Yale’s football season ended with a 21-13 loss to No. 2 Montana State in the FCS playoffs, marking the conclusion of Team 152’s historic campaign. The game, held at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana, was a close defensive contest that saw Yale nearly complete its second fourth-quarter comeback of the postseason.
Team captain Josh Pitsenberger closed out his collegiate career with another standout performance, rushing for 124 yards on 26 carries and scoring a touchdown. Abu Kamara contributed on defense with four solo tackles, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles against Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson.
Receiver Nico Brown caught a season-high 11 passes for 107 yards and scored a crucial 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Yale trailed by 15 points late in the game but narrowed the gap after Kamara forced his second fumble of the day, which Ezekiel Larry recovered. The Bulldogs’ offense then moved quickly downfield, culminating in Pitsenberger’s touchdown run to bring the score to 21-13.
The Yale defense stopped Montana State on their next possession, giving the offense one final opportunity to tie the game. However, they were unable to complete the comeback.
Pitsenberger finished his senior year with 1,578 rushing yards on 313 carries—the second-highest single-season total in school history—and tied for third-most single-season rushing touchdowns at Yale with 19. Over his career, he accumulated 3,435 rushing yards and scored 41 touchdowns on the ground, making him second all-time among Yale rushers.
Quarterback Dante Reno threw for 2,498 yards this season—fourth most in a single year for Yale—while Brown became only the fourth receiver in program history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season (1,085), ranking third all-time at Yale with 11 touchdowns this year. Larry led the team defensively with six solo tackles during Saturday’s game.
Yale’s secondary limited Lamson to just 92 passing yards on ten completions—a season low for him. The Bulldogs also outgained Montana State offensively (351-341) and controlled time of possession (33:55 to Montana State’s 26:05). Attendance reached 20,867—the largest crowd for a non-Harvard road game involving Yale since November 1999.
Reflecting on the season and Saturday’s effort, Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football Tony Reno said: “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 in, and they stayed connected to one another every step of the way.”
Reno added: “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. 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.”
He continued: “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.”
Pitsenberger shared similar sentiments: “Yeah, this team means the world to me,” he said. “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.”
Head Coach of Defense Sean McGowan praised both sides’ efforts: “I think the offensive staff put together a great plan,” he said. “Obviously, in our opinion we have the best players in country. Josh Pitsenberger and offensive line have been dominant all year…I think our kids played exceptionally hard and fought to end.”
This year marked several milestones for Yale football: Team 152 became Ivy League’s first champion granted an automatic bid into FCS playoffs; earned its conference-record nineteenth championship; secured its seventy-second win over Harvard; recorded Ivy League’s first playoff victory—a comeback win over Youngstown State; finished undefeated at home (6-0) under Reno; posted an overall record of nine wins against three losses (6-1 Ivy).
