Before last season, Tufts hadn't lost a football game to Bates since 1986.
But after Saturday's 28−9 drubbing at the hands of the Bobcats (1−1) at Garcelon Field in Lewiston, Maine, the Jumbos have lost games in consecutive seasons to a team they for decades easily kept at bay.
Tufts (0−2) was on its heels from the opening kickoff Saturday, which Bates junior Patrick George returned nearly to midfield. Six plays later, the Bobcats scored, as sophomore running back Ryan Curit took a screen pass 16 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
Later in the first quarter a Bates punt pinned the Jumbos at their own 3−yard line. After a three−and−out and a 29−yard punt from junior Marty Finnegan, the Bobcats only needed to go 38 yards in four plays to score another touchdown and take a 13−0 lead.
"One thing that hurt us on defense was that Bates was able to get a short field on a couple of drives," senior defensive tackle Ian Levinsky said. "They were able to capitalize on that, which put us in a hole in the first half."
Playing from behind the rest of the way, the Jumbos never established a running game. They were dwarfed in running yards 218−18 in the contest, as Bates' triple−option attack gave them fits all afternoon long.
"They executed very well, they did a nice job with [the triple option]," Tufts coach Jay Civetti said. "I thought our guys prepared well in practice but that's just part of the challenge of playing Bates."
Tufts closed the gap to 13−3 early in the second quarter when senior kicker Adam Auerbach's field goal ended a 10−play, 69−yard drive.
Senior quarterback Johnny Lindquist did have some success moving the ball through the air Saturday, finishing with 258 yards — 75 of which went to his go−to receiver, senior Dylan Haas, who had eight catches.
But four of Lindquist's drives were derailed by interceptions, two of which came off tipped passes that were caught by senior linebacker Brett McAllister.
The Tufts quarterback was under fire all game long in his second career start. His was sacked six times in the contest.
"Bates put a lot of pressure on him, and he was blitzed more than he's used to," Civetti said. "Still, he made some good throws, and he'll work hard to get better."
The second of Lindquist's interceptions came early in the third, interrupting what had been a 37−yard Tufts drive into Bates territory.
Bobcats junior quarterback Trevor Smith led his team down the field and George capped off the ensuing drive with a 1−yard rush to make the score 28−3.
"The Bates defense did a great job of forcing us into turnovers, and that's something that we as a defense need to work on," Levinsky said. "We need to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, maybe by rushing linebackers from the edge, because we haven't generated any fumbles or interceptions through the first two games, while Bates had four. That made a huge difference in field position."
Tufts scored its lone touchdown on a 1−yard run from sophomore running back Ryan Pollack midway through the final frame, but by that point the game was out of reach, a far cry from last week's near−heroic comeback on the road at Hamilton that barely came up short.
"We were out−physicaled from start to finish, there's no doubt about that," Civetti said. "They did a great job attacking us, and they won at the point of attack."
Senior linebackers Zack Skarzynski and tri−captainJ.TRinciari, who led the team with 15 and 10 tackles, respectively, anchored the Tufts defense.
Civetti praised the unit for its leadership and for coming up with a goal−line stand with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, which kept the game 13−0.
"That stand at the 1−yard line, and then at the six when they had a false start, was definitely our defensive highlight from the game," Levinsky said.
But Civetti knows his team needs to play far better to win in the NESCAC, an opportunity the Jumbos will have in their first home game of the season this Saturday versus Bowdoin on Zimman Field.
"We get another week to come together and grow. We're still an inexperienced team and we need to learn to win, I guess," he said.
"The record is what it is, but we still have the fire, the passion. We have to get better fundamentally, and now we get to do it at home."
