Football

Bulldogs Earn League’s First-Ever AQ; Brown, Columbia, Penn Close Seasons with Wins

PRINCETON, N.J. – With its win over No. 8 Harvard, No. 25 Yale earned a share of the Ivy League title and the league’s first-ever automatic qualifier bid to the FCS playoffs.
 
Yale closed the season on a six-game win streak and posted an average margin of victory of 18 points during the stretch. The Bulldogs’ two setbacks came to Lehigh – currently No. 4 in the nation – and to Dartmouth on a 51-yard field goal as time expired.
 
Harvard, which earned a share of the Ivy title with its dramatic win over Penn last week, closed the regular season at 9-1 overall. Eight of the Crimson’s nine wins this season were by three or more possessions. Harvard scored at least 30 points in each of its victories.
 

#25 YALE 45, #8 HARVARD 28 
12 p.m. // New Haven, Conn. // Yale Bowl
  • Yale (8-2, 6-1 Ivy) topped Harvard (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) to secure a share of the Ivy League title and earn the league’s first-ever automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.
  • Yale Running back Josh Pitsenberger rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns. He became the 19th Ivy player to eclipse 3,000 career rushing yards and now stands at 3,102.
  • Quarterback Dante Reno completed 15 of 19 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns.
  • Receiver Nico Brown recorded eight catches for 189 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown reception. Brown entered the contest second in the FCS — trailing only Penn’s Jared Richardson — in receiving yards per game. This marked his sixth 100-yard receiving effort of the season.
  • Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns. His top target was Ryan Tattersall, who finished with five catches for 92 yards and two scores.
 
BROWN 35, RV DARTMOUTH  28 
12 p.m. // Providence, R.I. // Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium
  • Alejandro Bello’s 74-yard pick-six with 4:50 remaining lifted Brown (5-5, 2-5 Ivy) past Dartmouth (7-3, 4-3 Ivy), 35-28.
  • Brown quarterback James Murphy went 22-for-27 for 222 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with 10 different receivers.
  • Running back Matt Childs recorded both a rushing and receiving touchdown.
  • Dartmouth tight end Chris Corbo posted eight receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
 
COLUMBIA 29, CORNELLL 12
1 p.m. // Ithaca, N.Y. // Schoellkopf Field
  • Columbia (1-8, 1-6 Ivy) won its fifth consecutive Empire State Bowl with a 29-12 victory over Cornell (4-6, 3-4 Ivy).
  • Columbia running back Griffin Johnson rushed for 203 yards – the most by an Ivy this season – and a touchdown on 29 attempts.
  • Defensive lineman Justin Townsend registered 2.5 sacks and became Columbia’s all-time sacks leader in his final game, finishing with 23 career sacks.
  • Cornell quarterback Garrett Bass-Sulpizio threw for 225 yards.
 
PENN 17, PRINCETON 6
1 p.m. // Philadelphia, Pa. // Franklin Field
  • Penn (6-4, 4-3 Ivy) closed its season with a 17-6 win over Princeton (3-7, 2-5 Ivy).
  • The Quakers’ receiving duo of Jared Richardson and Bisi Owens combined for 17 receptions and 177 yards. Richardson posted 12 catches for 95 yards, while Owens added five receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown.
  • Quarterback Liam O’Brien completed 22 of his 31 pass attempts for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Princeton receiver Josh Robinson capped his impressive freshman season with five catches for 68 yards. He finished the year with 46 receptions for 569 yards and two touchdowns.