The Elis did an excellent job of stopping Columbia’s game-breaking running back Johnathan Reese, holding him to just 51 yards on 21 carries.

Columbia (2-4, 2-2) was able to shift their offensive focus to the air, though, and Lion quarterback Jeff McCall threw two second-half touchdown passes to Doug Peck to key the win.

But as it turns out, it was a big defensive play that turned the tide for Columbia.

With the game tied 7-7 and the first half winding down, Columbia’s Philip Murray picked off a Peter Lee pass and scampered 85 yards for the score with only four seconds remaining on the clock.

Murray’s heroics earned him Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors.

The Elis (3-3, 1-3), however, regained their composure and made a run in the second half.

With the Lions on top 21-7 thanks to the first McCall-to-Peck strike, Yale’s Billy Brown scored on a 20-yard pass from Lee. The score drew the Bulldogs to within seven with 5:19 to go in the game.

But the Lions refused to let up. A little over a minute later, McCall found Peck once again, this time on a 85-yard bomb, to seal the game.

Cornell 10, Princeton 7

Another week, another missed opportunity for Princeton’s Taylor Northrup.

After missing what would have been a game-winning 49-yarder against Harvard two Saturdays ago, Northrup’s potentially game-tying 57-yard try hit the crossbar last Saturday against Cornell.

In a very tight game in which the Tigers held a slight advantage in total yards (308-302), Princeton struck first.

With 3:58 to play in the first half, quarterback Dave Splithoff found tight end Mike Chiusano for an 8-yard touchdown score to cap a 9-play drive that began on the Princeton 2-yard-line.

As it turned out, it was the last time the Tigers would change their side of the scoreboard all afternoon.

The Big Red were able to counter quickly.

Cornell quarterback Ricky Rahne led his team on a 10-play, 78-yard scoring drive capped by a 14-yard scoring toss to Keith Ferguson with 25 seconds to go in the first half.

The only scoring in the second half came by way of Peter Iverson’s leg.

The Cornell kicker gave his team a 10-7 advantage on a 40-yard kick with 13:25 to play in the game.

Both teams are now 1-5 and 1-3 in Ivy play.