McLeod, Yale Survive Triple Overtime Against Penn

Yale Continues its Reign
Yale has steamrolled through its season so far, blowing out every team on its schedule. Behind bread-and-butter star Mike McLeod, Yale’s closest margin of victory in nonconference play was a 14-point win against Georgetown in the first game of the season. As far as league play is concerned, the Bulldogs have so far been able to top Cornell 51-12, and Dartmouth 50-10.

This past weekend at Penn, however, the Bulldogs faced their first real test of the season. In a nail-biting triple-overtime contest, the Bulldogs were just able to squeeze past Penn 26-20. The Quakers established a solid running game behind Joe Sandberg, who rushed for 119 yards—putting him past 2,000 yards for his career—but the game, in keeping with the theme of the season, came down to McLeod, who scored Yale’s final touchdown of the day. With 35 carries for the game, McLeod added 147 yards and another three touchdowns to his season tally, putting him at a total of 1,142 yards and 18 touchdowns for the year. It was the first time in 17 years that Yale had won on Penn’s Franklin Field. The Bulldogs advanced to a record of 6-0 (3-0 Ivy) and will play Columbia this coming Saturday.

With the momentum of their flawless record and McLeod playing at a level unprecedented in Ivy League history, the Bulldogs seem unstoppable. On paper, the only real test remaining is Harvard, the other unbeaten team in the Ivies.

Impressive Passing Performances
This past weekend saw several huge passing performances across the league. Harvard quarterback Chris Pizzotti was 23-of-35 passing for a career-high 365 yards and two touchdowns to put Harvard over Princeton 27-10. The win puts the Crimson at 3-0 in the Ivies, making them the only undefeated league team besides Yale.

In a close 38-31 overtime win against Brown, Cornell quarterback Nathan Ford had an impressive Saturday as well, going 34-of-54 for 292 yards and a score. And although Brown lost, the Bears’ quarterback Michael Dougherty threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann, coming off a career-best, 417-yard game against Penn, had another huge game, connecting for 343 yards and three touchdowns against Dartmouth. Unfortunately for Columbia, Hormann’s efforts were not enough, and the Lions fell in the final minutes to the Big Green 26-20. The loss leaves Columbia as the only winless team in the Ivies.

Weekly Awards
Cornell’s Randy Barbour stole the Offensive Player of the Week award away from Yale running back Mike McLeod with his career-high, 159-yard performance against Brown. Barbour scored three touchdowns on 32 carries, with his last run being the game-winning overtime score.

Senior Harvard cornerback Steven Williams stormed his way onto the national scene while earning Defensive Player of the Week honors against Princeton, intercepting two passes in the Crimson’s 27-10 win. Williams leads the nation in interceptions and passes defended with six and 16, respectively.

Despite ending a streak of nine consecutive made field goals in the first half, Yale senior kicker Alan Kimball connected on two field goals in the second overtime to keep the Bulldogs undefeated and was named Special Teams Player of the Week.

Columbia freshman Nico Gutierrez received Rookie of the Week honors for his five-catch, 132-yard performance against Dartmouth this weekend. Gutierrez recorded his first career touchdown on a 32-yard catch on fourth-and-11 in the second quarter and had two receptions over 30 yards.

The Game
Perhaps one of the most storied games in Ivy League, or college football history for that matter, is The Game, the annual football contest between Harvard and Yale. It remains today as the oldest college football rivalry in the country and the Ivy League’s most anticipated game. With the momentum of their pristine record and McLeod playing at a level unprecedented in Ivy League history, the Bulldogs seem unstoppable. Harvard still remains unbeaten in the Ivies, however, and with ace quarterback Chris Pizzotti paired with the consistent, solid ground attack of Cheng Ho, the Crimson’s balanced attack may give the Bulldogs a run for their money.

The reporter of this article can be reached at sports@columbiaspectator.com.