Bailey Bails Out Harvard With Hail Mary and Lateral Miracle Over Colgate

No. 20/22 Harvard miraculously defeated No. 22/20 Colgate with a “Bailey Bailout” Hail Mary and lateral as time expired, extending the Crimson’s winning streak in home-openers to 25 games in a dramatic 20-17 win under Saturday night lights.

Harvard (3-0, 1-0 Ivy League) scored a go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes to play to give itself a 14-10 lead, but after the Raiders (4-2, 1-0 Patriot League) answered with their own late touchdown, the Crimson once again saw itself down three points with 27 seconds left in the game.

Sophomore quarterback Charlie Smith connected twice with freshman receiver Nate Bailey to get Harvard within range for a 57-yard field goal, which would have been the longest in program history. A false start bumped the Crimson back, forcing the Hail Mary attempt instead.

Smith’s deep heave was caught eight yards short of paydirt near the left hashmark by sophomore tight end Teigan Pelletier, who was held up by defenders. Pelletier maintained his footing and pitched a lateral to Bailey, who motored left, looking to turn the corner. Bailey sped past each Colgate defender and dove over the left pylon to seal the walk-off victory in one of the most thrilling moments in program history.

“There was a lot of outside noise about ‘is Harvard any good?’ We shut that up,” head coach Andrew Aurich said. “We knew how good we were; now other people will know, and now we have got to back it up every single week.”

Bailey’s role in the miracle made sure that his historic night would not be ruined. The rookie finished with 16 receptions — the second most in program history — for 197 receiving yards and the game-winning touchdown.

“When we’re going against each other every day, I try to sharpen the tools I have and the gifts I have so on game day it shows,” Bailey remarked. “Nobody wants it more than this group, so we all do it together really well.”

Facing a Colgate defense that entered the game tied for fifth in the FCS in points allowed, the Crimson turned its first four red zone trips into just seven points. But after the Raiders kicked a field goal with seven minutes left, Harvard executed when it mattered.

With Harvard down 10-7, Smith took over and quickly moved his team into Colgate territory. With about three minutes to go, the Crimson faced a crucial third-and-seven from the Raiders’ 31-yard line.

The Charlotte, N.C. native calmly connected with Bailey on a hook route three yards past the sticks. The receiver was hit while making the catch but broke away from the tackle before juking a second defender and spinning away from a third. When defenders finally converged on the freshman in the middle of the field, Bailey’s career-long reception had set Harvard up at the one-yard line.

“My receiver coach, Coach Will, he’s big on just making the first guy miss,” said Bailey. “And it’s something I’ve always been able to do.”

“If I’m not doing it, he’s definitely gonna let me know. So I just try to avoid that as much as possible,” the receiver added with a smile.

After freshman quarterback Kise Flannery was stuffed on a first-and-goal rush, the Crimson may have felt deja vu to its three failed red zone drives from earlier in the game. However, on second-and-goal from the two, Smith calmly faked a handoff before connecting with senior tight end Seamus Gilmartin in the flat for what seemed to be the game-winning touchdown.

Colgate responded by attacking the holes in Harvard’s prevent defense. Repeatedly, captain quarterback Jake Stearney connected with receivers who found holes in the Crimson’s zone on the left sideline for chunk gains until the Raiders set up shop in Harvard’s red zone.

With thirty seconds to go, the visitors faced third-and-ten from the Crimson’s 13-yard line. Sophomore wideout Matt Fogler found himself matched up one-on-one alone to the left of the formation with junior defensive back DJ Vincent-Thomas. Stearney threw Fogler a fade by the pylon, and the sophomore leaped into the air, securing the 50-50 ball and just managing to get his toe down for what would have been the game-winning score.

Harvard’s offensive line struggled in the absence of both senior tackle Spencer Doan and junior tackle Enzo Agostini. Despite allowing only three sacks, Smith was hounded by Colgate’s talented front seven all night, and the Crimson rushed for just 93 yards on 30 attempts.

A game script built around screen passes and short out routes behind the sticks allowed Smith to shine once more under center, as the sophomore went 31-for-45 for 369 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Smith also averaged a whopping 8.1 yards per pass, up significantly from his 5.5 yards per pass last week.

After winning the coin toss, Harvard elected to defer. With junior kicker Kieran Corr out, freshman Francisco Moscoso knocked the opening kickoff out of bounds, giving Colgate good field position. But the Crimson defense forced a quick three-and-out in less than a minute.

Using screen passes and inside run plays reminiscent of the game script from last week’s win over Brown, Harvard earned a first down at the seven-yard line on its opening drive. After two incompletions and a stuffed run, the drive stalled. Aurich opted to give Moscoso the nod for a 23-yard field goal attempt, but he missed the kick wide right.

The Crimson’s defense forced a second straight three-and-out. After a shanked punt that flew over the right sideline less than 30 yards from the line of scrimmage, Harvard took over at its own 45-yard line.

On consecutive plays, Smith found sophomore wide receiver Tafari Moe for his first and second catches of the year, gaining a combined 41 yards to move Harvard into the red zone. Two plays later, sophomore Pelletier snuck behind coverage on an out route. Smith found him in the back of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.

A shanked Crimson punt gave Colgate the ball on the Harvard 45-yard line. The Raiders quickly made their way downfield, but on third-and-goal from the one, senior linebacker Owen Johnson stuffed the Raiders’ freshman running back Caleb Naumann on a run down the middle. On the ensuing fourth-and-goal, Johnson once more met the running back in the gap, but Naumann dug deep, made a second effort, broke the plane, and evened the score at seven.

Once more, the Crimson marched into Colgate territory, converting a fourth-and-11 en route to setting up a pivotal third-and-goal on the eight-yard line. Smith looked left and found senior tight end Logan Reaska on an out route in the flat, but Reaska’s dive to the goal line came up inches short. On the next play, a shotgun sweep to captain Xaviah Bascon was stuffed, and Harvard came up empty-handed from inside the five once more.

Harvard’s defense got a stop, giving Smith just a minute to reclaim the lead before the half. Five plays into the drive, however, the sophomore was hit while throwing a deep ball, and his pass was intercepted.

Without time to build a real drive, Colgate ended up heaving a Hail Mary into the end zone, and junior defensive back Xaden Benson was there to pick off his fifth pass of the season. Last week’s FCS Defensive Player of the Week has hauled in an interception every game this season. Nobody in college football — either in the FBS or FCS — has more picks this year.

On the second half’s opening play from scrimmage, Bascon ripped a 35-yard carry to put the Crimson back in Raider territory. A couple of chunk passes led Harvard to the Colgate 15-yard line. But Smith was sacked on back-to-back plays for a total of 20 yards, forcing the Crimson to punt and come up empty-handed in the red zone for a third time.

Starting at his own 8-yard line, Stearney soon found sophomore wideout Matt Fogler on the sideline for a remarkable 42-yard catch. On the next play, Harvard’s senior defensive back Jack Donahoe picked a pass off, seemingly turning the tide. A late roughing-the-passer call canceled the play, and the Raiders continued their march downfield.

On an eventual goal-to-go series, the Crimson defense held strong for three plays, and Colgate elected to kick the 25-yard field goal. The kick doinked off the right upright, giving Harvard a huge break and leaving the game tied.

After the sides exchanged punts, the Crimson began to forge a drive, moving into Colgate territory. A personal foul on Reaska bumped Harvard back 15 yards and led to a turnover on downs, as Smith gained just two yards on a fourth-and-11 scramble.

Colgate drove deep into Crimson territory, where the defense got yet another stop on third-and-goal. This time, however, the kick was on target, and the Raiders handed Harvard its first deficit of the season.

But it was Bailey’s 81 yards in the final seven minutes that made the difference, ensuring that Harvard’s home undefeated streak dating back to 2024 would not be snapped. With just one non-conference game remaining, the ranked win has major implications for the course of the Crimson’s season as they prepare to take on the rest of the Ancient Eight.

“That game is going to propel us here moving forward,” said Aurich. “As long as we don’t let it beat us next week by hanging on to it. We got to let it go. We got to learn from it. We still have growing pains; you saw them out there. We got to get ready for Cornell.”

Next Saturday, the Harvard team will make the odyssey up to Ithaca, N.Y., to take on the Big Red (2-1, 1-0). The game will kick off at 1 p.m. EDT.

—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].