Football: Bulldogs look to score in key Ivy matchup

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Josh Philips, MC '01, tries to make up ground against the Quakers on Sat., Oct. 31.

Using a balanced attack, Pennsylvania jumped out to an early lead and entered the half leading by two touchdowns and a field goal. "We dug ourselves a hole," Yale Head Coach Jack Siedlecki said. "We had to play catch-up for the rest of the game."

Yale could never close the margin to fewer than 10 points, and only a touchdown in the final seconds made the final score respectable. Despite the loss, the Elis didn't play poor offense, amassing almost 300 total yards with no interceptions. But they were hindered by three fumbles, and quarterback Joe Walland, TD '00, was sacked a season-high five times.

In losing, Yale was bumped out of first place in the Ivies. To contend for the league championship, the Bulldogs must now win their last three games and hope Pennsylvania falters. To do this, Yale will need to figure out how to punch the ball into the endzone, which will be a difficult task against Cornell at home on Sat., Nov. 7.

"Cornell gives up a lot of yards but not a lot of points," Siedlecki said. "They bend but don't break." On Sat., Oct. 31, Brown posted almost 500 total yards to the Big Red's 88, but went into the final quarter leading by only five points before pulling out a 20-7 victory.

What Yale cannot afford to have happen is a repeat of the Dartmouth game on Sat., Oct. 17, when Yale more than doubled the Big Green's offensive output but still lost. If Yale can figure out how to score on the vunerable Cornell defense, they should have no problem containing a team that is, according to Siedlecki, "not real effective offensively." Which means that Yale students might consider buying some Wonder Bread.

--David Goldenberg

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