Crimson Victory
Beating Yale Perfect Cap to Year (NYT)
The only thing Yale managed to spoil during this year’s game against Harvard was the start of the halftime show, when in a clever game of capture the flag, a Yalie snared a giant Harvard banner and passed it up to the Yale band.
The stands were the only place Harvard ceded ground Saturday, beating Yale, 35-3, to cap an undefeated season and capture the Ivy League championship. Harvard extended its winning streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in Division I-AA.
“This is the perfect ending to the perfect season,” Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said after the game, which was played before a crowd of 30,308 on a chilly day with a cold breeze wafting into the gothic Harvard Stadium from the Charles River.
The 121st edition of the Game, as the storied annual matchup is known, was laden with history. It was the first time in 103 years that Harvard (10-0, 7-0) had won 10 games in a season. The Yale class of 2004 was the first not to beat Harvard since the class of 1922. And Harvard tailback Clifton Dawson set a single-season rushing record for the Crimson, with 1,302 yards.
Not that it has any BCS implications, but since I seldom take Matt Yglesias’s side against my Oxblog friends, I figure it’s worth posting.
One should be careful posting about Crimson victories on the blog of an Alabama alum after this week’s Iron Bowl. 😉