Harvard 45, Columbia 33
The Crimson continued their blitz through the Ivy League with a 45-33 defeat of the Columbia Lions Saturday to improve their record to 7-0.
The Lions jumped out to an early lead on quarterback Jeff McCall’s 1-yard run, but the rest of the first half was all Harvard.
Cantab quarterback Neil Rose threw two touchdown tosses to Carl Morris, and Harvard scored 17 second quarter points off three Lion turnovers, with Josh Staph scampering for touchdown runs of 1 and 2 yards.
The game could prove to be a Pyrrhic victory for Harvard, though, because Rose left the game late in the second quarter with a pinched nerve in his neck. Understudy Garrett Shires filled in and threw a touchdown of his own, and Harvard held a 38-7 halftime advantage.
McCall connected with Jarel Cockburn on a 45-yard throw in the third period, and Columbia would score three more touchdowns in the fourth, but the Crimson were able to escape Wien Stadium with the victory.
Pennsylvania 21, Princeton 10
The Quakers overcame a fourth quarter deficit to remain undefeated and extend their winning streak to 11 games, the longest current streak in Division I-AA.
Princeton led 10-7 midway through the third quarter, and then drove 80 yards to the Penn 2-yard line with 2:31 left in the period. But on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Dave Splithoff’s pass fell incomplete, and Penn took over.
The Quakers then proved why they have been so successful, driving 98 yards in 18 plays, culminating with a 2-yard Kris Ryan touchdown to put Penn on top 14-10 with 11:20 left to play. Ryan racked up 166 yards on 36 carries on the day.
Penn put the game away when Adam Koslosky found the end zone on a 2-yard run with 5:11 remaining.
It’s the battle of the undefeated next week, when Penn takes on Harvard in Cambridge.
Cornell 28, Dartmouth 24
In a matchup that saw both teams enter the game still searching for their first league victory, Cornell capitalized on Dartmouth’s turnovers to eke out the win.
Evan Simmons rushed for three scores to lead the Big Red. Simmons recorded 83 yards on the day.
It was the Cornell defense, though, that set up Simmons’ final two scores, as an intercepted Joe Kinder pass led to Simmons’ second touchdown of the day late in the third quarter, cutting the Big Green lead to 24-21.
And then with 5:14 remaining in the contest, Simmons slashed through the defense for an 11-yard score that proved to be the game winner.
Mike Gratch scored two touchdowns on the ground for Dartmouth. Despite not playing for much of the fourth quarter, Gratch racked up 141 yards on the afternoon.