Eli Football Continues to Dominate

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With the Yale football team’s victory this past weekend against Dartmouth, Yale continued to prove why it is the team to beat in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 Ivy) set the tone for conference play by thrashing Cornell by a score of 51-12 in week two of the season. The Bulldogs then went on to dominate Dartmouth on Saturday, 50-10. With those victories, Yale became the first team in the history of the Ivy League to score 50 points or more in two games in a single season. The Bulldogs can attribute their success to an impressive defensive line, and to the offensive production of junior tailback Mike McLeod.

One dominant aspect of Yale’s defense is the pressure the entire team is able to exert on the opposing quarterback. This season, Yale has recorded 10 sacks for a total loss of 71 yards, and has been able to come up with at least one turnover in every game. This past weekend, the Bulldogs recovered three fumbles and intercepted one pass, giving the team a total of 11 forced turnovers this season.

The defense is causing problems not only for opposing quarterbacks, but also for opposing tailbacks. The Bulldogs have been able to get into the backfield 25 times, resulting in a net loss of 109 yards.

In addition, opponents have failed to find an answer to the duo of junior linebacker Bobby Abare and senior defensive lineman Jared Hamilton. Combined, these two have 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in only four contests. Abare and Hamilton have single-handedly set opponents back 70 yards.

On offense, Yale has been able to score at will against its opponents. The Bulldogs have outscored their opposition 46-0 in the first quarter alone. The Elis have been able to get production from a wide range of players, as demonstrated against Dartmouth where five different players rushed for touchdowns, but the majority of the team’s points have come from McLeod. In the first four games, he has a total of 751 rush yards and 13 rushing touchdowns and earlier this year he broke the school touchdown record.

McLeod has a chance to make his mark in the Ivy record books this season. The current record for rushing touchdowns in a season, 24, was set in 1971 by Cornell alum Ed Marinaro. If McLeod is able to keep up his current pace, he will surpass Marinaro’s achievement.

But McLeod is not the only offensive weapon that the Bulldogs brandish. To date, the Bulldogs have only turned the ball over three times, allowing them to put together long and effective drives that put them in scoring position.

This balance of aggressive defense and consistent offense is why Yale is the favorite for the Ivy League championship this year. The Bulldogs are currently ranked 17th according to the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll. However, with a matchup versus Lehigh and conference games remaining on their schedule, the Bulldogs may well go undefeated. They are poised to establish themselves not only as the best team in the league this year, but also as one of the best teams that the Ivy League has ever seen.