Courtesy of David Schamis

The Yale football team (4–3, 2–2 Ivy) claimed a 35–7 victory over Columbia (2–5, 0–4 Ivy) last Saturday afternoon, leaving the team in a position to potentially vie for the Ivy League title. 

The Bulldogs added a tally to their win column in their matchup against the Lions, starting off the game strong and maintaining their momentum throughout the contest. Yale’s scoring remained unanswered until the final 11 seconds of the game, when Columbia scored its sole touchdown.

“I’m really happy with the progress that we made over the last week,” head coach Tony Reno said. “I think the team really made a decision that they wanted more, wanted … to be the best version of themselves. The guys did a great job all week and it was shown on Saturday.”

While Columbia started the game with possession, Yale forced a three-and-out and started on its offensive, on the Yale 30, within the first minute and two seconds. 

Just over five minutes into the first quarter, running back Joshua Pitsenberger ’26 made a one-yard run into the endzone to score the Elis’ first touchdown of the afternoon. Kicker/punter Jack Bosman ’24 added the extra point. 

“The emphasis last week was to forget about the other team,” linebacker Dean Shaffer ’25 said. “Let’s run our stuff really well. We’re going to simplify the menu, and we’re going to run our things really well and do it fast. I think it totally showed in Saturday’s performance.”

Less than two minutes into the second frame, Pitsenberger scored again on a three-yard run, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive and raising the score to 14–0. This marked Pitsenberger’s fourth rushing touchdown of the season, despite an injury he suffered earlier this season. 

With under two minutes remaining in the half, quarterback Nolan Grooms ’24 completed an 85-yard drive when he made a 23-yard pass to wide receiver Mason Tipton ’24 to tally another touchdown for Yale. Tipton completed the game with eight receptions for 114 yards.

“The thing that I’ve really hung my hat on with these guys is that they respond when I challenge them,” Reno said. “We’ve had some challenging times in the season as you do in every season, and every time they’ve had an opportunity to meet that challenge or exceed it, they’ve exceeded it.”

Over the course of the entire first half, Yale’s defense limited Columbia’s offense to a total of 56 yards.

While the third quarter remained scoreless, the Elis went on the offensive yet again in the fourth and final period. 

Only 34 seconds into the fourth frame, Grooms made a 13-yard run into the endzone on a 2-play, 52-yard drive. This was Grooms’ first rushing touchdown of the season, which contributed to his selection as Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 30. 

Yale closed out their scoring with under two minutes remaining in the contest, when running back Nathan Denney ’25 made a 14-yard run in a four-minute drive. 

“I think that we came out the aggressors on both sides of the ball,” offensive lineman Jonathan Mendoza ’24 said. “I think that at least last week, we showed that we could play a consistent game… Being able to pick each other up, play complementary football, and just be able to come out with a win.”

Despite their effort to answer back, the Lions were unable to catch the Bulldogs. With 11 seconds remaining in the game, quarterback Joe Green made a 17-yard pass to tight end Jack Larsen, denying Yale a shut-out.

Finishing the game with a 28-point lead, however, did not affect the Elis, who secured their second Ivy League win seconds later. 

Grooms finished the game completing 26-of-32 passes for 234 yards and had one touchdown. He also carried the ball 14 times for 89 yards.  

“They did a great job of executing the game plan and played really fast,” Reno said. “I think we were in rhythm… we’ve had some games where we’ve finished well, maybe not started great. We’ve had some games [where] we started great [and] didn’t finish well. On Saturday, we were able to put it all together.” 

Tipton leads the Ivy League with seven receiving touchdowns this season. Wide receiver David Pantelis ’25, who made his return from an injury, had three catches for 20 yards. 

Yale’s defense limited Columbia to 194 yards of total offense. Defensive lineman Dylan Yang ’26 finished the game with two sacks and three solo tackles, and linebackers Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye ’25 and Hamilton Moore ’24 both tallied five tackles. 

Defensive lineman Clay Patterson ’24 also tallied a sack and now leads the team with 4.5 sacks this season. Patterson has also reached the high mark of 22 career sacks, which ranks third in Yale history. 

“We talk about it a lot. If you do everything the right way, someone at the end of the season hands you a trophy,” Shaffer said. “Our emphasis this week is let’s focus on what we can do and just do it better. Nothing more, just better.”

As the Elis have now won four of their past five games, several players told the News they are excited to go on the road for their next two Ivy contests and secure a few more wins. 

Everything is still up in the air in the Ivy League. Princeton (4–3, 3–1 Ivy) and Harvard (6–1, 3–1 Ivy) currently lead the league, and Cornell (3–4, 2–2 Ivy), Dartmouth (4–3, 2–2 Ivy), the University of Pennsylvania (5–2, 2–2 Ivy), Brown (4–3, 2–2 Ivy) and Yale are all tied, trailing Princeton and Harvard by one conference win. 

If the Bulldogs win their next three games, they are guaranteed at least a share of the Ivy League Championship title. 

“I’m just excited for us to have another challenge this week and for us to be able to continue to grow,” Reno said. 

The Bulldogs will travel to face Brown this Saturday in their next conference contest. The game will kickoff at noon at Richard Gouse Field in Providence, Rhode Island and will be streamed on ESPN+ and NESN.