<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=047RPP_0w6l5RsQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=047RPP_0w6l5RsQ00" width="1010" height="568" ><figcaption>TD TIMES TWO Harvard's Seamus Gilmartin eludes Cornell defensive back Damon Barnes to score on a 20-yard pass play. The sophomore Crimson tight end had scored earlier on a 54-yard pass-and-run. &nbsp; | &nbsp;Photograph courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications</figcaption></figure>The maturity of Jaden Craig took a giant step on Friday evening at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York. There, Harvard’s junior quarterback, spreading the ball to eight receivers, picked apart Cornell and led the Crimson to a 38-20 win over the Big Red. The victory moved Harvard to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Ivy play; it was the first league triumph for Stephenson Family head coach for Harvard football Andrew Aurich. Cornell, also playing under a first-year head coach, former Penn offensive coordinator Dan Swanstrom, dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in Ivy play.This was a worrisome trip because on this very field two weeks before, Cornell had shocked favored Yale, 47-23. But this was not the Big Red’s night. The game turned around in the middle of the second period, when the Crimson scored three touchdowns to flip a 14-10 deficit to a 31-14 lead. After that, Harvard employed its powerful offensive line and determined running attack to maintain control, while the defense thwarted the efforts of doughty Big Red quarterback Jameson Wang.As it had the previous week during the 28-23 victory over New Hampshire, the Crimson spotted its foe the opening points. From the Cornell 17, Wang led a dandy 10-play drive, capped with a four-yard touchdown pass to Ryder Kurtz. Alan Zhao kicked the extra point. Just like that: Cornell 7, Harvard 0.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4c1um7_0w6l5RsQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4c1um7_0w6l5RsQ00" width="1163" height="890" ><figcaption>PASS MASTER Harvard's Jaden Craig riddled the Cornell secondary, completing 20 passes in 27 attempts, and throwing for 316 yards and four touchdowns--with no interceptions. &nbsp; | Photograph courtesy of Harvard Athletics communicaitons</figcaption></figure>The Crimson got some of those points back in its first series. On the second play, Craig found his roommate, junior wideout Cooper Barkate, for a 47-yard gain all the way to the Big Red 15. But there the drive stalled. So freshman Kieran Corr was called upon to try to make his first career field goal. The last time this had occurred was at Brown two weeks previously; a bad snap foiled the attempt. This time the snap was true, the hold was good and Corr drove a 28-yard kick through the uprights. Cornell 7, Harvard 3.Later in the quarter the Crimson assumed the lead. On a 10-play drive Craig displayed some Peyton Manning-style precision passing, drilling six completions (with no incompletions) to Barkate and senior wideout Scott Woods II; the latter has become the go-to guy for short, flare passes to the flanks on which he can use his speed and dipsy-do running to amass extra yardage. On the final play, from the Cornell 21, Craig fired down the middle to Barkate, who was wide, wide open in the end zone. Corr booted the extra point. Harvard 10, Cornell 7.Early in the second quarter, facing a fourth-and-four at the Big Red 46, Aurich decided to go for it. But not only did Craig’s pass to Woods fall incomplete, but the Crimson also was penalized. Cornell took over and back came Wang. Four plays later he was in the end zone, toting the ball over the goal line himself on a nifty 10-yard cutback run. Zhao converted. Cornell 14, Harvard 10.<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1pm9am_0w6l5RsQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1pm9am_0w6l5RsQ00" width="330" height="425" >HARVARD FOOTBALLSign up for Harvard Magazine’s weekly email to follow the Crimson. Get Dick Friedman’s football news, game summaries, and insights each Friday during the season.Follow us on X for breaking game updates and Instagram for game photos and coverage: @harvardmagazineHowever, in the next eight-and-a-half minutes the Crimson’s plethora of talent told. During the ensuing series, on third-and-two from the Harvard 46, Cornell had to guard against the run, but Craig took the snap, scanned the field and spied tight end Seamus Gilmartin running on the left—all by himself. Craig floated the ball to the six-foot-four sophomore, who gathered it in at the Cornell 38 and glided the rest of the way into the end zone. Corr kicked. Harvard 17, Cornell 14.There was no quit in Wang. He marched the Big Red to the Crimson 44, but on fourth-and-four it was his turn to get stymied when Harvard junior defensive back Ty Bartrum stopped him a yard short of the first down. The Crimson took over. Now Craig turned to his running backs, senior captain Shane McLaughlin and sophomore Xaviah Bascon, to carry the load. Eventually Harvard reached the Cornell 20. It was fourth-and-three, and Aurich eschewed the field goal. Instead, Craig took the snap and again spotted Gilmartin, this time sneaking behind the defense on a so-called drag pattern, which took him diagonally across the field from left to right. Craig let fly and the ball landed in the hands of the lanky Californian for a touchdown. Corr’s boot was true. Harvard 24, Cornell 14.The fusillade continued. The Big Red went three-and-out and punted. Woods grabbed