Two times Hill tested the Harvard line and failed. Right cornerback Steve Wool intervened on third down to break up a Yale pass. Yale scorned the field goal on fourth down, and Rogan once more failed to complete the pass. Finding no holes in the stiffened Harvard defense, he tossed the ball out of the end zone.

Harvard looked like it might open up for more jubiliation following the goal-line stand, Callinan taking a second and 7 handoff at the Crimson 7 and bulldozed his way outside to the 40. But Holden called the play back and Harvard could not restart its engine and Millard had to punt from his end zone again, giving Yale the ball on the Crimson 39.

Rogan looked like he meant business, hitting split end Dan Stratton with a dazzling bomb at the Harvard 3, but the receiver couldn't hold on. Harvard cornerback, Peter Coppinger, stepped in two plays later to pick off an errant Rogan toss; his tight-rope return along the sidelines to the Yale 10 was called back on a Harvard blocking infraction. Starting from its own 39 instead, the Crimson offense stalled and kicked the ball away with half the second quarter remaining.

It appeared Harvard would stymie the Yale offense again after the punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave Yale new life at the Crimson 42. Steve Wool stepped in and returned the Yale offense to the morgue by picking off a Rogan bomb at the Harvard 17-yd. line. But the Crimson offense could not move the ball and was forced to punt it away with barely two minutes left at the half.

Yale went into a two-minute offense looking for a last-second score to close out the half. Matt Sabetti sucked the steam out of the Eli drive when he sacked Rogan for a 7-yd. loss at the Crimson 46. Two plays later, the Harvard front line smothered Rogan back at the Eli 45 to give Yale a fourth and 27 with 1:01 to go.

The Elis punted, and Harvard closed out its first 30 minutes with a warm and cozy 13-0 advantage.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Hill's return to the Yale 37 ended with Harvard's Tony Cimmarrusti sprawled out on the Yale Bowl turf. The junior linebacker left the field on a stretcher.

A 27-yd. Dunn-to-Stratton aerial on second down moved Yale to the Harvard 37, and the Elis quickly grabbed another first down on the Crimson 26.

Slippery Kenn Hill, Yale's leading rusher, moved the team to the 16 with a series of spins and bumps. Dunn hit Bob Rostomily for a first and goal at the Harvard 4. With 6:41 gone in the second half and broadjumped into the endzone to put Yale on the board at last. Schwartz's kick narrowed the battle to 13-7.

After fruitless series by both teams, Harvard took the ball at its own 45. After three runs, the Crimson faced a fourth and inches at the Eli 45. St. John then took the keeper airborne over the pile to give Harvard the first down. But with seconds left in the quarter, St. John underthrew Horner on a third and 7 at the Yale 42, forcing a Harvard punt to close out a lackluster period.

As the fourth quarter opened, Dave Otto stopped any chance of a Yale drive by sacking quarterback Dunn on second down to leave Yale with third down and miles to go. But the Harvard coaching staff put too many men on the field during the punt and handed the Elis a first down in Harvard territory.

Crimson magic appeared again as a Ken Hill fumble at the Yale 49 gave the Crimson first and 10. On the first play, St. John threw long for tight end Chuck Marshall, and the Eli secondary dug itself a hole, getting called for interference at the Yale 13-yd. line.

Taking advantage of the first down deep in enemy territory, St. John hit Tom Beatrice at the five on a third down scramble-for-your-life pass. In came kicker Cody, who split the uprights with a 22-yd. chip shot to give Harvard a 16-7 advantage with 11:13 left in the game.

George Arnold's kickoff mystified Hill, who juggled it before getting nailed at the 6-yd. line. Second and fourth quarter single caller Rogan immediately hit a wide open Stratton at the Eli 47, but the pass was a bit underthrown and Stratton, who had to wait, was collared by two Harvard defensemen.

After Yale crossed into Harvard territory, the Eli receiver caught a case of no-hands disease and stifled the Bulldogs' drive at the Harvard 43. Hill carried the ball on a fake punt, in a fourth and ten situation, but he made just four yards and gave Harvard possession at his own 40 with about ten minutes remaining in the game.