Recapping Penn
By John Altavilla
Through the last decade, from one star quarterback to the next, Yale’s claim to fame has always been its ability to score points.
And after a quick dip in fortune a few weeks ago, when losses at Lehigh and Dartmouth momentarily knocked the Bulldogs off course, it seems as if the flame is burning red hot again.
Led by three touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Dante Reno, two to emerging star Nico Brown, another 145 yards rushing from captain Josh Pitsenberger and a stellar defensive effort, the Bulldogs defeated Penn 35-13 to win its second straight game.
“Like Coach O (offensive coordinator Chris Ostrowski) told us during the week,” we need to score touchdowns and not field goals (to beat Penn),” said Reno, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 211 yards with no interceptions. “No offense to our field goal unit, but we needed to score seven every time we were out there.”
With the win, the Bulldogs reconfirmed itself a legitimate contender to win the Ivy League championship with Columbia (1-5) headed to Yale Bowl this weekend.
But almost as important as all the points – and Yale has scored 82 over the last two weeks – was the ability of Yale’s defense to essentially take one of the nation’s top receivers, Penn’s Jared Richardson, out of the game.
“We knew coming in that Richardson is a big-time playmaker,” said Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow ‘54 Head Coach. “So the focus all week was on limiting his space and making him earn everything.”
Richardson, who made 17 catches for 191 yards in Penn’s last trip to Yale Bowl in 2023, came into the game leading the Ivy in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions. But although making six catches for 85 yards and one touchdown on Saturday, the efforts of Yale’s secondary, primarily junior cornerback Brandon Webster, working predominately in single coverage, turned the star essentially into a spectator.
“Our defensive coordinator (Sean McGowan) and defensive backs coach (Jay Anderson) came in with a great game plan for us to limit the targets he would have and be great in the back end to be able to make plays when the ball was in the air,” said Webster.
Yale had 413 yards of offense, rushing for 202, which opened up their passing games.
“I think our ability to run the ball, and me being able to get the ball to guys like Nico has been the big difference in our ability to move the ball down the field against a great team like Penn,” said Reno.
Yale carried a 28-10 lead into the half, primarily the byproduct of a pair of touchdown passes from Reno and a defense score on a fumble return from Abu Kamara.
After a Penn field goal cut into the lead, Reno was at it again, this time hitting Brown (eight catches, 121 yards) in the flat and then watching him outrace the Quakers defense into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game to make it 35-13 with 1:53 to play in the third quarter.
The Quakers opened the scoring just 1:49 into the game with a 28-yard field goal from first year kicker Mason Walters after a Yale fumble and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave them the ball at the Yale 14.
By the end of the quarter, Yale had its first lead when Pitsenberger fought off a maze of tackles to score from the 10 with 1:09 to play. The score tied him with Tyler Varga for third all-time in program history for rushing touchdowns with 31.
Then Yale’s defense made its first big play. Penn quarterback Liam O’Brien had the ball punched out of his hands by Zairion Jackson-Bass along the far sideline where Kamara scooped it up and ran it home for a 63-yard touchdown.
Then Reno perfectly led Jaxton Santiago into the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown with 12:57 to go in the half and Yale had a commanding 21-3 lead.
“That was a pretty good play,” said Ostrowsky. “But the whole unit is really playing hard, and we have a lot of young guys that are going to be here and that’s really cool to see. We’ll keep working hard but that one (the Santiago TD reception) was a big one for us.”
O’Brien brought Penn back into the game with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Richardson, with 6:56 to play in the half.
Yale rebuilt the lead again when Reno hit Brown for a 19-yard score with 1:55 to go into the half. Brown made a great play, ripping the ball out of the hands of a defender.
“I can’t pick out which touchdown I enjoyed he most, but they were both good,” said Brown. “It’s always nice to get a win, but it’s even better to see this group starting to put some pieces together. But the truly exciting thing is, there’s still a lot of meat left on the bone.”
Reno’s Corner
“I think we’re starting to find our rhythm. The guys are playing with confidence, and we’re executing at a higher level. It’s not just one thing; the communication, the tempo and the trust in each other have all improved. When you see that kind of balance and energy, good things happen offensively.”
