No Longer Just The Game, But a Championship Battle

The Game is always special. Screaming fans pack the stadium. Alumni flock into town donning either crimson or blue. An electric atmosphere injects extra adrenaline into the players themselves. By the end of the day, everyone’s exhausted.

But the 2014 rendition of the annual battle between the Harvard and Yale football teams will have a heightened significance.

While the Crimson enters the contest with an undefeated record, the Bulldogs lurk just one game behind in the Ivy League standings.

Saturday’s showdown at Harvard Stadium thus represents an Ancient Eight championship game. If the Crimson (9-0, 6-0 Ivy) wins, coach Tim Murphy will earn his third undefeated season and the team will claim a sole conference title. If visiting Yale (8-1, 5-1) emerges with the victory, the two teams will share the Ivy crown.

In other words, the stakes could not be higher.

“We know that we’re clearly playing the best team on our schedule, as you watch the film,” Murphy said. “But I told the kids, we’re going to play loose and fast, fast and loose. We’re playing with house money.”

Recent history is firmly on the side of the Crimson, which has defeated the Bulldogs in seven consecutive matchups. Last season’s contest at the Yale Bowl was effectively over at halftime, as Harvard cruised to a 34-7 win. But this year’s blue-and-white is an entirely different squad.

Led by coach Tony Reno—a former Harvard assistant who took over in New Haven in 2012—Yale has marched to its best record through nine games in seven years. The team’s one loss came in a 38-31 decision against Dartmouth after surrendering a late lead.

The Bulldogs’ successes this year have largely been due to a high-powered offense, which ranks first in the Ivy League with 43 points per game. The Yale attack was on full display last Saturday against Princeton, as the Bulldogs paced their way to a 44-30 victory at home.

No one is more important to Yale’s game plan than senior running back Tyler Varga, who transferred after his freshman season at the University of Western Ontario. The back is far and away the Ivy League’s top rusher with an average of 144 yards per contest, and he has scored at least two touchdowns in seven games this season.

When Yale finds itself leading late in the second half, Varga has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to pick up first downs and run out the clock.

Harvard cannot afford to focus exclusively on Varga, though, as junior Morgan Roberts is a threat of his own at quarterback. The Clemson transfer ranks first in the Ancient Eight with 325 passing yards per game. His two main targets are seniors Grant Wallace and Deon Randall, the conference’s top two wideouts in terms of receiving yards.

“The two transfers [Varga and Roberts] are probably by far the best two players in our league,” Murphy said. “It’s amazing. They’re both NFL prospects.”

Indeed, the Bulldogs dominate nearly all of the conference’s offensive stat categories. But if anyone has the credentials to stop the Yale attack, it’s Harvard. The Crimson’s identity revolves around its stalwart defense, which ranks first in the FCS, surrendering just 11 points per game.

Under the leadership of captain Norman Hayes in the secondary, the Harvard defense has been a model of consistency, only giving up more than 20 points once. Senior defensive end Zack Hodges leads the Ivy League with 6.5 sacks, and junior linebackers Matt Koran and Jacob Lindsey top the squad with 55 tackles each.

The result of Saturday’s Game may very well depend on which unit has a better showing—the electric Yale offense or the staunch Harvard defense.

“Our strength has been a typical Harvard football team’s strength,” Murphy said. “We’ve been very mentally tough, very resilient. This senior class, these upperclassmen have won 10 straight road games over the past couple years.”

After leading Harvard to a share of the Ivy League championship last season, senior quarterback Conner Hempel has been plagued with injuries throughout the 2014 campaign. Junior Scott Hosch has proved himself to be a capable replacement, guiding the Crimson to six victories as the starter.

But the team put on its best offensive showcase of the season—a 49-7 drubbing at Princeton—in the only game Hempel started without leaving due to injury.

According to Murphy, Hempel—who threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more in that win over the Tigers—will be a game-time decision on Saturday.

When Harvard has struggled through the air, it has successfully turned to its ground game. After a breakout 2013 season—including a four-touchdown performance against Yale—junior running back Paul Stanton has cemented his status as one of the top backs in the conference. And he only seems to be getting stronger as the season goes on.

Assisted by a strong offensive line, Stanton set a new career high with 180 rushing yards in a win over Dartmouth on Nov. 1. The junior surpassed that mark last Saturday against Penn, rushing for 235 yards and three of the Crimson’s four touchdowns.

Stanton’s performance was critical in the tense 34-24 victory over the Quakers. Despite trailing by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Harvard ultimately had enough in it to escape Philadelphia with its unblemished record and at least a share of the Ivy League title.

The last time the Crimson and Bulldogs met in a contest of such magnitude was 2007. Both teams entered the day unbeaten in conference play, but Harvard dominated from start to finish to secure a 37-6 victory along with the championship.

Nothing would be sweeter for the Crimson faithful than a similar result.

“When you come [to Harvard], this week seemed so far away,” Hodges said. “And now we’re finally here. All our hard work, everything we put in…it all comes to this.”

ESPN has bought into the hype, as its College GameDay crew will travel to Cambridge to broadcast live in front of Dillon Fieldhouse on Saturday morning. The program has not featured an Ivy League game since the Crimson squared off with Penn in 2002.

History is indeed on the line Saturday at Harvard Stadium. A Crimson win would notch the team’s third undefeated, untied season this century. Yale will be gunning for its first Ivy League co-championship since 2006.

“We don’t really think about our accumulated record at any point,” Hosch said. “But just to know that it’s a program as historic as Harvard and we’re able to make history this year, it’s something special.”

Yet not a single player on either team needs any extra motivation. It is Harvard-Yale, after all.

“The seniors, they know what’s at stake,” Murphy said. “You don’t have to ask them to raise the intensity. They’re ready to play.”

So buckle up. The 131st edition of The Game could be the most exciting one in a while.

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at david.steinbach@thecrimson.com.