The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Raised stakes
Ivy League championship on the line once again in ‘The Game’
When there are Ivy League championship implications, the buzz around ‘The Game’ goes to another level.
A crowd of 51,426 turned out to the Yale Bowl in 2017 to see host Yale wrap up the Ivy title with a 243 victory. That number could be approached on Saturday with the Bulldogs once again a win away from championship glory.
For the 49th time since the Ivy League debuted in 1956, at least one of the teams will have a shot at the league title. Yale is tied with Dartmouth atop the standings with 51 records, so a win by the Bulldogs will guarantee them at least a share of the Ivy title. Dartmouth will play at Brown on Saturday and the Big Green are in the same situation as Dartmouth and Yale would earn a share of the league title with wins. If they both lose, they would also tie atop the Ivy League standings with Princeton having a chance to make it a threeway tie for first with a victory on Saturday.
It has been a ‘what might have been’ type of season for Harvard. The Crimson started 20 in Ivy League play but despite holding the lead in the second half in every game, Harvard has lost
four straight games.
Here’s a look at how the previous Ivy League championships were impacted by the result in ‘The Game’:
1956: Yale clinches title with win or Princeton loss. Both things happened as Bulldogs win inaugural Ivy League title with 70 mark.
1959: Yale’s repeat bid ended with a loss to Harvard. Penn would have won outright title even with Yale victory.
1960: Yale won 396 to wrap up perfect run through Ivy League.
1961: Harvard won 270 to tie Columbia for Ivy title.
1963: Yale’s 206 win kept Harvard from winning title as Dartmouth and Princeton shared title.
1966: Harvard’s 170 win earns Crimson share of title with Dartmouth and Princeton.
1967: Yale already clinched title, wrapped up perfect Ivy season with 2420 win.
1968: The most memorable result in The Game’s history as Harvard rallied for 2929 tie. Teams shared Ivy title with 601 marks.
1969: Yale’s 70 win combined with Dartmouth’s loss enabled Yale to join Dartmouth and Princeton atop the standings.
1970: Dartmouth’s 280 win over Penn capped perfect season. Harvard’s 1412 win over Yale resulted in teams tying for second.
1972: Yale beat Harvard 2817 to keep title hopes
alive but Dartmouth’s 3117 win over Penn gave Big Green outright title.
1973: Yale’s 350 win kept Harvard from earning share of Ivy title.
1974: Harvard’s 2116 win spoils Yale’s bid for a perfect season. Bulldogs, Crimson each earn share of title.
1975: Harvard/Yale winner is Ivy League champion. Harvard wins 107.
1976: Yale wins 217 to tie Brown for Ivy title.
1977: Yale beats Harvard 247 to win outright championship.
1978: Yale needs to win and have Dartmouth and Brown both lose. The Bulldogs did win 3528 but the Big Green won title with 2821 victory over Princeton.
1979: Yale clinched title before facing Harvard. Crimson handed Yale only Ivy League loss of season.
1980: Yale’s 140 win gave Bulldogs outright title. Would have shared crown with Cornell and Harvard with a loss.
1981: Yale and Harvard were among four teams with either 51 or 411 marks heading into final weekend. Yale’s 280 win gave Bulldogs a share of title with Dartmouth.
1982: Yale was a game out of first but wins by Harvard, Dartmouth and Princeton allowed Crimson to earn a piece of the league championship.
1983: Harvard and Penn won on final day to share league title.
1984: Harvard win combined with Penn loss would
give Crimson another Ivy title. Yale played spoiler with 3027 win and Penn also won to clinch perfect Ivy season.
1985: Yale’s 176 win kept Harvard from earning a share of Ivy championship.
1987: Ivy title was on the line as the two teams with 51 league marks squared off. Harvard won championship with 1410 win.
1989: Harvard’s 3720 win kept Yale from capturing outright title. Bulldogs shared title with Princeton
1990: Yale took care of business with 3419 win but victories by Cornell and Dartmouth made them the Ivy champions.
1991: Harvard’s championship hopes dashed with Yale’s 2313 win and Dartmouth’s 3113 victory over Princeton.
1997: Crimson capped perfect Ivy season with 177 victory to finish game ahead of Dartmouth.
1998: Despite 97 Yale win, Bulldogs finished tied with Brown a game behind Penn in final standings.
1999: Yale was tied with Brown and Cornell heading into final weekend. Victories by Brown and Yale made them Ivy champions.
2000: Harvard needed to win and have Penn lose to gain share of title. Yale and Penn both won to end Crimson’s championship hopes.
2001: Harvard’s 3520 win gave Crimson perfect season and outright Ivy League title.
2002: Harvard won 2013 to keep title hopes alive but Penn’s 310 victory
over Cornell gave Quakers the title with 70 Ivy mark.
2004: Crimson put finishing touches on another perfect season with 353 victory to finish a game ahead of Penn.
2005: Despite Harvard’s overtime win, Brown wins title with 5221 win at Columbia.
2006: Yale’s 3413 victory gave Bulldogs a share of Ivy title with Princeton.
2007: In matchup of 60 teams, Harvard beats Yale 376 to win title and end the Bulldogs’ bid for a perfect season.
2008: Brown, Harvard win to share title.
2009: Harvard eliminated from title chase despite 1410 win with Penn victory as Quakers finished 70.
2010: Yale needed to win and have Penn lose to earn share of title. Penn and Harvard both won.
2011: Harvard had already clinched title, finished perfect in Ivy League with 457 win.
2012: Penn’s win ended Harvard’s title hopes.
2013: Princeton’s loss to Dartmouth and Harvard’s 347 win gives Crimson share of title.
2014: Harvard wins 3124 to wrap up perfect season.
2015: Harvard wins 3819 to tie Dartmouth and Penn for title
2016: Yale wins 2114 to keep Harvard from earning share of Ivy title.
2017: Yale needed to win to avoid a threeway tie for first. Bulldogs won 243 to earn first outright Ivy title since 1980.