Rhode Island's Deep Passes Bury Yale Despite 286 Rushing Yards
Yale ran for 286 yards, finished with 391 total, and lost by 18. Rhode Island had 395 total yards, but 285 of them came through the air on 16 pass attempts, and four of the completions went for touchdowns. The Rams won 41-23 and were never behind or tied, from 7-0 on to the final whistle.
Alex McClelland hit Jamall Mensah for 58 yards at 12:55 of the first quarter and Marquis Buchanan for 79 yards before the quarter was half over, and it was 14-0. Josh Hamel kicked a 48-yard field goal and it was 17-0. Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni got Yale on the board with a 36-yard run late in the second, and Ty Groff's 19-yard field goal made it 20-7 at the half. Noah Piper's 33-yarder got Yale within 20-10, but McClelland found Buchanan again from 37 yards to make it 27-10 entering the fourth. Dante Reno hit Graham Smith from 8 yards, Sean Byrd caught a 35-yarder from McClelland, and Reno found Jaxton Santiago from 4 yards (the extra point was blocked) to make it 34-23. Gabe Winowich ran in from 9 yards with 3:19 left for the last score.
Kemeni carried 36 times for 243 yards, but Yale managed only 105 passing yards and threw an interception to Rhode Island's none. Each team sacked the other quarterback once. Yale won the ground game by 176 yards and still lost by 18, which is a fun one to explain to anyone who says you cannot win without running the ball.
Rhode Island moves to 3-2 and so does Yale. For fantasy, McClelland scored 44.6 and Buchanan 38.3, and Kemeni's 32.6 was the best a losing player could do.