Yale at Harvard
Sat., Nov. 19 – Noon
Cambridge, Mass.
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Yale Game Notes | Harvard Game Notes
 
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The 138th playing of The Game, Presented by UBS, is set for Saturday at Harvard Stadium, and an Ivy League championship could hang in the balance. Yale is guaranteed at least a share of the title with a victory, while the Crimson need a win and a Penn victory over Princeton to earn a piece of the championship. Kickoff is slated for noon, and ESPNU has the national television broadcast.
 
Yale (7-2, 5-1 Ivy) has won three straight games and is fresh off a momentous 24-20 victory over previously unbeaten Princeton last Saturday at Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field, a win that wasn't secured until the game's final play. Over their last 10 quarters, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 110-37.
 
Harvard (6-3, 4-2 Ivy) is coming off its most impressive performance of the season, a 37-14 win over Penn in Philadelphia.
 
The Bulldogs feature one of the most potent running attacks in all of the FCS. Yale leads the Ivy League and is eighth in the nation in rushing offense, averaging 234.4 yards per game. Quarterback Nolan Grooms and running backs Joshua Pitsenberger and Tre Peterson have accounted for a majority of the yards. Grooms rushed for 152 yards in last week's win, while Pitsenberger added 108 yards and was named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. Peterson is 15th in the nation in yards per carry (6.57). All three benefit running behind a talented and experienced offensive line.
 
Yale also has had success throwing the ball. Grooms is completing 58.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,516 yards. David Pantelis is the team's leading receiver with 37 receptions, 497 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Defensively, the Bulldogs limited Princeton to just 76 yards on the ground last week. Yale is 16th in in the nation in rushing defense.
 
The Bulldogs also have found success pressuring opposing quarterbacks. Yale has 25 sacks on the season. Clay Patterson is the team leader with 5.5 sacks.
 
Yale is seeking its third Ivy League title in the last five seasons. The Bulldogs won an outright crown in 2017 and shared the 2019 championship.
 
Overall Yale has captured 16 Ivy titles with the first coming in 1956.
 
HISTORY LESSONS
 
The last two Yale-Harvard games have been among the most memorable in the venerable rivalry. In 2019, the Bulldogs rallied from a 36-19 fourth-quarter deficit to post a 50-43 double overtime victory. Yale scored two touchdowns in the final 1:28 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. Last fall at Yale Bowl, Harvard's Kym Wimberly caught a 12-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left as the Crimson earned a 34-31 win. The game is being played at Harvard Stadium for the first time since 2016. Fenway Park hosted the 2018 game, and the pandemic canceled the 2020 game. Yale leads the all-time series with Harvard 68-61-8. The Bulldogs are 25-26-3 all-time at Harvard Stadium. Yale has won three of the last five games. This Saturday is the 32nd time The Game has Ivy title implications for at least one squad, and Harvard has a 17-13-1 edge in those. When both are in the hunt, the Crimson are up 5-2-1.
 
SCOUTING HARVARD
 
The Crimson features the nation's second stingiest rushing defense. Harvard allows it opponents just 82.9 yards per game on the ground. The Crimson is also eighth nationally in team sacks (3.22 per game). Offensively, Harvard is fourth in the league in passing offense (230.2 yards per game) and second in rushing offense (163.2 yards per game). Individually, Aidan Borguet is the Ivy's leading rusher with 1,120 yards. Quarterback Charlie Dean was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after completing 29 of his 38 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns last week against Penn. On the season, Dean has thrown for 1,872 yards and 16 touchdowns.