NEW HAVEN, Conn. Nov. 17 - The 124th edition of "The Game" between Harvard and Yale on the gridiron - and this year's de facto Ivy championship game - was supposed to be one for the ages.
Too bad someone forgot to give the Crimson the memo.
The visiting team made sure it wasn't a football game for very long, pitching an utterly lopsided 37-6 win over the No. 11 Bulldogs to take home the Ivy title.
"We dreamed that we'd get this result," Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. "We just didn't dream that we'd get this kind of dominance."
The anticipation could not have been higher prior to kickoff. Both teams sported undefeated league marks, just the fourth time in Ivy history that two unbeatens have met in the season finale.
Yale was out for its first outright league title in 26 years and its first perfect season since 1960.
The announced attendance of 57,248 was the biggest crowd at the Yale Bowl since 1989. But by the time the Crimson and their fans were celebrating their title on the field, many of those spectators were long gone. They had seen enough.
Yale (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) had simply not been competitive. The No. 25 Crimson (8-2, 7-0) out-gained the hosts, 434 yards to 109. The Bulldogs' junior tailback and Payton Award candidate Mike McLeod, who came in averaging 174.1 rushing yards per game to lead the nation, was held to just 50 on 20 carries.
He took a seat in the third quarter with a recurring toe injury limiting his effectiveness.
"We had a horrible day and we got outplayed," Yale coach Jack Siedlecki said. "We got out-coached, and whatever. It was a tough day."
Perhaps the most telling number of all was the third-down conversion rate - 10-of-21 for Harvard, and a dismal 1-of-13 for Yale. That lone conversion came from an offsides penalty on an essentially meaningless fourth-quarter drive.
Just as meaningless was the play that saw Yale put its only points on the board, an 87-yard punt return by Gio Christodoulou with 4:14 left. Kicker Alan Kimball missed the extra point.
"We didn't have a lot of success on third down, on either side of the ball," Yale captain Brandt Hollander said. "I think that was symptomatic of [the fact that] we didn't have a lot of success doing anything today."
This one may not have been over before it started, but it sure came close. Just 1:08 into the game, Harvard quarterback Chris Pizzotti connected with receiver Matt Luft for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
"Taking it right down their throat on the first drive was a little bit of an eye-opener for them," Murphy said.
The score, and the ease with which the Crimson achieved it, set the tone for the remainder of the contest. Playing from behind, a Yale offense heavily reliant on the run could not get going.
Meanwhile, Harvard kept tacking on the points. Another Luft touchdown grab, plus two more scores, saw the visitors enter halftime with a convincing 27-0 edge.
The Crimson, who lost their first two nonconference games, flew under the radar for most of the season. Now, none of that matters; they can call themselves Ivy champions.
"We made every win look ugly, and we finally made one look good," said Pizzotti, who threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions on 316 yards. "It was nice to play our best game when it was most important."
