Game by Game Breadown

Harvard 45

Columbia 7

For the Harvard football team, it was a promising glimpse towards the future--a true sign of things to come.

In Harvard's first match without Eion Hu '97, the offense proved that its strength had not diminished, with junior tailback Troy Jones scoring two touchdowns and tallying 101 yards on the ground on 19 carries.

The defense, however, refused to be overshadowed, yielding just 46 rushing yards in the course of the contest. Harvard's last win by a margin of more than 38 points had occurred in 1987, en route to the Crimson's last winning season and the Ivy crown.

Harvard 35

Lehigh 30

Harvard players and fans alike counted down minutes and seconds remaining until the end of the game on September 27. The sooner the clock ran out, the better.

The Crimson walked away from its second match of the season with a 35-30 win, a 2-0 record, and a deep sense of embarrassment.

Entering the fourth quarter, Harvard led Lehigh 35-6. But suddenly, unexpectedly, things fell apart.

Lehigh's second-string quarterback passed for four touchdowns in the final period, but the strong Crimson start was too much.

Harvard 20

Bucknell 24

Harvard's hopes for a 3-0 start faded on October 4 with a tough 24-20 loss to Patriot League-powerhouse Bucknell.

The Crimson started quickly, scoring its first touchdown less than five minutes into the match. Harvard would continue on to score all 20 points in the first quarter.

Ultimately, however, it was the strength of the Bison defense that dealt Harvard the disheartening defeat, as the Crimson was unable to maintain this level of play throughout the game.

As if a mirror of its previous game, the team played a far poorer tail end of the contest.

Harvard 34

Cornell 9

Rebounding quickly from its loss to Bucknell the previous weekend, the Crimson beat Cornell for the first time in 11 years.

Offensively, the Crimson destroyed the Big Red defense, totalling 464 yards and scoring four touchdowns.

The opposition, in contrast, was held to a mere 247 total yards, its presence on the board the result of three field goals.

Perhaps most importantly, Harvard demonstrated that it had found the consistency of play that had been lacking in the previous two matches.

Harvard 52

Holy Cross 24

You know it's going to be a good year when, halfway through the season, you've already matched the previous year's total wins.

Chris Menick rushed for 261 yards, the second-highest single-season mark in school history, and Linden tallied a career-high 272 yards. The match followed a now-familiar pattern, as Harvard jumped out early with three touchdowns to take comfortable control of the game, 21-0.

Holy Cross, however, refused to go down without a fight, and scored twice in the second quarter in a span of 1:22 to keep the pressure on.

Harvard 14

Princeton 12

Harvard needed a win against Princeton.

It got one. It was an ugly win, but a win nonetheless.

With eight sidelined starters, Harvard gritted its teeth with determination, eager to maintain its Ivy invincibility.

Down 12-8 with 7:55 to go, Mike Giampaolo's third field goal of the game pulled the team to within one point of its opponents.

But the best was yet to come.

Giampaolo delivered a career-long 43 yard field goal with just minutes to play to give Harvard the game winning points.

Harvard 24

Dartmouth 0

Harvard took control of the game from the very first play, scoring all 24 points in the first half.

The offensive acclaim belonged chiefly to sophomore split end Terence Patterson, who scored all three of the day's touchdowns for the Crimson.

On the other side of the ball, Harvard's defense held the Big Green at bay throughout the contest, allowing its opponent only 171 yards and picking off several passes.

In clearing the Dartmouth hurdle, Harvard set itself in position for a forceful drive towards the team's first Ivy League championship since 1987.

Harvard 27

Brown 10

On November 8 in Providence, the Harvard overcame a 10-point first quarter deficit to triumph 27-10 over Brown.

The Crimson kept up its strong defense and awaited the opportunity to strike back.

It came in the second quarter, when Harvard followed a Brown fumble with a long touchdown-scoring drive.

The second half of the game was all Harvard, as the Crimson scored three more touchdowns and cruised comfortably to victory.

Sophomore tailback Chris Menick rushed for 201 yards in the game, topping the 1000-yard mark.

Harvard 33

Penn 0

By crushing Penn on November 15, any question as to who was the best team in the Ivy League came to an abrupt stop.

The victory assured Harvard of at least a share of the Ivy title with only Yale left in the season.

The Crimson's thorough domination of the Quakers was controlled by its powerful defense. The line rendered Penn's offense completely ineffective from the first minutes of the game.

Penn managed only 144 total yards in the course of the game, of which just 25 were on the ground. In contrast, Harvard totaled 362 yards for the match.

