2021 Yale Bulldogs football team

2021 Yale Bulldogs football
2021 Yale Bulldogs football
Conference	Ivy League
Record	5–5 (4–3 Ivy)
Head coach	Tony Reno (9th season);
Offensive coordinator	Kevin Cahill (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Sean McGowan (4th season)
Home stadium	Yale Bowl

2021 Ivy League football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 20 Dartmouth +	6	–	1	9	–	1
No. 24 Princeton +	6	–	1	9	–	1
Harvard	5	–	2	8	–	2
Yale	4	–	3	5	–	5
Columbia	4	–	3	7	–	3
Penn	1	–	6	3	–	7
Brown	1	–	6	2	–	8
Cornell	1	–	6	2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from STATS Poll

The Bulldogs defeated the Brown Bears, 63-38

The 2021 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Ivy League. The team was led by ninth-year head coach Tony Reno and played its home games at the Yale Bowl. Yale's 63-point win against Brown on November 6 was the Bulldogs' most single-game points under coach Reno. Yale averaged 13,263 fans per game.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 18	12:00 p.m.	Holy Cross*	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT		L 17–20	3,987
September 25	12:00 p.m.	Cornell	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT		W 23–17	4,916
October 2	12:00 p.m.	at Lehigh*	Goodman Stadium Bethlehem, PA		W 34–0	3,528
October 9	1:30 p.m.	at Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	ESPN+	L 17–24 ^OT	10,079
October 16	12:00 p.m.	at UConn*	Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT	CBSSN	L 15–21	18,596
October 23	12:00 p.m.	Penn	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	ESPN+	W 42–28	4,475
October 30	12:00 p.m.	Columbia	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	ESPN+	W 37–30	3,437
November 6	12:30 p.m.	at Brown	Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium Providence, RI	ESPN+	W 63-38	4,084
November 13	1:00 p.m.	at Princeton	Powers Field at Princeton Stadium Princeton, NJ (rivalry)	ESPN+	L 20-35	7,686
November 20	12:00 p.m.	Harvard	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT (rivalry)	ESPNU	L 31-34	49,500
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]

Game summaries

at UConn

Yale Bulldogs at UConn Huskies – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	9	6	15
Huskies	0	14	7	0	21

at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field • East Hartford, Connecticut

Date: October 16
Game time: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: 75 degrees Sunny
Game attendance: 18,596
Referee: Hans Wittelsberger
TV announcers (CBSSN): Jason Knapp (play-by-play) & Ross Tucker (color)
Box score

Game information

First quarter

No scoring plays

Second quarter

CONN – Keelan Marion 63-yard pass from Steven Krajewski (Joe McFadden kick), 5:22. Huskies 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 73 yards, 1:17.'
CONN – Kevens Clercius 14-yard pass from Steven Krajewski (Joe McFadden kick), 0:20. Huskies 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 51 yards, 0:50.

Third quarter

CONN – Steven Krajewski 20-yard run (Joe McFadden kick), 11:15. Huskies 21–0. Drive: 6 plays, 63 yards, 2:39.
YALE – Jack Bosman 45-yard field goal, 8:40. Huskies 21–3. Drive: 7 plays, 22 yards, 2:35.
YALE – Zane Dudek 3-yard run (kick failed), 0:48. Huskies 21–9. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 3:38.

Fourth quarter

YALE – Chase Nenad 60-yard pass from Nolan Grooms (kick failed), 4:30. Huskies 21–15. Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 0:52.

Top passers

YALE – Nolan Grooms – 8/31, 132 yards, TD, INT
CONN – Steven Krajewski – 21/32, 199 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

YALE – Nolan Grooms – 12 rushes, 67 yards
CONN – Kevin Mensah – 12 rushes, 58 yards

Top receivers

YALE – Chase Nenand – 1 reception, 60 yards, TD
CONN – Keelan Marion – 2 receptions, 64 yards, TD

Statistics	YALE	UConn
First downs	16	15
Total yards	299	318
Rushing yards	108	119
Passing yards	191	199
Turnovers	4	0
Time of possession	31:35	28:25

NFL draft

The following Bulldog was selected in the National Football League draft following the season.^[3]


Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
7	239	Rodney Thomas II	LB	Indianapolis Colts

References

^ "Yale scores its most points under head coach Tony Reno, defeats Brown 63-38". Hartford Courant. November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
^ "2021 Yale Bulldogs Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
^ "2022 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 11, 2025.

[courant-1] "Yale scores its most points under head coach Tony Reno, defeats Brown 63-38". Hartford Courant. November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.

[2] "2021 Yale Bulldogs Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 15, 2021.

[3] "2022 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 11, 2025.

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Yale Bulldogs football
Venues	Hamilton Park (1872–1883) Yale Field (1884–1914, 1916) Yale Bowl (1914–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Harvard Lehigh: Yank Townsend Trophy Princeton
Culture & lore	1910 Vanderbilt game 1927 Georgia game 1968 Harvard game (Harvard Beats Yale 29–29) 2004 Harvard–Yale prank Handsome Dan "Boola Boola" Pigskin Parade Huddle
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold