Harvard 25, Penn 23 (3 ot)
Harvard earned at least a share of the Ivy League title with a wild triple-overtime victory played before 7,032 in Cambridge. The winning play began when quarterback Jaden Craig handed to wide receiver Scott Woods on a jet sweep. Cooper Barkate then took a pitch from Woods and lobbed a pass to QB Craig, who had leaked into the right side of the end zone for the winning two-point conversion.
Both teams had chances to win before the final play. With the game tied at 20 and 2:15 remaining in regulation, Harvard missed a 30-yard field goal. Penn marched right back down the field only to run out of time and have to try a 59-yard field goal that was blocked. In the first overtime Harvard had a first-and-goal at the 2, and then two plays from inside the one, but had to settle for a field goal. The game continued on when Penn could manage just a field goal in its half of the first OT. In the second overtime Harvard tossed an interception, leaving Penn needing just a field goal to win. But the Quakers missed a 36-yarder, extending the game to the two-point conversion stage. After the Crimson stopped Penn in the top of the final OT it was the "Cambridge Special" that would win it for Harvard.
Yale 36, Princeton 28 (2 ot)
The Tigers (4-5 overall, 3-3 Ivy) used a 75-yard drive to force overtime on a touchdown with 18 seconds remaining and dodged a bullet when Yale (6-3, 4-2) missed a 35-yard field goal in a scoreless first overtime. The Bulldogs got a three-yard touchdown run from Joshua Pitsenberger and two-point conversion in the top half of the second overtime and then broke up a fourth-and-eight pass down in the bottom half to secure the win. Pitsenberger ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns to keep Yale's championship hopes alive in front of 7,157 at Princeton Stadium. The Bulldogs have to win The Game in New Haven on Saturday to wrest a share of the Ivy League championship away from Harvard (and keep Dartmouth's hopes for a share alive).
Brown 21, Columbia 14 (ot)
Jake Willcox threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Graham Walker on a third-and-nine play in the top half of overtime and Columbia couldn't make a first down in the bottom half as Brown improved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the ivies. Willcox finished 31-of-48 for 265 yards with one touchdown while Columbia's Joe Green was 17-of-29 for 128 yards and one score. Wes Rockett caught 11 passes for Brown. The Lions fell to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the Ivy in front of 4,007 on the northern tip of Manhattan.
New Hampshire 31, Monmouth 24
Freshman quarterback Matt Vezza – called on when starter Max Brosmer was hurt earlier in the drive – tossed a 38-yard touchdown pass with 2:18 left on his first collegiate attempt to lift the Wildcats to a come-from behind victory in front of 2,596 on the Jersey Shore. Trailing 24-17, UNH (5-5, 3-4 CAA) tied the score on a four-yard Isaac Seide run and then won it when Myles Thomason caught the final TD despite a pass interference penalty against Monmouth (4-6, 3-4). Dymere Miller had 11 catches for 333 yards – the most in the FCS this year – and two touchdowns for the Hawks.
Colgate 37, Lehigh 21
The Raiders won for the fifth time in their last six games with quarterback Jake Stearney in his first collegiate start throwing for a Colgate freshman record 360 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 28-of-34 on the game with Treyvhon Saunder catching eight balls for 132 yards for the Raiders (5-5, 3-2 Patriot). Lehigh (2-8, 1-4) trailed 37-7 entering the fourth quarter before making the final more respectable in front of 2,013 in Hamilton, N.Y..
EXTRA POINT
Is there anything more annoying than pulling a pen out of a mug full of 'em and having it stop writing in the middle of a sentence? Yes. Someone putting the offending pen back in the mug and pulling out another one is more annoying. I plead guilty.
