On a beautiful fall afternoon filled with anticipation at Powers Field, Princeton (3–3 overall, 2–1 Ivy League) fell short of a marquee win that would’ve kept the Tigers atop the Ivy League. Coming off of a big win at Brown last Saturday, the Tigers were looking to improve to 3–0 in conference play for the first time since 2018, but No. 17 Harvard (6–0, 3–0) had other plans.
The game was also marked with the Graduate Interclub Council (GICC) protesting a new policy for the 2026–27 academic year requiring all students living on campus, including eating club members, to purchase a University meal plan. The protest saw each of the 11 active eating clubs handing out “Don’t Harvard Our Princeton” shirts for attendees and a plane flying around above the stadium with the corresponding slogan on a banner.
The Crimson offense came into the game averaging a whopping 45 points per game, and they struck first on Saturday in emphatic fashion. Not even five minutes into the game, Harvard wide receiver Cam Henry split the seam and caught a pass in-stride for a 69-yard touchdown. The momentum was on Harvard’s side, but although Princeton went scoreless and was forced to punt on the ensuing drive, the Tigers’ defense stepped up and stopped the electrifying Crimson offense.
Princeton then produced one of their best drives of the season, going 97 yards in 12 plays highlighted by stellar play from senior quarterback Kai Colón. The drive comprised eight completions on 10 attempts for Colón, capped off with a 17-yard toss to junior wide receiver Aidan Besselman, evening up the contest at 7–7 after the first quarter.
Although Harvard answered back with a long drive of their own, Princeton played perfect “bend don’t break defense,” stopping the Crimson in the red-zone and forcing a field goal. A pass-heavy offensive scheme placed the Tigers in Harvard territory, but the Crimson defensive line stood tall and stuffed the Orange and Black on four consecutive runs, forcing a turnover on downs.
With only six minutes to go in the first half, Harvard now had the ball and was ahead on the scoreboard. This was a danger zone for Princeton, as the Crimson had everything on the cards to steal the momentum and get their offense clicking. Yet, only four plays into Harvard’s drive, quarterback Jaden Craig forced a long cross-field throw that was intercepted by junior defensive back Evan Haynie and returned for 24 yards.
Just two plays later, standout junior running back Ethan Clark caught a pass from Colón, breaking tackles and racing down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown pass. Princeton was now up 14–10 with just a few minutes to play in the half, and with the energy infused into the Tiger faithful on homecoming weekend, true belief in an enormous win was brewing.
Unfortunately, the rest of the first half proved to be disastrous for the Tigers. Harvard answered Clark’s touchdown with a field goal, cutting the Princeton lead to just one. On the ensuing Tiger drive, Colón was hit hard as he threw a pass that landed in the hands of the defense. Harvard capitalized on the interception with a touchdown just seconds before halftime and completed a shovel pass on a two-point conversion that gave them a 21–14 lead heading into the locker room.
“Moving forward we have to continue what we do well and learn from our mistakes,” Colón said to The Daily Princetonian. “We will watch the film and clean up those mishaps and learn from them”.
As expected, the rivalry matchup provided several emotional moments, big plays, and crazy twists and turns just in the first half alone. However, it was obvious that Harvard was dominating in the trenches. The Crimson thoroughly outgained the Orange and Black on the ground, and by the end of the game had ran for 161 more yards than Princeton.
As for the passing game, Colón was put under much more pressure than his counterpart under center. This Harvard domination at the line of scrimmage set a worrying tone for the rest of the game, and it was indeed in the trenches where the Crimson would fully take control of the contest.
Princeton’s offense was stifled throughout the second half, and apart from a missed 46–yard field goal at the end of the third quarter, the Tigers were rarely a threat to score. Harvard’s offense, on the other hand, found the form they’ve performed with all season.
With a balanced attack and an exhausting nine-minute drive, Harvard found paydirt deep into the fourth quarter. After a quick three-and-out from the Princeton offense, the Tiger defense trotted back out on the field after a fatiguing previous possession. Harvard took note and marched down the field, almost entirely using the running game to get in the endzone and seal the deal on Saturday afternoon. At the end of regulation, the Crimson won 35–14 and remained a perfect 6–0 on the season.
Although the three-possession loss to rival opposition was disheartening, the Tigers still have several positives to take from this game. Princeton was able to produce a few long, sustained drives against top defensive competition and was able to yet again force turnovers on defense.
“Thought we did a lot of things really well throughout the game,” Colón told the ‘Prince.’ “Just had some self-inflicted wounds at times.”
With a loss to Harvard, the hopes of a bonfire for the Tigers were dashed early in the season for the fourth consecutive year since 2021. The Class of 2026, having never seen Princeton Football beat both Harvard and Yale during the season, will go their whole Princeton tenure without a bonfire.
The competition won’t get any harder for the Tigers, but they’ll need an A-grade performance to bounce back and get a win against a Cornell team (2–4, 1–2) that just earned their first conference win of the season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. next Saturday in Ithaca for a test of resilience for Princeton.
Lucas Nor is a Sports staff writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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