Kevin Cahill’s Bulldogs Aim to Replicate 2025’s Success

Cahill will have an experienced and talented team this year even with of some of the notable departures like the aforementioned Pitsenburger. The one real advantage an Ivy League team like Yale has is that it is, in many ways, immune to the trials of the transfer portal. The academic prestige typically ensures that players do not transfer out unless they are graduated seniors looking to still play out their final season with eligibility, something that the conference does not allow. Because of this, the Bulldogs have not lost a single undergraduate transfer and it has helped them maintain several of their top players.

Dante Reno is back at quarterback following his sophomore season in which he threw for 2,498 yards and 21 touchdowns. Reno was one of the more accurate passers in the country last year, completing his throws at a 64.8% rate and averaging 208.2 yards per contest. Having receiver Jaxton Santiago should help Reno as well. Santiago was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2025, catching 50 passes for 687 yards and five scores.

The defense, too, should be just fine. Reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Abu Kamara will still be patrolling the secondary. Kamara was sensational as a junior a season ago, breaking up 13 passes and intercepting two more all while logging 76 tackles. Kamara is a team captain that has been one of the leaders for a Yale defense that ranked top of the conference surrendering 19.6 points per game. Kamara was a major reason why the Bulldogs have been effective against the pass.

With the kind of experience they bring back on both sides of the ball, Yale shapes up to be right there among the Ivy League’s top squads again this year. Cahill has already established himself as one of the best coaches in the FCS and now he takes over in a situation that is as good as any out East in the subdivision. The Bulldogs are already a winner and, with the roster he is inheriting, Cahill should be able to keep them in that realm. This team should enter 2026 well inside the preseason Top 25 and will probably be a favorite to win the league again (although Harvard will almost certainly have something to say about that).

It may not even be fair to a say a new standard was set last season but more so the old standard just got re-realized. The playoffs are a new goal now, however, that all the Ivy schools have in play and, after the way things played out last winter, Yale has just as much of a hunger to get back as anyone. Those Bulldogs didn’t just make the field of 24, they belonged at the table. This group has every reason to believe it does as well and, even with a new coach and some star power gone, the sights are set firmly on a return trip to the postseason dance.

Yale begins its season on September 19 when it travels to take on Holy Cross.