1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game

The 1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game was a college football game between the Yale Bulldogs and the Harvard Crimson, played on November 23, 1968. The game ended in a 29–29 tie^[1] after Harvard made what is considered a miraculous last-moment comeback, scoring 16 points in the final 42 seconds to tie the game against a highly touted Yale squad.^[2] The significance of the moral victory for Harvard inspired the next day's The Harvard Crimson student newspaper to print the famous headline "Harvard Beats Yale, 29–29".^[3] In 2010, ESPN ranked it No. 9 in its list of the top ten college football ties of all time.^[4]

"Harvard Beats Yale, 29–29"
Yale Bulldogs Harvard Crimson (8–0) (8–0) 29 29 Head coach:  Carmen Cozza Head coach:  John Yovicsin
1 2 3 4 Total Yale 7 15 0 7 29 Harvard 0 6 7 16 29
Date	November 23, 1968
Season	1968
Stadium	Harvard Stadium
Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance	40,280
United States TV coverage
Network	WHDH Radio-TV network
Announcers	Don Gillis Ken Coleman

Yale came into the game with a 16-game winning streak and its quarterback, Brian Dowling, had only lost one game when he was in the starting lineup since the sixth grade. Both schools entered the game with perfect 8–0 records.^[5] It was the first time both schools met when undefeated and untied since the 1909 season.^[6]

The tie left both teams 8–0–1 for the season. The famous headline was later used as the title for Harvard Beats Yale 29–29, a 2008 documentary about the game directed by Kevin Rafferty.^[7][8] Actor Tommy Lee Jones, who played on the offensive line for Harvard in the game, was interviewed for the documentary.

This game stands as the final tie in the Harvard–Yale series, as subsequent rule changes have eliminated ties from college football.^[9]

See also

• 1968 NCAA University Division football season
• Harvard–Yale football rivalry
• List of nicknamed college football games and plays
• Brian Dowling (Yale quarterback)
• Frank Champi (Harvard quarterback)
• Tommy Lee Jones (Harvard tackle)

References

1. DeLassus, David. "Harvard Yearly Results (1965-1969)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
2. Daugherty, Duffy (November 26, 1968). "Catch-Up Football Often Leads to a Lopsided Game (Duffy calls 'em)". The Telegraph-Herald. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
3. "Harvard Beats Yale"
4. Maisel, Ivan (June 28, 2010). "Ties sparked controversy, debate". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
5. "Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys: Yale vs. Harvard". University of Notre Dame. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
6. Eldridge, Larry (November 21, 1968). "The Game Stirs Grid Fans". The Day. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
7. Dargis, Manohla (November 18, 2008). "Back in 1968, When a Tie Was No Tie". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
8. Documentary Archived 2009-08-07 at the Wayback Machine
9. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.