Yale beats Columbia 26-8

Team pages: Yale · Columbia

Yale4-326
Columbia4-38Final
Sat, Oct 31 · Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, Manhattan, N.Y. · Crowd 3,024ESPN+

Yale beat Columbia 26-8.

We had Yale favored. It won.

Next: Yale vs Brown, Sat Nov 7 · 12:00 PM ET

Next: Columbia at Harvard, Sat Nov 7 · 1:00 PM ET

How it swung

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Yale a 65% chance, and the closing betting line (Yale was a 9.5-point favorite) put it at 78%.

Favored the whole way: Yale never fell below 61%.

Columbia never had better than a 38% chance.

FinalYale 26-8 ColumbiaYale wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q496% at halfYaleWon26-81+14Scores
50%75%90%Q1Q2Q3Q496% at halfYaleWon26-81Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q44% at halfYaleLowest 0%Lost8-261−14Scores
50%10%25%Q1Q2Q3Q44% at halfYaleLowest 0%Lost8-261Scores

The play that swung it

  1. 1Q2 13:41Reno 23-yd TD pass to Smith, Yale goes ahead 7-0Yale 75% → 89% (+14)

The play that swung it

  1. 1Q2 13:41Reno 23-yd TD pass to Smith, Yale goes ahead 7-0Columbia 25% → 11% (−14)
Yale’s chance to win after every play.
How to read this chartStarts from the pregame line (Yale -9.5), at 68% for Yale (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.

Every drive

Yale scored on 4 of its 16 drives; Columbia on 1 of its 15.

Yale’s drives are teal, Columbia’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

own goalgoal lineQ1Columbia: Punt, from 75 yards out to 72PuntYale: Missed field goal, from 55 yards out to 32Missed FGColumbia: Punt, from 68 yards out to 46PuntYale: Punt, from 94 yards out to 48PuntColumbia: Punt, from 85 yards out to 80PuntYale: Touchdown, from 67 yards out to 0TouchdownQ2Columbia: Safety, from 98 yards out to 100SafetyYale: Touchdown, from 68 yards out to 0TouchdownColumbia: Punt, from 75 yards out to 71PuntYale: Punt, from 64 yards out to 55PuntColumbia: Punt, from 87 yards out to 70PuntYale: Punt, from 70 yards out to 68PuntColumbia: Punt, from 74 yards out to 69PuntYale: Punt, from 67 yards out to 45PuntColumbia: Punt, from 87 yards out to 81PuntYale: End of half, from 73 yards out to 74End of halfQ3Yale: Touchdown, from 85 yards out to 0TouchdownColumbia: Punt, from 79 yards out to 75PuntYale: Punt, from 62 yards out to 47PuntColumbia: Punt, from 75 yards out to 67PuntYale: Punt, from 72 yards out to 68PuntColumbia: Touchdown, from 70 yards out to 0TouchdownYale: Punt, from 75 yards out to 60PuntQ4Columbia: Punt, from 84 yards out to 78PuntYale: Punt, from 68 yards out to 65PuntColumbia: Turned over on downs, from 72 yards out to 27DownsYale: Punt, from 73 yards out to 63PuntColumbia: Interception, from 73 yards out to 73InterceptionYale: Field goal, from 36 yards out to 29Field goalColumbia: Turned over on downs, from 75 yards out to 4DownsYale: End of game, from 96 yards out to 97End of game

From Columbia’s side

Columbia’s best moment: Piper 50-yd field goal no good (Q1 12:15). It lifted Columbia’s win chance by 10 points.

Box score

Yale 26, Columbia 8

Yale covered −9.5 by 8.5. The total, 34, stayed under 51.5.

Yale leaders

  • Passing Dante Reno 14 of 31, 134 yds, 2 TD
  • Rushing Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni 23 for 155 yds, 1 TD; Vann Hopping 6 for 26 yds
  • Receiving Lucius Anderson 5 for 56 yds, 1 TD; Reid Jones 3 for 28 yds

Columbia leaders

  • Passing Chase Goodwin 24 of 48, 207 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
  • Rushing Griffin Johnson 8 for 16 yds; Chase Goodwin 8 for 14 yds
  • Receiving Bryce Coleman 10 for 108 yds, 1 TD; Braden Dougherty 5 for 37 yds

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last three games

Yale · 3-3

Rated 211th in our preseason ratings, 191st now, up 20 spots.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 21-24 @ Pennsylvania No. 222 of 668 teams

lost by 3 as a 6.5-point favorite

Yale lost 21-24 at Pennsylvania. Chance to win started at 59%, low under 1%, high 89%.

L 23-41 vs Rhode Island No. 140 of 668 teams

lost by 18 as a 12.5-point favorite

Yale lost 23-41 vs Rhode Island. Chance to win started at 86%, low under 1%, high 86%.

W 28-7 vs Dartmouth No. 228 of 668 teams

won by 21 as a 7-point favorite

Yale won 28-7 vs Dartmouth. Chance to win started at 80%, low 78%, high better than 99%.

W 41-24 vs Merrimack No. 229 of 668 teams

won by 17 as a 14-point favorite

Yale won 41-24 vs Merrimack. Chance to win started at 88%, low 32%, high better than 99%.

L 25-38 @ Cornell No. 236 of 668 teams

lost by 13 as a 14-point favorite

Yale lost 25-38 at Cornell. Chance to win started at 78%, low under 1%, high 83%.

