The Game 2023 by The Harvard Crimson

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

EILEENE J. LEE — CRIMSON DESIGNER

A GUIDE TO THE GAME — 3

THE 150TH YEAR — 4

MURPHY’S STORY — 10 |

A DATA DIVE — 12

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

PREVIEW

ON THE COVER

THE GAME 2023

Front Cover Graphic by Eileene J. Lee Designed by Sami E. Turner

STAFF SPORTS CHAIRS Mairead B. Baker ’24 Aaron B. Shuchman ’25 STAFF WRITERS Nate M. Bolan ’27 Jack Canavan ’25 Nadia A. Fairfax ’25 Katharine A. Forst ’25 Caroline G. Gage ’25 Thomas G. Harris ’25 Miller Y. MacDonald ’26 Jack K. Silvers ’25 Isabel C. Smail ’27 Griffin Wong ’24 DESIGN EDITORS Toby R. Ma ’24 Sami E. Turner ’25 Laurinne P. Eugenio ’26 PHOTO EDITORS Julian J. Giordano ’25 Dylan J. Goodman ’25 Cory K. Gorczycki ’25 Joey Huang ’24 PRESIDENT Cara J. Chang ’24 MANAGING EDITOR Brandon L. Kingdollar ’24 BUSINESS MANAGER Cynthia V. Lu ’24

FROM THE EDITORS NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

A GUIDE TO FOOTBALL AND THE HARVARD-YALE GAME

150 YEARS OF FOOTBALL

A PHOTO ESSAY OF THE HARVARD-YALE GAME

Read The Crimson’s guide to the third-oldest rivalry in college football, Harvard-Yale, which includes all of the football knowledge you will need to understand ‘The Game.’

Modern football rules like the forward pass can trace their origins to Harvard Stadium.

PREVIEW OF THE GAME

Brush up on all the storylines including the fate of the Ivy League Championship.

Relive some of the best moments from Harvard’s first Ivy League Championship winning season since 2015 through the lens of Crimson photographers.

THE STORY OF TIM MURPHY

DATA DIVE INTO IVY LEAGUE

COOPER’S PERSPECTIVE

DUELING LIMERICKS

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As his 30th season wraps up, learn about the Ivy League’s winningest coach.

Read sophomore wideout Cooper Barkate’s thoughts heading into New Haven.

Does defense really win championships? Find out in our data dive of past seasons.

As per tradition, dueling roasts between The Crimson and the Yale Daily News.

he annual Harvard-Yale game is the crown jewel of Ivy League athletics. Held every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, ‘The Game’ draws tens of thousands of students, loyal alumni, and parents to the grand spectacle of a tradition that goes back more than a century. This famed four-quarter duel is more than just a game: it’s a hallmark of the student experience at Harvard and Yale. It overflows with passion and a burning desire to return home victorious. From the moment of the coin toss to the second the clock hits triple zeroes, spectators wait with bated breath and anticipation to see who will storm the field to celebrate their school with pride. But this year, there’s more on the line than just bragging rights — while the Crimson has already clinched a share of the Ivy League title, its hated rival from New Haven can grab a share of their own with a win on Saturday at the Yale Bowl. Dartmouth could force a threeway tie if both the Bulldogs and the Big Green emerge victorious on Saturday. Our writers have covered everything — from the history, to key players, to football lingo — to capture the incredible impact this game has on athletes and all those who watch, in an attempt to encapsulate something so very Harvard. In this special Harvard-Yale supplement from the Sports writers at The Crimson, we try to catch just that through these stories of Harvard affiliates and beyond.

- MBB & ABS

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

A Guide to Football & Storied Traditions of The Game By AARON B. SHUCHMAN CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

he annual Harvard-Yale football game, often simply referred to as “The Game,” is the third-oldest college football rivalry in the United States. It is played each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving day, with the host site rotating each year between the Yale Bowl and Harvard Stadium. In many seasons, the outcome of The Game has decided the Ivy League champion, as it is played on the final weekend of the season. As a rivalry nearly a century-and-a-half old played between two institutions founded more than three centuries ago, The Game is steeped in old traditions. After the pregame coin toss, where captains represent their teams at midfield, the team’s leaders then run back to the sideline to energize their squad and get them ready for kickoff. Yale’s Saybrook College is also famous for its “Saybrook Strip,” where Saybrook residents strip down to their underwear at the end of the third quarter. Recent editions of The Game have built on this storied legacy with a number of memorable entries. The second half of the 2019 game was delayed for close to an hour after protestors stormed the field at the Yale Bowl demanding that Harvard and Yale divest from fossil fuels and refused to leave. In 2014, ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show paid a visit to Harvard Stadium for The Game, which Harvard won 31-24. There is also a long history of pranks between Harvard, Yale, and occasionally MIT students. In 1961, The Crimson handed out parody editions of the Yale Daily News indicating that President John F. Kennedy ’40 would be attending the game. The president of The Crimson at the time, Robert Ellis Smith ’62, wore a mask of Kennedy and walked across the field surrounded by “Secret Service agents.” Furthermore in 1982, MIT students inflated a giant weather balloon near midfield, forcing a team of workers to hurriedly dismantle it. In 1983, members of the Yale marching band disguised themselves as members of the Harvard band and released several pigs onto the field. Years later in 2004, Yale students pretending to be

