Football | October 27, 2025

Harvard Football: Harvard 35, Princeton 14

Still undefeated after subduing the Tigers, the Crimson await Dartmouth.

by Dick Friedman

Harvard football team huddles on the field under a clear blue sky before the game. — **OH, HENRY! Harvard’s Cam Henry crosses the goal line after receiving a pass from quarterback Jaden Craig for a 69-yard score. The sophomore speed merchant snagged a game-high five receptions.** | Photograph courtesy of Harvard Athletics

Last Saturday at Princeton, Harvard’s football team fell behind for the first time all season. But thanks to a multipronged offense, a very determined defense, and their foe’s strategic blunder, the Crimson shook off this setback and ran off the final 25 points to defeat the Tigers 35-14. The victory kept Harvard undefeated.

The Crimson, who entered the game ranked 14th in the national Stats Performance Football Championship Series poll, are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Ivy League play, alone in first place. Princeton fell to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Facing a solid Tigers defense that did a good job covering quarterback Jaden Craig’s receivers, Harvard turned to a gallery of galloping ground gainers to control the game. The Crimson pounded out a season-high 259 yards on the ground, with three runners scoring touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Harvard defense put the clamps on the Princeton offense, limiting it to 139 yards in the second half. A huge interception near halftime by senior linebacker Jack Kirkwood turned the game around, allowing the Crimson to go into halftime with a lead they would not surrender.

It was Homecoming at Princeton, and one of those coming home was Andrew Aurich, the Stephenson family coach for Harvard football, who was an offensive lineman for the Tigers in the early 2000s. Aurich has beaten Princeton in each of the two years he has been coaching in Cambridge. He was well pleased with Saturday’s result: “I’m very happy with how we responded to adversity.”

Harvard player battles through two Princeton defenders while advancing with the ball. — **HOLD THAT CRIMSON Harvard’s Christian Nwosu gets himself sandwiched between two Princeton blockers. The 260-pound Crimson sophomore had one of Harvard’s two sacks.** | Photograph courtesy of Harvard athletics

The game began in the typical way for the Crimson this year: with an early Harvard score. On the Crimson’s second series, Craig took the snap and spotted sophomore wideout Cam Henry streaking behind Tigers’ defense. Craig threw a strike; Henry gathered it in and cantered into the end zone. Sophomore Kieran Corr kicked the extra point. Just like that—Harvard 7, Princeton 0.

But later in the quarter the Tigers riposted. A good punt by Crimson sophomore Dylan Fingersh got an even better roll and pinned Princeton at its three. Undaunted, Princeton quarterback Kai Colon took the Tigers the length of the field, capping a 12-play drive with a 17-yard pass to Aidan Besselman. Esteban Nunez Perez booted the extra point. Harvard 7, Princeton 7.

The Crimson forged ahead early in the second quarter. With a drive stalling at the Tigers’ three (Craig unaccountably overthrew junior back Xaviah Bascon in the end zone), the Crimson settled for a 22-yard field goal. Harvard 10, Princeton 7.

But later in the quarter the Crimson got a dose of its big-play medicine. Craig threw his second interception of the season, and the Tigers took over at their 49. On the first play of the series, Colon tossed a short pass to Ethan Clark in the right flat. Shaking off a couple of would-be tacklers, Clark rambled all the way into the end zone. Nunez Perez kicked the point. Princeton 14, Harvard 10.

This was terra incognita for the Crimson. How would they respond? In ten plays, Craig took them to the Tigers seven, but there they stalled and frustratingly again settled for a Corr field goal, this one 25 yards. Princeton 14, Harvard 13.

Then came the blunder that turned the game. Only 1:05 remained in the half. The best strategy for Princeton would have been to keep the ball on the ground, let the clock run out, and take the lead into halftime—especially since the Tigers would get the ball to start the second half. Instead, they put the ball in the air. Brave but foolhardy! On third down Colon flipped a pass over the middle that was plucked by Kirkwood, who made a diving catch at the Tigers 32.

Harvard player runs with football as Princeton defenders attempt a tackle during a game. — **GOALWARD LEAN Harvard’s Xaviah Bascon heads for the end zone on a four-yard run to give the Crimson the lead right before halftime. Bascon piled up a game-high 103 yards.** | Photograph courtesy of Harvard athletics

Forty-four seconds remained in the half. After two incomplete passes, Craig handed to Bascon, who burst through the right side and carried the ball all the way to the Princeton four. On the next play Bascon finished the job, charging into the end zone. Here, Aurich decided to go for two points and succeeded, with Craig taking the snap and making a shuttle pass to sophomore back Jordan Harris, who ran through a wide hole into the end zone. As the teams went to the locker room, it was Harvard 21, Princeton 14, and the air was out of the Tigers’ balloon.

The second half was all Crimson—almost. In the middle of the third quarter, a 51-yard Tigers pass from Colon to Paul Kuhner brought the ball to the Harvard 31. But thanks in part to a sack by Kirkwood and senior defensive tackle Alex DeGrieck, Princeton was forced to settle for a 46-yard field goal attempt, which went way wide.

Then came one of the most astonishing series in recent Harvard annals. Starting at its 29, the Crimson ran 17 plays and ate up 9:02. At one point Harvard faced a second-and-26. No problem—Craig coolly tossed for 17 yards to sophomore tight end Logan Reaska, then for nine to sophomore wideout Brady Blackburn. Move the chains! On the first play of the fourth quarter, from the Tigers’ one, 240-pound senior running back Isaiah Bullock bulled into the end zone. Corr kicked. Harvard 28, Princeton 14.

The Crimson defense forced the Tigers into a three-and-out, and the ensuing punt gave Harvard the ball at its 38. With the offensive line asserting its will, Bascon gained 30 yards on four carries. Then sophomore back D.J. Gordon took over, getting the ball into the end zone on three rushes. On the last, from the nine, Gordon made an agile stutter step into a hole and blasted into the end zone. Corr punctuated. Harvard 35, Princeton 14.

Craig finished with 16 completions in 29 attempts for 216 yards, many of them clutch. When necessary, he also ran, amassing 29 yards. Bascon led the ground attack with 101 yards on 13 carries, with Bullock barreling for 58 on seven carries, including a 46-yard gain. All told, the Crimson averaged a spiffy 6.3 yards per rush. On defense, junior linebacker Sean Line led with 10 tackles, and senior safety and captain Ty Bartrum was next with eight. The game, though, belonged to Kirkwood, who had seven tackles and that crucial interception.

No rest for the weary: next Saturday, Dartmouth is in town. Last Friday night, the Big Green squashed Columbia 49-7. (The usually downtrodden Lions, one of last season’s tri-champions, seem to be regressing to the mean.) This might be The Game, Part One.

Tidbits

TIGHTENING THE SERIES: With the Crimson victory, the all-time series (since 1877) stands at 60-5-7 in favor of Princeton. In the Ivy League era (since 1956), the Crimson has forged ahead, 34-33-2.

WINNERS AGAIN: The triumph over Princeton guarantees Harvard its fifth straight winning season.

AWAY WE GO: Harvard has now won six straight road games, the longest such streak in the Football Championship Series.

COMING UP: Next Saturday, the Crimson return to the Stadium for a showdown with longtime Ivy rival Dartmouth. This is Harvard’s Homecoming. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on the radio on WBOS 92.9 FM and Bloomberg 1330 AM and 1450 AM. This season, the Big Green are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Ivy play. In a series that began in 1877, Harvard leads 74-48-5. The Crimson have won the last three, including last season’s 31-27 victory in Hanover.

THE SCORE BY QUARTERS