W 38-28 @ Holy Cross No. 238 of 668 teams

won by 10 as a 21-point favorite

Yale won 38-28 at Holy Cross. Chance to win started at 91%, low 42%, high better than 99%.

Last three games

Columbia · 4-2

Rated 230th in our preseason ratings, 233rd now.

2-1 in its last three, including a 1-point win over Pennsylvania as a 6.5-point underdog.

L 18-38 vs Dartmouth No. 205 of 668 teams

lost by 20 as a 1.5-point underdog

Columbia lost 18-38 vs Dartmouth. Chance to win started at 53%, low under 1%, high 54%.

W 28-27 @ Pennsylvania No. 221 of 668 teams

won by 1 as a 6.5-point underdog

Columbia won 28-27 at Pennsylvania. Chance to win started at 25%, low 1%, high better than 99%.

W 41-28 @ Marist No. 196 of 668 teams

won by 13 as a 3.5-point favorite

L 7-35 vs Princeton No. 186 of 668 teams

lost by 28 as a 1.5-point favorite

Columbia lost 7-35 vs Princeton. Chance to win started at 60%, low under 1%, high 71%.

W 20-17 @ Georgetown No. 252 of 668 teams

won by 3 as a 7-point favorite

Columbia won 20-17 at Georgetown. Chance to win started at 63%, low 26%, high better than 99%.

W 40-34 vs Lafayette No. 228 of 668 teams

won by 6 as a 3-point favorite

Columbia won 40-34 vs Lafayette. Chance to win started at 71%, low 29%, high better than 99%.

Week by week

Columbia

Wk 4: W 20-17 at Georgetown▲3Georgeto…Wk 5: L 7-35 vs Princeton▼28PrincetonWk 6: W 41-28 at Marist▲13MaristWk 7: W 28-27 at Pennsylvania▲1Pennsylv…Wk 8: L 18-38 vs Dartmouth▼20Dartmouth
  • Wk 4Wat Georgetown20-17
  • Wk 5Lvs Princeton7-35
  • Wk 6Wat Marist41-28
  • Wk 7Wat Pennsylvania28-27
  • Wk 8Lvs Dartmouth18-38

Yale

Wk 4: L 25-38 at Cornell▼13CornellWk 5: W 41-24 vs Merrimack▲17MerrimackWk 6: W 28-7 vs Dartmouth▲21DartmouthWk 7: L 23-41 vs Rhode Island▼18Rhode Is…Wk 8: L 21-24 at Pennsylvania▼3Pennsylv…
  • Wk 4Lat Cornell25-38
  • Wk 5Wvs Merrimack41-24
  • Wk 6Wvs Dartmouth28-7
  • Wk 7Lvs Rhode Island23-41
  • Wk 8Lat Pennsylvania21-24

Power rating by week

Yale is rated 2.2 points ahead as of week 8. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

-7-9-11Wk 0Wk 4Wk 8ColumbiaYale

The series

Yale leads the series 62-17-2

81 meetings since 1872 · Yale won the last meeting

Columbia wonYale won1872: Yale by 31874: Yale by 41874: Yale by 51875: Columbia by 11876: Yale by 21879: Yale by 21880: Yale by 131881: Yale by 11882: Yale by 111883: Yale by 931889: Yale by 621899: Columbia by 51900: Yale by 71901: Yale by 51903: Yale by 251904: Yale by 341905: Yale by 531934: Columbia by 61938: Columbia by 131939: Yale by 31943: Yale by 131944: Yale by 171945: Columbia by 141946: Columbia by 81947: Yale by 101948: Columbia by 61949: Yale by 261950: Yale by 61951: Columbia by 141952: Yale by 71953: Yale by 61954: Yale by 61955: Yale by 321956: Yale by 141957: Yale by 191958: Columbia by 131959: Yale by 141960: Yale by 221961: Columbia by 111962: Columbia by 41963: Yale by 121964: tie1965: Columbia by 141966: Yale by 231967: Yale by 141968: Yale by 221969: Yale by 351970: Yale by 171971: Columbia by 11972: Yale by 141973: Yale by 291974: Yale by 401975: Yale by 271976: Yale by 311977: Yale by 221978: tie1979: Yale by 301980: Yale by 201981: Yale by 312003: Yale by 152004: Yale by 72005: Yale by 342006: Yale by 182007: Yale by 212008: Yale by 152009: Yale by 12010: Yale by 32011: Yale by 32012: Columbia by 42013: Yale by 412014: Yale by 182015: Columbia by 102016: Yale by 82017: Yale by 172018: Columbia by 72019: Yale by 352021: Yale by 72022: Yale by 252023: Yale by 282024: Columbia by 32025: Yale by 1418722025
  • 2025Yale 24-10
  • 2024Columbia 13-10
  • 2023Yale 35-7
  • 2022Yale 41-16
  • 2021Yale 37-30

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on Columbia’s chances here.

50-50Model · 35%Line · 22%YaleColumbia

Yale favored by 9.5 · Total 51.5

How games like this usually go

Yale by 9.5, and it went to form

50%90%Q1Q2Q3Q450%90%Q1Q2Q3Q4

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 448 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 2.5 points toward Yale.

opened +7now +9.5

The total rose 3 points.

opened 48.5now 51.5

Spread: +7 → +9.5 · Total: 48.5 → 51.5

The books’ cut: 5.3%, the margin built into the odds

Where next

Conference standings

Going into this game: place in the conference, then conference record.