1975 Yale Bulldogs football team

1975 Yale Bulldogs football
Conference	Ivy League
Record	7–2 (5–2 Ivy)
Head coach	Carmen Cozza (11th season)
MVP	John Smoot
Captain	John Smoot
Home stadium	Yale Bowl
Seasons ←  1974 1976  →

1975 Ivy League football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Harvard $	6	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Brown	5	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Yale	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Dartmouth	4	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Princeton	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Penn	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Columbia	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Cornell	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1975 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The Bulldogs were led by 11th-year head coach Carmen Cozza, played their home games at the Yale Bowl and finished in third place in the Ivy League with a 5–2 record, 7–2 overall. ^{[1] [2]}

On November 22, 1975, Harvard and Yale entered "The Game" tied for first place with identical 5–1 records. The game was played at the Yale Bowl in front of 66,846 spectators. Yale took a 7–0 lead on a five-yard option run by quarterback Stone Phillips (later known for his work as a television news reporter). Harvard rallied with 10 points in the second half to win the game and become the 1975 Ivy League champion. ^[3]

The team's statistical leaders included Stone Phillips with 969 passing yards, halfback Don Gesicki with 873 rushing yards and 42 points scored, and split end Gary Fencik (who later played 12 years in the NFL) with 729 receiving yards. ^{[4] [5]}

Linebacker John Smoot was the team captain and also received the Ted Blair Award as the team's most valuable player. ^[6] Eight Yale players received first-team All-Ivy honors: Fencik, Gesicki, Smoot, defensive end Scott Keller, offensive tackle Charlie Palmer, offensive guard Victor Staffieri, punter Mike Southworth, and MB John Cahill. ^[7]

One Yale player was selected in the 1976 NFL draft: Gary Fencik by the Miami Dolphins in the 10th round, 281st overall pick. ^[8]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	Connecticut *	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 35–14	18,900	[9]
October 4	Colgate *	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 24–10	13,758	[10]
October 11	at Brown	Brown Stadium Providence, RI	L 12–27	14,532	[11]
October 18	at Columbia	Baker Field New York, NY	W 34–7	3,900	[12]
October 25	Cornell	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 20–14	13,988	[13]
November 1	Dartmouth	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 16–14	30,000	[14]
November 8	Penn	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 24–14	18,740	[15]
November 15	at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ (rivalry)	W 24–13	25,000	[16]
November 22	Harvard	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT (The Game)	L 7–10	66,846	[17]
*Non-conference game

Roster

1975 Yale Bulldogs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 25 Glenn Baker Jr WR 85 Al Barker Sr FB 43 Keith Bassi So WR 22 Gary Fencik Sr RB 44 Ed Lewis Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 13 Jeff Knapp So LB 52 Jeff Waller Jr LB 37 Charlie Zupsic Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Carmen Cozza Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1975 Yale Bulldogs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
2. "Yale Football 2009" (PDF). Yale University. 2009. p. 111.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. Phil Hersh (November 23, 1975). "Harvard squeezes past Yale, 10-7, for Ivy title". The Baltimore Sun. pp. B1, B13 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Yale Football 2009, pp. 100-101.
5. "1975 Yale Bulldogs Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
6. Yale Football 2009, pp. 84, 111.
7. Yale Football 2009, p. 80
8. Yale Football 2009, p. 86.
9. Wallace, William N. (September 28, 1975). "Yale Wins; Connecticut Routed by Elis, 35-14". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
10. Harvin, Al (October 5, 1975). "Yale Tops Colgate; Turnovers Help Elis Win, 24-10". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S6.
11. Wallace, William N. (October 12, 1975). "Unbeaten Brown Downs Yale; Bruins Register 27-12 Victory". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
12. Harvin, Al (October 19, 1975). "Yale Overwhelms Columbia by 34-7". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
13. Rogers, Thomas (October 26, 1975). "Yale Tops Cornell; Eli 20-14 Victor on Late Score". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S8.
14. Wallace, William N. (November 2, 1975). "Yale Rally Tops Dartmouth; Kick on Final Play Decides by 16-14". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
15. Dell, John (November 9, 1975). "Wixted Hurt Again in Penn Loss". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-E – via Newspapers.com.
16. Wallace, William N. (November 16, 1975). "Elis Post 24-13 Victory over Princeton". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
17. Wallace, William N. (November 23, 1975). "Harvard Tops Yale, 10-7, and Takes Ivy Title". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.