Following the thrilling 23–21 season-opening win against Bowdoin, Tufts took to the road to face off against Wesleyan on Saturday, Sept. 21. Similar to the Jumbos, the Cardinals entered the matchup undefeated on the young season with a 43–7 rout of the Middlebury Panthers in their week one game.
The game's opening moments could not have gone worse for the Jumbos. On the very first play from scrimmage, Wesleyan senior quarterback Niko Candido hit senior wide receiver Chase Wilson for a 75-yard touchdown, slicing right over the top of the Tufts secondary. After a missed extra point attempt, Wesleyan led 6–0 just nine seconds into the game.
The Jumbos’ offense took the field ready to erase the early deficit. After an impressive 22-yard back-shoulder catch by sophomore wide receiver Matt Rios, along with a few big gains on the ground, Tufts was able to march down to the opposing four-yard line. However, after an incompletion on 3rd and short, the 66-yard drive was capped off by a field goal by the junior kicker Vaughn Seelicke.
Once the Cardinals regained possession, it seemed their explosive first play might have been a fluke. After a few modest gains, Tufts’ senior defensive back Louis Timmins stepped up with a crucial interception. On the tailwinds of this play, the Jumbos’ defense stifled the Cardinals for nearly the rest of the half. On the next five drives, they allowed only a combined negative one yard of total offense, resulting in a punt each time.
Due to this stellar defense, the Jumbos started many of their offensive drives in the second quarter in excellent field position, including three straight opportunities starting from their own 40-yard line or better. However, they were unable to capitalize on the majority of these three drives, only securing a 32-yard field goal with the other two resulting in a fumble and punt.
Tufts defense continued to be excellent, keeping Wesleyan out of the end zone until late in the first half when a blocked punt granted Wesleyan an excellent field position deep into the red zone. After a 12-yard gain up the middle from Candido, junior running back Tyler Flynn punched it in with a two-yard rushing touchdown.
Thanks to a strong 27-yard return from senior running back Aundre Smith, the Jumbo offense once again started in great field position, setting up their most efficient drive of the night. Through a series of no-huddle plays, senior quarterback Michael Berluti was able to lead his team down the field, making several key connections with his receivers. However, with time running low in the half, the offense settled for a 41-yard field goal attempt. Seelicke again placed it through the uprights, cutting the Wesleyan lead to just four. The junior kicker was a bright spot for Tufts in the first half, hitting on all three of his attempts.
Trailing 13–9 after the break, the Jumbos received the kickoff to open the second half. However, an offensive pass interference penalty stalled the drive, forcing a punt.
Wesleyan wasted no time stepping in right where they left off at the end of the first half. Candido quickly orchestrated a 57-yard drive, completing three passes, including an 11-yard toss to sophomore running back Angelo LaRose out of the backfield for another Cardinal touchdown. This score extended Wesleyan’s lead to 20–9 with just over ten minutes left in the third quarter.
The Tufts offensive put up a few more promising drives, each one propelled by a different deep strike. These connections included two bombs to Rios, one for 32 yards and the other for 49 yards. However, the offense was unable to break the plane on either of these drives, resulting in two field goal attempts, both of which were unsuccessful. On Tufts' final drive of the game, senior defensive back Luke LaSaracina picked off Berluti’s pass at the one-yard line, closing the door on a possible Tufts comeback.
The defensive unit did their job for the remainder of the game, not allowing any more Cardinals’ points. However, without any additional offensive output from the Jumbos in the second half, they fell to the Cardinals with a final score of 20–9.
Looking beyond the scoreboard, one could have assumed that Tufts had come out on top. They led in total yards, 367 to 287, total first downs, 18 to 12, and controlled the clock, with nearly three minutes more of possession. What ultimately hurt Tufts was their three turnovers and their inability to generate six points in the red zone. The Daily reached out to Rios regarding how the team can find greater success inside the 20s.
“We are going to do what we always do,” Rios said in an email to the Daily. “Take a step back [,] get on the film and regroup as a unit to make sure we find our way into the end zone next week.”
Along with reviewing game tape, Tufts can hope to rely on their strong passing attack to accomplish this task. Currently ranked number one in NESCAC in passing yards per game, Rios attributed their success to a plethora of “amazing talent,” believing that “any one of us are ready to make a big play.”
Going forward, Tufts can also hope to rely on superb pass coverage, which ranks second in defensive efficiency in the NESCAC, only allowing 280 passing yards per game this season. Next week they hope to dominate the air game on both sides of the ball in order to take down Amherst College on Sept. 28.
