Box Score PRINCETON, N.J. – The No. 16/RV Harvard football team held Princeton to 257 yards of total offense and fell in five overtimes by a score of 18-16 Saturday afternoon at Princeton Stadium.
 
Jack McGowan led the Harvard (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) defense with 11 tackles and an interception, while Alex Washington also had a pick and recorded 1.5 sacks. This is the first time Harvard has played a five-overtime game.
 
Following an interception by Khalid Thomas on Princeton's opening drive, Harvard got on the scoreboard first when Jonah Lipel connected on a 28-yard field-goal attempt to make it 3-0 Crimson at the 13:06 mark of the first. Later in the first, the Tigers (6-0, 3-0) matched the Crimson with a 40-yard field goal by Jeffrey Sexton, 3-3, at 6:02. Sexton missed his second field-goal chance but converted on his third, a 28-yarder with 8:34 left in the second to give Princeton a 6-3 edge.
 
Harvard tied the game, 6-6, when Lipel made a 25-yard field goal with 56 seconds left in the half, but Lipel missed another chance, a 37-yarder, moments later after a Princeton turnover.
 
Midway through the third, Liam Johnson blocked Jon Sot's punt and returned it for a touchdown to put Princeton up by a score of 13-6 at 9:14.
 
Early in the fourth, Aaron Shampklin dashed into the endzone for a two-yard touchdown on 3^rd and goal, as the Crimson knotted the game, 13-13, with 13:13 to go.
 
In the first overtime, Princeton scored first on a 37-yard field goal by Sexton on the Tigers' first possession. The Crimson then answered with a 33-yard strike by Lipel to tie it, 16-16. In the second extra frame, Anthony Nelson blocked a 34-yard attempt by Sexton to extend the game to a third overtime.
 
In the third extra session, Harvard thought it had won the game when Jake Smith completed a pass into the endzone, but the referees incorrectly ruled that Princeton had called timeout. On the ensuing play, the Crimson scored another touchdown, but it was also taken off the scoreboard, this time by a pass interference call.
 
In the fifth overtime, the Tigers converted on a catch by Jacob Birmelin to take the lead, 18-16. The Crimson ensuing play failed on an incomplete pass, ending the game.
 
Harvard Highlights

• Khalid Thomas now paces the Crimson with three interceptions after his pick in the first quarter.
• After tying the program record with 9.0 sacks against Lafayette, Harvard recorded 7.0 sacks against the Tigers.
• Aaron Shampklin's touchdown in the fourth quarter gives him seven TDs in 2021.
• Anthon Nelson's field-goal block in the second overtime was Harvard's first since Truman Jones at Princeton in 2019.

Game Notes

• With his three field goals, Jonah Lipel is now 9-of-10 on field-goal attempts this season.
• Harvard intercepted four passes, giving the Crimson 11 interceptions for the year.
• The Crimson has now scored in 224 consecutive games, an Ivy League record.
• Jake Smith came in as quarterback in relief and was 21-of-37 for 184 yards, giving him 4,384 passing yards for his career.
• Harvard is now 6-5 all-time in overtime games.

Up next
The Crimson will return to Harvard Stadium to host RV/No. 25 Dartmouth Saturday, Oct. 30. The game is slated for a 12 p.m. kickoff on NESN and ESPN+.