Harvard Lags Yale After First Quarter of 141st Game

Reno launches a 64-yard touchdown pass to Brown, extending Yale’s advantage to 24-7 with 7:34 remaining in the second frame. A blown man coverage led to Brown streaking down the sideline, breaking a tackle, and waltzing into the end zone.

Craig lofts a 23-yard touchdown pass to Tattersall to cut Yale’s lead to 17-7.

Josh Pitsenberger rushed into the end zone for a Yale touchdown to start the second quarter, bringing the score to 17-0 for Yale after the extra kick. This is the most Harvard has trailed at any point this season.

Harvard struggled throughout the first quarter, as the team showed its nerves with a disastrous start. The Crimson will need to significantly improve its play and figure out how to make headway with Yale’s defense if it wishes to snap its losing streak against the Bulldogs.

Harvard started the game with a fumble, and things didn’t improve much from there. With prime field position, Yale immediately scored. Harvard, looking sloopier than the team has all season, managed one first down during the entire quarter and a series of bad punts continued to give Yale opportunities.

Harvard’s defense managed to keep Yale’s score from ballooning, but Head Coach Andrew Aurich will need to speak to his team and make some changes going into the next quarter

A 39-yard field goal attempt by Yale kicker Noah Piper sails through the uprights, giving the Bulldogs a 10-0 lead with 6:12 remaining.

On second down from his own 10-yard line, Craig fumbles the ball but quickly jumps back on it. On a third-and-13 Craig underthrows Boyd. The Crimson, from its own end zone, punts the ball only to its own 43-yard line.

A Yale fumble on a backwards pass results in a 15-yard loss, setting up a punt to give senior Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig and the offense another opportunity to strike back.

On its first full offensive series, Harvard goes three-and-out. Head Coach Andrew Aurich doesn’t pull the trigger on fourth down — his characteristic move. A short punt gives Yale the ball at their own 49-yard line.

Yale scored a touchdown on its first offensive play of the game, a 21-yard touchdown from quarterback Dante Reno to Jaxton Santiago to put the Bulldogs up 7-0 with 14:42 remaining.

Harvard senior wide receiver Dean Boyd fumbled on the very first play of the game. Yale will now have the ball at the 20-yard line, giving the team a prime opportunity to begin the game with a touchdown and momentum.

Yale won the coin toss and chose to defer. Harvard received first. It returned the kick to the 30-yard line, but the ball was placed at the 15-yardd line due to penalty..

The Harvard and Yale football teams ran out to a mix of boos and cheers as The Game is about to begin. Both teams took a knee in a moment of prayer before the coin toss. Outside, students from both schools are tailgating and are only just beginning to enter the stadium.

After nine consecutive weeks of action-packed Harvard football, we have finally reached the season finale — a matchup in New Haven against the Yale Bulldogs that will have more riding on it than any game this season, and potentially in the Crimson’s history.

Thanks to wins last Saturday by both Harvard (9-0, 6-0 Ivy) and Yale (7-2, 5-1), the two teams now in first and second in the Ivy League. Due to new tiebreaker rules from league officials, the winner of this matchup will be the Ivy champion.