Brown 25, Yale 24
In a match-up of the two teams who would enter the final weekend tied for first in the Ivy, Yale appeared to have this game wrapped up, leading 24-10. But Yale quickly discovered that no lead would be safe with quarterback James Perry at Brown's helm. Perry led the Bears on consecutive scoring drives in the fourth quarter, cutting the Bulldog lead to 24-23.
It appeared that Brown would kick the routine extra point to send the game into overtime, but then Yale safety Ben Blake blocked the extra point, apparently sealing the victory for the Elis. The ball, however, bounced right into the hands of Brown's Mike Powell, who pitched it to Rob Scholl, who strolled in for the two points, giving Brown a 25-24 lead.
With 12 seconds left, Yale still managed to drive into position for a 47-yard field goal, but Mike Murawczyk's kick fell short.
Yale 48, Valparaiso 2
The Bulldogs really needed an easy victory to bounce back from the previous week's devastating loss, and Valparaiso was able to fill that need. Quarterback Joe Walland completed 16-of-23 passes for 281 yards and threw for four touchdown passes to lead Yale to victory. The Brown defense ended up outscoring the Valpo offense, as linebacker Peter Mazza scored on a 67-yard interception return.
Yale 17, San Diego 6
With Walland nursing a sore shoulder, quarterback T.J. Hyland struggled as his replacement, throwing three interceptions in the first quarter. The Yale defense almost single-handedly won the game for the Elis, by setting up Yale's first touchdown drive with a fumble recovery at the San Diego 19 and by completely shutting down the Torero offense. Blake, who blocked the ill-fated extra point in the Brown game, managed to block a field goal and a punt for the Elis.
Yale 34, Holy Cross 14
Yale's 20-point win over Holy Cross wasn't even that close, as the Eli took a 34-0 lead into halftime, and then coasted for the victory. Led by running back Rashad Bartholomew, who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, the Yale offense was unstoppable in the first half. Walland showed no ill effects of his shoulder injury, throwing for 139 yards before being relieved at halftime.
Yale 44, Dartmouth 3
Yale ended its nine-year losing streak against Dartmouth in dominant fashion, as the Bulldogs compiled 512 yards of total offense and held the Big Green to just 152 yards. Walland threw for 287 yards and rushed for another 49, receiver Eric Johnson caught nine passes for 117 yards, and Bartholomew rushed for 109 yards on 21 carries to lead the Bulldog offense.
Yale 41, Columbia 29
For the third game in a row, the Bulldogs managed to put away an opponent in the first half, as Yale took a 24-3 into halftime and a 41-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Columbia scored three touchdowns in garbage time to make the final score look close. Bartholomew rushed for two touchdowns and a season-high 131 yards on 27 carries to lead the Yale offense. The win put the Elis into a five-way tie for first in the Ivy League.
Yale 23, Penn 19
After playing five consecutive weeks against relatively weak competition, Yale faced a much more formidable opponent with the Quakers, who had won seven in a row against the Elis. The Bulldogs had difficulties scoring in the red zone, highlighted by a fumble on the Penn one-yard-line. With the Yale offense struggling and the defense unable to stop Penn running back Kris Ryan, the Quakers seemed to be in control with a 19-16 lead in the fourth quarter.
But then Yale scored the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter on the legs of its quarterback. With the ball on the Penn 47-yard-line, Walland fumbled a snap but managed to recover and gain 18 yards on the broken play. On the next play, with nothing but open field in front of him on a play-action pass, Walland kept the ball and rushed in from 29 yards out for the game-winning score.
Yale 37, Cornell 20
With both the Big Red and the Bulldogs locked in a four-way tie on top of the Ivy standings, this was a make-or-break game for both teams. Cornell took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, but Yale came back, scoring 30 unanswered points en route to the victory. Walland completed 24-of-33 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns to earn Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors and break the Yale career records for completions and passing attempts. Bartholomew rushed for a touchdown and 123 yards on 28 carries to lead the ground game. Blake had another big day defensively, downing a punt on the Cornell two-yard-line and intercepting Big Red quarterback Ricky Rahne.
Yale 23, Princeton 21
With Yale in a tie for first with Brown, and Princeton at the bottom of the Ivy standings, this game should have been easy for the Elis. With Walland rushing for 101 yards and passing for 163, the Bulldogs took a 23-9 lead in the fourth quarter. The victory seemed secure, but Princeton put together two late touchdown drives to cut the gap to 23-21.
The difference in the game turned out to be point-after conversions. Princeton kicker Taylor Northrop, who had already hit a game-tying 52-yard field goal at Harvard, was unable to kick either of his two extra-point attempts. That meant Princeton had to make a two-point conversion to tie the game after scoring its final touchdown. But Princeton's pass to the end zone was incomplete, securing the Yale victory and placing the Bulldogs one win away from their first Ivy title in ten years.
Harvard Season Review
This year's Harvard team looked to shake off the demons of last season's 4-6 campaign and bring back the glory of 1997's 9-1 Ivy League championship. With the team tied for first after week seven, the Crimson was in position to do just that. But then devastating losses to Brown and Princeton killed the team's Ivy title hopes, leaving Harvard at 5-4. Now the Crimson can only play the role of spoiler at New Haven.
Harvard 24, Columbia 7
With Columbia taking a 7-0 lead early and Harvard's first drive ending on an interception in the Lion end zone, it looked as if this game might be a repeat of last year's nightmarish 24-0 loss in New York City. But then linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski reversed Harvard's fortune when he picked off Columbia quarterback Mark Stoutenberg to set up the game-tying touchdown.
From then on, it was all Harvard. Running back Troy Jones put the Crimson up for good with a touchdown run late in the first quarter, and the Harvard defense shut down Columbia from then on. Jones and running back Chris Menick were the key contributors to the Harvard rushing attack that racked up 264 yards on 40 carries. Quarterback Brad Wilford threw for 190 yards to earn a victory in his first career start.
