Saturday's contest would see one of two things broken: either the Jumbos' 23-game history of winning against Bates or their six-game, on-the-road losing streak. Fortunately for Tufts, it was the latter.
Thanks to a stifling defense which applied pressure at exactly the right times, the Jumbos locked up their first away victory since Sept. 29, 2007, consequently earning their first win of the year over the Bobcats 15-7.
"It's nice to get the first win in anything because it takes the monkey off your back a little bit," senior quad-captain Alex Perry said. "It was big, we just needed that win on Saturday at all costs. Going in there it didn't matter if we had the best game in the world or the worst game, as long as we came out with a win. We went up there to get done what we needed to do."
Though Bates outdistanced Tufts in yardage — 304 to 280 — the stingy Jumbos defense allowed the Bobcats just one red-zone opportunity and ceded no scores. Bates' lone touchdown came early in the second quarter when sophomore Cam Evans snared a pass from Tufts senior quarterback Tom McManama and scampered 12 yards into the end zone.
Aside from the yardage totals, Tufts was nearly flawless on the defensive end. Bates converted on just three of 15 third downs and was sacked three times. Led by junior Matthew Murray and senior quad-captain Tom Tassinari's 11 tackles apiece, Tufts consistently closed up the running lanes, holding Bates to just 3.4-yards per carry.
"The defense played great today," McManama said. "It's real comforting to know that they're probably going to get a stop every time they go on the field and you'll get the ball back almost immediately."
The Jumbos also recorded eight tackles for a loss, while their secondary, which allowed just 55 passing yards in last week's opener at Wesleyan, was again stellar, breaking up six passes.
"I thought we played pretty well as a defensive unit; we [bent] but we didn't break," Perry said. "They were able to put together a few drives, but once they got into the red zone we were able to step up and make a few big plays, give the ball back to our offense."
"Though we didn't have any interceptions of fumbles or anything, making stops on fourth down sets the tone and the momentum," he said. "Their offense had some big plays, but when it came down to it we made the stops when we needed to and kept them in check."
Most notably, Tufts kept the Bates offense off the field, allowing McManama to grind out the clock with lengthy drives. The Bobcats had three drives that lasted over three minutes, while the Jumbos had five, including back-to-back second-quarter possessions that combined to drain over nine minutes on the clock.
"As an offense we struggled at times but when we needed to put points on the board, we had long drives to do that and we pulled it together at key times," McManama said. "We wanted to get everything smooth, get first downs and keep moving the chains and keep the defense off the field."
After striking first with a 35-yard field goal from sophomore Adam Auerbach, the Jumbos found themselves in a 7-3 hole following Evans' score. But McManama immediately atoned for his turnover, directing an eight-play, 62-yard drive on the ensuing possession and capping it off with an 11-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Nick Croteau. Croteau's lone reception turned out to be the impetus the Jumbos' defense needed to win.
"I knew I had to have a short memory and forget about [the interception]," McManama said. "At that point we were down and needed to change the momentum and we did that with the drive. I was talking to the guys and we said that we needed to pull one out right there."
In Tufts' first possession of the fourth quarter, the Jumbos snagged some insurance when McManama, under pressure from a blitz, found junior Pat Bailey on the opposite end of the field for a 71-yard touchdown play.
"We ran it a few times in practice; it was wide open every single time," McManama said. "In the game it worked out pretty well because they blitzed four guys and had nine guys coming at me, so only one guy out in the flat was covering Bailey. I saw the cornerback's back was turned so I just chucked it up to him."
Bates' best offensive opportunity came in the second quarter when it recovered Bailey's fumble on the Jumbos' 26-yard line. On fourth down, Tassinari stopped senior Tom Beaton just short of the goal line, effectively ending Bates' only red-zone drive on the afternoon.
"Any stop in the red zone is important; every time you make a stop it's huge for your team," Perry said. "The goal is to always try to hold the offense to a field goal. When they don't get any points, it's huge."
From there, the Jumbos took over with a clock-burning offense designed to preserve their lead. Tufts finished with 41 ground attempts against just 12 passes, rushing for 168 yards. Bailey led the squad with 152 all-purpose yards, including his lengthy touchdown, while freshman Mike Howell and McManama contributed 40 and 27 yards, respectively.
Through the air, McManama was much better than he was against Wesleyan, completing 50 percent of his passes and two scores, against just one interception. More importantly, with senior quad-captain starter Anthony Fucillo out with an ankle injury, McManama directed the Jumbos to their first win of the year.
"Getting this win is huge," McManama said. "It's definitely putting us in the right direction and a huge step for us. The offense is improving a lot; we finally got in the end zone a couple times. We just need to come completely focused to practice and be aggressive."
Despite the win, the Jumbos have gotten through the easy part of their schedule at a 1-1 clip and now turn their attention to Saturday's homecoming game against Bowdoin. Though the Polar Bears fell to 1-1 with a 13-12 loss at Amherst, senior quarterback Oliver Kell is averaging 345.5 passing yards per game, or roughly 90 yards more than the total yards the Jumbos have given up per contest thus far.
But for Tufts, which is 10-2 in home games since 2006, returning to the Ellis Oval for consecutive NESCAC matchups could not feel better.
"It's the homecoming game so there's going to be a lot of people there," Perry said. "It's always nice to play at home, not taking a two or three hour bus ride. But you get up to play with all 70 guys the same way each week, doesn't matter if it's home or away, there's nothing better than that."
