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After nine years of Harvard dominance, The Game belongs to Yale once more.

In front of a packed stadium, the Bulldogs (3-7, 3-4 Ivy) shocked Crimson faithful with a late touchdown and a 21-14 win. Freshman quarterback Kurt Rawlings accounted for 205 total yards, freshman receiver Reed Klubnik notched two scores, and the Yale defense weathered two Harvard drives in the final 4:10. {shortcode-6d0cbc9b79f0b8d17bfca79de5821d3de74996cc}

Besides breaking the nearly decade-long win streak for the Crimson (7-3, 5-2 Ivy), the Bulldogs prevented the hosts from claiming a share of the Ivy League title. Had Harvard triumphed, the team would have completed a four-peat for the first time in school history.

Instead, Penn and Princeton ended in a two-way tie for first thanks to wins over Cornell and Dartmouth, respectively.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “When you realize that you work out 320 days a year for only 10 opportunities, and obviously it all culminates with the Harvard-Yale game, I just feel terrible for our kids.”

Yale’s go-ahead score came late in the fourth quarter, on an 80-yard drive that heated the Bulldogs crowd from tepid enthusiasm to blistering cheers. During the possession, Rawlings went five-for-seven and added 17 rushing yards. {shortcode-c6b9890dc6573d6d070d2cfccba5505e9990bdc1}

Nothing was certain until third-and-goal from the three. That’s when the Yale thrower found Klubnik just across the goal line. Bulldogs 21, Crimson 14.

“I was overjoyed, obviously,” Yale captain Darius Manora said. “I was more proud...of these young guys to my left and my right, [Klubnik and Rawlings], and a lot of the young guys who stepped up over the last few games.”

Harvard had two chances to even the score in the waning moments. But with less than four minutes left, a holding call stalled the Crimson at its own 14 and forced a punt.

Later, with 1:13 remaining, Harvard regained the ball at its own 20. The team marched to the Yale 48 but got no further. Three passing plays gained six yards, and on fourth down, junior defensive back Alessi broke up a throw intended for Crimson halfback Anthony Firkser.

{shortcode-390c599b09fbc35820ea3fa8e3d021f5a6113493} The Bulldogs seized momentum at the start of the second half. With the score locked at 7-7, Yale sophomore Alex Galland jogged on for the kickoff. Instead of booting deep, Galland dinked the ball, raced 10 yards forward, and dove to the turf to recover the surprise onside kick.

“When you get into nine games of film on opponents, there are a lot of tendencies that build up,” Yale coach Tony Reno said. “There was a tendency there. We felt that it was something that was a really good opportunity for us.”

The play jumpstarted the Bulldogs’ offense. On first down from the Harvard 28, Klubnik ran a wheel route to the right pylon. Not even pass interference by senior defensive back Raishaun McGhee could prevent the catch, and Klubnik came down with a score and a 14-7 lead.

The Crimson responded with a lengthy drive—10 plays and 84 yards. The possession seemed in danger on third-and-five from the Harvard 21, but Viviano found Firkser for a 36-yard gain to the Yale 43.