Update: Harvard versus Columbia

The race tightens. Brown, previously unbeaten in Ivy League play, was felled by Yale on Saturday, 13-3, while Harvard was outpointing Columbia, 42-28, at the Stadium. With Ivy records of 4-1, Harvard, Brown, and Penn are now locked in a three-way tie for the league lead. By defeating Penn next weekend and Yale the week after, the Crimson could gain at least a piece of the Ivy title.

Quarterback Chris Pizzotti’s right arm was the charm in the Columbia game. The fifth-year senior, who leads the league in passing efficiency, threw for 376 yards—a career high—and four touchdowns. Sophomore Levi Richards caught seven passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Matt Luft had six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Harvard hasn’t had two 100-yard receivers in one game since November 1975, when the Crimson beat Brown, 45-26.

Pizzotti threw all four of his scoring passes in the game’s first half. The longest, to sophomore Chris Lorditch, covered 76 yards. Harvard led at halftime, 28-7.

Harvard’s second-half touchdowns came on a short-yardage handoff to sophomore back Gino Gordon, and a 30-yard fumble return by senior defensive end Peter Ajayi. In addition to the forced fumble, the defense had three pass interceptions.

Columbia’s Austin Knowlin, a small, quick receiver, kept Harvard defenders on their toes. He scored on a 76-yard punt return and caught seven passes, one of them for a five-yard touchdown. Columbia’s 28 points were the most scored by an opposing team this season.

The Lions are 1-4 in Ivy play and 1-7 overall. Harvard is 7-1 overall, and has now won at least seven games in the course of eight consecutive seasons, an Ivy League record. The squad goes to Franklin Field, where Harvard teams have won only once in their last 13 visits, for Saturday’s showdown with Penn. Brown plays winless Dartmouth at Hanover.

~“Cleat”