the ball on the Crimson 31 and wove his way to the 49. Forty-four seconds remained in the half—plenty of time for Harvard, too much for Cornell. In three plays the Crimson advanced to the Big Red 19. On the next play Craig took the snap and whipped a pass down the middle to Barkate in the end zone. Barkate reached up and snagged it. Corr’s kick attempt was good. With five seconds left in the half, it was Harvard 31, Cornell 14. A back-breaker.Early in the third quarter, a Crimson field-goal attempt was torpedoed by an errant snap; this is something that needs to be cleaned up. But the lead was padded later in the period. Woods fielded a punt on the Harvard 28; his sinuous return took the ball all the way to the Big Red 27. (Shades of Justice Shelton-Mosley ’19!) Now Aurich inserted at quarterback senior run specialist Charles DePrima. Three times DePrima handed to Bascon, then he ploughed up the middle himself. First-and-goal from the four. Bascon again took the ball thrice, but only to the two. On fourth down DePrima put the ball into Bascon’s belly, then pulled it back and flipped a pass out to the flat to junior tight end Ryan Osborne, who was in the end zone. One more time Corr kicked. Harvard 38, Cornell 14.Wang was not surrendering. In seven plays he had the Big Red in the end zone, the capper being a five-yard pass to Samuel Musungu. The two-point conversion (which would have brought Cornell within two scores) failed. Harvard 38, Cornell 20.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3PV9fp_0w6l5RsQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3PV9fp_0w6l5RsQ00" width="1874" height="1249" ><figcaption>DOUBLE TROUBLE Harvard senior Myles Wiley (22) and junior Ty Bartrum (21) hem in Cornell receiver Samuel Musungu after a short gain. The two Crimson defensive backs each had six tackles. &nbsp; | &nbsp;PHotograph courtesy of Harvard Athletic Communications</figcaption></figure>More than a quarter remained and given past Ivy performances, we could have expected more scoreboard fireworks. They did not occur. The defense tightened up; on the day, Bartrum joined two fellow defensive backs, senior Myles Wiley and impressive sophomore Austin-Jake Guillory, as tackling leaders with six each. Meantime, the Crimson offense kept the ball for more than nine minutes of the final quarter.Craig finished with 20 completions in 27 attempts for 316 yards and four touchdowns. Also: zero interceptions (right in line with Aurich’s “ball security” tenets). Finally: In the fourth quarter he even punted, for 36 yards. For his efforts, Craig received the New England Football Writers Association’s weekly Gold Helmet Award.When the weekend’s action had ended, Craig was second in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in yards per completion (16.94) and third in yards per pass attempt (9.84). As a team, Harvard was second in yards per completion (16.08), fourth in rushing defense (81.5 yards per game), fourth in third-down percentage defense (.268) and eighth in total defense (average 285.0 yards per game).TIDBITS: Harvard now leads the overall series against Cornell 52-34-2…. Blast from the past I: Harvard will honor recently retired coach Tim Murphy at the game against Princeton at the Stadium on October 26. Also saluted will be the 1974, 2004 and 2014 Ivy champions, and Hall of Fame inductee Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05….Blast from the past II: On Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, two players from Harvard’s 2023 Ivy co-champions clashed in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest when Tyler Neville ’24, tight end of Virginia, faced Thor Griffith ’24, defensive lineman of Louisville. Both are graduate transfers. Neville won the statistical battle, with seven receptions to Griffith’s one tackle, but the Cardinals won the war 24-20 over the Cavaliers.Weekly RoundupDartmouth 44, Yale 43 (OT)Columbia 24, Wagner 6Rhode Island 31, Brown 21Penn 31, Bucknell 21Mercer 34, Princeton 7Coming up: Next Saturday Harvard returns to the Stadium for the season’s final non-league game, against ancient and honorable rival Holy Cross. Kickoff: Noon ET. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required) and broadcast on 92.9 FM WBOS, 1330 AM, 1450 AM. This season the Crusaders are 3-4 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League action. In a series that began in 1904, the Crimson leads 46-26-2 and has won four of the last five, including last year’s impressive 38-28 road victory over a nationally ranked Holy Cross squad.THE SCORE BY QUARTERSAttendance: 5,642THE SEASON SO FAR: follow Dick Friedman’s dispatches.Pre-season:Harvard Football: New Season, New CoachFive Questions with Captain Shane McLaughlin ’25</div></body>

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Football: Harvard 38-Cornell 20

The maturity of Jaden Craig took a giant step on Friday evening at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York. There, Harvard’s junior quarterback, spreading the ball to eight receivers, picked apart Cornell and led the Crimson to a 38-20 win over the Big Red. The victory moved Harvard to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Ivy play; it was the first league triumph for Stephenson Family head coach for Harvard football Andrew Aurich. Cornell, also playing under a first-year head coach, former Penn offensive coordinator Dan Swanstrom, dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in Ivy play.

Football: Harvard 38-Cornell 20

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