The Crimson hosted the Bulldogs in the historic Harvard Stadium for the 138th rendition of The Game on Nov. 19. 2022. JULIAN J. GIORDANO — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

a Harvard pep squad distributed placards to Harvard supporters that collectively formed the phrase “We Suck” when held aloft. A Brief Guide to Football Gameplay in football is structured in drives, which are structured in individual plays. At the start of the game, one team will receive the opening kickoff and start its first drive. It will have four downs, or plays, to cover the distance between the line of scrimmage and the first down marker, which resets the down counter. When a team reaches fourth down and has not gained a first down, there are three options: it may either punt by having its punter kick the ball to the opponent, attempt to kick a field goal through the uprights, or it may “go for it” and attempt to reach the first down line again, but if it fails, the other team receives the ball where the previous play began. Teams can score in one of three ways. When a team is able to move the ball offensively far enough into the other team’s territory but is unable to reach the end zone,

it may send its kicker out to try and kick the ball through the goalposts for a field goal, worth three points. If the offense is able to catch or run the ball into the end zone, it scores a touchdown, worth six points, and can either kick an extra point or attempt a one-shot two-point conversion. Defenses can also score, as they can return interceptions or fumbles for touchdowns. If they tackle the opposing offense in the end zone that the other team is defending, it can score a safety, worth two points. On offense, teams employ two types of plays as part of their gameplan. The quarterback — the offense’s most important player — will receive the ball from the center, and will either hand the ball to a running back, attempt to throw the ball to a tight end or wide receiver, or keep the ball himself and run. When a pass is not caught, the next down begins at the same point on the field as the previous play. The defense will attempt to intercept or break up the quarterback’s passes, tackle the ball carrier, or tackle the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage for a sack. There are several key positions that

impact the course of the game. Quarterbacks are responsible for running the offense and throwing the ball to their wide receivers, who line up along the sidelines at the start of the play, and tight ends, who line up closer to the ball in the middle of the field. Running backs can take handoffs or catch passes from the quarterback. The offensive line, made up of tackles that protect the end of the offensive line, guards, who line up just inside of the tackles, and the center, who is in the middle of the line, are responsible for protecting the quarterback from pressure and creating space for running backs and wide receivers downfield. On defense, the defensive line is composed of defensive tackles, who line up opposite the center and guards, and defensive ends, who line up opposite the tackles. The defensive line is responsible for bottling up the opposing team’s running game while also putting pressure on the quarterback. Behind the defensive line are the linebackers, who chase down ball carriers, rush the quarterback, and support coverage of wide receivers. Behind the linebackers is the secondary, made up of cornerbacks and safeties. Cornerbacks line up opposite wide receivers and attempt to intercept or disrupt passes, while safeties support cornerbacks in coverage and cover the deep part of the field. aaron.shuchman@thecrimson.com

HISTORY OF THE GAME

4–0 HARVARD WINS 4-0 at the first Harvard-Yale Game on November 13, 1875.

69–61–8 YALE LEADS the all-time record 69-61-8.

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

150 Anniversary Healdine 1-2 lines akjdslfkjsadfksd;fadsf Harvard Celebrates 150 Years of Football Harvard Stadium in the early days of the Harvard Crimson football program. COURTESY OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES By CAROLINE G. GAGE AND THOMAS HARRIS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

hen thinking of classic American sports, baseball usually comes to mind. But only 10 years after professional baseball was first played, before the sport of basketball was even a thought in its creator’s head, and a year before the first indoor hockey game was played, the annals of football were being written by the Harvard

Football Club. The Princeton-Rutgers football series — which looked more like soccer — commenced intercollegiate football in the United States. A couple of years later, Yale sent a letter to the ‘Harvard University Foot Ball Club,’ asking for their attendance in a convention between the five schools interested in “Foot Ball,” namely, Columbia, Harvard, Rutgers, Princeton, and Yale. However, Harvard’s game had adapted aspects of rugby — players could run holding the ball and didn’t just have to kick it. So, Harvard declined, refusing to compromise its sport.

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Just a year later in 1874, McGill University contacted Harvard, asking for a match. They agreed to play two games: one that, despite being too similar to rugby for the likes of Yale, still looked like “association football.” For context, association football was later shortened to “asoccer,” and finally to “soccer.” These two games had roots in both schools: one game of association football from Harvard’s rulebook and one game of rugby football from McGill’s rulebook. These games were to happen on Harvard’s field. More than 500 people paid 50 cents to watch the games.

The result of the soccer-like game was 3-0 Harvard. McGill players were confused by all of the kicking, and were merely spectators, according to the Crimson report from the game. In the second game McGill and Harvard remained scoreless. Although neither team won that day, it changed the course of football history forever. According to the Professional Football Researchers Association, “[The Harvard Men] fell head over heels in love with rugby and all thoughts of the once-cherished [completely soccer-based football] disappeared,”emphasizing the impact of the shift

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023 in the game. The influence of this change can be seen directly today in almost every aspect of the game, but most visually by the change in ball. When McGill proposed the first rugby game, it also introduced the egg-shaped ball to America. It is this ball that directly evolved into the pigskin that fans everywhere know and love today. With that, the saga known as Harvard football truly began. One year after the McGill game, the famous Harvard-Yale rivalry began. Harvard played its first game in uniforms in New Haven, under the same rugby-influenced rules as the McGill game. Yale promised Harvard 75 dollars to play “the game,” but Harvard also walked home with a decisive 4-0 victory. Harvard students, excited as ever after a Harvard-Yale victory, got caught “hooting and singing in public streets,” and had to pay a fine. A year later, the intercollegiate football association was founded. One of the most infamous installments of The Game occurred on Nov. 24, 1894. Also known as “the bloodbath at Hampden Park,” the Harvard-Yale matchup resulted in so many critical injuries that administrators banned the matchup for the next two years. Unsurprisingly, the early iterations of the Harvard-Yale game were almost nothing like the games played today. The first decades of the game looked more like rugby matches than modern football. A program from the Game of 1894 includes the rules, which ban forward passes and tackling below the knees. Football was a violent sport and players wore simple uniforms which did not include protective gear. According to The Athletic, about 76 college football players died from injuries between 1890 and 1892. With injuries and even deaths causing alarm among administrators, the ethics and viability of college football were hotly debated by the end of the 19th century. Months before the “bloodbath at Hampden Park,” a Crimson article detailed President Charles Eliot’s strong criticism of the sport in his report to the Board of Overseers. In the report, Eliot argued that “no football should be played until the rules are so amended as to diminish the number and the violence of the collisions between the players, and to provide for the enforcement of the rules.” Amendments were made to the rules of the game, spearheaded by the University Athletic Club’s Football Committee. Yale’s Walter Camp was one of the main creators of the new rules, which were the founda-