Players of the Game
RB Josh Pitsenberger, Sr., 6-0, 220, Bethesda, Md. (The Avalon School)
Yale’s captain had another brilliant day, gaining a season-high 145 yards on 22 carries with a 10-yard touchdown, the 31
st rushing TD in his career, tying Tyler Varga for third all-time in program history. Pitsenberger leads the Ivy League in carries (163), yards rushing (684) and rushing TDs (nine).
WR Nico Brown, Sr., 6-0, 185, Huntington Beach, Calif. (Edison)
Yale’s leading receiver improved his numbers with another eight receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Brown now has 34 catches for 521 yards (104.2 per game) and six TDs this season.
QB Dante Reno, Soph., 6-2, 205, Sturbridge, Mass. (Cheshire Academy)
For the second consecutive week, Reno has run Yale’s offense with the confidence of a veteran. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He now has 10 TD passes and only four interceptions this season.
LB Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye, Sr, 6-1, 215, Damascus, Md. (Damascus)
The current favorite for Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year collected another 13 tackles against Penn. He how has a career-high 71 tackles this season. He came into the weekend fifth in tackles per game in the FCS.
Ivy League Standings
Harvard: 3-0, 6-0
Dartmouth: 2-1, 5-1
Penn: 2-1, 4-2
Yale: 2-1, 4-2
Princeton: 2-1, 3-3
Cornell: 1-2, 2-4
Brown: 0-3, 3-3
Columbia: 0-3, 1-5
In the National Standings
Harvard remained ranked No. 15 in this week’s Top 25 AFCA FCS Coaches Poll
.
Jaden Craig threw for 216 yards and a touchdown and Xaviah Bascon rushed for 101 yards and a score to help the Crimson beat Princeton 35-14 for its sixth straight victory.
Princeton took a 14-10 lead with 3:50 left in the second quarter on a 51-yard touchdown connection from Kai Colón to Ethan Clark.
But Harvard answered with two scoring drives before halftime. Kieran Corr hit a 25-yard field goal with 1:05 left and Jack Kirkwood had his first interception of the season to give Harvard the ball at Princeton's 32-yard line. Four plays later, Bascon scored on a 4-yard run to give Harvard the lead for good with 18 seconds left in the half.
Harvard is one of six unbeaten teams in the FCS, joining Tarleton State, Lehigh, Montana, North Dakota State and Tennessee Tech.
Elsewhere in the Ivy League, Dartmouth generated 12 votes after garnering only one last week.
Grayson Saunier threw a touchdown pass after rushing for three first-half scores as Dartmouth blasted Columbia 49-3. Saunier completed 12 of 13 passes for 162 yards in three quarters of play. His career-high three touchdown runs came on just six carries — for 55 yards.
Penn dropped out of the poll following its 35-13 loss to Yale.
AFCA FCS Coaches Poll
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Rec. |
Pts. |
| 1 |
North Dakota St. (25) |
8-0 |
625 |
| 2 |
Tarleton St. |
9-0 |
598 |
| 3 |
Montana |
8-0 |
575 |
| 4 |
Montana St. |
6-2 |
529 |
| 5 |
South Dakota St. |
7-1 |
525 |
| 6 |
UC Davis |
6-1 |
495 |
| 7 |
Lehigh |
8-0 |
461 |
| 8 |
Tennessee Tech |
8-0 |
433 |
| 9 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
7-1 |
423 |
| 10 |
North Dakota |
6-2 |
401 |
| 11 |
Villanova |
6-2 |
350 |
| 12 |
Rhode Island |
7-2 |
340 |
| 13 |
Mercer |
6-1 |
323 |
| 14 |
Lamar |
7-1 |
314 |
| 15 |
Harvard |
6-0 |
248 |
| 16 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
6-2 |
235 |
| 17 |
Southern Illinois |
5-3 |
224 |
| 18 |
Illinois St. |
5-3 |
192 |
| 19 |
Youngstown St. |
5-3 |
181 |
| 20 |
Jackson St. |
5-2 |
126 |
| 21 |
Northern Arizona |
5-3 |
108 |
| 22 |
Presbyterian |
7-1 |
99 |
| 23 |
Stephen F. Austin |
6-2 |
89 |
| 24 |
Austin Peay |
5-3 |
78 |
| 25 |
ACU |
4-4 |
36 |
Others Receiving Votes: UT Rio Grande Valley, 25; Western Carolina, 21; West Georgia, 18; Dartmouth, 12; Lafayette, 12; Gardner-Webb, 10; South Dakota, 9; Sacramento St., 4; Prairie View A&M, 3; Alabama St., 2; Central Connecticut St., 1.
