Football | November 18, 2025

Harvard Football: Harvard 45, Penn 43

An epic finish ensures another Ivy title. Next up: Yale. And after?

by Dick Friedman

Harvard football player in red attempts to block a pass from a Penn player in white during a game. — VAIN PURSUIT Harvard defensive end Josh Fedd tries to hurry Penn’s Liam O’Brien. It usually proved a vain pursuit, as the Quakers’ quarterback was magnificent, completing 32 of 40 pass attempts, tossing for three touchdowns, and even rushing for 100 yards. | Photograph courtesy of Harvard Athletics

In its 122-year existence, Harvard Stadium has witnessed many exciting shootouts and fantastic finishes. But for sustained, 60-minute offensive action, it would be hard to top Saturday’s game against Penn. Harvard prevailed 45-43, on a last-play, 53-yard field goal by sophomore Kieran Corr. His boot in the failing autumn sunlight guaranteed the Crimson at least a portion of the Ivy title—their 20th championship (either outright or shared) and their third in a row. Harvard remains undefeated this season at 9-0 overall and 6-0 in league play; Penn drops to 5-4, 3-3.

The Crimson are now ranked No. 8 nationally in the weekly Stats Performance Football Championship Series Top 25 poll. Next comes Yale, 5-1 in Ivy play. A Harvard win gives the Crimson the title outright; an Eli victory means the teams share the crown. After, for the first time in Ivy history, there are the playoffs. We’ll worry about that later.

“The only way we know we can 100 percent control our fate is by winning every single game,” said Stephenson family head coach for football Andrew Aurich. “And the only way we’re going to [the playoffs for certain] is if we beat Yale next week.”

On Saturday, the Harvard and Penn attacks were unstoppable. It was riveting, pulse-pounding, and exhausting. The teams combined for 962 yards in total offense and 66 first downs (33 for each). The only Harvard punt came deep in the fourth quarter. Fifteen receivers caught passes. Who knows, they might still be running up and down the field.

The teams began scoring from the get-go. Penn took the opening kickoff and rammed the ball 65 yards, culminating with a one-yard touchdown run by Donte West. Mason Walters kicked the extra point. Penn 7, Harvard 0.

Harvard running back in red jersey carries the ball while teammates block opposing defenders. — **HAND IT TO THE X-MAN Harvard’s Xaviah Bascon slashes through the Penn defense. The junior Crimson back rushed for a game-high 103 yards, caught four passes, and scored three touchdowns.** | Photograph courtesy of Harvard Athletics

Later in the quarter the Crimson got the equalizer at the end of a 75-yard drive when junior back Xaviah Bascon churned through tacklers to score from one yard out. Corr booted the extra point. Harvard 7, Penn 7.

The Quakers re-took the lead on a 26-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Liam O’Brien to Jared Richardson. Walters converted. The quarter ended Penn 14, Harvard 7.

In the second quarter the Crimson again drew even with a 78-yard drive. The capper was a nifty 11-yard shovel pass from senior quarterback Jaden Craig to Bascon. Corr kicked the conversion. Harvard 14, Penn 14.

The next stretch belonged to the Quakers. A 77-yard drive was finished by West on a one-yard (really, one-inch) plunge. Walters kicked. Penn 21, Harvard 14. Then came an ill-advised call by Aurich, choosing to go for a first down on fourth-and-five from the Crimson 47. Craig’s pass attempt to senior tight end Ryan Osborne failed. The Quakers took advantage of the short field to score again on a pass from O’Brien to Richardson. This time, though, the Crimson’s Riley Jenne blocked Walters’s extra-point try. Penn 27, Harvard 14.

This was the largest deficit the Crimson had faced all season, but it didn’t last long. Only 49 seconds remained in the quarter but Craig used almost all of them, engineering a 75-yard drive that savvily employed receivers Brady Blackburn (two 12-yard catches), Bascon (a 12-yarder), Cam Henry (an 11-yarder), and Osborne (an eight-yarder), plus two timeouts and a spiking of the ball to stop the clock. The Crimson reached the Quakers’ two with five seconds left. Craig took the snap and ran right—and into the end zone. Corr booted the point. At halftime it was Penn 27, Harvard 21.

Harvard player in red jersey runs down the sideline with the football, evading a diving defender. — **STAYING INBOUNDS Harvard junior back Jordan Harris tiptoes along the sideline for a 13-yard gain. The Crimson offense rolled up 537 yards of total offense.** | Photograph courtesy of Harvard Athletics

To open the second half, the Crimson drove all the way to the Quakers’ two, but a fourth-down pass from Craig to sophomore tight end Logan Reaska failed. No matter. After a Penn punt, Harvard went 63 yards, the finale a 23-yard toss on which Craig dropped the ball into Blackburn’s hands in the right corner of the end zone. Corr converted to give the Crimson their first lead: Harvard 28, Penn 27.

Now the momentum was all the Crimson’s. The defense forced the Quakers into a rare three-and-out. From the Harvard 18, Craig took the snap, stared down the field, and saw Blackburn running behind the entire Penn secondary. Craig fired; Blackburn took the ball in stride and romped to the end zone. Corr booted. Harvard 35, Penn 27.

