A tie was broken Saturday afternoon between Ohio State and Harvard. The Buckeyes, winners of 23 straight games after pulling away from Illinois, now own the nation’s longest active winning streak in college football after previously being tied with the traditional power of the Ivy League.
Harvard was upset at home in Cambridge by the Penn Quakers. Harvard, like Ohio State, had started the day winners of 22 straight games dating back to 2013. Remember, Ivy League teams do not participate in the FCS playoffs (which is silly), so Harvard has been able to end the season with a win each of the past two seasons with nothing more to show for it than a pair of Ivy League titles (which, of course, isn’t all that bad). Before yesterday, the last time Harvard lost was October 26, 2013 against Princeton.
Penn took an early 21-6 lead on the Crimson, but the Quakers needed a second-half rally after Harvard took a 25-21 lead into halftime. Penn outscored Harvard 14-0 in the second half to leave with a win, their second win of the season against a top 25 team in the FCS. Penn opened the season with a win against No. 4 Villanova. This marks the first time in Penn’s history the Quakers beat two FCS top 25 teams on the road in the same season. The last time Penn beat two ranked FCS teams in the same season was 2006 (No. 22 Lafayette, No. 17 Harvard). The Ivy League is now a three-team race between Harvard, Dartmouth and Penn. Each is 5-1 heading into the final week of Ivy League play.
Meanwhile, in Columbus, Urban Meyer continues to roll in regular season games with the Buckeyes. Only three head coaches since 1936 have had more seasons with 10-0 starts than Meyer; Paul “Bear” Bryant (9), Joe Paterno (8) and Tom Osborne (7). Meyer has had five 10-0 seasons, which equals the number accomplished by Bobby Bowden and Bud Wilkinson. Those are some really good names to be sitting alongside for Meyer.