'New Yale' looks to build on last week's upset

Brown head football coach Phil Estes was shocked and angry. His team, a preseason favorite to challenge for the Ivy League title, had just lost its season opener. Worse, after grabbing the lead with less than a minute to go, the Bears had allowed their opposition to drive 79 yards and score a touchdown on the game's final play. Worse still, the other team was Yale. Yale--a team that finished 1-9 and winless in the Ivy League last season. Yale--a team that Brown embarrassed 52-14 just one year before. Yale--a team picked to finish dead last in the conference by virtually every preseason poll. How could Brown have lost? How could Brown have lost to Yale?

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Joe Walland, TD '00

In his postgame press conference, Estes offered two answers. "Turnovers killed us," he said. "You can't turn the ball over six times and expect to win." Furthermore, his team was "dealing with a `new' Yale," he said, sarcastically. "They can get transfers in and they got one in on Tuesday. He's a great back with great speed."

In fact, Rashad Bartholomew, SY '01, the speedy tailback to whom Estes was referring, transferred from Air Force over the summer. Than Merrill, BR'00, a former Stanford player who transferred to Yale last week, did not touch the ball against Brown.

"I think Estes is upset that we're trying," Yale head coach Jack Siedlecki said. "As a coaching staff, we have been working very hard to make Yale the best. The University administration has also been trying to help. We have done everything within the rules of the [Ivy] League and the NCAA. No one from Brown complained last year after they beat us badly."

Estes' frustration seems a result not of Yale's recruiting policies, but rather of the score: Yale 30, Brown 28. Transfers to Ivy League football are nothing new. The program from the Sat., Sept. 17 game celebrates the career of a Brown football legend, himself a community/college transfer.

The "new Yale" team Estes mentioned certainly exists, but its novelty is not due to any improper recruiting practices. Instead, this Yale team is so different from last year's squad because it has found a way to win. Yale now has an effective offense led by a quarterback who can hit receivers consistently. It has an offensive line that can create holes and a tailback fast enough to run through them. It has a defense that can contain big playmakers and force turnovers. It has confidence. It has an Ivy victory.

One key to the turnaround has been the play of Joe Walland, TD '00, the Bulldog signal-caller. In 1997, the quarterback corps was hampered by injuries, inexperience, and inconsistency. Three different signal-callers started games for the Bulldogs. This season, however, Yale has about as much quarterback controversy as the University of Kentucky. Though just 5'11", Walland has emerged as a potent offensive threat and an impressive team leader. His performance against Brown (27-38, 268 yards, two touchdowns), the most productive outing for an Eli passer since 1987, earned him Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors and the ECAC's Golden Helmet Award. His late drive and winning touchdown pass to Jake Borden, JE '00, should earn him a place in Yale football lore. For Walland, this year represents a welcome departure from last season's misery. "I think we're a different Yale football team," he said. "We're more confident in our offense. We know we can win and we want to prove it."

Yale's offense has also been boosted by the addition of Bartholomew, whose 4.49 speed in the 40 allows him to round corners and cut through holes better than any Bulldog back could a year ago. His 140 yards rushing against Brown were overshadowed only by Walland's heroics. "Rashad is a great back," Siedlecki said. "His running has opened up our passing game. We now have a balanced attack, and that's tough for teams to defend [against]."

Yale has certainly improved, but the team is still far from perfect. "We need to cut down on the penalties," Siedlecki noted. Yale was flagged 12 times for 108 yards and had two touchdowns called back because of holding violations. "We also need to improve our kicking game," he added. Poor kickoffs and punts consistently surrendered good field position, and Brown's Sean Morey '00 returned a kickoff of 90 yards for a touchdown.

Connecticut (2-0), ranked 15th nationally in Division I-AA, visits the Yale Bowl on Sat., Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. The game marks the 49th meeting of the two intrastate rivals. The Huskies have captured 13 of the last 15 contests. "It will be a tough game, but we expect to challenge them," Siedlecki said.

Nowadays, the Bulldogs expect to challenge every opponent. After all, this is a "new Yale." Just ask Phil Estes.

Photo of Joe Walland, TD '00, by Julia Tiernan.

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