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Updated November 2, 2024, at 6:15 p.m.

HANOVER, N.H. — Harvard’s football team (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) bested a previously undefeated No. 22 Dartmouth team (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) in a comeback victory that allowed the Crimson to rise to the top of the Ivy League standings.

With three seconds remaining and the score standing at 31-27, Harvard’s defense found itself in a familiar situation: trying to prevent a stunning last-second touchdown.

But unlike in its game against Brown University, the Crimson’s defense stood strong and batted down the would-be Hail Mary touchdown pass from the Big Green, allowing Harvard to secure its fifth consecutive victory and quash Dartmouth’s chances of running away with the Ivy League title.

The game proved to be a reversal of Harvard’s usual pattern this season, as a fourth quarter rally saved the day — and the season — for the Crimson.

Down 27-24 and facing a fourth-and-three with the hostile crowd on its feet and just 1:30 left in the game, the mindset never changed for Harvard Head Coach Andrew Aurich and his team.

“I was going to win the game,” Aurich said in a postgame press conference. “I felt very confident in the offense to execute.”

Junior quarterback Jaden Craig found senior wide receiver Kaedyn Odermann over the middle for the first down. A 15-yard pass to sophomore running back Xaviah Bascon — in place of the injured captain Shane McLaughlin — set the Crimson up with a goal-to-go series to win the game.

Senior utility man Charles Deprima — for the third time in the afternoon — sprinted to the outside, and with help from several blockers, stretched his arm into the end zone just inches beyond the pylon — to secure a 31-27 lead for Harvard.

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On his three touchdown performance and role as the offense’s swiss army knife, DePrima explained, “I mean, that's just trying to stay ready. You know, the offense does a great job putting together those drives. And you know, when Coach Fein calls my number to finish it off, we just got to make sure I stay ready. But yeah, just very happy with how we executed on a few of those drives.”

Fueled by DePrima and junior wide receiver Cooper Barkate - who combined for 158 all-purpose yards - the offense found the end zone at just the right times throughout the course of the game.

Despite the victory, the game was far from a clean performance for the Crimson. Harvard was plagued by self-inflicted mistakes as personal fouls cost Harvard key yardage and saved Dartmouth’s drives.

The Crimson’s offense was unable to make an impact for much of the game as Craig, who finished 28-41 with 311 passing yards, constantly found himself under pressure from Dartmouth’s defense.

Despite mostly strong play from Harvard’s secondary, the Crimson struggled to generate pressure, often giving Dartmouth quarterback Jackson Proctor time and space to save plays and put up 27 points – the Big Green’s most against Harvard since 2003.

In the first quarter Harvard started off hot, scoring on its first drive after Bascon returned the kickoff to the 35-yard-line.

In Harvard’s first big third down of the game, Deprima — who was in as quarterback — used his signature speed to score Harvard’s first touchdown and bring the score to 7-0.

The real star of the first quarter, though, was Harvard’s defense, which held Dartmouth to three-and-outs on its first two drives. Senior safety Ty Bartrum continued his dominant performance from last week with sophomore Damien Henderson also contributing key tackles.

Despite picking up a field goal in its final drive of the quarter, the Crimson’s offense showed vulnerability in the first 15 minutes. Craig faced pressure in the pocket which rushed his decision-making on key passes — one of which was nearly intercepted.

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As Harvard’s offense started to find momentum in the second quarter, Dartmouth’s defense found its answer. With 10:37 left in the frame, Big Green linebacker Micah Green punched the ball out of the streaking Woods’ hands and neatly swept it up, generating a big swing in momentum.

On the ensuing drive, the Crimson continued to make unforced errors. After forcing a three-and-out, a roughing the kicker penalty on fourth down moved the Big Green into Harvard territory. Proctor found his groove on the Big Green’s fifth drive, completing long passes on his first reads to wide receiver Luke Rives, tight end Sean Ward, and wide receiver Jackson Namian.

Proctor extended several plays with his legs - including one that took the Big Green inside the five yard line with two minutes left in the half. On third-and-goal from the one-yard line, Dartmouth successfully executed a trick play — in which it faked a pitch to Jones and flipped the ball to Ward — for a touchdown to put the Big Green up 13-10.

With one last chance to make something happen offensively in the first half, the Crimson took the field with less than two minutes left. Even with the high stakes, Harvard was unable to convert as a series of incomplete passes from Craig forced the Crimson to punt.

The second half started slowly for both teams, with Harvard forcing a quick three-and-out for Dartmouth and the Big Green forcing Harvard to punt on the following drive.

The Crimson finally managed a sack on Dartmouth’s next possession, setting up for a third-and-long for the Big Green. Senior defensive end Jacob Psyk managed to tackle the quarterback on the next down but was called for a horse collar tackle — giving Dartmouth a first down.

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The Big Green managed to convert after junior running back D.J. Crowther found a massive hole in the Crimson’s defense — rushing for 31 yards. A running pass from Proctor to junior Desmin Jackson and the extra point extended the Big Green’s lead 20-10.

After allowing 20 unanswered points, the Crimson offense was finally able to move down the field. An explosive 25-yard rush from sophomore running back Malik Frederick positioned Harvard at Dartmouth’s 29-yard line. On the next play, sophomore tight end Seamus Gilmartin caught a pass in the open field and sprinted into the end zone to score the Crimson’s first points of the second half — making it a 20-17 game.

The Big Green was undeterred by Harvard’s offensive momentum. With the team’s next possession, Proctor passed the ball up the middle to junior wide receiver Daniel Houghton, who slipped past Henderson and ran into the endzone for a 72-yard touchdown that brought the score to 27-17.

Down by 10 with 7:59 left, the Crimson opted to go for it on fourth-and-14 at the 42-yard line. Craig launched the ball down the sideline where it was secured in a strong toe-tap catch from Odermann that gave the Crimson a first down and kept it in the game.

As time continued to roll off the clock, Craig kept the Crimson offense moving. After a pass to Gilmartin brought Harvard into the red zone, DePrima sprinted through the Dartmouth defense for a six-yard touchdown — narrowing the deficit to just three points at 27-24.

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Needing a defensive stop on third down, senior Miles Wiley blew up a jet sweep from the Big Green – forcing a punt and giving Harvard an opportunity to take the lead.

With 3:59 left in the game, and one more opportunity to strike, Craig managed to connect on two consecutive passes — the first to Odermann for a 10-yard gain and the second to Barkate for 24-yards — in a return to form for the Harvard offense.

The momentum momentarily stalled, though, as a series of short gains from Bascon set up Harvard with a fourth-and-three. With the crowd on its feet, Harvard converted and, a few downs later, scored the game-winning touchdown.

Dartmouth got the ball for a final opportunity to save its homecoming game and undefeated season, but the Big Green was stymied by sophomore Jack Donahoe, who swatted down Proctor’s final pass.

While Harvard was able to stymie the last-ditch Dartmouth effort in the final few moments of the game, it once again was unable to string together four quarters of solid football.

The squad will need to carry the intensity it had last week against Princeton into its next set of matchups if it hopes to clinch a share of the Ancient Eight title for the second straight season.

With the most highly-anticipated conference matchup out of the way, the Crimson will turn its attention to the Columbia Lions. The Lions will arrive in Cambridge next week tied with Harvard and Dartmouth for first place in the Ivy League.

“I’m already thinking about Columbia,” Aurich said after the game on Saturday. “We have to take care of business versus Columbia and then you can move on from there.”

“You have to live one week at a time,” he added.

—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.