tions of the game as it is played today. Some of the changes, detailed in a New York Times article from Feb. 1894, included new penalties for unnecessary roughness, fouls, and amendments to the scoring system. The 1894 Harvard-Yale contest, subject to these new rules, went on with 25,000 spectators in attendance. The Bulldogs ultimately won 12-4. While the low score might indicate a boring game, the reality was anything but. Despite the efforts of the Football Committee and other administrators to revamp the game, violence still ensued. Harvard’s Charles Brewer left with a broken leg, and Yale’s right tackle Fred Murphy suffered a brain contusion. Three Yale players incurred severe concussions, and a few more players ended the day in the hospital with broken collarbones or noses. The New York Times, describing the game, wrote, “the record of French duels for the last dozen years fails to show such a list of casualties as this one game of football produced.” “It was a game in which an unusual amount of bad blood and foul playing was shown, and the new rules, which were expected to accomplish so much in reducing the record of injuries to players, failed en-

tirely of their purpose,” The Times continued. As a result of the 1894 Game, the contest between the teams was banned for the next two years. Discussions would continue into the next century about reform, and some advocated for an outright ban of football itself. Amidst continued outcry from Eliot and other leadership, President Theodore Roosevelt ‘80 called a committee to the White House in 1905 which revolutionized the sport. In an effort to make the game safer, the rules were changed to allow the forward pass. Years after the bloodbaths of the early 1890’s, Harvard won its first (and only) Rose Bowl against the Oregon Webfoots. Held at the conclusion of the first season since World War I, the 1920 Rose Bowl (won after the 1919 season) represented a bright return to football for the first full season since the 1916 season. It was also the 50th anniversary of the sport, and the first Rose Bowl in three years not played by a military team. The majority of Harvard’s talent had recently returned from the battlefield fighting the Great War. That season, Harvard went 8-0-1 and played only one away game, where it tied

Princeton. Oregon tried to injure Harvard to defeat, trailing in the early game, but bruising the Crimson in the process, and they ended the first half up 7-6. But neither team was able to score, and the game ended with Harvard a foot shy of the endzone. While they were unable to increase their margin, the Harvard team still defeated the Webfoots 7-6. This moment was bittersweet — Harvard football was greeted to heroic status and lavish balls, but it also marked the end of Harvard’s dominance in the sport. The state schools, with their higher enrollments, were threatening to take over the Ivies. That, paired with the fact that Harvard was pulling away from emphasizing athletics, meant that the Crimson’s stay at the top was short lived. One hundred and fifty years after its creation, Harvard football has won twelve national championships, 18 conference championships (including one in 2023), and one Rose Bowl. Its history, which is inseparable from the history of football as a whole, is one of the richest in all of college and professional sports. caroline.gage@thecrimson.com thomas.harris@thecrimson.com

A portrait of the Harvard football team from its game program against Yale on Nov. 24, 1894. COURTESY OF HARVARD ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

Harvard to Face Yale with Outright Ivy Title on the Line By NADIA A. FAIRFAX CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

o. 19 Harvard football (8-1, 5-1) is to face famed rival Yale (42, 6-3) at the 139th rendition of ‘The Game’ this Saturday, Nov. 18 in the Yale Bowl. The Crimson will head to New Haven with a share of the Ivy League title after defeating Penn (6-3, 3-3) in triple overtime. Harvard has had a historic season thus far, securing the program’s 18th conference title in history and 10th for head coach Tim Murphy. Mur-

phy has also recently surpassed Yale Head Coach Carm Cozza in Ivy League wins, and with the recent Ivy League title, has tied with Cozza in Ivy League championships. Sophomore quarterback Jaden Craig, who took over for junior quarterback Charles DePrima in the starting position, played a powerful game last week, where he secured the title with a two yard pass reception in the endzone. His performance earned him the NEFW/Grinold Chapter Gold Helmet award, and he earned Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Craig’s performance this past week ac-

counted for 20 out of the 25 points that Harvard scored. The quarterback managed two rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown, and his two point pass reception to finalize the game. “I’d say it was a really special feeling,” said Craig about being a part of such a memorable win last week. “We’ve been through a lot this year, and to have that big of a win was a great feeling.” Sophomore wide receiver Cooper Barkate also had a remarkable game, catching eight passes over 125 yards and scoring one touchdown in one of his best performances of the season, alongside his performance

against Brown. “It’s huge,” Barkate reflected. “We get to go in not having to worry about winning the Ivy League title, so we already have that clinched.” “Although we do want to win it outright, we don’t want to share the title, especially with our big rivals Yale,” the wide receiver continued. “So it’s definitely a huge relief not having that pressure on our back. We get to go in playing free, and we really have nothing to lose.” The Crimson’s defense was mainly led by senior defensive lineman Thor Griffith, who had a career high 10 tackles, with two for

The Harvard football offensive line listens up for a sideline huddle in the team’s only loss of the season on Oct. 21, 2023 to Princeton. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

The Harvard defense attempts to stop the Quakers in the Crimson’s win on Nov. 11, 2023. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

