BOZEMAN—After a comeback for the ages gave the Ivy League its first ever Football Championship Subdivision victory, the most unlikely of opponents ventures west to Bozeman to challenge the Montana State Bobcats on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Yale entered the FCS playoffs with a head of steam. The Bulldogs won six games in a row, including slaying archrival Harvard 45-28 to spoil Senior Day for the Crimson and secure the first-ever automatic bid for the Ivy League to the postseason.
But on Saturday, Nov. 29 in Youngstown, Ohio, the Bulldogs looked completely out of gas, falling behind 35-7 at halftime to a Youngstown State squad led by the most explosive offensive player in the country.
Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard, the expected winner of the Walter Payton Award given annually to the best offensive player in the FCS, went crazy in the first half. The dual-threat, who went over 1,400 yards rushing with his 90-yard effort Saturday, accounted for 341 of the host Penguins’ 356 yards of total offense during a first half onslaught that made the Bulldogs appear to be dead in the water.
But in a rally reminiscent of Montana’s comeback from down 48-17 late in the third quarter to South Dakota State in the 2009 playoffs, Yale reemerged to make history. Back in 2009, the Griz rallied for a 61-48 victory over SDSU in a game that is widely considered the greatest comeback in FCS playoffs history. That is, until Saturday.
Trailing 35-7 at halftime, 42-14 midway through the third quarter and 42-22 entering the final frame, Yale forged a comeback to remember, rallying for a 43-42 victory to advance to take on No. 2 Montana State.
The win is Yale’s first in the postseason and the first by an Ivy League team since 1945. Since the FCS was founded as Division I-AA in 1978, the Ivy has participated in the subdivision but never in the playoffs. Yale beating Harvard this season helped the Bulldogs secure a share of its 19th conference title, including its 11th in the Division I-AA/FCS era. Yale claims 27 national championships, the most recent coming in 1927, among its rich and storied history. The Bulldogs have had 100 consensus All-American players and have 29 College Football Hall of Famers.
And now a historic win means Yale gets to travel from New Haven, Connecticut to take on one of the most physically intimidating teams in the West in the No. 2 Montana State Bobcats. MSU enjoys a first-round bye after securing a 31-28 victory in an instant classic over Montana in Missoula on Nov. 22. That win sewed up Montana State’s third Big Sky Conference championship in the last four seasons and clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Because of Brungard’s gaudy stats—he finishes his junior season with 3,264 yards and 26 touchdowns passing to go with 1,468 yards and 27 touchdowns rushing—hardly anyone gave the Bulldogs a chance on Saturday. Although Youngstown State’s glory days are behind them—they won four national championships between 1991 and 1997 before former head coach Jim Tressel moved on to Ohio State—the Penguins won eight games in the rough-and-tumble Missouri Valley Football Conference. The hosts entered the game as 11-point favorites.
And that seemed to prove true through the first three quarters. But Yale did not fold, instead mounting an unbelievable fourth quarter comeback. The Bulldogs held Brungard to just 51 yards of total offense in the second half. A fumble with two-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter gave Yale the ball 37 yards from the end-zone and the momentum down 42-22.
Yale cut the deficit to 42-29 early in the fourth, then watched a long YSU drive end with a missed field goal attempt. A 72-yard Bulldog drive aided by a targeting call and a 27-yard heave from Dante Reno to Lucius Anderson set up a short touchdown to cut it to 42-36. After Yale forced a Youngstown punt, Josh Pitsenberger landed the knockout punch. The Yale captain and All-American candidate ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs the lead for good. On the ensuing Youngstown possession, the Penguins’ drive stalled out. YSU decided to go for it on fourth down and did not get it, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs just 24 yards from the end-zone. Yale was able to salt the win away from there, even declining an opportunity to score another touchdown in favor of bleeding away the final 90 seconds on the clock.
Tony Reno has been the head coach of Yale since 2012. He has led the Bulldogs to five Ivy League titles and has an overall record of 83-48. His son Dante Reno is the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs after transferring to Yale from South Carolina. Dante Reno has 2,300 yards passing and 20 touchdowns after throwing for 260 yards and three scores against Youngstown State.
Pitsenberger is one of the best running backs in the country. He has rushed for 1,478 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. He is the team captain. Nico Brown is the Bulldogs’ leading receiver. He had 60 catches for 978 yards and 10 scores.
Inumidum Ayo-Durojaiye is the leader of the Bulldog defense. He has 104 tackles to lead the Yale defense as a senior linebacker. Junior defensive end Ezekiel Larry has 10.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
But on the home sideline, it’s a familiar cast of characters looking to take care of business and propel another tournament run. Montana State has been to the national championship game twice since 2021. The Bobcats have 17 FCS playoff wins all-time, including eight since 2021 under current head coach Brent Vigen.
