The Columbia Lions have won just once in their last 27 games, which is a sad tale in itself. That won’t stop the Lions, however, from dreaming of taking down perennial Ivy League contender in the form of the Yale Bulldogs this coming Saturday. Will the Lions pull off an upset at the expense of Yale? Or will the Bulldogs bounce back from a loss and pulverize Columbia?
Read on for a breakdown of this matchup. You can also click here for a breakdown of the matchup between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Columbia Lions vs. Yale Bulldogs Preview
Where: Yale Bowl, New Haven
When: Saturday, October 31, 12:30 PM ET
Line: Columbia Lions vs. Yale Bulldogs – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Columbia Lions (1-5)
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Columbia’s losing ways continued last Saturday, as the Lions lost 13-9 to FCS-ranked Dartmouth on the road. It’s not about to get easy for Columbia as it faces next Yale, which is among the top contenders for the best record in the Ivy League.
Columbia’s anemic offense reared its ugly head anew in the Dartmouth game, as the Lions were only able to move the chains for 167 total yards. That’s way fewer than the Lions’ season average of 270.5 total yards per game—already the worst in the Ivy League. Quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg passed for 106 yards and a touchdown plus one interception on 19 of 31 attempts against the Big Green, while Cameron Molina led Columbia’s ground attack with 56 rushing yards. Those unspectacular numbers, however, were largely because of Dartmouth’s highly rated defense.
Mornhinweg and Molina may find it easier to operate in the next game, as Yale presents a looser defense that allows 24.2 points per game—much appealing for Columbia than Dartmouth’s stop unit that gives up only 9.3 points each contest.
Mornhinweg has 826 passing yards and two touchdowns on the season, while Molina has 343 rushing yards and three scores. Molina rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries in Columbia’s 25-7 loss to Yale last season.
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Betting on the Yale Bulldogs (4-2)
Bad defense and inability to execute on offense both doomed Yale in its last game, as the Bulldogs absorbed a 34-20 defeat at the hands of the Penn Quakers on Saturday.
Quarterback Morgan Roberts had huge a 318 passing-yard outing (his highest of the season) but was only able to pass for a touchdown, while throwing three interceptions on 25 of 46 throws against the Quakers. The backfield, meanwhile, produced 101 yards for Yale with Austin Reuland leading the team with 61 yards and a touchdown.
Yale’s top rusher Deshawn Salter, on the other hand, only had 35 rushing yards on nine carries. It was a disappointing performance from Salter, who is second in the conference with 503 rushing yards to go along with four touchdowns. In the previous game, Salter went off for 139 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns in Yale’s 21-10 over Maine on October 17. Salter needs to pump out another effort like that to ease some load off Roberts when they go up against Columbia.
Columbia’s defense that was last seen on the field being embarrassed by the Quakers should find it easier to contain Columbia’s lowly regarded offense that scores just 14.5 per game. The Lions allowed Penn to pass for 350 yards and rush for 183 more last Saturday.
Writer’s Prediction
Yale wins, 28-14.
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