Thank God The Game meant nothing. Harvard and Yale weren't fighting for an Ivy League championship this year. They were just fighting, as they do in most of these meetings, for a little respect.

Yale won the respect with a 26-17 victory over the Crimson at Harvard Stadium.

It was the first time in three years that Yale had won The Game.

The Crimson, picked by many experts to finish in first place this year, wound up 2-5 in the Ivy League, 2-8 overall, its worst effort since 1950, when Harvard went 1-7.

Yale finished the season with a 3-6-1 mark.

Tom Yohe, who was injured in the Crimson's game against Brown four weeks ago, started at quarterback, leading Harvard to 17 points.

"I played because it's the Yale game, and the tradition," Yohe said. "This will probably be the last game I ever play in."

Yohe threw for 78 yards on six-of-14 passing. His backup, Tim Perry, who came on with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter, completed three-of-10 passes for 35 yards. He also ran for 49 yards on five carries.

"We had been preparing all week for Tom not to play," Perry said. "So most of the week I called the plays. I was ready."

The Game belonged to Yale.

The Ivy League title was split between Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania. Cornell beat Penn, 19-6, in Ithaca, N.Y. this afternoon.

Today featured a pair of down-and-out teams fighting only for The Game. Harvard rallied from a 13-0 deficit in the first quarter to take a 17-13 lead in the first half.

"Coming in we had a lot to prove," Yohe said. "I think this an example of the season. We play well in spurts, then something happens to end it."

For Harvard, the Game was the final cruel loss for a championship team gone awry. The Crimson expected to fight for the Ivy League title after returning 11 starters from last year's team.

Harvard's Tony Hinz, the hero in last year's Game, rushed well today. He had 137 yards on 25 carries. In last year's Game, Hinz rumbled for 161 yards.