Harvard 45, Columbia 33
Rose and Staph returned to action and Morris continued to rewrite the Harvard record books as the Crimson exploded for 38 first-half points, the most in team history, and pasted the Lions, 45-33, to set up a matchup of unbeatens against Penn.
Morris, whose 86 yards made him the school’s all-time receiving yardage leader, also surpassed Pat McInally’s record for career receiving touchdowns when he caught his 15th and 16th career touchdowns from Rose in the first quarter to give Harvard a 14-7 lead.
Staph scored the next two Crimson touchdowns, bulling in from three yards and one yard to put the Crimson up
28-7.
Rose and Fitzpatrick were injured on consecutive plays late in the second quarter, paving the way for freshman Garrett Schires to see his first collegiate action and pick up his first career touchdown pass when he hit fellow freshman Rodney Byrnes from 13 yards out to make it 35-7.
The Lions managed to make the final score respectable with 26 second-half points, but Palazzo, who finished with 132 yards rushing, sealed the win with a 32-yard touchdown jaunt in the final quarter.
Harvard 28, Pennsylvania 21
In the biggest game of any Harvard player’s career and the last scheduled matchup of undefeated teams in the nation this season, the Crimson overcame a slow start to beat Penn, 28-21, and clinch at least a share of its first Ivy League title since 1997.
Morris caught two touchdown passes from Rose as the Crimson dominated the second half and turned a 14-7 halftime deficit into a 28-14 fourth-quarter lead. Morris caught a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14, then made an amazing over-the-shoulder catch and eluded a defender for a 62-yard scoring strike to put the Crimson ahead for good.
The Quakers tried to rally late as reigning Ivy Offensive Player of the Year Gavin Hoffman hit Rob Milanese for a score to bring Penn within seven, and the Quaker defense held the Crimson on its ensuing possession.
But Balestracci, who also recovered an onside kick, batted Hoffman’s last-second Hail Mary to the ground, and fans rushed the field to celebrate.
Harvard fell behind early as Hoffman hit Colin Smith with a 30-yard touchdown pass to put the Quakers up, 7-0. On Penn’s next possession, tailback Kris Ryan, who leads the Ivy League in rushing, broke several tackles and rumbled 66 yards to give the Quakers a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Morris finished the day with nine receptions for 155 yards and set new Harvard standards for catches in a season
(66), breaking the record he set last season and career receptions (150), surpassing former teammate Terence
Patterson ’00.
The Harvard ground attack, led by Staph and Palazzo, piled up 145 yards against Penn’s nationally top-ranked run defense, which was allowing only 44 yards per game.