Members of the Crimson lock in on the field in its decisive defeat of Penn on Nov. 11, 2023. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

loss. For the senior, the win last Saturday was a token of how much the team has improved. “It was something that even before coming in, it was a goal for our class,” Griffith said of the conference championship. “One of the recruiting pitches they always said was ‘every class that’s been through with Coach Murphy has won a title’ and that streak kind of ended last year, so we’re so stoked that we were able to bring another one home. That feeling is pretty hard to describe even now.” Harvard is gearing up to face a Yale team that was voted as the preseason favorite for the Ivy League, earning 122 points overall and 13 first-place votes. Harvard, by contrast, was voted fourth in the poll, behind Princeton and Penn respectively. “They’re a great team and a great defense, a lot of good athletes,” Barkate commented. “A lot of things that are similar to the past week. We’re trying to have a balanced offense between the running game

THE STARTING LINEUP

SECOND STRING

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

LEFT TACKLE 64 Jacob Rizy

DEFENSIVE END 57 Micaiah Bell

LEFT TACKLE 69 Garrett Seymour

DEFENSIVE END 97 Brandon Svets

LEFT GUARD 79 Mike Entwistle

DEENSIVE TACKLE 50 Thor Griffith

LEFT GUARD 53 Jack Gentle

DEENSIVE TACKLE 72 Kwaku Adubofour

CENTER 68 Austin Gentle

DEFENSIVE TACKLE 92 Tyler Huenemann

CENTER 55 Derek Osman

DEFENSIVE TACKLE 96 Dominic Young-Smith

RIGHT GUARD 59 Logan Bednar

DEFENSIVE END 51 Nate Leskovec

RIGHT GUARD 61 Aidan Kilstrom

DEFENSIVE END 94 Jacob Psyk

RIGHT TACKLE 73 Spencer Cassell

LINEBACKER 3 Eric Little

RIGHT TACKLE 63 Ean Norenberg

LINEBACKER 40 Caleb Phillips

TIGHT END 88 Tyler Neville

LINEBACKER 49 Matt Hudson

TIGHT END 42 Logan Reaska

LINEBACKER 34 Matt Cavanaugh

HALFBACK 48 Tim Dowd

LINEBACKER 39 Mitchell Gonser

HALFBACK 86 Ryan Osborne

LINEBACKER 20 Marcus Alexander

WIDE RECEIVER 2 Cooper Barkate

CORNERBACK 27 AJ Lopez

WIDE RECEIVER 15 Caydon Coffman

CORNERBACK 26 Isaac Rollins

WIDE RECEIVER 7 Kaedyn Odermann

SAFETY 36 Garret Sharp

WIDE RECEIVER 84 Dean Boyd

SAFETY 24 Phillip Smitherman

RUNNING BACK 29 Shane McLaughlin

SAFETY 21 Ty Bartrum

RUNNING BACK 22 Xaviah Bascon

SAFETY 18 Kaleb Moody

QUARTERBACK 10 Jaden Craig

CORNERBACK 0 Gavin Shipman

QUARTERBACK 16 Charles DePrima

CORNERBACK 7 Damien Henderson

and the passing game.” Last year, the Crimson hosted the Bulldogs at home and fell 19-14. The loss was an end to a 6-4 season for Harvard, compared to Yale’s 8-2 season. “We’re just trying to build on the confidence that we gained throughout the last half of the year,” said Barkate when asked about specific things he’s looking to improve on in Saturday’s game. “After the loss to Princeton, we were kind of battling through that the rest of the year, and we’re just trying to build on that in our final game.” In Harvard’s 150th season, it surpassed 900 wins after its defeat of Columbia, alongside at least a part of the Ivy League Title for the first time since 2015. A Harvard-Yale win tomorrow would be the Crimson’s 62nd win, compared to Yale’s 68 Harvard-Yale wins. “Really everything,” said Barkate about what a win on Saturday would mean for the team. “For the seniors, even though I’m a sophomore, this game is really meant

for our seniors. To have them go out with a win against Yale for an outright Ivy League championship, which we haven’t done in eight years, would be pretty big.” A Bulldogs player to watch on Saturday will be senior quarterback Nolan Grooms, the reigning Asa Bushnell Cup Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year. Grooms enters the competition leading the Ivy League with 20 touchdown passes, and a 155 passing efficiency, ranking him 13th nationally in both categories. “He’s a dual threat quarterback,” Griffith said of Grooms. “He can throw it, he can run it real well, so biggest thing for us is really containing him, making sure that he can’t really use his legs to the best of his ability, and want to get the chance to really let him up as much as possible and make sure that we can contain him, contain the running backs, and really just dominate the line of scrimmage.” Harvard’s hope is to bring an unshared

Ivy League Championship home to Cambridge — alongside another Harvard-Yale win. “For me, it would be the perfect finisher for my Harvard career,” said Griffith about what a win this Saturday would mean for him and this program. “Just coming in with Covid, and then going out with a 9-1 [season] and an undisputed Ivy League championship, I feel like a lot of guys in my class would feel the same way.” “For the program as a whole, an unshared Ivy League title is something that we haven’t done since 2015, so it’s been a while since we’ve been able to put one up there,” he continued. “And if we can put one up undisputed, that would be real special.” Harvard-Yale will kickoff the 139th Harvard-Yale game in New Haven, Conn., at 12:00 p.m. EST. The game will be aired live on ESPNU. jack.canavan@thecrimson.com nadia.fairfax@thecrimson.com

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

In Photos: Harvard Football’s 2023 Season By NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

In Photos: Harvard Football’s 2023 Season

Sept. 16 — Harvard vs. St. Thomas (W, 45-13)

Sept. 22 — Harvard vs. Brown (W, 34-31)

Sept. 16 — Harvard vs. St. Thomas (W, 45-13)

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Sept. 30 — Harvard vs. Holy Cross (W, 38-28)

Oct. 14 — Harvard vs. Howard (W, 48-7)

Oct. 6 — Harvard vs. Cornell (W, 41-23)

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

Oct. 21 — Harvard vs. Princeton (L, 14-21)

Oct. 6 — Harvard vs. Cornell (W, 41-23)

Nov. 4 — Harvard vs. Columbia (W, 38-24)

