Conversion problems

Brown beat Yale 20-0 last week, the first time the Bulldogs have been shutout since 2009.

At times Yale moved the ball well, but did not convert a single third down. The Bulldogs were 0-10 on third downs and 0-2 on fourth down conversions. They are just 41 percent on third downs and 39 percent on fourth downs on the season.

"You need to be able to convert on third down," Yale coach Tony Reno said. "It’s something we work on every week. We spend a lot of practice time on it. We put ourselves in way too many third and longs. Our focus is to get in third and short, third in mediums. It’s one of those things we’ve done really well at times.

BRIGHT SPOT

In what has been a dismal season for the Bulldogs, newcomer Tyler Varga has certainly been one of the few bright spots.

Varga leads the nation with 199.4 all-purpose yards per game. The sophomore also leads the Ivy League with 119 rushing yards per contest and is the only player in the league this season to rush for over 200 yards. Varga had 220 yards against Columbia, the sixth-highest total in Yale history.

A TOUGH TASK

Yale will have its hands full Saturday with Princeton’s NFL prospect DL Mike Catapano.

He leads the Ivy League with 10 sacks. He is 6-4, 270.

"A lot of good players take plays off," Reno said. "He doesn’t. He plays hard on every play. He doesn’t deviate form the scheme and that goes along with his ability."

Added Oppenheimer: "He’s a huge, strong kid. He plays so hard every play, snap to whistle. He’s so hard to block."

ALMOST

Kyle Cazzetta’s punt of 72 yards last week at Brown was three yards shy of Yale’s program record.