Harvard’s Andrew Fischer leaps into the endzone to score the game-winning touchdown Saturday against Yale. (Getty)
Final Score
Yale 7-0-0-17 — 24
Harvard 3-0-21-7 — 31
The 131st rendition of The Game was one of the best.
With a perfect season hanging in the balance, Harvard held off a furious Yale comeback Saturday afternoon, scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute to beat the Bulldogs 31-24 and win the Ivy League title outright.
The Harvard came in spite of an onslaught of offense from Yale, which scored 21 unanswered points to tie it when a blowout appeared imminent.
Check out the box score here and read on for a recap.
Harvard Scored in the Final Minute to Win It
Harvard’s offense, which had been lifeless for the entire fourth quarter, delivered in the final minute to take the lead when Conner Hempel hit Andrew Fischer from 35 yards out to make it 31-24 with 55 seconds left and send the sellout crowd at Harvard Stadium into a frenzy.
Yale Scored 17 Unanswered Points to Tie it in the 4th Quarter
Quarterback Morgan Roberts led Yale on a furious second-half comeback against Harvard. (Getty)
Yale could have easily rolled over after Connor Sheehan’s pick 6 gave the Crimson a 24-7 lead. But the Elis did the opposite.
Yale answered on its ensuing drive when Morgan Roberts connected with Mike Siragusa for a 38-yard gain to put the Bulldogs on the Harvard 1, and Tyler Varga scored on the next play for his second touchdown of the game, bringing the Elis to within 24-14 with 12:34 left in the game.
The Elis took advantage of good field position later in the quarter when they started a drive at the Harvard 46 and cashed in with a 4-play, 46-yard drive that culminated with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Morgan Roberts to Tyler Varga — Varga’s third touchdown of the day — to make it 24-21 with 8:21 left in the game.
The drive was made possible by a wind-blown punt David Bicknell punt that traveled just 14 yards.
The Bulldogs defense recovered a fumbled snap exchange on Harvard’s ensuing possession, giving Yale the ball at the Harvard 46 again to start a drive. And once again, the Yale offense delivered, this time setting up a 33-yard Kyle Cazzetta field goal that tied it at 24 with 3:44 left in the game.
Connor Sheehan Scored on a 90-Yard Pick 6 for Harvard
TOUCHDOWN, HARVARD. Connor Sheehan wrestles the ball away from a Yale receiver and runs 85 yards back for the pick-six.
Yale was driving with a chance to cut into Harvard’s lead in the final minute of the third quarter, but Harvard’s Connor Sheehan had other ideas.
Sheehan picked off Morgan Roberts’ pass, weaved through a series of would-be tacklers around midfield and then took it to the house for a 90-yard interception return that made it 24-7 Crimson with 4 seconds left in the quarter.
The score made it 21 unanswered points for Harvard and made an upset all but out of the question heading into the fourth quarter.
The pick six was the third of the season for Sheehan, a linebacker from Austin, Texas.
Another pick-6 for Connor Sheehan! His 3rd of the season! Wow. #HarvardYale #GoCrimson
Harvard Scored a 40-Yard Touchdown on a Trick Play
TOUCHDOWN, HARVARD. Hempel hands off to Stanton, who hands off to Smith, who throws a 40-yard touchdown pass to Fischer.
The Crimson used some trickery late in the third quarter to expand its lead when Seitu Smith II took a handoff (Harvard’s second of the play) and launched a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Fisher to make it 17-7 with 2:45 left in the third quarter.
Paul Stanton’s Touchdown Put Harvard Back on Top
It didn’t take Harvard long to regain the lead in the second half. Paul Stanton Jr. scored from a yard out with 10:06 left in the third quarter, putting the Crimson back on top 10-7.
The score capped a 10-play, 58-yard drive and gave the Crimson its first touchdown of the game after being held in check during the first half.
Yale Took the Lead on a Tyler Varga Touchdown
WATCH: Tyler Varga sheds multiple tackles on TD run for @Yale_Football #TheGame http://t.co/I0BhbLOV2V http://t.co/js97mM1vnQ
Yale running back Tyler Varga, one of the best FCS players in the country and a probable future NFL draft pick, scored from 6 yards out with 38 seconds left in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs up 7-3.
Earlier in the quarter, the Crimson got on the board and took a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard Andrew Flesher field goal with 5:36 left in the quarter.
Pregame: Lee Corso Put on the Boola Bulldog Headgear
Video of Lee Corso putting on Yale headgear while real bulldog “handsome dan” licks @kirkherbstreit face http://t.co/1vVRPQPK9D via @espn
Everyone else on the GameDay set picked Harvard. But when it came for Lee Corso’s “headgear” pick, Coro brought live Yale mascot Handsome Dan up on the stage, then put on the headgear belonging to Boola, the Elis’ other mascot, and picked the visitors to pull off the upset.
Preview: Yale Looking to Spoil Harvard’s Perfect Season
The Game presents the biggest football Saturday of the the season under any circumstances for Yale and Harvard, who are set to square off for the 131st time.
Yet as Craig Bennett writes, the circumstances this time are far from ordinary.
The Crimson (9-0 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) can win the Ivy League title outright and finish a perfect season with a win. The Bulldogs (8-1, 5-1) would love nothing more than to prevent their historic rivals from finishing 10-0. That Yale would also win a share of the Ivy title with a win while snapping a 7-game losing streak in the series would make pulling the upset all the more sweeter.
The game is a big enough deal that ESPN’s College GameDay, which typically broadcasts from stadiums in places like Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Columbus, Ohio, will be broadcasting live from Cambridge, Massachusetts, in honor of The Game.
Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with TV coverage on the NBC Sports Network. Follow along here for lives updates and highlights throughout the game.
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Yale vs. Harvard: Score, Stats & Highlights