Oct. 28 — Harvard vs. Dartmouth (W, 17-9)

Oct. 14 — Harvard vs. Howard (W, 48-7)

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Murphy Reflects on 30 Years in the Ivy League By GRIFFIN WONG CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

he second time Tim Murphy stepped onto the hallowed grounds of the Yale Bowl, it was Nov. 22, 1997, and Murphy, then 41, was in his fourth season as Harvard’s head coach. The Crimson held an 8-1 record going into the final game, having clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title the previous week with a 33-0 home victory over Penn. Still, the job was far from complete. Harvard still had to beat Yale that afternoon in New Haven, Conn., to secure the conference title alone, as with a Crimson loss and Dartmouth victory over Princeton, the 7-2 Big Green would have shared the glory. That day, Murphy came through, leading Harvard to a 17-7 victory, denying Dartmouth a share of the title and claiming his first Ivy League championship as the Crimson’s head coach, the program’s ninth overall. For both programs, some things have changed dramatically since that 1997 game. Approximately 1,000 different players have donned a Harvard jersey. Murphy is now 67 years old, the 3rd-longest tenured coach in

Division I football, and the most successful coach in Ivy League history, with 138 conference victories and 200 overall wins in 30 seasons. The Bulldogs’ coach in that game was Jack Siedlecki; on Saturday, it will be Tony Reno, a former Harvard assistant from 2009 to 2011 who has led the Yale program since 2012. Reno is the fourth coach who has stood on the sideline opposite Murphy in The Game. Still, 26 years later, No. 19/23 Harvard (8-1, 5-1) finds itself in a similar situation. It claimed a share of its 18th Ivy League crown — Murphy’s 10th overall and first since 2015 — on Nov. 11 with a dramatic, triple-overtime 25-23 victory over Penn at Harvard Stadium. If it beats its historic rivals in The Game for the 62nd time in 139 tries, the Crimson will once again be Ivy League champions alone. Hoping to spoil the coronation is a hungry Bulldogs side (6-3, 4-2), as well as the Big Green (5-4, 4-2), who can each claim a share of the title with a Yale victory

and a Dartmouth win over Brown (5-4, 3-3). Harvard’s tremendous season was not without travails. The Crimson placed just fourth in the league’s preseason media poll. It started the season with five comfortable wins before suffering a road loss to Princeton on Oct. 21. Sophomore quarterback Jaden Craig took over for junior Charles Deprima in the second quarter of a 17-9 win over Dartmouth a week later. And it took a miraculous trick play to fend off a feisty Quakers side last weekend. According to Murphy, Harvard’s tumultuous season underscores the tenacity of his players. “We did it the hard way, and that takes a lot of character,” said Murphy of the nail-biting victory over Penn. “We didn’t flinch in overtime. We made the plays we had to make, offense, defense, and special teams. I’m just so proud of our kids.” The resilience that the Crimson demonstrated over the course of the season reflects the culture that Murphy and his top assistants — offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mickey Fein and defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Scott Larkee ’99 — have developed over their years working together. Fein is in

his seventh season on Harvard’s staff, while Larkee has been defensive coordinator for 15 seasons, producing a number of elite rushing defenses throughout his tenure. “It’s about being professional,” Murphy said of Fein and Larkee’s impact on producing a winning program. “Everybody is professional on our staff, and that’s part and parcel of having a successful program. We’ve got highly motivated people and smart people and that’s why, from the first championship with our first recruiting class back in 1997 through this one, that’s the kind of people we’ve had in our program — high character, highly talented people.” Over Murphy’s 30 seasons, Harvard has done very little but win. Since 2000, the Crimson has posted just one losing season, compiling a 167-51 (.766) record — the sixth-best in Division I football, behind only Ohio State, Alabama, Boise State, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Although Harvard’s overall count of 18 Ivy League championships is still two shy of Dartmouth’s mark, no team has won more than the Crimson’s 10 since Murphy took over in 1994. And while the Bulldogs still hold an overall series lead in The Game, Murphy’s Crimson has been stellar, winning 19 of 28 matchups with him on the sideline.

Harvard football head coach Tim Murphy patrols the sideline against Princeton on Oct. 21, 2023. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023 Murphy attributed his success in The Game to his players and their understanding of the rivalry’s importance. “The only way you can accomplish that kind of record against one of the top programs in our league is, we’ve had great kids, we’ve had great coaches, and we clearly have played particularly well and particularly hard in the Yale Bowl and here at Harvard Stadium, playing Yale,” he said. “It’s a big game. It’s the biggest game in our league. And our players and our coaches get excited for that.” Throughout the years, Harvard and Yale players have collectively put on a show. In the 28 contests Murphy has coached in, the winning team has prevailed by an average of just 12.86 points per game, a figure that is skewed by a handful of blowouts in the early 2000’s. Several of the games have played a role, directly or indirectly, in determining the conference title — including two of the last three. In particular, Murphy recalled the 2005 game, when legendary running back Clifton Dawson ’07 — the Ivy League’s all-time leading rusher — punched it in from two yards out with night falling at the Yale Bowl to send the hosts home upset, 30-24. With the stadium — opened in 1914 — having no lights, Dawson scored at the final moment before the referees would’ve deemed the game a tie due to the impending darkness. “We finally got the [ball] across the goal line on the last play,” Murphy said. “If we didn’t score on that play, they were going to call the game a tie.” Murphy also mentioned the 2014 game, when the Crimson welcomed the Bulldogs to Harvard Stadium, hoping to finish off a 10-0 season and secure the Ivy League title. In order to do so, though, it had to thwart the championship hopes of its biggest rival, which also would have won the conference with a victory. With ESPN hosting its weekly College GameDay show at Harvard prior to the game, it did not disappoint, as wide receiver Andrew Fischer ’16 caught the game-winning, 35-yard touchdown pass on a double move with less than a minute remaining. Still, the iteration of The Game that will probably be at the top of mind for Crimson

