#18 Princeton Grinds Out Road Thriller, Moves To 6-0 With 29-21 Win At Harvard

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They don't all get to be blowouts, and Princeton knew it. The 2018 Tigers knew the path to an Ivy League championship would have obstacles, and they suspected the first one could be in Boston.

They were right, and that makes this one all the more satisfying.

The Princeton defense stifled Harvard for 57 minutes, and the offense came up with a pair of crucial late scores to send the Tigers to a thrilling 29-21 victory over the Crimson at Harvard Stadium. The win sends 18th-ranked Princeton to 6-0, 3-0 in the Ivy League, which matches the program's best start (2006) since 1995.

This one, though, wasn't like any of the others this fall.

Though Princeton never trailed at Harvard, the Tigers also never led by more than two possessions. The advantage peaked to 15 points twice in the fourth quarter following Charlie Volker touchdown runs, including a one-yard burst with 4:49 left in regulation that finally gave Princeton some second-half breathing room.

Harvard, which hadn't experienced much offensive success outside of one touchdown drive before halftime, was able to open the offense late and connect on a 29-yard pass to get within eight points. Andrew Griffin recovered an onsides kick, and Volker busted through a pressing Harvard defense to score a 49-yard touchdown, which reopened a 15-point lead.

The Crimson rallied again with a couple deep passes, including a 32-yard TD strike with 48 seconds remaining to get back within one possession. The second onsides kick squirted loose for a moment, but both Alex Parkinson and Jesper Horsted jumped on it to secure the thriller.

The final three minutes aside, this win was dominated by the Princeton defense. Harvard had the chance to grab the lead on three third-quarter drives, and the Tigers stuffed them on each. Of course, the defense had answers for most of the game; TJ Floyd, who recorded an interception in the end zone earlier in the game, forced a fumble that was recovered by Jake Strain, and Jeremiah Tyler tackled Charlie Booker behind the line on 4^th-and-1 to end a fourth quarter drive that set up the first Volker touchdown. Harvard ended the game with 375 yards, but 150 of them came on the final two drives.

Princeton was finally able to build the lead to 16-7 early in the fourth quarter, and Horsted — who had a second magical day in as many years — capped it with a brilliant 20-yard touchdown catch on an inside post. Princeton's all-time leader in touchdown catches, Horsted pulled down a laser from John Lovett, who returned after missing the Brown game with an injury.

Horsted ended the game with 10 catches for 126 yards and the 24^th touchdown of his remarkable career. He now stands third all-time in both catches (169) and receiving yards (2318), though few were as meaningful as the ones he had Saturday while Princeton faced its first offensive struggles of the season.

It started well enough for Princeton, which scored on a 33-yard fourth-down run by Lovett on its opening drive. The Tigers nearly doubled that lead a few plays later when freshman Christian Brown stepped in front of a Harvard pass inside the 20, but the ball slipped out, and Harvard was able to punt.

By the end of the first quarter, Harvard settled in and engaged in a defensive battle that lasted until the late scoring flurry of the fourth quarter. Princeton, which came into the game with a Top-5 defense in the entire FCS, was more than capable to handle that challenge.

Senior captain Tom Johnson led Princeton with 10 tackles, while Delan Stallworth added eight tackles; both players also had key sacks to thwart second-half Harvard drives. Mike Wagner had seven tackles, while Tyler and Ben Ellis both had six. Tyler had arguably the biggest tackle of the game, but he also added a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries.

Volker was bottled up for much of the game, but his late flurry helped him finish with 94 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Volker is now sixth in program history with 29 rushing touchdowns, and he needs only 132 more yards to become the seventh Princeton player to rush for 2,000 career yards.

Princeton remains in a first-place tie with Dartmouth, a Saturday road winner at Columbia, and will take on Cornell next Saturday at 1 pm on Powers Field. Tickets are still available for that game, and you can watch it live on ESPN+.

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