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Updated October 26, 2024, at 8:29 p.m.

Harvard’s football team demolished the Princeton Tigers 45-13 on Saturday, riding an offensive explosion to snap a six-game losing streak against its New Jersey rivals that extended back to 2016.

The Crimson (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) scored three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter, rendering the final minutes of the game meaningless for an enthusiastic home crowd of more than 12,000 fans. But the Crimson faithful and Head Coach Andrew Aurich had no complaints.

After three of the Crimson’s first four games of the season were decided by a single score, including a nail-biting one point win over Holy Cross, Aurich joked that he would not be able to match the 30-year tenure of his predecessor, Tim Murphy, if his team kept winning games like that.

His players obliged.

Junior quarterback Jaden Craig struck paydirt early and often during the first half, throwing three touchdown passes in just the first 30 minutes. The defense drove the nail in the coffin through the second, keeping the Tigers (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) out of the endzone for the back-half of the evening. Harvard used the blowout victory to end its longest losing streak against an Ivy League opponent.

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For reference, the last time the Crimson defeated Princeton, Drew Gilpin Faust was president of Harvard, Barack Obama occupied the White House, and most seniors at Harvard had not started high school.

Senior defensive tackle Tyler Huenemann said in a postgame interview that the victory was even sweeter because he’d been looking forward to the game before the season started.

“It felt great,” Huenemann said. “Nine months ago, when I decided to come back for a fifth year, I got my calendar and I circled this game.”

The game was also extra meaningful for Aurich, who came away with the victory in his first meeting with the Tigers since taking over as Harvard’s head coach earlier this year.

Aurich, a Princeton alum who also served for several years on the Tigers’ coaching staff, repeatedly insisted he was solely focused on preparing to go 1-0 on gameday and denied there was any emotion associated with facing his alma mater.

But in a postgame interview, Aurich allowed a little emotion to show.

“Now that it’s over, I have buddies from college that were here that I’m excited to go see and rub it in their face that we beat them,” Aurich said.

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In addition to snapping the eight year drought, the performance marked the first time that the offense, defense, and special teams didn’t commit any crucial mistakes.

“We finally put together a full 60-minute game of all three phases, playing at the level I know they were capable of,” Aurich said.

On the offensive side, Craig looked strong despite the windy conditions, managing to stay accurate and picking up 251 passing yards in the first half — just six yards shy of surpassing his total from last weekend — as the Crimson leaned on its passing game.

Craig’s performance was especially important as captain Shane McLaughlin was still sidelined with what Aurich has described as a lower body injury.

Senior Charles DePrima, who has emerged as a key utility man for the Crimson since losing the starting quarterback role to Craig, also got in on the action — transitioning between quarterback and wide receiver at several points throughout the game.

The Crimson’s reliable playmakers — sophomore running back Xaviah Bascon and junior wide receiver Cooper Barkate — came through in these drives, but senior wide receiver Kaedyn Odermann and tight end Seamus Gilmartin also both had key touches.

At the end of the first quarter, Princeton responded with a touchdown of its own — managing to pull together an offense that had struggled through its first two drives. For the second week in a row, the Crimson’s defense momentarily lapsed against the opposing team’s run game.

In Harvard’s first drive of the second quarter, Craig threw an interception to defensive back Payton Tally, but the Crimson’s defense managed to hold the Tigers at bay.

Harvard, undeterred by the interception, scored on the next drive, with Gilmartin hauling in the touchdown pass.

The Crimson’s defense then answered Princeton’s interception with one of its own, courtesy of junior safety Ty Bartrum. Freshman kicker Kieran Corr, who missed two extra points last week, managed a 34-yard field goal to bring the score to 24-7.

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On its last drive of the half, Princeton looked poised to score a desperately needed touchdown as the offense set up on the seven-yard with seconds left on the clock.

But, for the second time in the game, Bartrum took matters into his own hands, plowing through Princeton quarterback Blaine Hipa for a 15-yard loss. Bartrum’s sack forced the Tigers to settle for a field goal.

The Crimson’s offense failed to make headway in its first drive of the second half, with Craig falling under pressure for a loss of 14, forcing Harvard to punt the ball away.

A Princeton offense that was picking up steam was once again stymied by sacks — this time two in a row from Harvard. The Tigers still picked up three points from a 51-yard field goal by kicker Jefferey Sexton.

Up 24-13 with the third quarter clock winding down, the Crimson regained some offensive momentum as Craig connected on several short passes to senior wide receiver Scott Woods II to enter Princeton’s territory.

The third quarter ended with the Crimson set up in Princeton territory facing a fourth down and five — giving Aurich a moment to consider the best path forward.

For Aurich, though, there didn’t seem to be a moment of doubt. Yet again, the Crimson went for it, picking up a first down that poised it to pull further ahead 31-13 just a few plays later.

In the fourth quarter, Harvard continued to flex its offensive muscles. With 11:26 left in the game, Craig found a wide open Barkate for a 39-yard touchdown. Another extra kick from Corr shot the Crimson ahead 38-13, effectively ending any hope for the Tigers to make a comeback.

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For the Crimson’s final charge of the game, Aurich replaced Craig with DePrima, who led a methodical eight-play, 72-yard rushing drive down the field. Sophomore running back Malik Frederick capped off the drive with a one-yard score, extending Harvard’s lead to 45-13.

Despite the strong performance, Aurich said the team would need to put even more energy into preparing for next week’s game on the road, as Harvard gets ready to face off against an undefeated Dartmouth team in a game that will likely be critical in deciding this year’s Ivy League champion.

“It’s not just how much film I watch, it’s how much sleep am I getting? How hydrated am I? And how much recovery am I getting in? All those little things matter, and we got to get even more guys doing it this week than we had last week,” Aurich said. “Because that stuff is what’s going to make the difference.”

—Staff writer Jo Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Jo_Lemann.

—Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com.