Saturday, December 6
Bozeman, MT
12 noon
Montana State University
vs
Yale
Brent Vigen
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
GAME #13: Bobcats Host Yale in Second Round FCS Playoff Game on Saturday
12/5/2025 2:48:00 PM | Football
Bulldogs arrive in Bozeman after historic win
BOZEMAN, Mont. (Dec. 5, 2025) – Many things loom different in college football when the calendar flips to December, but familiarity – or a lack of it – is high Brent Vigen's list of challenges.
As he's done in the previous four seasons, Vigen prepares to lead the Bobcats into the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs against Yale Saturday. Hosting a post-season game in Bobcat Stadium may be a rinse-and-repeat situation for the Cats, who host a playoff game in Bobcat Stadium for ninth time in Vigen's four-plus seasons, the opponent is new.
In fact Yale, the Ivy League champion who defeated Youngstown State in thrilling 43-42 comeback a week ago, is making history. The Bulldogs (9-2 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) entered the first post-season their conference has participated in as the league's automatic qualifier, and enter Bobcat Stadium as the first first Ivy opponent for MSU (10-2, 8-0 Big Sky).
"The exciting thing about the playoffs is that you see some opponents you wouldn't otherwise see," Vigen said. "There's really no crossover with the East Coast teams. There is crossover with the Missouri Valley, there's some with the southern teams and the Texas teams, but your ability to even compare scores is really limited with (East Coast schools)."
Kickoff Saturday is at 12 noon. The game is streamed on ESPN+.
Trailing 42-14 in the game's final 25 minutes, Yale's come-from-behind stunner dominated the talk surrounding last week's first round games. Star running back Josh Pitsenberger tore through the YSU defense for 209 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Dante Reno threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldogs scored four touchdowns in the game's final 18 minutes to turn a tough playoff debut into a historic occasion.
"Success for them starts on offense," Vigen said. "Dante Reno is a really good quarterback. He's capable of making all the throws, and being a coach's son I'm sure plays into his decision-making, how he orchestrates their offense." Reno finished 20th in the FCS in passing efficiency, and 23rd with 20 touchdown passes.
Pitsenberger has anchored the Bulldogs offense for three seasons. He earned his league's offensive player of the year honors this season, and stands 5th in the FCS with 18 touchdowns and 6th with 1,447 rushing yards.
"In Josh Pitsenberger they have one of the best running backs in the country," Vigen said, "over 1,400 yards at this point, and in some ways (against Youngstown State) he just kept getting better as the game went. The receiving corps is a really dynamic group, and they were without their top receiver this past Saturday in Nico Brown."
While Yale's offense drew praise for overcoming the large deficit in Ohio last weekend, Vigen said the defense provided the impetus. "A big part of (Yale) being able to run the ball in the second half was Youngstown not staying on the field," he said. "If Youngstown stays on the field at all from the middle of the third quarter on, that run game side of it kind of goes away. But credit to Yale, they found a way to get them off the field to provide those opportunities."
After YSU's third quarter touchdown that stretched the lead to 42-14, the Yale defense forced a fumble on the first play of a drive, forced a missed field goal, then produced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs. Vigen had plenty of praised for Yale's defense.
"Defensively they're holding teams under 20 points (per game) to this point," he said, "and while Youngstown had some success, when they needed to get stops they kept getting them. They play a lot of guys up front. They were playing without their best defensive end, (Ezekiel) Larry, in that game, and so it's impressive what they did without him. Their linebacker corps is very active, very good tacklers. Defensively they do some really good things."
The Bobcats enter the tournament on a high note, winning in Missoula to cap a 10-game winning streak while capturing the program's second straight Big Sky Conference championship. The Cats beat a pair of top-10 teams to close the regular season, topping UC Davis in Bozeman before edging the Grizzlies.
Vigen said he senses no level of satisfaction in his youthful team. "While we've accomplished some things, I think it's a group that's still hungry. It's easy for a young group to feel like they've arrived at a lot of different points in time during a season, and they just haven't. That's now how they've looked at it."
