Bartholomew again took the ball up the middle and again got stuffed. On third down with one yard to go, Yale ran a naked bootleg to the left and Lee found senior tight end Jeff Ditman for the first down on an out pattern.

On first-and-10 from the Harvard 30, Johnson caught a screen pass that gained three yards.

On second-and-7, Bartholomew ran untouched through the right side of the Yale offensive line and sprinted past the Harvard defense for a 27-yard score.

On the kickoff to start the next half, Yale squibbed the kick to the Harvard 35-yard line. On first-and-10, Harvard was called for a false start. On first-and-15 from the 30, Rose pitched to Leiszler on an option to the right that gained eight yards.

On the next play, second down with eight yards to go, Leiszler gained eight yards off the left side. Leiszler then picked up the first down on third-and-short with a tough run behind captain Mike Clare to end the first quarter.

On first-and-10 from the Harvard 47-yard line, Leiszler ran for a loss of two. Harvard then came out with four wide receivers and passed the ball on a wide receiver swing pass, which gained five yards.

On third-and-7, Rose dashed through the middle of the Yale defense on a quarterback draw that just barely picked up the first down.