With momentum on its side, 1:18 left in the game, and Colgate at its own 15-yard line, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy thought his team was on its way to victory.

"The momentum was all ours," said Murphy after Harvard had scored its game-tying touchdown on a miraculous 33-yard pass off a Terence Patterson reverse. "And I'm convinced we're going to win this thing in overtime."

Unfortunately for the Crimson, his confidence was misplaced as Harvard (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) fell to Colgate (4-1) in front of 7,458 at The Stadium on Saturday, 24-21.

Colgate senior quarterback Ryan Vena led a 69-yard drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal as time wound down. Vena completed 3-of-6 passes for 44 yards and ran for 25 yards to lead the game-winning drive that took the Red Raiders to the Harvard 16 with five seconds left in the game.

"I thought about running it out and going to overtime," Colgate Coach Dick Biddle said. "But the kids convinced me to go for it."

After a Crimson timeout to freeze him, it was senior placekicker Erich Kutschke's turn to deliver.

"As they were driving, I was thinking there was no way I could let these guys down," Kutschke said. "Once I hit it I knew it was going right down the middle."

The kick knuckled through inside the left upright, and the two officials standing under the posts looked at each other and hesitated before calling the kick good.