Murphy celebrates with his players after his team’s victory over Penn last Saturday. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

fans is 2021, held at the Yale Bowl. It was a dramatic, back-and-forth affair punctuated by wide receiver Kym Wimberly ’22’s sensational twisting catch as he fell to the turf with 22 seconds remaining. For most Harvard students, Saturday will be their first time back at the stadium since throngs of fans rushed onto the field in celebration of the Crimson’s victory. For even the normally stoic Murphy, returning to the site of one of the program’s most unforgettable wins will evoke emotions. “I can remember the last drive like it was yesterday,” he said. “They’re all memorable, but that one was extremely memorable for how hard it was. It was an uphill climb the entire game, and to pull that victory out in such an exciting fashion on national TV was really something. That was a great feeling.” By contrast, Yale will surely be hoping to replicate the success it found in 2022, when it secured sole possession of the Ivy League crown at Harvard Stadium in an ugly, 19-14 affair. But Murphy wasn’t focused on redemption, citing The Game’s history as motivation

enough, regardless of last year’s results. “Every year’s a different game, and we have different motivations,” he said. While Harvard enters the game as 1.5-point favorites, fans can expect a tightknit affair. For as good of a program as Murphy has constructed in Cambridge, Reno’s Bulldogs have found success as well, winning three titles in the past six seasons and setting themselves up for a chance at a fourth this year. It’s a testament to the talented players that Yale has managed to recruit, including Indianapolis Colts defensive back Rodney Thomas II ’22 and Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun ’18. “There have been so many great athletes that they’ve had that we’ve competed against throughout the years,” Murphy said. The current crop of Yale talent includes dynamic quarterback Nolan Grooms — the reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year — who has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,773 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 576 yards and two more scores. The Crimson’s defense managed to contain him relatively well each

of the last two years and hopes to do so again on Saturday. Murphy was confident that his experience in the high-pressure environment of The Game would prove beneficial for Harvard again this weekend. “Each coach is different, each team is different, each era is a little bit different,” he said. “But the reality is, it’s not who the coach is, it’s not who the kids are, it’s our biggest game of the year. So from that standpoint, I don’t think a lot has changed. The intensity is still there.” This weekend, tens of thousands of fans and alumni will descend upon the Yale Bowl, filling its 61,446 seats for one of the most storied rivalries in sports. Regardless of the result, it will be another chapter in the Harvard-Yale annals, and it will be another chapter in Murphy’s long career. But before closing the curtain on the 2023 season, the veteran coach has one final goal. “A championship’s a championship, but for us, we haven’t finished the mission,” he said. “We do not want to share this championship with anyone, least of all our biggest rival.” griffin.wong@thecrimson.com

MURPHY’S CAREER BY THE NUMBERS

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Ivy League titles

Undefeated seasons

Overall record with Harvard

In all-time Ivy League wins

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

Data Dive into 5 Seasons of Ivy League Football By MILLER Y. MACDONALD CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“D

efense wins championships” is an adage heard in many sports, including college football. But does it pertain to the Ivy League? As the historic Harvard-Yale game descends upon the Crimson, what factors are crucial to the team’s success in the matchup –– and how might they differ from conference-wide play? We looked through the past five years of Ivy League football data to try and answer these questions.

What are the crucial factors? While defense is important, it’s no secret

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that a strong offense is a vital part of any football team — and the Ivy League is no exception. Specifically, rushing offense has played a pivotal role in the team’s success. Offensive-rushing-yards-gained was correlated with win percentage by a Pearson coefficient (PCC) of 0.56, the highest correlation among non-points-related metrics (for context: a PCC of 1 or -1 means that two variables are perfectly correlated, whereas as PCC of 0 denotes no correlation). Meanwhile, passing the ball doesn’t hold much water among Ivy League champions. The total passing yards and win percentage were correlated by a PCC of 0.008, indicating almost no relation between teams with better passing offenses and teams with more wins. Other significant tells of a team’s performance lay in their conversion of third and

fourth downs. Teams who moved the markers in these crucial moments typically saw better records, with PCCs both of over 0.4. (Note that while performance on these high-pressure plays was significant, stronger teams had less need to convert third and fourth downs in the first place –– in fact, third and fourth down attempts were negatively correlated with win percentage, with PCCs of -0.44 and -0.36 respectively.) On defense, stopping the run was another good indicator of a high win percentage. Teams who stopped the opposing team’s run effectively almost invariably ended up near the top of the league table, with a of -0.78. Meanwhile, passing yards and win percentage were correlated by a PCC of -0.3, much stronger than on the offensive side of the ball. In terms of pure yardage, stopping yards

on the whole was more indicative of team success than a high-octane offense. In rushing yards, passing yards, yards per play, and yards per game, absolute correlation to win percentage was higher on the defensive side of the ball for every metric. So, does defense win Ivy League championships? These data suggest that while offense doesn’t hurt, good defense gets you a better bang for your buck.