A small number of standing room tickets remained at noon on Friday at msubobcats.com/tickets. Fans are also encouraged to check seatgeek.com for tickets.
#GoCatsGo
As he's done in the previous four seasons, Vigen prepares to lead the Bobcats into the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs against Yale Saturday. Hosting a post-season game in Bobcat Stadium may be a rinse-and-repeat situation for the Cats, who host a playoff game in Bobcat Stadium for ninth time in Vigen's four-plus seasons, the opponent is new.
In fact Yale, the Ivy League champion who defeated Youngstown State in thrilling 43-42 comeback a week ago, is making history. The Bulldogs (9-2 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) entered the first post-season their conference has participated in as the league's automatic qualifier, and enter Bobcat Stadium as the first first Ivy opponent for MSU (10-2, 8-0 Big Sky).
"The exciting thing about the playoffs is that you see some opponents you wouldn't otherwise see," Vigen said. "There's really no crossover with the East Coast teams. There is crossover with the Missouri Valley, there's some with the southern teams and the Texas teams, but your ability to even compare scores is really limited with (East Coast schools)."
Kickoff Saturday is at 12 noon. The game is streamed on ESPN+.
Trailing 42-14 in the game's final 25 minutes, Yale's come-from-behind stunner dominated the talk surrounding last week's first round games. Star running back Josh Pitsenberger tore through the YSU defense for 209 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while quarterback Dante Reno threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldogs scored four touchdowns in the game's final 18 minutes to turn a tough playoff debut into a historic occasion.
"Success for them starts on offense," Vigen said. "Dante Reno is a really good quarterback. He's capable of making all the throws, and being a coach's son I'm sure plays into his decision-making, how he orchestrates their offense." Reno finished 20th in the FCS in passing efficiency, and 23rd with 20 touchdown passes.
Pitsenberger has anchored the Bulldogs offense for three seasons. He earned his league's offensive player of the year honors this season, and stands 5th in the FCS with 18 touchdowns and 6th with 1,447 rushing yards.
"In Josh Pitsenberger they have one of the best running backs in the country," Vigen said, "over 1,400 yards at this point, and in some ways (against Youngstown State) he just kept getting better as the game went. The receiving corps is a really dynamic group, and they were without their top receiver this past Saturday in Nico Brown."
While Yale's offense drew praise for overcoming the large deficit in Ohio last weekend, Vigen said the defense provided the impetus. "A big part of (Yale) being able to run the ball in the second half was Youngstown not staying on the field," he said. "If Youngstown stays on the field at all from the middle of the third quarter on, that run game side of it kind of goes away. But credit to Yale, they found a way to get them off the field to provide those opportunities."
After YSU's third quarter touchdown that stretched the lead to 42-14, the Yale defense forced a fumble on the first play of a drive, forced a missed field goal, then produced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs. Vigen had plenty of praised for Yale's defense.
"Defensively they're holding teams under 20 points (per game) to this point," he said, "and while Youngstown had some success, when they needed to get stops they kept getting them. They play a lot of guys up front. They were playing without their best defensive end, (Ezekiel) Larry, in that game, and so it's impressive what they did without him. Their linebacker corps is very active, very good tacklers. Defensively they do some really good things."
The Bobcats enter the tournament on a high note, winning in Missoula to cap a 10-game winning streak while capturing the program's second straight Big Sky Conference championship. The Cats beat a pair of top-10 teams to close the regular season, topping UC Davis in Bozeman before edging the Grizzlies.
Vigen said he senses no level of satisfaction in his youthful team. "While we've accomplished some things, I think it's a group that's still hungry. It's easy for a young group to feel like they've arrived at a lot of different points in time during a season, and they just haven't. That's now how they've looked at it."
A small number of standing room tickets remained at noon on Friday at msubobcats.com/tickets. Fans are also encouraged to check seatgeek.com for tickets.
#GoCatsGo
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