a 25-24 lead.

With 12 seconds left, Yale still managed to drive into position for a 47-yard field goal, but Mike Murawczyk's kick fell short.

Yale 48, Valparaiso 2

The Bulldogs really needed an easy victory to bounce back from the previous week's devastating loss, and Valparaiso was able to fill that need. Quarterback Joe Walland completed 16-of-23 passes for 281 yards and threw for four touchdown passes to lead Yale to victory. The Brown defense ended up outscoring the Valpo offense, as linebacker Peter Mazza scored on a 67-yard interception return.

Yale 17, San Diego 6

With Walland nursing a sore shoulder, quarterback T.J. Hyland struggled as his replacement, throwing three interceptions in the first quarter. The Yale defense almost single-handedly won the game for the Elis, by setting up Yale's first touchdown drive with a fumble recovery at the San Diego 19 and by completely shutting down the Torero offense. Blake, who blocked the ill-fated extra point in the Brown game, managed to block a field goal and a punt for the Elis.

Yale 34, Holy Cross 14

Yale's 20-point win over Holy Cross wasn't even that close, as the Eli took a 34-0 lead into halftime, and then coasted for the victory. Led by running back Rashad Bartholomew, who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, the Yale offense was unstoppable in the first half. Walland showed no ill effects of his shoulder injury, throwing for 139 yards before being relieved at halftime.

Yale 44, Dartmouth 3

Yale ended its nine-year losing streak against Dartmouth in dominant fashion, as the Bulldogs compiled 512 yards of total offense and held the Big Green to just 152 yards. Walland threw for 287 yards and rushed for another 49, receiver Eric Johnson caught nine passes for 117 yards, and Bartholomew rushed for 109 yards on 21 carries to lead the Bulldog offense.

Yale 41, Columbia 29

For the third game in a row, the Bulldogs managed to put away an opponent in the first half, as Yale took a 24-3 into halftime and a 41-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Columbia scored three touchdowns in garbage time to make the final score look close. Bartholomew rushed for two touchdowns and a season-high 131 yards on 27 carries to lead the Yale offense. The win put the Elis into a five-way tie for first in the Ivy League.

Yale 23, Penn 19

After playing five consecutive weeks against relatively weak competition, Yale faced a much more formidable opponent with the Quakers, who had won seven in a row against the Elis. The Bulldogs had difficulties scoring in the red zone, highlighted by a fumble on the Penn one-yard-line. With the Yale offense struggling and the defense unable to stop Penn running back Kris Ryan, the Quakers seemed to be in control with a 19-16 lead in the fourth quarter.

But then Yale scored the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter on the legs of its quarterback. With the ball on the Penn 47-yard-line, Walland fumbled a snap but managed to recover and gain 18 yards on the broken play. On the next play, with nothing but open field in front of him on a play-action pass, Walland kept the ball and rushed in from 29 yards out for the game-winning score.

Yale 37, Cornell 20

With both the Big Red and the Bulldogs locked in a four-way tie on top of the Ivy standings, this was a make-or-break game for both teams. Cornell took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, but Yale came back, scoring 30 unanswered points en route to the victory. Walland completed 24-of-33 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns to earn Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors and break the Yale career records for completions and passing attempts. Bartholomew rushed for a touchdown and 123 yards on 28 carries to lead the ground game. Blake had another big day defensively, downing a punt on the Cornell two-yard-line and intercepting Big Red quarterback Ricky Rahne.

Yale 23, Princeton 21

With Yale in a tie for first with Brown, and Princeton at the bottom of the Ivy standings, this game should have been easy for the Elis. With Walland rushing for 101 yards and passing for 163, the Bulldogs took a 23-9 lead in the fourth quarter. The victory seemed secure, but Princeton put together two late touchdown drives to cut the gap to 23-21.

The difference in the game turned out to be point-after conversions. Princeton kicker Taylor Northrop, who had already hit a game-tying 52-yard field goal at Harvard, was unable to kick either of his two extra-point attempts. That meant Princeton had to make a two-point conversion to tie the game after scoring its final touchdown. But Princeton's pass to the end zone was incomplete, securing the Yale victory and placing the Bulldogs one win away from their first Ivy title in ten years.

Harvard Season Review

This year's Harvard team looked to shake off the demons of last season's 4-6 campaign and bring back the glory of 1997's 9-1 Ivy League championship. With the team tied for first after week seven, the Crimson was in position to do just that. But then devastating losses to Brown and Princeton killed the team's Ivy title hopes, leaving Harvard at 5-4. Now the Crimson can only play the role of spoiler at New Haven.

Harvard 24, Columbia 7

With Columbia taking a 7-0 lead early and Harvard's first drive ending on an interception in the Lion end zone, it looked as if this game might be a repeat of last year's nightmarish 24-0 loss in New York City. But then linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski reversed Harvard's fortune when he picked off Columbia quarterback Mark Stoutenberg to set up the game-tying touchdown.