How The Game will be decided? For many students and alumni, winning the Ivy League title may be important, but winning The Game is the first priority. What factors might contribute most to a Crimson or Bulldog victory on Saturday? Harvard has a reputation for stifling the run, an attribute born out of the data. Over the past five seasons, the Crimson has led the league twice in rushing yards allowed, never finishing lower than third. In the past five seasons, Yale has beaten Harvard only once in rushing yards allowed in 2017. While the Bulldogs seem to stop the pass more effectively, at least in the past three seasons, the differences between the teams are minor –– yards-in-the-air-allowed by the two defenses since 2017 have never differed by more than 200 yards over a whole season. This comes in contrast to a wide discrepancy in rushing defensive performance. In 2018, Yale allowed over 500 more yards on the ground than Harvard, an average of over 50 yards per game.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

The defensive performances of each team don’t seem to be a predictor of the outcome of The Game. While the Crimson is expected to stop the run and the Bulldogs are expected to stop the pass, neither attribute moves the needle much on game day. The offense tells a different story in the Harvard-Yale game, particularly with regard to the run. In all five of their last matchups, the team with the more productive rushing offense ended up with the victory. The team with the most points scored over the full season also prevailed in all five games. Not all offensive statistics have matched with Harvard-Yale outcomes. On third down, Harvard’s conversion percentage has trailed Yale’s every season since 2017. While the Crimson has been more aggressive than Yale on fourth down in four of the last five seasons, their aggressiveness hasn’t precipitated higher efficiency –– the Bulldog’s fourth down conversion rate has been on average 13 percent better than Harvard’s over the five-year stretch. Despite being a predictor of general Ivy League success, the defensive performance of Harvard and Yale over a full season predicts little about the results of The Game over the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the better rushing offense by volume has pre-

vailed each time. While a solid defense may win more games overall, the Harvard-Yale matchup seems to be decided by the ability to score rather than stifle.

Comparing the teams This Saturday, Harvard and Yale both seek to win the 139th edition of the rivalry matchup in the Yale Bowl. The Crimson comes to

New Haven leading the Ivy League in rushing yards through nine games — 398 yards ahead of the second-place Bulldogs. “It’s very important to us,” said offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mickey Fein. “That’s kind of where we start, is like, how can we run the ball?” Harvard’s offense also leads Yale in fourth-down conversion rate, the first time in six seasons. It trails the Bulldogs in third-

down efficiency, converting 46% of their attempts compared to Yale’s 49%, which leads the Ivy League. “They’re good on offense and you want to stay on the field, doing that through conversions of third and fourth downs,” said Fein, emphasizing Harvard’s 12-for-19 third down performance against Penn last Saturday as momentum to build upon for the game ahead. While Harvard’s pass offense has not been as productive as Yale’s, logging 319 fewer yards in the air over nine games, Fein valued the pass for the chunk plays it produces. “It’s a lot easier to score the ball when you have a plus 20 play in your drive,” he noted. On the other side of the ball, Harvard has maintained its stellar rushing defense, allowing 106 yards per game to the Bulldog’s 136. However, it enters The Game having given up the most passing yards in the league. Harvard’s dominance over the Ivy League this season, paired with their prowess at stopping the run, falls in line with the already strong correlation between rushing defense and win percentage. If previous Harvard-Yale-specific trends continue, the rushing firepower behind the Crimson’s offense points to yet another victory on Saturday. However, whatever the data might say, Harvard-Yale will be decided by performance, not by statistics. “It’s not a ton of… different things we’re gonna do or how it’s gonna all play out,” said Fein, referring to the team’s preparations for Saturday. “It’s more so just making sure the guys understand the task at hand.”

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

Former Top Recruit Barkate Keying Harvard’s Offense By NATE M. BOLAN AND ISABEL C. SMAIL CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

he Harvard football team has had a record-breaking 150th season. 8-1 in overall play and with over 900 victories in program history, the Crimson heads into the historic Harvard-Yale weekend seeking the outright Ivy League Championship. A notable player amidst this historic season has been none other than sophomore wide receiver Cooper Barkate. This stretch of Harvard’s football success faltered slightly in the midseason with a loss against Princeton and was also greatly challenged last weekend against Penn. The Quakers proved to be a tough opponent, extending the game into a third overtime. The Crimson managed to come out victorious, securing a 25-23 win and a share of the Ivy League title. Barkate and sophomore quarterback Jaden Craig led the charge, accounting for all three of Harvard’s touchdowns. Both Barkate and Craig were essential in helping the Crimson succeed in its two-point try in the third overtime. In NCAA overtime rules, a team alternates two-point attempts in the third period until one can score. With Penn having just missed their first try at the end zone, Harvard pulled out a phenomenal trick play. Junior wide receiver Scott Woods II took the ball from Craig on a sweep across the left side of the field, only to be passed off to Barkate, who threw the winning pass into the endzone to Craig in a perfect recreation of the Philly Special the Philadelphia Eagles ran against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The season, while an all-time historic one, has not passed without challenges. Barkate has been a key player who has answered the call when the team has faced adversity. As the Newport Beach, Calif. native explains, “the team definitely lacked a little bit passing the ball through most of the year.” Despite Harvard’s struggle with its passing game and a recent quarterback switch from DePrima to Craig, Barkate managed to haul in eight catches for a total of 125 yards and a touchdown against the Quakers.

When asked what changed in the team’s effective offensive approach against Penn, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. “It more so just kind of happened,” the wide receiver said. “The game plan was just for us to play the best we could.” That being said, he did attribute some of his success in the Penn game to the connection that he has with his roommate, Jaden Craig, Harvard’s new starting quarterback. “Jaden and I have definitely developed a lot of chemistry over the past couple of years,” he explained. Looking ahead to the final game of the season, Barkate, Craig, and the rest of the Crimson hope to keep up their momentum and continue to play their brand of football in the Bulldog’s pen. Despite being a younger member of the team, Barkate currently leads Harvard in receiving yards, notching an impressive 441 yards into the stats book. Barkate committed to Harvard from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., a Southern California football powerhouse that has produced NFL stars such as Amon-Ra St. Brown and Bryce Young. Barkate was the Crimson’s highest-ranked recruit in program history and one of only two top-700 players in his recruitment class to choose a FCS school. Turning down offers from Notre Dame, UCLA, and Stanford, Barkate de-

cided to come to Cambridge for Harvard’s prestige in both athletics and academics. “I am a kid who really values my education just as much as my athletic future,” Barkate reflected. “It’s hard to pass up Harvard.” Despite Harvard and the other Ivy League schools lacking some of the resources and amenities that most of the big FBS schools provide to football players, Barkate does not regret selecting Harvard. At Harvard, “you’re not just a football player, you’re also a Harvard student,” Barkate explained. He values the Harvard community as well as his teammates, crediting the team’s success to their sense of camaraderie and friendship. “There are just so many interesting and cool guys that you would not be able to meet or play on a football team with anywhere else besides a place like Harvard,” he said. A f ter his four years in Cambridge, B a r k a t e plans to continue his athletic career in the National

