#TBT: Football's Last Defeat

Around the same time the Harvard football team lost their last game, Lorde had just released her first single “Royals”, The Boston Red Sox were in the middle of winning their third World Series Title in 10 years, New Jersey had just become the 14th state to legalize same-sex marriage, and I was still a junior in high school.

Things have changed. Lorde is now an iconic pop sensation, hanging out with the likes of Taylor Swift. The Red Sox have finished last in the American League East two years in a row. Everyone can marry whomever they want, and I’m living 1,500 miles away from my hometown. The one thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the number to the right of the dash in the Crimson’s record.

Since October 26th, 2013, the Crimson hasn’t lost a game. They are currently riding a 21-game win streak. They were the only undefeated Division I program in the country last year, going 10-0 and winning the Ivy League.

The last loss came to Princeton at home on October 26th, 2013, losing a 51-48 shootout in triple overtime. At the time, Harvard was riding a six-game winning streak on top of being undefeated in 15 straight home games.

The game was highlighted by a combined 10 passing touchdowns, with four from Harvard quarterback Conner Hempel and six from Princeton quarterback Quinn Epperly. Then-sophomore running back Paul Stanton, Jr., ran for 91 yards and two scores on his way to a 936 yard campaign. Stanton is on pace to run for 970 yards this season.

Even with the loss, the Crimson won their second Ancient Eight championship in three years in 2013–sharing it with the Tigers. Since then, Harvard has one of the longest winning streaks in all of college football.