January 25, 2026 
by M. Regina Cram
Note: This story is devoid of any spiritual content. But it is still football season.
Every Harvard fan knows about The Game. That’s what it’s called. Every Yale fan tries to forget it.
It had been a terrible year. Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated. There were race riots, violence on college campuses, and an unpopular war. Americans were desperate for hope. For one afternoon, hope was found on a football field in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It was November 23, 1968, when the annual grudge match between archrivals Harvard and Yale took place. Both had undefeated seasons (8-0).
Yale boasted a 16-game winning streak. Harvard had the nation’s best defense, allowing just 7.6 points per game. Nevertheless, Yale was heavily favored to win.
By the second quarter, Yale was leading 22-0. Then Harvard scored a touchdown but botched the extra point. The score at halftime was 22-6.
Early in the third quarter, Harvard scored another touchdown, but Yale still had a comfortable 22-13 lead. In the fourth quarter, Yale increased their lead to an almost unbeatable 29-13.
Yale fans began to wave white handkerchiefs in Harvard Stadium, chanting, “We’re No.1! You’re No.2!”
With just 42 seconds remaining in the game, Harvard scored again. Instead of going for the extra point, Harvard risked a 2-point conversion. It was incomplete. There was a penalty on the play against Yale, however, giving Harvard a second chance. This time, the 2-point conversion worked. The score was 29-21.
Harvard kicked the ball to Yale, but their receiver dropped it. It was recovered by Harvard at Yale’s 49-yard line. Harvard fans began to wonder if the impossible might actually be possible.
Harvard ran the ball to the 35-yard line. Another penalty against Yale moved the ball to the 20-yard line. There were 32 seconds left in the game. After two incomplete passes, just 20 seconds remained.
It was third down and 10. Harvard surprised defenders by bursting through a hole in their defense, making it to the 6-yard line. Harvard quickly called a timeout with 14 seconds on the clock.
In the next play, the Harvard quarterback was sacked at the 8-yard line. Harvard called their final timeout. There were three seconds left.
This time, the quarterback faked twice, then threw a touchdown pass to the end zone.
The score was an incredible 29-27. The clock had run out, but Harvard still had to go for the extra point. Instead, they risked another two-point conversion. It worked!
The game ended in a tie, 29-29. To Bostonians, it felt like Harvard won. Harvard had scored 16 points in the final 42 seconds of the game.
Hordes of Harvard fans flooded the field, celebrating what has become one of the most famous ties in college football history.
The best headline ever written appeared in the newspaper the following day. “Harvard beats Yale 29-29”.
My parents were at The Game. After that, my father refused to leave any sporting event before the very end.
M. Regina Cram is a published author and a parishioner of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish.
