BOZEMAN — Like a lot of people, Montana State sophomore defensive back Taki Uluilakepa thought Yale was going make a quick exit in its first postseason appearance.
"(I) turned it off at halftime. Honestly, I thought it was going to be over," he said of the Bulldogs finding themselves in a 28-point deficit to Youngstown State in the second half of their first-round FCS playoff game. "They're a good team, they never quit, and looking forward to this one."
Yale, of course, reeled off four unanswered touchdowns in the final 18 minutes to shock the Penguins 43-42 and set up the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs (9-2) and second-seeded Montana State (10-2) in the second round. Kickoff is slated for noon at Bobcat Stadium.
HEAR FROM THE BOBCATS:
MSU, which will head into the playoffs with its sights set on making a consecutive trip to the national championship, is on a 10-game win streak and coming off its first victory against Montana at Washington-Grizzly Stadium since 2018. That win locked up back-to-back Big Sky Conference championships for the Bobcats.
"A great opportunity in front us, and that's all you want," MSU head coach Brent Vigen said earlier this week. "Yale prevailed obviously on Saturday and so our focus shifted completely to them. These opportunities we don't take lightly. We're set up to be at home, but all we're guaranteed is this one game in front of us. (Yale) is certainly on a roll winning seven games in a row."
This was the first season Ivy League teams were able to compete in the playoffs, and Yale locked up the league's first-ever automatic qualification by beating previously unbeaten Harvard in the regular-season finale. Harvard received an at-large big and fell to Villanova 52-7 in the opening round.
The Bobcats will be focused on limiting the big plays of Yale quarterback Dante Reno — who tossed three touchdown passes in the Bulldogs' comeback against Youngstown State — and running back Josh Pitsenberger, who rushed for three scores and over 200 yards against the Penguins.
There are very few instances of Big Sky Conference teams playing Ivy League schools with Cal Poly playing Yale in 2013 and then Brown in 2018. Vigen noted that it's hard to determine how teams from the two leagues stack up against each because it's been such a rare occurrence.
"When you play the East Coast conferences right now there's really no point of reference," said Vigen. "With the East Coast teams there's really no crossover with our league period. Your ability to compare scores is very limited. I think it's just the unknown of how would this team stack up against the Big Sky? And they probably look at the same thing."
After opening the season with losses to Oregon and South Dakota State, the Bobcats quickly found their footing and proceeded to storm to wins in their final 10 regular-season games. The only contest in that span that wasn't a runaway victory for MSU was its 31-28 victory at Montana.
And so with plenty of momentum on their side coming out of a bye week the Bobcats are set to begin what they hope is another deep playoff run.
"How we started the year, we kind of had to find our identity again with all the new guys, especially running the ball," said sophomore running back Adam Jones. "And I think we've continued to grow each and every week, and I think we're peaking at the right time."
