No. 15/17 Harvard Stands Alone Atop Ivy League after Mauling RV Princeton 35-7

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — In a game that would pin its winner atop the Ivy League with a 3-0 conference record, the No. 15/17 Harvard Crimson left no room for interpretation, dominating RV Princeton wire-to-wire in a 35-7 victory that showed the rest of the conference who the Ancient Eight’s real apex predator is.

The Crimson (6-0, 3-0 Ivy League) scored more points against the Tigers (4-2, 2-1) than any other team this season in a well-rounded offensive performance that marked the long-awaited return of junior running back DJ Gordon, who missed the first half of the season with a lower-body injury. Gordon finished the game with 69 rushing yards on nine carries, good for an average north of seven yards per rush.

Harvard’s defense held Princeton to just 219 yards of offense while junior linebacker Dorsey Benefield had a scoop-and-score in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation mark on a win over head coach Andrew Aurich’s alma mater.

After starting the season with a modest 71 passing yards in his first career start, sophomore quarterback Charlie Smith now has over 200 yards through the air in five consecutive games, posting 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions across that stretch.

The Tigers opened their scoring with a touchdown to make it 21-7 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Harvard quickly responded with a touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Tafari Moe. On the ensuing drive, Benefield recorded Harvard’s first defensive touchdown of the season to lock in the 28-point win in front of a rumbling home crowd.

Harvard will travel next week to Hanover, N.H., to face Dartmouth on Friday. The game will kick off at Buddy Teevens Stadium at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

The Big Green (3-3, 2-1) is coming off a 38-18 victory over Columbia, but having lost three games already, its only hope for postseason football relies on defeating the Crimson and running the table for the Ivy League’s automatic bid.

—Staff writer Connor Castañeda can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Maxwell P. Friedman can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Samuel S. Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected].