Recapping Harvard
By John Altavilla
Over the last 150 years, Yale and Harvard have played football. And during that time the rivalry has become a part of the nation’s sports landscape, one of the most important days of the year for the alumni, the university, fans and players.
Still, never had there ever been a game in this series so consequential for the Bulldogs. Not only was Yale seeking to share the Ivy League title with unbeaten Harvard, but it was trying to become the first Ivy League team to earn a berth in the FCS playoffs.
As it turned out, it was a marvelous and historic day for the Bulldogs.
Josh Pitsenberger, Yale’s captain, rushed for 143 yards on 38 carries and scored three touchdowns. Senior receiver Nico Brown made eight catches for 189 yards and one touchdown. And first year quarterback Dante Reno, the son of Yale’s head coach, had his finest hour, completing 15 of 19 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns.
It all added up to Yale’s 45-28 win before 52,497 at Yale Bowl. As a result, the Bulldogs (8-2, 6-1), who have won six straight since their one-point loss at Dartmouth, will share the league championship with the Crimson (9-1, 6-1) and advance to the FCS playoffs where they will play at Youngstown State (8-4) this Saturday at noon.
“It’s cool to be the first Ivy team to do that, but it’s a great opportunity that presents itself,” said Brown. “We’re going to celebrate this one tonight, but we’re ready to get back to work tomorrow.”
The Penguins were 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, ending the year Saturday with a 35-32 win at Northern Iowa, their third straight victory.
"We knew all the chips were stacked against us,” said Dante Reno. “We knew nobody picked us to win this game, we didn't care. We prepared like we were playing against ourselves."
Yale’s offense peppered Harvard’s top-ranked defense for 445 yards, 172 on the ground. Pitsenberger, one of the greatest halfbacks in Yale history, proved determined, pounding into the Crimson, eating large chunks of playing time to keep the ball out of Harvard’s hands.
“We grew better over the last week knowing there would be a lot of man-to-man (coverage) and they were going to try to load the box to stop the best running back in the country,” said Dante Reno.
To complement the ground game, offensive coordinator Chris Ostrowsky, opened the game up, challenging Dante Reno to make plays.
“So we knew I had to beat them on the outside, and our receivers had to beat them on the outside,” said Dante Reno. “Our offensive coordinator said this week, ‘no risk it, no biscuit.'”
Harvard came to New Haven as a monolith with a top-10 ranking in both major polls for the first time in program history.
A win over Yale would have secured its first unbeaten team since 2014 squad; the first Ivy League team since Princeton in 2018 to go undefeated. And what credentials it sported; first in the country in many major categories.
Yale carried a 31-14 lead into the half on a pair of touchdown passes from Reno and a pair of touchdown rushes from Pitsenberger.
The Bulldogs gained 251 yards in the half, delivering body blows and counter punches that kept the Crimson off balance.
And it all continued in the second half. Yale took the kickoff and drove down the field again. This time. Pitsenberger bulled his way in from the 4 with 8:55 to play in the third quarter.
The Crimson fought back. They took advantage of some Yale penalties to move downfield. Finally, Craig (23 of 43, 266, three touchdowns), hit Ryan Tattersall for a 9-yard score with 4:44 to play Iin the third. The two-point conversion failed.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Reno connected with first year Lucius Anderson for a 12-yard score to increase Yale’s lead to 45-20.
Craig then hit Brady Blackburn for a 31-yrd score with 11:45 to play. This time, the two-point conversion was made.
Yale got off to fast start. On Harvard’s first play, Yale defensive back Brandon Webster forced a fumble by receiver Dean Boyd.
Reno connected with Jaxton Santiago for a 21-yard touchdown just 18 seconds into the game. The Bulldogs increased the lead on Noah Piper’s 40-yard field goal with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter.
Then Pitsenberger took over, scoring from the 8 with 13:02 to play in the half. It was 17-0.
Harvard finally scored when Craig hit Ryan Tattersall for a 23-yard touchdown with 8:59 four minutes later. Yale quickly responded on a 64-yard scoring pass to Brown.
"We were saying the whole time, 'don't flinch,’" said Dante Reno. "We knew they had one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Jaden Craig, and he is going to do great things - if he goes to another school or if he goes to the NFL. We knew they were going to score touchdowns, and we knew we had to score 40-45 points to go out and win the game."
Reno’s Corner
"I am incredibly proud of our players and entire staff. They have poured their hearts into the work that brought us to this moment, and earning the opportunity to win a championship and become the first team to represent the Ivy League in the FCS Playoffs makes it ever more special. Our players made a true commitment to one another and never stopped believing in our mission or in the goals we set together. This is an exceptional group of men, and I could not be prouder of everyone associated with Team 152."
Players of the Game
RB Josh Pitsenberger, Sr., 6-0, 220, Bethesda, Md. (The Avalon School)
What is left to say about Yale’s captain? He concluded one of the finest regular seasons in program history by pounding the Crimson for 143 yards on 38 carries and three touchdowns. He ends his career with 37 touchdowns, second to Mike McLeod, the program’s all-time running back who scored 54. And he is now third all-time in rushing yards with 3,102. Pitsenberger wins the Ivy League’s triple crown for running backs, leading the way in carries (255), yardage (1,238) and touchdowns (15). He had 308 more yards than Dartmouth’s D.J. Crowther, who finished second with 929.
WR Nico Brown, Sr., 6-0, 185, Huntington Beach, Calif. (Edison)
After waiting three years for his time to come, Brown turned into the Ivy League’s top receiver, averaging 108.7 yards in his nine games. On Saturday, he made eight receptions for 189 yards and a 61-yard touchdown. He concludes his season with 60 catches for 978 yards and 10 touchdowns.
QB Dante Reno, Soph., 6-2, 205, Sturbridge, Mass. (Cheshire Academy)
Reno had a wonderful season, growing and improving each week. Against Harvard, he completed 15 of 19 for 273 yards and three touchdowns, including a 21-yard strike to sophomore Jaxton Santiago on Yale’s first play from scrimmage. He ends the regular season 165 of 245 (67.3) for 2,040 yards, 17 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
Ivy League Standings
Harvard: 6-1, 9-1
Yale: 6-1, 8-2
Dartmouth: 4-3, 7-3
Penn: 4-3, 6-4
Cornell: 3-4, 4-6
Brown: 2-5, 5-5
Princeton: 2-5, 3-7
Columbia: 1-6, 2-8
In the National Rankings
By virtue of its win over Harvard on Saturday, Yale moved up four spots and concludes the AFCA FCS regular season coaches poll ranked No. 21 in the nation.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will play No. 13 Youngstown State in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Game time is noon on ESPN+.
Meanwhile, Harvard dropped nine spots to No. 19.
Dartmouth was the only other Ivy League school to receive points with three.
AFCA FCS Coaches Poll
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Rec. |
Pts. |
| 1 |
North Dakota St. (24) |
12-0 |
623 |
| 2 |
Montana St. (1) |
10-2 |
597 |
| 3 |
Lehigh |
12-0 |
557 |
| 4 |
Montana |
11-1 |
554 |
| 5 |
Tarleton St. |
11-1 |
534 |
| 6 |
Villanova |
9-2 |
470 |
| 7 |
Tennessee Tech |
11-1 |
455 |
| 8 |
Mercer |
9-2 |
444 |
| 9 |
Rhode Island |
10-2 |
430 |
| 10 |
Stephen F. Austin |
10-2 |
392 |
| 11 |
UC Davis |
8-3 |
348 |
| 12 |
Jackson St. |
9-2 |
309 |
| 13 |
Youngstown St. |
8-4 |
294 |
| 14 |
ACU |
8-4 |
265 |
| 15 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
9-3 |
247 |
| 16 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
9-3 |
208 |
| 17 |
Illinois St. |
8-4 |
199 |
| 18 |
South Dakota St. |
8-4 |
182 |
| 19 |
Harvard |
9-1 |
175 |
| 20 |
South Dakota |
8-4 |
173 |
| 21 |
Yale |
8-2 |
136 |
| 22 |
West Georgia |
8-3 |
108 |
| 23 |
North Dakota |
7-5 |
96 |
| 24 |
Lamar |
8-4 |
61 |
| 25 |
Southern Illinois |
7-5 |
58 |
Dropped Out: Lafayette (24)
Others Receiving Votes: Alabama St., 52; Lafayette, 40; UT Rio Grande Valley, 31; New Hampshire, 15; Gardner-Webb, 14; South Carolina St., 12; Presbyterian, 11; Sacramento St., 8; Austin Peay, 7; Richmond, 6; East Tennessee St., 4; Southern Utah, 4; Dartmouth, 3; Central Connecticut St., 1; Drake, 1; North Carolina Central, 1.
All-Ivy Year-End Roundup
Running back Josh Pitsenberger, Yale’s captain, has won the Asa S. Bushnell Offensive Player of the Year award. He totaled 1,238 yards on 255 carries and 15 touchdowns, leading in each category. His rushing yard total also puts him at ninth in the country for that category. Pitsenberger earns his fourth-straight set of year-end honors after being named second team All-Ivy in 2023 and 2024, and first team All-Ivy as well as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2022.
