Tufts traveled to Brunswick, Maine to face Bowdoin in the 113th gridiron meeting between the two schools. It was a decisive victory for the undefeated Jumbos (4–0) as they beat the winless (0–4) Polar Bears 28–0 in their first shutout since a 7–0 victory over the Colby Mules in November 2006. With the victory, Tufts remains tied atop the NESCAC standings with Williams (4–0) and Amherst (4–0).
The Tufts defense was relentless throughout the entirety of the game, never allowing the Bowdoin offense to possess the football inside of the Tufts 35-yard line. The defense held Bowdoin to 230 total yards of offense and was led in tackles by junior linebacker and co-captain Greg Holt with six, bringing his season total to 34, good for fifth in the conference.
“It was just a whole all-around great defensive team effort,” Holt said. “Everybody [was] executing their jobs.”
Tufts held Bowdoin sophomore quarterback Austin McCrum in check throughout the game, allowing him to throw for only 162 yards while completing 21 of his 47 passes in the contest. The Jumbos' defensive backs were nearly impassable, rarely allowing the Polar Bear receivers to get any separation. Sophomore defensive back Michael Mughetto consistently caused problems for the Bowdoin offense, hounding receivers at times and providing pressure on the quarterback at others. Senior defensive back Tim Preston also had a tremendous game for the Jumbos. The Nashua, N.H. native was responsible for Tufts' only defensive takeaway when he intercepted McCrum’s pass on an attempted flea flicker with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter.
The run game for the Polar Bears was also stagnant, as they played without their star running back and NESCAC leading rusher in junior Nate Richam. Richam’s inexperienced backups found very little success against the Jumbos' dynamic front seven, totaling only 61 yards on 20 rushing attempts. Tufts forced eight three-and-outs and 11 punts in total.
Despite the defense’s dominant performance, Holt said there is still room for improvement.
“I think there are areas that we are still going to look to that need to be improved, and every week, we are looking to get better," Holt said. "We were able to get a shutout so we improved some things, but we are also focused on the [upcoming] weeks and making sure we are ready to play whatever team is next."
The Jumbos' offense found tremendous success, totaling over 500 yards of offense for the second straight week — the first time that has ever been done in coach Jay Civetti's tenure.
The Jumbos were led by senior quarterback and co-captain Ryan McDonald until he was replaced in the middle of the third quarter. After McDonald turned the ball over in Bowdoin territory on Tufts’ first two drives of the game, he settled in nicely. McDonald completed 76 percent of his passes for 231 yards in just the first two and a half quarters of play — the most yards passing in a game for McDonald since last year’s matchup with Williams.
“We are really just sticking to our strengths,” McDonald said, when asked about the offense's recent success. “We have got an awesome offensive line, a stable of great [running] backs and just plenty of skill guys on the outside to make plays.”
McDonald threw for two touchdowns, both in the third quarter, just under three minutes apart from one another. The first came on Tufts’ first offensive possession of the second half which lasted only three plays and 57 seconds. Senior wide receiver Jack Dolan, who was on the receiving end of the touchdown, caught McDonald’s quick pass and maneuvered around defenders into the end zone to give the Jumbos a 21–0 lead just under two minutes into the second half. Tufts got the ball back less than 30 seconds later after three straight incompletions for Bowdoin. The Jumbos needed just six plays to put their fourth touchdown on the board, as McDonald capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown completion to junior tight end Jack Donohue in the corner of the end zone.
The rushing attack for the Jumbos featured six players with at least five touches, as they combined for a total of 271 yards. Sophomore running back Mike Pedrini was the only Tufts rusher to record a touchdown as he found the back of the end zone twice in the second quarter on four- and one-yard scores. After Pedrini saw most of the action in the first half, rushing for a total of 52 yards in the game, senior running back Dom Borelli took the majority of the touches early in the second half. Borelli led the Jumbos in rushing with 73 yards, followed by McDonald’s replacement, senior quarterback Ryan Hagfeldt, who rushed for 53 yards after entering the game in the second half.
Civetti emphasized that his players's superb execution has allowed the offense to dominate opposing defenses in the past two games.
“Just players,” Civetti said. “It has nothing to do with the play calls, it has nothing to do with the play designs, it just has to do with having really good players, guys that play hard and work at getting better each week ... and playing the game the way it is supposed to be played.”
The Jumbos will try to match last year’s win total on Oct. 13 when they travel to Hartford, Conn. to face the talented Trinity Bantams (3–1), whose only loss of the season came at the hands of the Williams Ephs.
4–0 football trounces Bowdoin in first shutout since 2006
Senior quarterback and co-captain Ryan McDonald runs with the ball during Tufts' 47–14 Homecoming victory over Bates on Sept. 29.
