Recapping #2 Montana State
By John Altavilla
Yale’s historic season came to an end Saturday with its 21-13 loss to Montana State in the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs.
The defeat snapped Yale’s seven-game winning streak, the program’s longest since a 10-game run from Nov. 18, 2006, to Nov. 10, 2007. This year’s streak began after a second straight road loss at Dartmouth left the Bulldogs at 2-2 overall. From there, Yale surged to earn a share of the Ivy League championship, secure the league’s first automatic bid to the postseason, and claim its first-ever FCS playoff win.
"Since January, this group committed to playing our brand of football. They worked with purpose, stayed true to who they are, trusted the process, and continued to elevate our standard,” said Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach. “When you invest that much, there are always moments of reflection and growth, but today I am most impressed by the character and resilience they showed from start to finish."
Yale (9-3) played its heart out against the No. 2 ranked Bobcats, who won their 11
th straight game. Led again by captain Josh Pitsenberger (26 carries, 124 yards, one touchdown), senior Billy Daal (eight carries, 43 yards) and senior Nico Brown (11 catches, 107 yards), the offense ground out 353 yards of offense and controlled the ball for nearly 34 minutes.
But two key interceptions led to a pair of Montana State touchdowns that proved too much for the Bulldogs to overcome.
"Yeah, this team means the world to me," said Pitsenberger. "I couldn't be more proud of this team. They worked really hard since before the season, since January. And what we were able to accomplish during the season? Just amazing. I couldn't be more proud of this team and how we were able to finish the season off."
After trailing Youngstown State 35-7 at the half in last week’s first round game, a game Yale ended up winning 43-42, the Bulldogs were only down 7-0 against the Bobcats at the half.
Yale controlled the first half, holding the ball for nearly 19 minutes and piling up 162 yards while its defense played outstanding football. Montana State’s lone score of the half came only after a fortunate bounce.
Quarterback Dante Reno (20 of 35, 198 yards, one touchdown) was forced to leave the game midway through the first quarter after taking a hard hit, bringing senior Marshall Howe into action. After a strong first carry, Howe was intercepted by Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year Caden Dowler, who set Montana State up at the Yale 40. A few plays later, Justin Lamson was stripped by Abu Kamara at the 14, but the loose ball bounced directly to Chris Long, who was able to finish the play for the game’s opening points.
Yale continued to generate chances. Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs put together an impressive 14-play, 78-yard drive featuring a powerful ground attack. A tipped pass at the Bobcats’ 7-yard line resulted in an interception, and Montana State capitalized nine plays later to make it 14-0 with 1:51 to go in the third.
The Bulldogs responded immediately. Reno connected with Brown for a 25-yard touchdown just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter to get Yale on the board. The two-point attempt was stopped, leaving the score at 14-6.
Montana State answered with a 33-yard run by Adam Jones, extending its lead to 21-6 with 10:20 remaining. But Yale refused to go away. With the Bobcats attempting to run down the clock, Kamara forced his second fumble of the game, giving the Bulldogs new life. Yale capitalized with a 4th-and-1 touchdown run by Pitsenberger to pull within 21-12.
The defense delivered one more stop, giving Yale the ball back with one minute left and no timeouts. The Bulldogs pushed downfield in the final-minute scramble, but Montana State battled to a Bulldog third down which set up a long 4th-and-19 as the clock expired.
Reno’s Corner
“There aren't enough words to express how proud I am of Team 152. Our players laid everything they had on the line and competed to the end against a very good Montana State team. They showed tremendous toughness and heart, and they stayed connected to one another every step of the way…Representing Yale and the Ivy League for the first time in the postseason has been a tremendous honor. This experience gave our program a chance to demonstrate what Yale Football is about and elevate our league. I could not be more grateful for this team, staff, administration, and university."
