Box Score Oct. 16, 2010
Final Stats |
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New Haven, Conn. -
If you're a fan of offensive football New Haven wasn't the place for you today. Fordham and Yale went up and down the field but between the two of them could only manage one touchdown and two field goals. Unfortunately for the Rams, it was the Bulldogs who scored the touchdown as Yale upended Fordham, 7-6, at the Yale Bowl.
With the loss, the Rams fall to 2-5 on the year while Yale improves to 4-1.
The game was the fourth straight loss for the Rams by six points or less and the first one-point loss since a 21-20 loss at Bucknell in 2004.
Yale led 7-6 after a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and the Rams took the ensuing kickoff and marched down inside the Yale ten, picking up a first and goal at the Bulldogs' eight. The big play of the drive was a 25-yard completion from Blake Wayne to Jason Caldwell on third and eleven from the Yale 33 which placed the ball on the eight.
On the next play, Carlton Koonce lost a yard on a rush and then Wayne hit Patrick Miller on the right sideline to put the ball down on the Yale three. Wayne tried to take it in him himself on third down but was stopped at the Yale one. Facing fourth and goal, Fordham elected to take a five-yard penalty to give place kicker Patrick Murray, who hit two field goals earlier in the game, a better angle at a field goal attempt. Following the penalty, Murray lined up for a 23-yard attempt but his kick was low and it was blocked at the line by Yale's Chris Dooley.
The Bulldogs responded by moving the ball from their own 20 to the Fordham 23 where the drive stalled and Philippe Panico attempted a 41-yard field goal which was wide right, his third missed field goal of the afternoon.
Fordham had one more chance to get the game-winner, taking over on its own 24 following the missed field goal with 4:45 left. After the first three plays netted seven yards the Rams faced fourth and three from the 31 when Wayne hit Nick Talbert on the sideline for a seven-yard gain and a first down. Two incomplete passes and a one-yard completion to Stephen Skelton had the Rams facing another fourth down but Wayne found Skelton with a 16-yard completion to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Wayne threw the ball just behind Skelton and as he reached back to grab the ball Yale's Adam Money was able to get his hands on it for the interception.
Fordham's final chance for a game-winning score came with 45 seconds left but the Rams couldn't move the ball past their own 28 as time expired.
The Rams led at the half, 3-0, the lowest scoring half for the Rams since they also led Richmond, 3-0, at the half in 1995 in a game played in monsoon-type conditions.
Yale threatened on their first possession of the second half, taking over on the Rams' 35 following a long punt return. The Bulldogs moved the ball down to the Fordham 18 where they lined up for a 35-yard field goal attempt. But Yale attempted a fake with Duz Duron taking the ball around the right side but he was tackled by Michael Hickman at the 14, six yards short of the first down.
After Fordham went three and out, Yale got the ball at midfield and advanced to the Fordham 36 but on third down, two Rams put pressure on Bulldog quarterback Brook Hart and Hart tried to loop a pass over the head of Fordham lineman Justin Yancey. Yancey was able to tap the ball in the air and catch it, returning the interception to the Yale 46.
Wayne then completed two straight passes to Skelton to pick up 17 yards and he rushed twice for 12 yards to move the ball down to the Yale 17. A four-yard gain from Xavier Martin placed the ball on the 13 but the Rams couldn't get any closer and settled on a 38-yard Murray field goal and a 6-0 lead with 2:49 left in the third.
The Bulldogs answered with a six-play, 74-yard drive with Hart finding Jordan Forney alone on the Fordham ten and Forney taking it to the left pylon for the touchdown to put Yale up 7-6 nine seconds in to the fourth quarter.
Neither team was able to mount much offense in the first half, combining for just over 200 yards. The Rams picked up the only score of the half on their second possession, taking over on their own 29 following a punt. On the first play from scrimmage, Wayne connected with Nick Talbert for a 22-yard gain and then picked up eleven more with a toss to Jason Caldwell. Three plays later Fordham faced a third and seven but Wayne was able to run through the Yale defense and move the chains, giving the Rams a first down on the Yale 26. But a holding penalty backed the Rams up ten yards and the drive stalled on the Yale 27 where Murray booted a 45-yard field goal, his third field goal of more than 40 yards this year.
Just before the half the Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game as they took over on the Fordham 23 following a Ram fumble which was recovered by Yale with an extra 15 yards tacked on for a personal foul call on Fordham. Two passes into the end zone fell incomplete and on third down Nick Womack sacked Hart back to the Fordham 31. Panico attempted a 48-yard field goal for the Bulldogs but the kick was short.
Wayne completed 25 of 42 passes for 219 yards with Talbert catching six for 79 yards, Skelton six for 54 yards and Caldwell four for 45 yards. Wayne also gained 54 net rushing yards on 15 carries (two of the carries were sacks)
Defensively, Jamal Haruna led all Fordham tacklers with nine stops, eight solo, including two for loss while Isa Abdul-Quddus added eight tackles, seven solo, and he broke up a pass.
The Rams will return to Jack Coffey Field next Saturday, October 23rd, to host the Lafayette College Leopards in a match-up of Patriot League schools at 1:00 p.m.
Notes
Yale now leads the all-time series, 5-1... The game was the first loss for the Rams when allowing seven points or less since Fordham fell to Columbia, 7-0, in 1993... The six points scored by the Rams is their lowest total in a game since Fordham was held to three points in a 13-3 loss at Bucknell in 2006... Jordan Bledsoe, who suffered a season-ending injury against Assumption on September 25th, was on the Fordham sideline, his first appearance since the injury... Caldwell's four receptions for 44 yards brought his career totals to 165 receptions for 2,366 yards... He moves into second place on the Fordham all-time receptions list, passing Tom Garlick who had 164 catches from 1989-92... Caldwell is also second on the on the career receiving yards list... The Rams entered the game ranked fourth in the NCAA FCS in fewest penalties per game (4.00) but where whistled for eight infractions today... The two schools are amongst the winningest NCAA programs with Yale now record 861 all-time wins, second only to Michigan's 882, while the Rams have 745 all-time victories.
