Football

Five Ivies Earn Wins in Week 1

PRINCETON, N.J. – Five Ivy League football teams earned victories Saturday as the 2026 season got underway across the league.
 
No. 19 Yale scored 17 unanswered points over the final 9:36 to rally past Holy Cross, 38-28, while No. 25 Harvard rolled to a 31-7 road victory over New Hampshire. Columbia provided the day's most dramatic finish, topping Lafayette, 40-34, in overtime. Brown and Penn also opened the season with road victories.
 
Penn’s Rick Santos and Yale’s Kevin Cahill each earned victories in their debuts with their respective programs.
 
The Ivy League finished the opening weekend with a 5-3 mark, giving the league a .500-or-better record in Week 1 for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons.
 
COLUMBIA 40, LAFAYETTE 34 (OT)
12 p.m. // New York, N.Y. // Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium
  • Columbia (1-0) opened the season with a thrilling 40-34 overtime victory over Lafayette.
  • Quarterback Chase Goodwin completed 25-of-39 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, while first-year wide receiver Bryce Coleman hauled in seven passes for 127 yards and two scores. Griffin Johnson added 161 yards from scrimmage, including 124 on the ground.
  • After Lafayette tied the game at 34 late in regulation, defensive back MD Awe intercepted the Leopards on the first play of overtime. On Columbia's first offensive snap, Goodwin found Beckett Robinson for a 25-yard touchdown to seal the win.
 
#7 LEHIGH 24, DARTMOUTH 20
12 p.m. // Bethlehem, Pa. // Goodman Stadium
  • Dartmouth (0-1) battled No. 7 Lehigh to the wire before falling, 24-20, on the road. The Big Green carried a 20-17 advantage into the fourth quarter before the Mountain Hawks scored the game's final touchdown.
  • Quarterback Grayson Saunier threw for 262 yards and a touchdown. Nick Lemon eclipsed the century mark with 102 receiving yards, while Ky’Dric Fisher hauled in four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
  • Owen Zalc connected on both of his field-goal attempts from 49 and 50 yards, respectively.
 
BROWN 17, NEW HAVEN 10
1 p.m. // West Haven, Conn. // Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium
  • Brown (1-0) jumped out to a 17-0 halftime advantage and held on for a 17-10 season-opening road victory over New Haven.
  • Running back Matt Childs totaled 148 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Childs broke off an 87-yard reception in the first quarter before punching it in from three yards out on the following play.
  • Quarterback James Murphy completed 26-of-38 passes for 343 yards, while the Bears' defense registered three sacks and an interception.
 
#25 HARVARD 31, NEW HAMPSHIRE 7
1 p.m. // Durham, N.H. // Wildcat Stadium
  • No. 25 Harvard (1-0) opened the season with a convincing 31-7 road victory over New Hampshire. The Crimson scored 21 points in the second quarter and held the Wildcats scoreless after halftime.
  • First-year Nathan Bailey scored twice, rushing for a 23-yard touchdown before hauling in a touchdown reception later in the second quarter. He also added a 28-yard punt return.
  • The Crimson defense registered seven sacks and three takeaways. Sean Line led the effort with 10 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
 
COLGATE 20, CORNELL 7
1 p.m. // Hamilton, N.Y. // Andy Kerr Stadium
  • Cornell (0-1) fell to Colgate, 20-7, in its season opener. The Raiders scored all 20 of their points in the first half before the Big Red defense held them scoreless after halftime.
  • Defensive back Tommy MacPherson filled the stat sheet with 11 tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. The Big Red defense totaled four sacks and forced two turnovers.
  • Garrett Bass-Sulpizio rushed for 52 yards, while Jordan Triplett accounted for Cornell's fourth-quarter touchdown.
 
BRYANT 21, PRINCETON 14
1 p.m. // Smithfield, R.I. // Beirne Stadium
  • Princeton (0-1) came up short at Bryant, 21-14, after the Tigers evened the game at 14 early in the fourth quarter. Bryant responded with the eventual game-winning touchdown later in the period.
  • Making his collegiate debut, freshman quarterback Wyatt Becker completed 15 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown and added 26 yards on the ground.
  • Ethan Clark rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Josh Smith had 86 receiving yards and a score.
 
NO. 19 YALE 38, HOLY CROSS 28
2 p.m. // Worcester, Mass. // Fitton Field
  • No. 19 Yale (1-0) erased a fourth-quarter deficit and scored the game's final 17 points to earn a 38-28 victory at Holy Cross. The Bulldogs trailed 28-21 with 11:52 remaining before scoring touchdowns on their next two possessions.
  • Quarterback Dante Reno completed 30-of-43 passes for 454 yards – tied for the 20th most in a game in Ivy League history – and five touchdowns without an interception. Yale piled up 524 yards of total offense.
  • Jaxton Santiago hauled in 12 passes for 234 yards – tied for the 13th most in a game in Ivy League history – and two touchdowns, while Lucius Anderson added nine receptions for 155 yards and two scores.
  • Reno connected with Santiago for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 28 before finding Graham Smith for the go-ahead 28-yard score with 3:42 remaining.
 
PENN 20, BUCKNELL 7
3 p.m. // Lewisburg, Pa. // Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
  • Penn (1-0) opened the season with a 20-7 road victory over Bucknell. The Quakers' defense held the Bison to just 124 yards of total offense, including 40 on the ground. Bucknell's lone score came on a 77-yard interception return.
  • Making his collegiate debut, freshman quarterback Miles Teodecki accounted for 284 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. He completed 18-of-34 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 87 yards and another score.
  • Teodecki opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run before connecting with Mason Page for a 37-yard score later in the first quarter. He added a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dante Barone in the third.