Back came the Quakers. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the indefatigable O’Brien-to-Richardson connection produced another score on a 10-pass in which Richardson muscled his way into the end zone. But the two-point conversion pass attempt failed when sophomore Crimson defensive tackle Christian Nwosu hurried O’Brien. Harvard 35, Penn 33.

Next came an unusual play. The Quakers tried an onside kick but were penalized 15 yards for interfering with the Crimson receiver. Harvard thus took over at the Penn 41. From there, Bascon did much of the work and scored his third touchdown of the day on a four-yard run. Corr again kicked. Harvard 42, Penn 33.

Ten minutes and 47 seconds remained, and the Quakers needed to score twice. They did. First, O’Brien engineered a 75-yard drive and took it into the end zone himself on a one-yard sneak. Walters kicked the point. Harvard 42, Penn 40. Now 3:45 remained. The Quakers tried another onside kick, but Jenne snaffled it up. The Crimson could not move the ball and had to punt, an effort that was almost blocked. Penn took over at its 24 with 2:38 left. In a little over two minutes the redoubtable O’Brien moved the Quakers to the Crimson 13. From there, Walters kicked a 30-yard field goal. Penn 43, Harvard 42.

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Doom. Or was it? Twenty-two seconds remained for the Crimson to a) get into field goal position and b) kick the field goal. Craig was cool and methodical. First, he connected with Boyd down the middle for a 21-yard gain. Then he spiked the ball. Fifteen seconds remained. Then he pitched to Bascon, who got out of bounds to stop the clock after gaining only one yard. Craig again threw down the middle to freshman Ryan Tattersall for 18 yards, to the Penn 35. Harvard took its final timeout. Five seconds remained.

Now, even after all those conversion kicks, Kieran Corr’s true hour had rung. His longest career field goal was 38 yards, but this was mostly because the Crimson hadn’t needed him to kick from longer distance. Now it was 53 yards between his swinging leg and Harvard maintaining its perfect record. The snap came and Corr thumped the ball. It sailed toward the goalposts and right on through. A no-doubter. Harvard 45, Penn 43.

Afterward, Corr was all team. “I was thrilled that they gave us that opportunity, and I had full faith in our offense getting us down the field,” Corr said, before switching to the third-person plural. “That’s just what we’ve been training for all year, so that was the moment we were ready for.” Somewhere, Charlie Brickley A.B. 1915 and the greatest kicker in Crimson history, was smiling.

The individual numbers were gaudy. Craig completed a career-high 28 passes (in 45 attempts) for 390 yards, also a personal best. Bascon rushed for 103 yards, and his three touchdowns were a career high for a single game. On defense, captain and senior defensive back Ty Bartrum had a single-game high 14 tackles. Junior defensive back Jack Donahoe amassed a career-high 11 tackles.

Oh, yeah, and there was Corr’s career-long field goal.

A tip of the helmet to Quakers quarterback O’Brien, who was magnificent, completing 32 of 40 pass attempts for 271 yards and three touchdowns, and rushing for a team-leading 100 yards. (Neither quarterback threw an interception.) And kudos to two of his receivers, Bisi Owens (game-high 12 catches) and Richardson, who had 10 receptions, three for touchdowns. They should hold their heads high.

Now…a word about The Game. It is essentially a playoff game. The winner will get the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, which begin on Saturday, November 29. (If Yale wins, each team would end up with a 6-1 league record, but the Elis would hold the tiebreaker over the Crimson by virtue of the head-to-head matchup.) The loser, especially if it is Harvard, might also get a bid.

The Crimson have lost three straight games to the Elis, each by five points. There are some of us (well, me) who think that one reason is that the second-half schedule, especially these donnybrooks with Penn, drain Harvard, leaving the Crimson without the requisite energy for the finale. Moreover, a clinched title might subliminally induce relaxation. All concerned will deny it, and some have. It’s a theory, anyway.

Unlike previous years, the potential playoff berth gives Harvard something to play for besides bragging rights. Perhaps the bigger factor for Yale’s recent supremacy is running back Josh Pitsenberger, the league’s leading rusher this season and a man who allows the Elis to keep control of the ball at crunch time. Thank goodness he is a senior.

Tidbits

PHILADELPHIA FEELING: Harvard now leads the series with Penn 54-39-2. The Crimson have won five in a row. Last year’s victory also came on a last-play field goal.

THREESOMES: The Crimson has won or shared three straight Ivy titles for the second time, matching the accomplishment of the 2013-2015 teams.

WE’RE NO. 2!!: With its 20th Ivy title (outright or shared), Harvard trails only Dartmouth, which has 22.

COMING UP: You had to ask? The 141st Playing of The Game will take place on Saturday at the Yale Bowl. Kickoff: Noon. The game will be telecast nationally on ESPNU and broadcast on the radio on WBOS 92.9 FM and Bloomberg 1330 AM and 1450 AM. This season the Elis are 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Ivy League. In a series that began in 1875, the Elis lead 71-61-8 and have won six of the last eight games, including the last three. They prevailed 23-18 last season in Cambridge.

THE SCORE BY QUARTERS