With the Ivy League title race heating up, Princeton held off a solid Cornell performance for a 32-25 win to remain in the hunt for the Ancient Eight title. Elsewhere in the Ivy League, Harvard and Pennsylvania remained on a collision course for the championship as the Cantabs defeated Dartmouth 31-26 and the Quakers dominated Brown 31-7.
Princeton 32, Cornell 25
The Tigers (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) trailed 25-10 at the start of the fourth quarter in Ithaca when they began their greatest comback of the season, notching 15 points in the final stanza and a touchdown to seal the win in overtime.
On the fourth quarter’s opening series, Princeton drove 43 yards for a touchdown. Backup Princeton quarterback Matt Verbit rushed into the Cornell (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) end zone for a six-yard touchdown, and Derek Javarone’s extra point brought the score to 25-17.
The Princeton defense stopped Cornell on each of the Big Red’s next two drives. Meanwhile, the Tiger offense went to work.
With 8:12 remaining in the game, Princeton running back Cameron Atkinson eluded two tacklers to enter the end zone, bringing Princeton within two points of tying the game at 25. Verbit’s quarterback sneak successfully completed the two-point conversion to even the score.
Cornell had the opportunity to win when a bad Princeton punt snap set the Big Red up on the Tigers’ 15-yard line with :24 remaining. After two unsuccessful plays, Cornell quarterback Mick Razzano’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Jay McCareins, forcing overtime.
Princeton got the ball first in overtime, and Verbit was sacked for a nine-yard loss on the first offensive play. Verbit proceeded to complete three consecutive passes, including an 11-yard toss to Morrison for the game winning touchdown.
With its first win at Ithaca, N.Y., since 1992, Princeton kept their Ivy League Championship hopes alive.
Harvard 31, Dartmouth 26
Dartmouth (3-4, 2-2 Ivy) spent Saturday chasing Harvard’s Carl Morris and Neil Rose but could not keep the duo out of the record books and fell to the Crimson (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) 31-26.
Morris, an All-American receiver and Walter Peyton Award candidate, broke four school records: career receptions, career receiving yards, season receptions, and season receiving yards. The Peyton Award goes to the top player in Division I-AA each year.
This weekend, Morris tallied 21 catches for 257 yards. His performance boosted his season totals to 73 receptions for 1,068 yards. Rose also inscribed himself in Harvard’s record books, completing a school-record 36 passes for 443 yards.
Morris also became the first Harvard player with more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season on Saturday. He currently leads Division I-AA in reception yards per game (152.6) and is second in catches per game (10.4).
Harvard needed these record-breaking performances to defeat Dartmouth, which had its own record-setting day.
Big Green quarterback Brian Mann passed for a career-best 382 yards and four touchdowns. Mann’s 25 completions brought his career total to 470, moving him ahead of Miami Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler, who set the previous mark with 456 from 1991-93.
Dartmouth tight end Casey Cramer also had a great day, hauling in 10 catches for a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jay Barnard snagged 10 receptions for 124 yards and two scores.
But still, Dartmouth trailed throughout the game. The Big Green closed within five points with 16 seconds left in the game, but Harvard recovered the ensuing on-side kick to seal the win.
Pennsylvania 31, Brown 7
Pennsylvania (6-1, 4-0) continues to romp through the Ivy League with help from the Mike Mitchell and Rob Milanese duo.
Last weekend again Yale, Penn quarterback Mitchell completed 26 of 39 aerial attempts for 351 yards, and Penn wide receiver Milanese had 12 catches for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns.
This week, Mitchell chalked up 334 yards on 28 of 34 attempts, including three touchdowns. Milanese caught eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.
The Quakers scored on its second offensive series, capping a 69-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run from running back Stephen Faulk. Penn added to its lead just 2:59 later when Mitchell connected with Milanese on a 38-yard end zone lob.
Brown (0-7, 0-4) managed to get on the scoreboard before halftime when Nathan Poole hit Ian Malepeai on a 4-yard touchdown pass. But that would be the Bears’ only score of the game; the Quaker defense held Brown to only 281 yards of total offense. Seven different Quakers sacked Brown quarterbacks, and the Penn defense forced three turnovers.
The Bears will look for their first victory next week when they host Yale in Providence, R.I.