behind the numbers

Football

Ivy League Standings

1. Harvard (3-0, 1-0 Ivy)
1. Penn (3-0, 1-0)
3. Princeton (1-2, 1-0)
4. Yale (2-1, 1-1)
5. Dartmouth (1-2, 1-1)
6. Brown (1-2, 0-1)
7. Columbia (0-3, 0-1)
8. Cornell (0-3, 0-1)

Since the Bulldogs lost Rashad Bartholomew, MC '01, to graduation, as well as Jay Schulze, SM '03, and Pat Bydume, MC '02, to injuries early in the season, some have raised doubts about the Bulldog rushing attack. However, the Elis have answered such concerns, dominating opponents on the ground and out-rushing their opponents by 129 yards:

Yale rushing yards

Opponent Yards Yards/Carry
Cornell 103 2.64
Holy Cross 45 1.96
Dartmouth 221 6.14

Despite a strong rushing offense, Yale relies on its prolific passing attack to subdue its opponents.Peter Lee, TD '02, leads the offense, averaging 280.7 passing yards per game and connecting for nine touchdown passes. He averages 46.3 passing attempts per game and has gone 155 games without an interception. Rather than having only one main passing target, Lee manages to spread his passes among all receivers and backs:

Yale's passing game

Opponent Attempts Comp.
Cornell 56 26
Holy Cross 45 29
Dartmouth 51 28

The defensive line has consistently held opposing teams under 100 yards. The Yale secondary also started off the season shutting down Cornell and keeping Holy Cross in check. But against Dartmouth, they allowed Greg Smith '02 to throw for 407 yards and five touchdowns, completing 70.3 percent of his passes:

Yale's pass defense

Opponent Passing Yards
Cornell 167
Holy Cross 241
Dartmouth 407

Next week against Fordham, the Yale secondary will have to step up their play to stop a strong passing team. Fordham enters the game with a 2-2 record and averages 275.8 passing yards per game

Fordham Stats
Completion percentage 66.2
Passing Yards 1103
Opp. pass yards 912
Rush Yards 574
Opp. rush yards 711

—Compiled by Kevin Tran

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