Advertisement

'Twas 20 Years Ago When Harvard Beat Yale, 29-29

The 1968 Football Season

It was almost 20 years ago that Harvard and Yale battled to a 29-29 tie in one of the most memorable and exciting college football games of all time.

Harvard and Yale each entered The Stadium on November 23, 1968 with perfect 8-0 records, setting the stage for a matchup that would decide not only the bragging rights of the two schools but also the Ivy League championship.

And The Game lived up to its billing, as back-up Crimson quarterback Frank Champi '70 threw for two touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions in the final 42 seconds to give Harvard a tie and a share of the Ivy title with the Elis.

Here's a game-by-game look back at that exciting season.

Harvard 27, Holy Cross 20

Advertisement

Coming into the season opener, the Crimson was plagued by a lot of question marks. The opener helped answer a lot of them, as well as hint at things to come.

Harvard came back from a two-touchdown deficit and scored 15 points in the final 12 minutes to edge the Crusaders at The Stadium.

Senior quarterback George Lalich '69 got the starting nod and scored the winning TD from one yard out. Lalich dispelled any preseason doubts by going 11-for-19 on the afternoon. He found end Pete Varney '71 seven times for 89 yards and six first downs.

Harvard 59, Bucknell 0

In what some called the mismatch of the decade, the Crimson demolished Bucknell, 59-0, at The Stadium for its second win of the season.

The Crimson scored in each of its first five possessions to put the game out of reach before it had started.

Harvard ran for 392 yards on the afternoon and scored eight touchdowns. Captain Vic Gatto '69 had 122 on the ground, moving him into second place on Harvard's all-time list.

Harvard 21, Columbia 14

Gatto and fellow halfback Ray Hornblower combined for 237 yards rushing in New York to give the Crimson its first Ivy win.

Although Lalich completed just four passes in the game, one of them was the winning touchdown to Varney late in the game.

Recommended Articles

Advertisement