Yale 14

Brown 52

September 20, 1997 in New Haven marked the Yale coaching debut of Jack Siedlecki. The poor guy.

The Yale football team was defeated at home in its 1997 season opener, losing 52-14 to Brown.

The Bears struck early, setting the tone of the game with a touchdown less than five minutes into the contest.

Yale's defense was rendered ineffective by the forceful Bear offense, and Brown scored a further 17 points in the final two quarters.

A second Bulldog touchdown in the fourth quarter was simply too little, too late.

Yale 0

UConn 28

A 38-point loss, followed by a shutout, is not exactly the way Yale wanted to start it's season.

Unlike the Brown contest, Yale played fairly well throughout the match, particularly on defense.

The Bulldogs were, however, unable to keep up with their opponents' big plays and powerful drives. The Huskies took full advantage of these temporary lapses to score four touchdowns for the win.

Yale did regroup late in the first half, tightening its defense and yielding no points in the final 36:55 of play. But, by then, the damage had been done.

Yale 34

Valparaiso 14

The first win of the season always has a special sweetness to it.

It appeared that the Yale offense was finally starting to click.

The Bulldogs demonstrated from the outset that they meant business, as quarterback Chris Whittaker ran in the first score of the day just minutes into the game.

Four additional touchdowns, coupled with a solid defensive performance, cemented the Bulldogs' first triumph of the 1997 season.

Unfortunately for Yale, this win would stand alone for the remainder of the season.

Yale 24

Bucknell 25

Yale walked away with deep-seeded frustration on October 11 after dropping its third game of the season to Bucknell, 25-24.

Indeed, the two teams were closely matched throughout most of the contest. Building on the offensive momentum developed during the Bucknell win, Yale scored three touchdowns in the course of the game.

Three, however, would prove insufficient for the win.

Yale was unable to convert any of the attempted two-point plays and its hopes for a two-game winning streak were crushed in a heartbreaking loss.

Yale 7

Darmouth 21

The Big Green jumped out to take the early lead, and the Elis trailed 21-0 after only 25 minutes of play.

A Yale touchdown midway through the second quarter temporarily raised spirits, but it would prove to be the Bulldogs' only points of the game.

Both teams remained scoreless in the second half for a 21-7 Dartmouth victory. Yale's defense made a strong showing, particularly in the second half, in which it allowed Dartmouth only 87 rushing yards.

But Yale was unable to penetrate the Big Green's defensive line, and the first half damage proved irreparable.

Yale 10

Columbia 21

Yale's losing streak continued to three straight on October 25. The game was a virtual repeat of the previous week's defeat by Dartmouth.

Columbia took control from the very first minute, and within 11 minutes had racked up all 21 points. It proved to be a deficit too large for the Yale offense to overcome.

A 33-yard field goal followed by a touchdown in the second quarter narrowed the gap slightly, but in the end it proved to not be enough.

Neither team played to its caliber in the second half, and the final 32 minutes of play passed without a score.

Yale 7

Penn 26

The fourth quarter was just beginning and Yale was down seven points. The Bulldog quarterback was in the red zone, nearing the two-yard line, and then... he fumbled.

This nightmarish event took place on November 1, as Yale watched its winning opportunity literally slip out of its hands en route to a 26-7 loss to Penn.

To add insult to injury, the Quakers scored a touchdown on a 92-yard run on their second play after the recovery.

Penn later added another score to the board for the final nail in the Bulldog coffin.

Yale 10

Cornell 37

Things were not looking up for Yale as the Bulldogs dropped their fifth straight match on November 8.

Boasting a roster replete with injuries, the Bulldogs never really got into the game.

The offense was, as had become the pattern, slow to start, and could not compete with Cornell's powerful defense. The Bulldogs could muster only a field goal and a touchdown--no more.

The Bulldogs had not lost by a margin of at least 27 points since the second game of the season. The loss knocked Yale further down in the Ivy standings, with an 0-5 league record.

Yale 0

Princeton 9

Yale was shut out for the second time this season on November 15, falling to Princeton 9-0.

The Tigers completely dominated the entire contest, holding the Bulldogs to only 49 yards on the ground and 94 in the air.

Yale was unable to break through the tight Princeton defensive line for a score.

Defensively, the Bulldogs played fairly well, holding the opposition to its lowest point total of the season.

If Yale, now 1-8, and 0-6 in the Ivy League, ever needed a win, Saturday's Game against Harvard is the time.