Yale vs. Holy Cross
Saturday, Sept. 20 – 12 p.m.
Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field
New Haven, Conn.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Yale Game Notes | Holy Cross Game Notes
The 2025 Ivy League football season will be unlike any other. The Ivy League will accept its bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) tournament for the first time and compete in postseason. The journey for the Yale Bulldogs begins on Sept. 20 at home against Holy Cross.
Team 152 now embarks on a season with more at stake than ever—aiming not only for the 2025 Ivy League title, but also to become the first Ivy program to win a national championship since the 1927 Yale Bulldogs (HAF, NCF, CFRA). After a 7-3 campaign in 2024, Yale was picked third in the 2025 Ivy League Preseason Poll, finishing behind defending champion Harvard and Dartmouth, while earning three first-place votes.
Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of Football Tony Reno enters his 13th season leading the Bulldogs. His 74 career wins rank second in Yale history, trailing only the legendary Carm Cozza (179 wins, 1965-96).
Old Friends and New Faces
- The Yale offense has finished atop the Ivy League in scoring in two of the past three seasons. Senior captain and running back Josh Pitsenberger returns after rushing for a career-high 796 yards in 2024, good for third in the league. He played a pivotal role in last year's 34-29 victory over Harvard, scoring touchdowns both on the ground and through the air.
- Defensively, the Bulldogs are anchored by Abu Kamara, whose 67 solo tackles led the Ivy League in 2024. A preseason All-American and Buck Buchanan Award Watch List selection, Kamara delivered one of the defining moments of last season with a 35-yard pick-six against Harvard.
- Yale returns five All-Ivy honorees from 2024: first-team selections Kamara, offensive lineman Michael Bennett, and defensive lineman Ejiroghene Egodogbare, along with second-teamers Pitsenberger and defensive back Osiye Daniyan.
- The Ivy schedule features home matchups with Cornell (Sept. 27), Penn (Oct. 25), Columbia (Nov. 1), and the 141st edition of The Game against Harvard (Nov. 22) to close the regular season.
The Series
- Yale kicks off the season against a familiar foe, hosting Holy Cross in the 39th all-time meeting. The Bulldogs lead the series 30-8, with the rivalry dating back to 1906, and have faced the Crusaders in every season opener since 2018.
- Both sides have captured five of the last 10 meetings. However, Yale won the most recent matchup, opening the 2024 season in a back-and-forth affair, winning 38-31 on the road thanks to a Nathan Denney rushing touchdown with 12 seconds left in regulation.
Scouting Holy Cross
- Despite being picked third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, the Crusaders have started the season 0-3, with three close losses, 17-19 to FBS opponent Northern Illinois, 16-19 to New Hampshire and 7-9 to No. 6 Rhode Island.
- The Crusader offense is led by sophomore quarterback Cal Swanson, who currently leads the team in both passing (407) and rushing (111) yards, and senior receiver Max Mosey, the team's receiving yards leader.
- Holy Cross' defense is anchored by junior linebacker Cam Santee with 21 total tackles and senior defensive back Tommy Bestpitch with 22. Junior defensive back Eli Thompson also returned an interception for a touchdown during the Crusaders' matchup with New Hampshire on Sept. 6. The Crusader scoring defense is currently ranked No. 8 in the country, allowing 15.67 points per game three weeks into their season.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will open their Ivy League schedule at home against Cornell on Sept. 27 at noon.
