On Saturday at the Stadium, the Harvard football team supplied precisely the right amount of drama for a team hoping to remain in first place: none. In cruising to a 26-6 win over Columbia, the Crimson—either No. 24 or No. 25 in the Football Championship Subdivision, depending on which ranking you look at—jumped to a 10-0 lead and didn’t allow the Lions to get on the scoreboard until the final two minutes of the game.
The victory raised Harvard’s record to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Ivy League, allowing the Crimson to keep pace with Dartmouth, who beat Princeton. Columbia, which came into the game tied with Harvard and Dartmouth, now is 3-2 in league play and 5-3 overall. The triumph was the sixth consecutive for the Crimson and the 11th straight at home dating back to the 2023 season.
There were heroes aplenty for Harvard. Four were prominent. Do-it-all senior back Charles DePrima (he is listed as a quarterback) scored two touchdowns, one on a reception and another—the clincher—on a 52-yard dash. Freshman defensive back Austin-Charles Guillory had two interceptions, the first of his career, plus two tackles. Senior linebacker Mitchell Gonser was ferocious, with a game-high 13 tackles that included a sack and two tackles for loss. And senior wideout/kick returner Scott Woods II ignited the Crimson with a 43-yard punt return to set up the first score.
We also should add to the pantheon defensive coordinator Scott Larkee. Though his unit surrendered 347 total yards (Harvard amassed 430), it gave ground grudgingly. Giving praise grudgingly was Andrew Aurich, first-year Stephenson Family head coach for Harvard football. “Overall, I don’t think that was our best effort,” Aurich said. “We can definitely play better than that.” (This is at least partly coach-speak for “I don’t want them to get complacent.”) He did concede that “I thought our defense played really, really well.”
It was a typical blustery November day at the Stadium. Fun fact: Since the Stadium opened in 1903, only three November game days have not been blustery. (This is a made-up fact.) Given the conditions and that Columbia was tops in the Ivies in scoring defense (16.3 points per game) and Harvard was No. 2 (21.1), points promised to be at a premium. Midway through the first quarter Woods got the Crimson going, gathering in a punt at the Harvard 45 and scooting his way to the Columbia 12. (“Flipping the field,” it’s called.) Three Harvard passes failed, so freshman Kieran Corr was called upon to try a 30-yard field goal. It was up and…good! Harvard 3, Columbia 0.
The Lions tried to roar back. Quarterback Cole Freeman, a Northwestern transfer, took them from their 20 all the way to the Crimson 20. On first and 10, Freeman tried a pass into the end zone that Guillory, blanketing his receiver, snagged on the run—the first failure of Columbia to cash in on a promising opportunity.
It did not take long for Harvard, with its quick-strike capability, to make the Lions pay. On first down, junior quarterback Jaden Craig hit his roommate, wideout Cooper Barkate, for 38 yards. Two plays later, from the Columbia 34, Craig again connected with Barkate, dropping the ball right in his breadbasket for a touchdown. Corr kicked the extra point. Harvard 10, Columbia 0.
HARVARD FOOTBALL
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In the middle of the second period came a play that could have vaulted the Lions back into the game. From the Harvard 47, Freeman threw a bomb to wideout Ethan Hebb on which Hebb appeared to make a diving catch at the Crimson three. The ruling on the field, however, was that Hebb used the ground to help him secure the catch, thus rendering the pass incomplete. A long review transpired, confirming the call, or at least determining there was not enough evidence to overturn it. Hmmm…the replay showed that it easily could have gone the other way. Five plays later, on third and seven from the Harvard 34, Freeman threw a pass into the hands of the preternaturally alert Guillory, who had been tracking the attempt perfectly. Harvard ball. “The game plan was just handling business on first and second down, and then get off the field on third down,” said Guillory. So wise, so young.
The Crimson worked its way into field-goal range, thanks to a Craig-to-DePrima 43-yard pass. When the drive stalled, Corr tried a 32-yard field goal that went wide right. Near the end of the half, ignited by a 31-yard run by sophomore back Xavier Bascon, Harvard again found itself in range for a three-pointer. With one second left, Corr’s kick from 34 yards out sailed through the uprights. Harvard 13, Columbia 0.
In the third period each team mounted a long drive that went for naught. Harvard’s series lasted 11 plays and ended at the Columbia 30, culminating in yet another field-goal flub by Corr, this one from 48 yards.
Thus the game was still in the balance entering the fourth period. Columbia reached the Harvard 32 and faced a fourth and two. Freeman handed the ball to back Griffin Johnson. One yard past the line of scrimmage, he was met by Gonser and senior defensive tackle Tyler Huenemann. Turnover on downs—Harvard’s ball.
From there the Crimson took over the game. Craig engineered a 14-play drive that consumed 7:35 and culminated in an 11-yard pass lofted to DePrima in the left corner of the end zone for six points. Aurich decided to go for a two-point conversion, but Craig’s pass to Barkate was incomplete. Harvard 19, Columbia 0.
It was now desperation time for the Lions. They reached the Crimson 40 but on fourth and five, Gonser and senior defensive lineman Jacob Psyk hauled down Freeman for no gain. Harvard took over and on third and two from the Crimson 48, DePrima was inserted at quarterback. He took the snap, ran left, shot through a huge hole, and sprinted untouched the rest of the way, backpedaling the final yards into the end zone . Corr’s conversion kick squeaked through uprights. Harvard 26, Columbia 0. The Lions broke the shutout with 1:44 remaining when Freeman ran the ball over the goal from two yards out. The two-point conversion failed. Thus, the final score.
Blame it on the wind, but this was not a vintage day for Craig. He completed a mere 15 of 34 pass attempts, albeit for 244 yards and two touchdowns. In the absence once again of senior captain running back Shane McLaughlin, Bascon netted 109 yards on 23 carries. A good day, but as the weather gets chillier, McLaughlin’s thump is missed.
Two games remain: at Penn and The Game at the Stadium. These two future opponents suddenly are lighting up the scoreboard (see WEEKLY ROUNDUP). The road contest with the Quakers could be a classic “trap game” in which the underdog foe is overlooked. Coach Aurich is right to nip any complacency in the bud.
TIDBITS: Harvard now leads the series 65-16-1.…Tim Murphy, who retired in January as Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, has been named the 2024 recipient of the George C. Carens Award by the New England Football Writers Association. The award is presented annually to a person who, throughout his or her life, has made significant contributions to the sport of football in New England. Murphy is the third Harvard honoree, the others being longtime trainer Jack Fadden in 1959 and coach Joe Restic in 1993.
Weekly Roundup
Dartmouth 26, Princeton 17
Penn 67, Cornell 49
Yale 56, Brown 34
Coming up: Harvard travels to Franklin Field in Philadelphia for its final road game of the season, against Ivy rival Penn. Kickoff: 1 PM. TV: ESPN+ (subscription required). Radio: 92.9 FM WBOS, 1330 AM, 1450 AM. The Quakers are 4-4 overall and 2-3 in league play. In a series that began in 1881, Harvard leads 52-39-2. The Crimson has won the last three, including last year’s 25-23, triple-overtime thriller in Cambridge.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | 6 | ||
Harvard | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 | — | 26 |
Attendance: 7,011
THE SEASON SO FAR: follow Dick Friedman’s dispatches.
Football: Harvard 31-Dartmouth 27
Football: Harvard 45-Princeton 13
Football: Harvard 35-Holy Cross 34
Football: Harvard 38-Cornell 20
Football: Harvard 28-New Hampshire 23
Football: Harvard 35-Stetson 0
Pre-season:
