WORCESTER, Mass. (Interstat) — Dante Reno threw five touchdown passes and Yale defeated Holy Cross 38-28 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Fitton Field. Yale was the visiting team and improved to 1-0 on the season. Holy Cross, playing at home, dropped to 0-4.

Reno completed 30 of 43 passes for 454 yards and five touchdowns, directing a Yale offense that produced big plays throughout the afternoon. Jaxton Santiago was his leading target with 12 receptions for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Lucius Anderson added nine catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns, and he also returned five kickoffs for 121 yards. Graham Smith caught a 28-yard touchdown pass, while Reid Jones had two receptions for nine yards, Brady Wagner had one catch for four yards and Garon Kemp had one reception for three yards.

Yale’s ground game complemented the passing attack. Hugo Djeumeni Kemeni rushed 12 times for 54 yards and caught two passes for eight yards. Cuttler Adams carried 11 times for 31 yards and added two receptions for 13 yards. Reese Keeney punted four times for 145 yards. Noah Piper handled kicking duties for the Bulldogs and converted a late field goal. The Bulldogs also got production from their special teams, including Schutzman’s punt return. Yale’s rushing totals were modest but effective enough to keep Holy Cross honest.

Holy Cross quarterback David Lynch completed 16 of 38 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and he scored on a 1-yard run. Joseph Williams powered the Crusaders on the ground with 16 carries for 120 yards, and he caught four passes for 14 yards while returning one kickoff for 38 yards. Lincoln Fisher caught two passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Mason McSweeney had three receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown. Ty Curran added five catches for 26 yards, and SirCharles Gordon had one reception for 29 yards. Datrell Jones rushed four times for 10 yards and caught two passes for four yards. Dominic Campanile had one rushing attempt for one yard.

Ethan Moss punted eight times for 320 yards for Holy Cross, helping the Crusaders manage field position. Yale’s defense, meanwhile, made enough stops to protect the lead. JP Schmidt recorded 10 tackles. Osize Daniyan had eight tackles and an interception. Phoenix Grant finished with eight tackles and one quarterback hurry. Charles Barkley-Smith added seven tackles. James Cave and Abu Kamara each had six tackles. Jesse Schutzman contributed five tackles, one quarterback hurry and a punt return. Jaylin Tate recorded four tackles and one quarterback hurry. Xavier Coleman had one tackle, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Billy Eastep and Zairion Jackson-Bass each had three tackles. Mack Johnson and Jevidi Hutton each had two tackles. Alex Kraus, Xavier Rivers, Dillon Rickenbacker, Steven Partin, Babawale Fadeyibi and Cooper Austin each had one tackle.

Holy Cross defenders were busy against Yale’s high-powered passing game. Adam Due made 17 tackles and added one sack and three quarterback hurries. Garrett Baldwin recorded nine tackles and returned two punts for seven yards. Braden Haas and Chase Fountain each had six tackles. Chisom Onwuzurigbo added four tackles. Vin Ferrara and Tyler Georgs each had three tackles, with Georgs also recording a sack. Cooper Ackerman finished with three tackles. The Crusaders also got tackles from their depth players, but they could not slow Reno enough in key moments.

The game’s early scoring included a 1-yard touchdown run by Lynch, with Owen Saraceno adding the extra point. Yale’s Noah Piper missed a 40-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter. Near the end of the second quarter, Saraceno missed a 54-yard field goal attempt. In the third quarter, J. Croce connected with McSweeney for a 9-yard touchdown. Later, Reno found Graham Smith deep right for a 28-yard touchdown, and Piper converted the extra point. Piper also made a 17-yard field goal to help seal the outcome.

Yale’s defense limited Holy Cross’s passing attack for much of the game, though Williams found room to run. The Crusaders moved the ball effectively at times and used Moss’s punting to flip the field, but turnovers and stalled drives kept them from matching Yale’s scoring pace. The Bulldogs’ receiving corps repeatedly stretched the field, with Santiago and Anderson combining for 21 receptions, 389 yards and four touchdowns. That production gave Reno time and space to operate and kept the chains moving. Yale’s 38 points came against a Holy Cross defense that had allowed at least 35 points in each of its first three games.

Holy Cross entered the game still seeking its first win of the season. The Crusaders had lost at Miami (Ohio) 45-7 on Sept. 12, at Colgate 35-10 on Sept. 5, and to Lehigh 35-10 at home on Aug. 29. They will next travel to Lafayette on Saturday, Sept. 26. Yale, now 1-0, will visit Cornell on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Bulldogs then host Merrimack on Oct. 3, Dartmouth on Oct. 10, and Rhode Island on Oct. 17, before traveling to Penn on Friday, Oct. 23. Yale also has games at Columbia on Oct. 31, against Brown on Nov. 7, against Princeton on Nov. 14, and at Harvard on Nov. 21. Holy Cross will play at William & Mary on Oct. 3, and at Harvard on Oct. 17, before hosting Bucknell on Oct. 24, Richmond on Oct. 31, Villanova on Nov. 14, and Fordham on Nov. 21. The Crusaders will also visit Georgetown on Nov. 7.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Yale 23, Holy Cross 21. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Yale with a 78.5 percent probability to win. Holy Cross had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -21. The total score of 66 went under the over/under line of 50.5.