Former South Carolina quarterback leads thrilling comeback in FCS playoff game
A former South Carolina quarterback led a thrilling comeback in an FCS playoff game Saturday and helped his new team make history in the process.
Former Gamecocks quarterback Dante Reno threw for 260 yards and three scores and helped Yale roar back from down 28 points in the third quarter to upset Youngstown State 43-42 in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
It was the first FCS playoff win for Yale, an Ivy League school in New Haven, Connecticut. The FCS gave an automatic playoff berth to the Ivy League conference champion for the first time ever in 2025.
Reno transferred to play for his dad, Yale coach Tony Reno, after playing one season and appearing in one game for Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks in 2024.
Yale trailed Youngstown State 35-7 at halftime and was down 42-14 (28 points) after the Penguins scored a touchdown with 7:37 remaining in the third quarter. Youngstown State had a 99.7% chance to win the game at that moment, per ESPN.
But Yale ended the game scoring 29 unanswered points, including the go-ahead touchdown and extra point with 2:47 left, to upset Youngstown State, which is located in northeast Ohio and made the field as an at-large team.
Reno finished the game 21 of 38 for 260 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. After turning the ball over three times (two interceptions, one strip-sack) in the first half, Reno was 13 of 22 for 180 yards and three touchdowns in the second half while recording zero turnovers and a two-point conversion pass.
Yale cut its deficit to 42-22 in the third quarter on a rushing TD and two-point pass before Reno threw touchdowns of 11 yards (42-29) and four yards (42-36) to make it a one-score game. The Bulldogs went up for good on a 56-yard rushing score from running back Josh Pitsenberger (32 carries for 209 yards and three TDs).
According to Stats Perform, Yale became the first FCS team to come back from a halftime deficit of 28 or more points and win in any game (regular season or playoffs) since Cornell did it against Harvard in 2000.
Dante Reno’s recent hot streak
Reno also had a big game the previous week, going 15 of 19 for 273 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-28 win over rival Harvard. That win earned Yale a share of the Ivy League conference championship and the league’s FCS auto-bid.
Reno, a former three-star recruit who signed with South Carolina in the Class of 2024, has thrown for 2,300 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions for Yale this season. He has 533 yards and six TDs across his last two games.
Reno initially committed to South Carolina in summer 2022, over two years before he’d arrive on campus. He was an active recruiter for the Gamecocks’ 2024 class and appeared in one game last fall before transferring after the spring game.
After upsetting Youngstown State, the No. 15 overall seed in the FCS bracket, Yale (9-2) advances to a second-round game at No. 2 overall seed Montana State (10-2). That game will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus.