Nickel linebacker Abu Kamara was unanimously voted the Asa S. Bushnell Defensive Player of the Year award. He recorded 65 total tackles (32 solo), 6.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and a blocked kick. His season also included two defensive touchdowns, one on an interception return, and the other on a fumble recovery.
This is the first time since the Asa S. Bushnell Cup was made into separate offensive and defensive awards in 2011 that both winners came from the same school.
The Yale coaches were also recognized with the Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year award, which is the second time the Bulldogs have won it since its inception in 2014 (Tony Reno won Coach of the Year in 2022 before it became Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024).
Pitsenberger, senior wide receiver Nico Brown, senior offensive tackle Michael Bennett, senior center Leo Bluhm, senior pass rusher Ezekiel Larry, senior linebacker Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye, Kamara and junior defensive back Brandon Webster were all First-Team selections. Pitsenberger, Larry and Kamara were all selected unanimously. This is the second-straight year Bennett and Kamara are being recognized as an All-Ivy First Team member.
Junior defensive lineman Zairion Jackson-Bass was Yale’s only Second-Team pick, while junior offensive lineman Quintom Lewis, junior linebacker Phoenix Grant an junior defensive lineman Jaylin Tate were All-Ivy Honorable Mentions.
The Leader of Team 152
By John Altavilla
There was a time in his life when Josh Pitsenberger saw himself playing at Georgetown. Living in Bethesda, Md., his initial inclination during his prep school days was to pick a college close to home.
Eventually, his point of view began to change and once he expanded his boundaries and visited Yale, he knew he’d found a place where he could thrive.
“This (Yale) is a very special place,” said Pitsenberger. “I could not have predicted any of this, but I’m very glad that I’m here. I’m honored and blessed to be a part of this team, and I cherish every single moment of it.”
When Yale’s season ends, Pitsenberger will leave as one of the greatest running backs in program history
“I thought he was close to (Tyler) Varga, perhaps just a miniscule behind him because Tyler had NFL speed,” said Larry Ciotti, a special assistant to head coach Tony Reno who works with the running backs. “But now I would include him in the group with Tyler and Mike McLeod. He has great vision and is very determined. His cuts, his vision; he’s done a great job. He’s definitely one of the greatest backs we’ve had here.”
Prior to Yale’s FCS playoff game at Youngstown State, Pitsenberger had rushed for 3,102 yards in his career. That’s third all-time behind Robert Carr (3,393) and the incomparable McLeod (4,514). Pitsenberger had scored 37 touchdowns, which is second to McLeod.
Those numbers have been enhanced during his remarkable 2025 season. Pitsenberger led the Ivy League in carries (255), rushing yardage (1,238) and touchdowns (15). He was ninth in the FCS in rushing, remarkable considering he only played in 10 games.
“He’s had a monster season. He’s done it all and what’s special is he has elite vision. He’s a mixture of power and speed,” said Chris Ostrovsky, Yale’s offensive coordinator. “But what he’s been able to do, at the second level, has changed his game. He’s almost become impossible for linebackers to make a play on him because he’s so sudden (as a runner), so aware of how things fit.”
Pitsenberger ended the season with seven 100-yard games, including the last five to bump his game average to 123.80. His best game was against Brown when he rushed for 173 yards.
“I felt it coming. It’s always been a battle to keep myself healthy, getting my body the best that it can be,” said Pitsenberger. “I committed to that in the offseason. I was pretty optimistic about how things might be.”
On top of it all is that his teammates voted him captain of Team 152.
“He’s having an amazing season,” said junior Abu Kamara. “You watch him every year and you might think he’s hit his ceiling, and he comes in the next year and does something even better. I’m proud of him as a teammate and a captain.”
Pitsenberger has enjoyed being captain immensely. Although not the most vociferous among his teammates, he’s led with strong character and determination.
“I’ve enjoyed being captain very much. It’s truly and honor knowing how much I’ve developed as a person and a leader, a teammate,” said Pitsenberger.
What’s coming next for Pitsenberger is still unknown. Of course, he’d love the opportunity to play in the NFL, if someone would give him the chance.
“I’ve been doing this a long time. I would never say that someone as talented as Josh doesn’t have the characteristics to play at the next level,” said Ostrovsky. “He is absolutely having the type of season here that projects him to the next level.”
Regardless, Pitsenberger knows he made the right decision to come to Yale. And the football program understands he will leave as one of its greatest players.
“We talk about legacy a lot; what’s the legacy of (Team) 152 going to be. What’s the legacy every player is going to leave?,” said Pitsenberger.