Football League. But for the time being, he remains focused on the historic rivalry in the final game of Harvard’s 2023 season. Barkate and the rest of the Crimson are excited for their clash with the Bulldogs at the Yale Bowl, for The Game is famous for having what he called the “traditional, bigger football environment, which is really fun” for both spectators and the competing athletes. He also acknowledges Yale’s talent, implying that the bitter rivalry would likely result in a close game. Both teams enter the weekend after exciting overtime victories. The Bulldogs beat Princeton 36-28, who handed Harvard its only loss of the year back on Oct. 21. “I really look at every game the same and I mean, especially in football, if you get too caught up in your emotions and in your head, it’s not a great thing,” Barkate said. The Ivy League title remains up for grabs. Although Harvard has already claimed its share, both Yale and Dartmouth remain in the running for shares. With a victory over The Crimson, the Bulldogs would secure their share, while Dartmouth requires both a Yale win and a triumph against Brown. Barkate and his Harvard teammates look to defend their title by winning their last game for their seniors and securing the sole title of Ivy League Champions. Harvard will face off against Yale this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. EST at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn. The game will be streamed on ESPNU.

Sophomore Cooper Barkate has lived up to the hype after entering the program as its top all-time recruit. NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER

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THE HARVARD CRIMSON THE GAME 2023

YALE

Message to the Crimson from the YDN BY SPENCER KING YALE DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

To the school outside of Boston With all of those fake accents so rotten Almost as bad as that tiny stadium You’re certainly going to miss the podium It makes me think of your precious Final Clubs Filled with countless Crimson scrubs

Ruining any hope of a fun time Almost like having fun for you all would be a crime But enough about all that — let’s get to the field Where all your weaknesses will be revealed You can’t throw the ball Sure, you can run, but throw? Not at all Oh, boy, will our defense have a day

From the second we begin to play I can already see your QB on his back Having no way to deal with our attack

But all she’ll want to do is look away Peter Salovey will be the one to party Our Elis are just far too hearty

But not to worry, we’ll show you the way When Grooms wins the day Throwing the ball deep to Tipton I can already see it being written

But at the end of the The Game We’ll really all be same Except of course for the fact That nothing can distract That all you’ll be thinking about on Sunday Is that you have school on Monday!

I know this will be the first Game for your Claudine Gay

spencer.king@yale.edu

HARVARD

Crimson Victory: Automatic, Still Is BY KATHARINE A. FORST AND JACK K. SILVERS CRIMSON STAFF WRITERS

Oh Eli, last year you fumbled your roast Sent it over preemptively, we had a sick toast This year we don’t need the edge We fully embrace beating you fair and square, we do pledge That a comeback on the field we will boast We’re laughing that Toads’ main attraction Is a former DJ-ing member of the Harvard faction Won’t see us waiting in the line, it’ll be automatic Our Pudding alum has us down as VIPs, pretty ecstatic Meanwhile, your pudding (fingers) alum gets no traction Some say that you were set up to fail Ivy League pre-season favorites, your efforts were to no avail Started from the bottom now we’re here We’re the real dawgs, our wins are

earning us cheers You can’t even fill your stadium, couldn’t make it to scale

That when you sing “I remember it all too well,” you mean your Harvard rejection letter, nonstop

Heard Coach Reno’s son was highly scouted Guess he’s going to South Carolina, what, roster’s getting too crowded? Bold choice leaving the offense to Grooms We’ll keep it civil, this is a newsroom But his run for an Offensive player repeat indeed is doubted

For us, karma is the new guy on the scene coming straight home to me We know our rookie Craig’s a stud, that you can see Take Taylor’s advice: breathe in, breathe through #10 is a 10, so take this loss as a cue That from Grooms’ greasy flow, Harvard girls will flee

Nolan might think he can fire up the dogs with a speech Like Clinton though, his words will only impeach A student body that could honestly claim to have never had relations So many nights working out with friends, getting out your frustrations Pass protection is the only type you need, nothing else is being breached

The Lake Wiley native slumps in the pocket, wily he’s not While we’ve got our own man Wiley Beckett, his disco record was just bought Your judicial alumnus’s personal record is not automatic But his most famous line is from a remix which is most climactic “I like beer,” thousands cheer; singing to the words of the hot shot

Win or loss, either way we come out on top We know from Miss Abby Lee Miller that second is quite the flop The first to lose, Elis know all too well We have a class on T-Swift, so we can tell

Jack Bosman has a fun name, our writer was inspired But his kicks leave a lot to be desired Sailed one wide left against Princeton, sent your team down to the wire

Yips we can smell, where there’s smoke there’s an inevitable (mis)fire When he steps up to kick, we’ll all take cover, his squib will be duly admired Dead fish on the ice still smells better than New Haven At the rink, or The Bowl, how the mighty have fallen, these losses in our memory are graven Lose to Cornell? That was only you it seems; on risky ground you now tread May you have good luck sparring against the terrifyingly dominant O-line we have bred, Its “eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s” as Poe the Bostonian wrote in “The Raven” We’ll end it here before you start to whimper and jeer But to the writers at The Yale Daily News, listen closely now, dears Good luck this weekend because you’re going to need it Listen closely, through your high society fog, because we submit That when we come to New Haven, we’ll spoil your whole year. katherine.frost@thecrimson.com jack.silvers@thecrimson.com

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NICHOLAS T. JACOBSSON — CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER