This Year, 'the Game' May Be Bigger Than Ever

College Football

By MICHAEL DAVID SMITH
November 15, 2007

For students and alumni of Harvard and Yale, the Game – as they call their annual football rivalry – is always meaningful.

But this year, Harvard-Yale is a football game worth watching even for those without ties to the schools. Yale is a perfect 9–0 and ranked no. 11 in Division I-AA (which the NCAA prefers to call the Football Championship Subdivision). Harvard is 7–2 and ranked no. 25. Harvard and Yale are both unbeaten in the Ivy League, meaning when the teams kick off at noon Saturday at Yale Bowl, the Game will serve as the de facto league championship.

How good are these teams? The mathematician Jeff Sagarin, whose computer rating is part of the Bowl Championship Series formula that determines which teams play for the college football national championship, ranks this year's Yale squad ahead of several schools that play football at the big-time level, including Syracuse, Minnesota, and, yes, Notre Dame. The Crimson also rank ahead of some schools that play in Division I-A, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Southern Methodist University, and Florida International.

This is the first time since 1968 that both Harvard and Yale head into the Game undefeated in Ivy League action. That year Yale took a 29–13 lead, only to have Harvard score a touchdown with 42 seconds left, get the two-point conversion, recover an onside kick, score another touchdown, and add another two-point conversion. The resulting 29–29 is frequently cited as one of the best games in college football history. Saturday's Game, which will be televised on SportsNet NY and HDNet, is big enough that Yale says it expects a near-capacity crowd at the Bowl, which seats 61,446. To beat Harvard, Yale will need another big game from junior running back Mike McLeod, who leads not just the Ivy League but all of Division I-AA in rushing, averaging 174 yards a game. McLeod is one of 16 finalists for the Walter Payton Award (which goes to the best offensive player in Division I-AA football) and one of the handful of Ivy League players who has a shot at playing in the NFL some day.

Another such player is Yale cornerback Paul Rice, who may understand the importance of the Game more deeply than any other player on the field. Rice, who has the speed to play in the secondary but at 6 feet 2 inches and 225 pounds is bigger than most Ivy League linebackers, grew up hearing about the rivalry from his father, Lou Rice, who played in the Game in the 1970s. But Lou played for the Crimson, meaning his son's college choice put him in the odd position of being a Harvard man rooting for Yale. (Lou confirmed through the Yale sports publicity office that he'll cheer for his son, not his alma mater, on Saturday.) On both offense and defense, Harvard's strength is in the passing game. Harvard senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti leads the Ivy League in passing efficiency and has completed 137 of 219 passes for 1,818 yards, with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. His favorite receiver is 6-foot-4-inch senior Corey Mazza, who has 49 catches for 730 yards and seven touchdowns. Harvard's defense leads the Ivy League in sacks, with key pass rushers including linebacker Peter Ajayi and defensive end Brad Bagdis, the team captain. Senior cornerback Steven Williams leads the Ivy League with seven interceptions.

With the Ivy League title on the line, Saturday's 124th Harvard-Yale contest has the potential to measure up to that 1968 tie, or the 21–16 Harvard win that ended Yale's perfect season in 1974 or the triple overtime thriller in 2005. But even if the game itself isn't a classic, the Game is always meaningful.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com