Yale defeats Harvard 23-18, creating three-way tie for Ivy League championship

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Nolan Grooms threw the go-ahead landing cross within the fourth quarter and Yale defeated Harvard 23-18 on Saturday, making a three-way tie for the Ivy League championship.

The 139th version of The Recreation featured a wild fourth quarter wherein FCS No. 19 Harvard scored two touchdowns to take the lead, solely to see Yale return forward on a 12-yard landing cross from Grooms to David Pantelis with just a little below six minutes remaining.

The Crimson reached the Yale 29-yard line on their ultimate drive, however Abu Kamara sacked Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig for an 11-yard loss on first down and Craig wound up throwing incomplete on fourth down.

Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth all completed 5-2 to share the league championship. The final time the Ivy League champion had two losses was 1982 when Harvard, Penn, and Dartmouth all completed 5-2. The final time there was a three-way tie for the title was 2015 when Harvard, Dartmouth, and Penn all completed 6-1.

Yale (7-3 general) took a 10-0 lead within the second quarter, the landing approaching a 5-yard connection from Grooms to Ryan Lindley. Craig’s 11-yard landing cross to Tyler Neville bought Harvard on the board close to the tip of the primary half however the further level was missed, leaving Yale with a 10-6 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs went forward 17-6 on a 4-yard landing run by Nathan Denney earlier than Craig ran for one landing and threw 7 yards to Ledger Hatch for an additional. Harvard’s two-point strive failed after each touchdowns and the Crimson (8-2) had an 18-17 lead.

Grooms was 8-of-21 passing for 79 yards and Joshua Pitsenberger had 84 of the Bulldogs’ 170 yards on the bottom.

Craig accomplished 12 of 21 passes for 153 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.