Tuesday's news and notes

The first Yale media luncheon of the season took place on Tuesday at Mory’s. Tony Reno and captain Deon Randall were there. Here are some notes…

New look

Expect to see more spread sets from the Bulldogs offense this season. Reno said Yale has the personnel to spread the field in both directions with different options. Reno explained an offense needs to be at least seven WRs deep to have an effective spread offense and the Bulldogs have that.

Defensively, Yale will play more man this year and bring more pressure against opposing offenses.

“We’re getting closer to what we want to be and what we think we can do to consistently win championships in this league,” Reno said. “We’re getting closer to that picture. The difference will be how much we grow this season.”

Looking ahead

Yale will host Army on Sept. 27. About 10,000 tickets have been sold and Army will have 23 buses full coming to New Haven. Yale is also a finalist to host ESPN's College Gameday kickoff show that week.

Time change

Look at the Yale schedule and notice all but one home game will kick off at 1 p.m. The Princeton game on Nov. 15 is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

In recent years, games typically began at noon at the Bowl.

The change was made with hopes of drawing more fans. Noon is kind of early for college students and the late start will help make it easier for those who are traveling.

Maine on the schedule

Yale has a two-year deal to play Maine beginning next year at Maine. All three of Yale’s out-of-conference games will be on the road next season: Colgate, Lehigh and Maine.

Thrown into the fire

There are 11 freshmen on the two-deep depth chart: seven on defense, two on offense and two on special teams.

“It starts in summer by being here,” Reno said. “And the guys are talented. What I like most about this group, there’s no sense of entitlement. They worked for it. Now, for the first time, there’s finally position battles. Hopefully that’ll make us a better football team.”

100th anniversary

Yale will kick off its Yale Bowl 100th anniversary festivities on Thursday at the Bowl.

The Webster Bank Yale Bowl 100 Tent will be set up just outside of the Bowl near the main concession stand. The tent will be up for all six home games this season and will include historical displays, photo opportunities with Heisman Trophies and Yale Bowl 100th anniversary apparel.

Potential NFL prospects

Tyler Varga and Deon Randall have both been drawing NFL interest, Reno said. Varga, a native of Canada, is also rated as high as the No. 2 overall prospect for the next CFL draft by some scouting services.