Harvard 25, Holy Cross 17
Brad Wilford threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown to lead Harvard to victory. After falling behind 14-3 in the first quarter, Harvard scored two touchdowns, including a two-point conversion, to take an 18-14 lead at the half. Holy Cross cut the lead 18-17 early in the third, but then Wilford's 12-yard touchdown gave Harvard a more comfortable lead. The Crusaders gave the Crimson a scare when they drove to the Harvard 16-yard-line in the final minutes. But the Harvard defense held Holy Cross on fourth-and-10 to preserve the victory.
Colgate 24, Harvard 21
After Harvard fell behind 21-7 and turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions in the third quarter, it looked as if the game was lost for the Crimson. But then strong safety Mike Madden picked off a pass from Colgate quarterback Ryan Vena to set up a Crimson score. Then with 1:18 left, Wilford hit receiver Kyle Cremarosa from 33 yards out to tie the game. But Colgate drove 66 yards from the Harvard 15-yard-line in the final minute to set up the game-winning field goal, killing the Crimson comeback.
Cornell 24, Harvard 23
On the heels of Menick and running back Chuck Nwokocha, each of whom rushed for more than 100 yards, the Crimson held a 23-10 lead late in the fourth quarter. With 3:56 remaining, Kacyvenski picked off a pass from Cornell quarterback Ricky Rahne at the Harvard six-yard-line, seemingly sealing the victory for Harvard. But the play was called back, and Cornell went on to score, cutting the Crimson lead to 23-17. The Big Red then finished its shocking comeback on its next possession when Rahne drove Cornell 58 yards on five plays to give the Big Red a 24-23 lead with 26 seconds remaining.
Harvard was not finished, though. Wilford hit receivers Terrence Patterson and Carl Morris on consecutive plays to set up a 40-yard field goal attempt for placekicker Mike Giampaolo. But a low snap allowed the field goal to be blocked, and the Crimson was left with the crushing defeat.
Harvard 37, Fordham 30
After blowing a 13-point lead against Cornell the previous week, Harvard nearly blew a 34-3 halftime lead against Fordham, the cellar team in the Patriot League. Led by Wilford, who had 220 yards passing, Patterson, who caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, and Menick, who rushed for 139 yards on 26 carries, Harvard built the seemingly insurmountable lead. But in the second half, Fordham quarterback Matt Georgia tore up the Harvard defense, completing 36-of-64 passes for 382 yards. Interceptions by Kacyvenski and safety Ben Green in the final minutes were the difference in preserving the Crimson victory.
Harvard 13, Princeton 6
Led by Menick, who rushed for a season-high 165 yards on 27 carries, the Crimson led the Tigers 6-3 late in the fourth quarter. But then a 52-yard, wind-aided field goal by Princeton kicker Taylor Northrop with 3:32 left tied the game. On its next possession, led by Menick's rushing, the Crimson drove down to the one-foot-line with seven seconds left. On the last play, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy chose to let Wilford run a sneak instead of allowing Giampaolo to attempt a field goal. The gamble paid off, as Wilford made it in for the game-winning touchdown.
Harvard 63, Dartmouth 21
In a day when Menick and Patterson, as expected, broke the Harvard records for career rushing and career receptions, respectively, the Crimson offense completely rewrote the school record book. Despite playing only three quarters, Wilford completed 26-of-34 passes for 398 yards, eclipsing the previous record by 46 yards. Harvard also broke modern league records for points and total yards (640). Menick rushed for four touchdowns and 120 yards on 22 attempts, and Morris, Cremarosa and receiver Andy Fried all had their biggest games of the season.
As for the defense, the team initially struggled to stop Dartmouth quarterback Bryan Mann, who completed 15 of his first 16 passes and led a Big Green touchdown drive to start the game. But then in the second half, the Harvard defense held Mann without a single completion and limited the Big Green offense to just one first down.
Brown 17, Harvard 10
Though Brown and Harvard featured the top two offenses in the Ivy League entering the game, it was the defenses that controlled the contest. Despite turning the ball over four times in the first half, Harvard still led 10-3 early in the third quarter. But then Brown quarterback James Perry finally figured out the Harvard defense, completing 7-of-9 passes on a game-tying touchdown drive.
With the Crimson facing third-and-30 on its next possession, a Wilford bomb thrown 50 yards downfield was intercepted by Brown cornerback Melvin Justice and returned all the way back to the Crimson 18-yard-line. The Bear offense scored off the turnover, and Harvard was unable to come back despite driving into the red zone on its next two possessions. The final Crimson drive ended in a Wilford interception, the team's sixth turnover of the game.
Penn 21, Harvard 17
Trailing 14-0 in the fourth quarter, with its offense completely ineffective, and Menick sidelined with a sprained MCL, the game appeared lost for Harvard. But a Kacyvenski interception set up Harvard's first touchdown of the game, and a spectacular 77-yard punt return by Patterson tied the game for the Crimson. After the Harvard defense forced the fourth Penn turnover of the game, a Giampaolo field goal put the Crimson up 17-14 with 5:47 remaining.
An interception by linebacker Jeff Svicarovich with 2:51 remaining appeared to seal the game for the Crimson, but a Wilford fumble gave Penn the ball at its own 37-yard-line. Facing fourth-and-10, Penn quarterback Gavin Hoffman threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Carson, putting Penn up 21-17 in shocking fashion.
With all of its timeouts and 1:02 remaining, Harvard had a chance to come back and win the game, but the Crimson drive stalled at the Penn 33, and ended in a Wilford interception on fourth-and-10, Harvard's 11th turnover in its last two games.
