Sept. 17, 2005
Final Stats
(San Diego, Calif.) - The USD football team (3-0) made program history today with their come-from-behind 17-14 win over the visiting Yale Bulldogs (0-1) of the Ivy League. It marked the first time a USD team had bested an Ivy League opponent in six tries, and USD also becomes the first PFL team to defeat an Ivy League program. Arguably the program's biggest victory ever, the Toreros needed to overcome a 14-0 deficit to accomplish this feat. The entire Torero squad fought for 60 minutes and were the better team in the 2nd half when it counted. USD looks for its 4th straight win, and 9th straight dating back to last season, next week when they travel to New Jersey to take on the Princeton Tigers on September 24th.
"This (a win over an Ivy opponent) has never been done before, so it is history," stated a happy Jim Harbaugh following the win. "Nobody in the PFL has done it and our guys wanted to be the first to do it. They believed they could and they played with a lot of passion for 60 minutes. That was a great college football game!"
In the first quarter both teams battled to a 0-0 tie with Yale driving late in the quarter. The Yale Bulldogs completed their scoring drive just 1:45 into the 2nd quarter when QB Jeff Mroz connected with TE Dave Miller for a 2-yard score that culminated a 13-play, 77 yard drive with 13:15 left in the half. On the ensuing drive, USD went 3-and-out as QB Josh Johnson fumbled on a 1-10 from the San Diego 38. Yale's Lee Driftmier recovered on the SD 39, and the Bulldogs marched to the SD 6 where kicker Alan Kimble missed wide left from 23-yards out.
Yale added a 9-yard TD run by RB Mike McLeod with just 0:32 seconds left to push their lead to 14-0. On the ensuing kickoff, USD's Jon Matthews returned it 61 yards to the Yale 37 with :21 ticks left. QB Josh Johnson connected with WR Wes Doyle on consecutive passes of 14 and 11 yards, before he misfired with :07 seconds left. Sophomore kicker Hutch Parker gave the Toreros a boost heading into halftime with his 29-yard field goal for the 14-3 score.
In the second half, USD kept plugging away offensively, and the defense came up huge by not allowing the Bulldogs to score a single point. The Toreros took the opening kickoff to the 2nd half and marched down the field in 14 plays with Parker nailing his second field goal, this time from 34 yards at the 9:28 mark. He closed out the 3rd period with a 39-yarder with 00:31 seconds left to pull the Toreros to within 14-9 heading into the final period.
A key defensive play came with 9:23 to go when senior captain and defensive back Philip Bretsch intercepted Mroz at the Yale 39 and returned it 20 yards to the Yale 19.
"We were in man coverage and I saw the quarterback throw," said Bretsch. "Tyler Evans tipped it and I was right there to pick it off. We were all just flying to the ball." An excited Bretsch added, "Our coaches said to go out and make history, and we did!"
On USD's drive, Josh Johnson connected with JT Rogan on the first play for 13 yards to the six yard line. Yale was called for pass interference and a personal foul on different plays, putting the ball on the 2-yard line. After Johnson rushed for no gain, he connected with JT Rogan for a 2-yard score with 6:37 to go, then added the important 2-point pass conversion to WR Nick Garton. It was USD's 17th straight unanswered points against the Bulldogs. The Torero defense turned away Yale on its next two possessions, then ran out the final 1:50 of the game to seal the victory.
The evenly contested game saw both clubs finish with 311 yards of offense. USD's Johnson completed 22-of-34 passes for 198 yards and 1 touchdown. Running back JT Rogan finished with a team-best 63 yards, running behind USD's offensive line led by senior guard Josh Sanders. The freshman back also led all receivers with 7 catches for 47 yards and 1 score. Hutch Parker came up huge with 3 important field goals from 29, 34 and 39 yards - his only miss came from 34 in the 4th period. Senior WR Adam Hannula hauled in 5 passes for 44 yards to become USD's all-time career leader in receptions with 191 (passed Dylan Ching, 189; 1996-99).
Defensively the Toreros got a game-high 14 tackles (5 solo) from junior linebacker Kyson Hawkins, followed by fellow backer Tyler Evans (11 stops, 1 forced fumble, and 1 tipped pass that Philip Bretsch intercepted). Ronnie Pentz chipped in with 9 stops, 1 forced fumble and 1 QB sack, while Bretsch added 8 tackles.
Yale was paced by QB Jeff Mroz (18-32, 181 yards and 1 TD), freshman RB Mike McLeod (102 yards rushing), LB Lee Driftmeier (12 tackles, 1 forced fumble) and DB Mike Holben (11 points).
