Football overtakes No. 22/22 Dartmouth with a 31-27 road win

Gil Talbot

31

winner

Harvard
HAR

6-1, 3-1

27

Dartmouth
DAR

6-1, 3-1

winner

31

27

Points by quarters

team	1	2	3	4	F
HAR Harvard	10	0	7	14	31
DAR Dartmouth	0	13	14	0	27

Match Review: Football | 11/02/2024 6:02 p.m

HANOVER, NH – Harvard football rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat No. 22/22 Dartouth 31-27 on Saturday afternoon at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field. The win moved the Crimson to 6-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Ivy League, while the Big Green suffered its first loss of the year and fell to 6-1 (3-1 Ivy). Harvard is now tied for first place in the Ivy League standings with Dartmouth and Columbia.

How it happened

• Harvard started the game with the opening kickoff and took full advantage. The Crimson gained 7, 9, 6, 7 and 5 yards in its first five plays. After an incompleteness Charles DePrima received the snap and rushed right for an 8-yard touchdown to give Harvard a 7-0 lead with 12:00 left in the first period.
• The Crimson extended their lead near the end of the first period with the help of two big reception gains Cooper Barkate. The junior wideout caught passes of 17 and 14 yards, helping Harvard get into field goal range. Harvard finally tried a 32-yarder Kieran Corr broke through the uprights and extended the Crimson lead to 10-0.
• The hosts reduced their deficit with 11:19 left in the first half when Dartmouth kicker Owen Zalc hit a 37-yard field goal, capping an 11-play, 56-yard drive.
• After Zalc's field goal, Harvard fumbled on its next possession and then forced Dartmouth into a three-and-out. However, the Crimson was whistled for tackling the kicker on Dartmouth's punt attempt, and the Big Green took advantage, which helped set up a 54-yard field goal by Zalc. Despite the long field goal, Harvard still led 10-6 with 8:01 left in the second quarter.
• As the half came to an end, Dartmouth added a touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Grayson Saunier to Sean Ward. The scoring drive gave the Big Green its first lead of the day at 13-10 with 1:47 left.
• After taking a 13-10 halftime lead, Dartmouth scored an 11-yard touchdown with 3:03 left in the third period. Jackson Proctor connected with Chris Corbo for the score, giving the Big Green a 20-10 lead.
• Harvard answered Dartmouth's 20 unanswered points with a quick attack to get within three points. DePrima rushed for eight yards, Jaden Craig completed a 13-yard pass Scott Woods II, Malik Frederick rushed for 25 yards and the four-play drive was punctuated by a 29-yard TD reception Seamus Gilmartin.
• As quickly as the Crimson scored (4 plays, 75 yards, 1:18), Dartmouth's response was even quicker, gaining 75 yards in two plays over 48 seconds. The game-winning play was a Proctor-to-Daniel Haughton completion that resulted in a 72-yard TD. The touchdown helped the hosts extend their lead to 27-17 with 57 seconds left in the third period, a lead they would extend into the final 15 minutes.
• Harvard got closer, rushing 94 yards on 14 plays (6:42). The Crimson received chunk plays from Barkate (33-yard catch, 16-yard catch), Kaedyn Oderman (15-yard catch), Xaviah Bascon (9-yard rush) and Gilmartin (15-yard catch), all of whom set up a DePrima 6-yard TD run. The scorer brought Harvard within 27-24 with 5:59 left.
• The Crimson forced Dartmouth into a three-and-out, setting up the visitors' final drive with 3:59 to play. After opening its drive with an incompletion, Harvard gained a quick 34 yards on receptions from Odermann (10 yards) and Barkate (24 yards). From there, Harvard clicked on all cylinders and achieved plus yardage. Despite moving toward the end zone, the Crimson was faced with a 4^Th-and-3 from the Dartmouth 32, only to have Odermann miss an 8-yard pass from Craig. The new downs finally brought Harvard to the 9-yard line and DePrima scored the game-winning touchdown with 27 seconds left.
• Dartmouth didn't go down without a fight and took the ball all the way to the Harvard 32-yard line. With three seconds left, Proctor threw a Hail Mary that was saved by the Crimson as the visiting Hanover pulled away with the win.

Team notes

• With today's win, Harvard…

  • Extends its season winning streak to five games, which is its longest overall win streak since the team started 8-0 in 2015. The 2021 and 2023 squads also had a five-game winning streak.
  • Defeats Dartmouth for the third straight time and improves to 74-48-5 all-time versus the Big Green.
  • Moves to 14-1 in Dartmouth games since the start of the 1994 season.
  • Increased his record against national teams to 2-0 this season.
  • Gives Andreas Aurich his sixth win of the season, the most by a first-year Crimson football coach since Edward L. Casey, who won seven games in his first season in 1931.
  • Improves to 6-1, tying its best seven-game start to a season (2016, 2023) since the start of 2015 with seven straight wins.

Player notes

• Charles DePrima (8 rushes, 43 yards, 3 touchdowns): Scored a touchdown in each of his last two games…His eight rushing attempts tied a season high…His three rushing TDs matched his career high (3 vs. Cornell in 2023).
• Ty Bartrum (16 tackles, 1 TFL): Finished with a game- and career-high 16 tackles…Has 29 tackles over the last two seasons against Dartmouth…Recorded at least nine tackles for the third straight game…Had his sixth straight game with at least…posted six stops.
• Scott Woods II (8 receptions, 54 yards): Led all players with eight catches, a week after recording 10 catches.
• Seamus Gilmartin (4 receptions, 60 yards): Scored a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Has scored at least one touchdown in three of his last four appearances.
• Cooper Barkate (7 receptions, 124 yards): Had a game-high 124 receiving yards…Has had more than 100 receiving yards in two straight games and in three of his last four games.

Next

The Crimson returns to the friendly confines of Harvard Stadium on Saturday, November 9th when they host Columbia. The Military Appreciation Game is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN+. Tickets for the game are available at GoCrimson.com.