BOZEMAN — On a day when one top-two FCS playoff seed suffered an upset loss, the other survived a scare.

No. 2-seeded Montana State (11-2) held off unseeded Yale (10-3) for a 21-13 win Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium. The game ended shortly after top-seeded North Dakota State fell 29-28 at home to Illinois State.

Caden Dowler’s fifth interception of the season led to MSU’s only touchdown of the first half: a fumble recovery from wide receiver Chris Long after quarterback Justin Lamson coughed the ball up at the 1-yard line.

That was the only score of the first half -- MSU’s lowest-scoring first half since the season opener at Oregon (six points) and its fewest first-half points against an FCS foe since the 2024 national title game against NDSU (three).

The Bobcats didn’t score in

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