Tuesday's news and notes

Yale was down quite a few playmakers in Saturday’s 28-17 loss to Penn and it showed.

QB Henry Furman, RB Tyler Varga, WR Chris Smith all missed Saturday’s game, along with LB Andrew Larkin.

Tony Reno continues to list all as “day-to-day” and is unsure who, if any, will play against Columbia this weekend. He added, none of the injuries are season ending.

“We’ll find out much more at the end of the week,” Reno said. “We have to wait and see, see what they can do in practice.”

UPDATE: Varga (foot) did not practice. Smith did some light running on the sideline. Furman and Larkin practiced.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

Yale had three turnovers over its first three games, which were all wins. Over the last three, which were all losses, the Bulldogs have had 11.

Coincidence? Probably not.

Of the 14, nine have been on fumbles.

“Turnovers have been killing us,” Reno said. “They keep you from achieving your potential and we’re a team that has doesn’t have much of a margin for error. That’s the difference in a win or a loss.”

As for the fumbling issues, specifically?

“It’s a matter of ball security and making sure your pads are down when you’re going through areas where you’re going to get hit with a helmet to the ball or a shoulder to the ball. It’s just a rash of turnovers we need to stop.”

UNDER CENTER

Clemson-transfer Morgan Roberts got his first start at QB against Penn. He struggled early on, but Reno said he got better as the game went on. Reno added there were no thoughts of benching Roberts for sophomore Eric Williams at any point.

Roberts finished 20 of 34 for 193 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

“Morgan had a great week of practice and we felt if we stayed with him, he’d come around and he did,” Reno said. “Eric has done a nice job, too. At that point, depth-chart wise, it was Morgan’s game to play. It’s a learning experience, a growing opportunity for him.“

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bulldogs will look to snap their three-game losing streak at home on Saturday against Columbia (0-6). The Lions have a very aggressive defense and one of the best front sevens Yale will see this season. They are big and stout up front, and can take away the run. Like Yale, Columbia has a young defense.

Offensively, the Lions are averaging a dismal 7.5 ppg. They do have a talented RB in Marcorus Garrett, which is one of the few bright spots for Columbia’s offense. He’s averaging 5 ypc. The Lions have played three QBs this season. Columbia had high hopes for Stanford-transfer QB Brett Nottingham, but he went down with a season-ending injury in Columbia’s opener.

LAST SEASON
Depleted at QB, Yale turned to Varga and the wildcat against Columbia last season. He rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns, but fumbled with a three-point lead with just over 2 minutes left. Columbia went on to win 26-22. Yale leads the series 68-19-2.

MULTI-TALENTED
Spenver Rymiszewski has showed promise as a starting DB for the Bulldogs.

He’s a pretty good piano player, too.

Rymiszewski is a winner of the prestigious National Fraternity of Student Musicians Piano Auditions. He’s been playing since kindergarten, though he stopped through his senior year of high school to concentrate on football. He hopes to start again.

Furthermore, his father Phil played football at Army for two seasons before an off-the-field injury ended his career. Yale will host Army next season.

“It’s going to pretty exciting,” he said. “He will still root for me, but I know deep down he’ll be cheering for Army.”