Built Different: Ayo-Durojaiye’s Relentless Pursuit Powers Yale’s Defense
Truth be told, Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye may love basketball as much as football.
“Numi is a big basketball fan. He likes to have debates over old school players vs. new school players and even talk about his own game,” said Abu Kamara, Yale’s senior nickleback. “Sometimes when I am at work at Payne Whitney Gym, he’s in the Lanman Center training as if he was a part of the men’s varsity basketball team.“
Perhaps if circumstances were different, he’d be a star in another sport on campus. But he came to New Haven to play football and now that his career is coming to an end it’s clear how great an impact he’s made in Tony Reno’s program.
“His preparation is tremendous. He’s playing as good as he’s ever as, particularly in his command of the defense. It goes back to my feeling that he’s almost playing desperate. That’s what you feel and sense watching him,” said Sean McGowan, Yale’s defensive coordinator. “The guys identify that about him and now they are chasing him. He’s set a great standard. He’s definitely going after the ball. When it comes to him directly, he’s making those plays. He’s not waiting for anyone else to make the plays. In his mind he’s on mission running all over the field.”
Coming into Yale’s game on Saturday against Penn, Ayo-Durojaiye was fifth in the nation in tackles, averaging 11.6 a game. He had another great day on Saturday against Penn, leading the Bulldogs with 13 tackles. He now has 71 tackles this season.
And what makes this even more astonishing is that he came into the season totally off the Ivy League’s radar.
“I don’t know if it’d motivation or not. It’s obvious that some guys just get overlooked, “ said Josh Tarver, Yale’s senior free safety. “But he’s playing a different role for the team than he did last year. He switched positions (along the linebacking corps) which has enabled him to do more in the spotlight.”
No game illustrated just how good Ayo-Durojaiye has played with season than Yale’s game against Cornell at Yale Bowl on Sep. 27.
Ayo-Durojaiye had 17 tackles in the 41-24 win, the most for any Yale player since current NFL star Foye Oluokon had 16 against Colgate in 2014. He was naturally selected as the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Week.
“Seventeen tackles are hard to come by,” said Jaylin Tate, Yale’s junior defensive tackle. “He’s also one of the leaders of the defense. He commands the defense with power. I see him as a leader of the team as a whole. But he’s truly our leader (defense).”
Ayo-Durojaiye shrugged off the significance of his big day, choosing instead to chalk it up to a player just doing his job.
“For me, it always comes down to trust and communication,” said Ayo-Durojaiye. “If I get zero tackles or I get 20, it really doesn’t matter as long as we win. I have faith in the gameplan that Coach McGowan puts together. I just run and tackle.”
Said McGowan: “Even as a young player he had a very schematical viewpoint about the game. He played at a great (high school) program (Damascus, Damascus, Md,); he knew and understood how the game should be played.”
It’s clear the engineering major has become a defensive focal point — the kind of player teammates rely on for more than just tackles.
“He’s awesome, definitely a student of the game,” said Phoenix Grant, the junior linebacker who regularly lines up next to Ayo-Durojaiye. “He knows what everyone’s job is which allows him to play super-fast. There are some plays when we’re talking to each other right until the ball is being snapped. He’s flying around the ball and he always seems to know where it is going to be.”
“He’s all football, whether he’s watching it himself or teaching some of the young guys in the room about it,” said Tarver. “He’s really just pouring back into the program. That’s just the kind of guy he is.”