Players of the Game
RB Josh Pitsenberger, Sr., 6-0. 220, Bethesda, Md. (The Avalon School)
Yale captain ended his career by carrying the ball 26 times for 124 yards and one touchdown and catching four passes for 41 yards. He gained 1,578 yards on 313 carries and scored 19 touchdowns this season. Only Mike McLeod (1,619 in 2007) ever had a better year. Pitsenberger ends his career with 3,435 yards, second all-time behind the storied McLeod.
WR Nico Brown, Sr., 6-0, 185, Huntington Beach, Calif. (Edison)
After missing the Youngstown State game, Brown returned to lead the Bulldogs with a career-high 11 receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown, 25-yard strike from Reno in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Brown made 71 catches for 1,085 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He is only the fourth receiver in program history to have a 1,000-yard season.
NB Abu Kamara, Jr., 6-1, 208, Prospect Park, Pa., (Interboro)
The Ivy League’s unanimous selection as defensive player of the year led Yale’s defensive effort with two forced fumbles, two pass breakups and five tackles.
Bulldogs Out West: Team 152 Concludes Season With Historic Trip To Montana
By Michael LaRocca
The distance between the Yale Bowl in New Haven and Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana, is approximately 2,230 miles. The Bulldogs rarely, if ever, make trips of this magnitude, especially not with this much on the line.
The last time Yale football left the Eastern time zone for a game came 12 years ago, when the Bulldogs made the cross-country trip to face off against Cal Poly in their first-ever matchup with a team from the Big Sky conference.
Yale’s second-ever matchup against the Big Sky came with much higher stakes. After defeating Youngstown State in the first round of the FCS playoffs, the Bulldogs had the privilege of going toe-to-toe with the No. 2 team in the country, the Montana State Bobcats, with a shot at reaching the FCS Quarterfinals.
Despite ultimately falling to Montana State in a tight affair 21-13, the Bulldogs made the most of their opportunity to play against a national powerhouse on one of the FCS’ largest stages. The posted game attendance of 20,867 made this matchup the highest-attended non-Harvard road game Yale has played since its battle at Princeton on Nov. 13, 1999 drew a crowd of 21,602.
In what was arguably the Ivy League’s most important game in conference history, the Bulldogs proved that they belonged in the same discussions as teams from the MVFC and Big Sky and that they can compete at the national level.
“I do just want to make a statement,” Head Coach of Defense Sean McGowan said. “Our kids just played 12 weeks in a row. And I think there's a little bit of a misnomer about the Ivy League in itself. I don't think there was a lot of respect for the league at all, and I think our kids did a great job for the first time into the playoffs, of making sure people are aware in the competitive level that we can compete and play at. I think it should be noticed.”
Yale’s game against Montana State also completed the Bulldogs’ 152-season-long exploration of the United States. The game was the first in Bulldog history to be played in the Mountain time zone, the last American time zone Yale had not played in prior, with the exception of Alaska Standard Time as it does not contain any Division I football programs.
The trip to Bozeman was the perfect final stanza for the story of Team 152. The squad led the way as the Ivy League's first champion to earn an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. The season included Yale's 19th Ivy League Championship, 72nd all-time win over Harvard and the conference's first-ever playoff victory. The Bulldogs finished their season with a 9-3 overall record, 6-1 conference record and a 6-0 record at the Yale Bowl, their fourth undefeated campaign at home since 2012.
When the Bulldogs were 2-2 in mid-October after a loss to Dartmouth, they could not afford any more mistakes. They didn’t flinch, rattling off their first seven-game winning streak in nearly two decades, including a win in a de facto Ivy League championship matchup with then-undefeated Harvard.
“It's a very resilient group,” McGowan said. “Each team has a life of its own, and it takes time for it to galvanize.”
Team 153 will look to continue its predecessor’s legacy, representing Yale football on the national stage similarly to how it did 100 years ago. Led by newly elected captain Abu Kamara, the Bulldogs have a bright future in 2026 in hopes of repeating as Ivy League champions and working their way back to a place like Bozeman.
“We have elevated the standard and will continue striving toward even greater heights,” Kamara said.
