Brody Gilkinson, Contributing Photographer

In its closest game of the season so far, the Yale Football team, (2–1, 0–1 Ivy) came up with a victory against Central Connecticut State University (2–3, 1–0 Northeast), beating out the Blue Devils by one point, ending 23–22.  

After taking a game off due to injury, Grant Jordan ’25 started the game on Saturday as the Bulldogs’ quarterback. Jordan looked ready to be back out on the field and came out hot. At the game’s beginning, he converted a 4-yard run to score Yale’s first touchdown of the day. The first quarter ended 10–3 with the Bulldogs in the lead. 

The second quarter was full of excitement as CCSU tied the game in the first two minutes. The Blue Devils found success when they utilized short-range passes and ran the ball through the Bulldogs’ defensive line. However, partway through the quarter, Da’Quan Gonzales ’26 caught an interception, giving the Bulldogs’ offense something to capitalize on. 

Josh Pitsenberger ’26 was fueled by this swing in momentum and made one of the biggest plays of the day late in the second quarter. Pitsenberger took off for an enormous 64-yard run down the left sideline which ended in a touchdown, solidifying the Bulldogs’ lead at half-time, 17–10. 

The third quarter came with less action, resulting in CCSU putting up the only points with two field goals by Jack Barnum. These 6 points brought the Blue Devils within 1 point of the Bulldogs, ending the quarter 17–16. 

At the start of the fourth quarter, CCSU took the lead for the first time scoring a touchdown and giving the Bulldogs a scare as the score jumped to 17–22. Luckily, Joshua Tarver ’26 wasn’t going to let the Blue Devils off easy and came up with Yale’s second interception of the day. 

Following the play, Jordan was up to the challenge and threw a 19-yard pass to Luke Foster ’25 for the first catch of his collegiate career. Foster barreled through the Blue Devils’ defense into the endzone and secured the win for Yale. 

The final score was 23–22, with the Bulldogs battling it out to hold onto the lead for the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter. 

Throughout the game, the Bulldogs defense looked active, coming up with a sack and several tackles on the line of scrimmage. The offense started off strong in the first half, lulling a bit in the third quarter, and then picking up at the end when it mattered most. 

Pitsenberger, back in action, was crucial for the Bulldogs’ offense. His 127 rushing yards carried much of the Yale offense all day. 

In his return to action, Jordan played well, going 16–31 passing for 146 yards and a touchdown, but the Bulldogs will need to see more in coming games against tougher defenses. 

Despite the win, head coach Tony Reno knew it wasn’t the team’s best performance. 

“I’m just really proud of my team,” Reno said to Yale Athletics. “I said to the guys that there’s times in a season, in life really, that occur and you either capture them or you don’t. The crazy thing is, we didn’t know there was a moment (in the game) until it happened for us. What we decide to do with it is up to us. We really didn’t play our best for 60 minutes, had a tough third quarter.” 

Regardless, after coming off a tough loss to Cornell, clinching the win was exactly what the Bulldogs needed to get their momentum back as they head into more Ivy play against Dartmouth next Saturday.

The Bulldogs will face the Big Green back at home in the Yale Bowl. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and kickoff is at noon.