By ,
Published October 30, 2015
(STATS) - Harvard had trailed in a game for all of 17 seconds this season until Dartmouth put the Crimson behind for what must have seemed like an eternity Friday night.
But the Crimson haven't forged the longest win streak in the FCS without playing games to their completion.
The No. 15 Crimson rallied in the final 6:38 behind two Scott Hosch touchdown passes, including a 5-yarder to freshman Justice Shelton-Mosely with 38 seconds left, and then blocked a game-ending field goal attempt to beat No. 22 Dartmouth 14-13 for their 21st straight win and sole possession of first place in the Ivy League.
"Our kids just never quit," Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. "That's in our DNA."
Harvard (7-0, 4-0) trailed Dartmouth (6-1, 3-1) for 56 minutes, 54 seconds. But the Crimson sliced the deficit to 13-7 when Hosch connected with Seitu Smith II for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 6:38 left. Linebacker Matt Koran's recovery of Dartmouth running back Ryder Stone's fumble at the Crimson 49 with 2:54 to go then led to Shelton-Mosely's winning score, which he caught in tight coverage just inside the Dartmouth goal line on a Hosch rollout.
Kenny Smart's extra point gave Harvard its first lead of the game.
Dartmouth's Dalyn Williams threw three completions to move the Big Green into Harvard territory and give kicker Alex Gakenheimer a 46-yard field goal attempt on the game's final play. But Stone Hart blocked the kick at the line of scrimmage, preserving the Crimson win and devastating a Dartmouth team that was seeking the inside track to its first Ivy title since 1996.
Instead, Harvard is in the driver's seat for a third straight crown and perhaps back-to-back unbeaten seasons.
The Crimson, who have won the last 12 meetings and 18 of 19, had to overcome three turnovers and the 13-0 deficit. They fell behind in the first quarter on Gakenheimer's 33-yard field goal and a Stone 3-yard touchdown run to cap a 17-play, 94-yard drive.
After Gakenheimer kicked a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 13-0 and Dartmouth had a goal-line stand early in the fourth - stopping Harvard from scoring after eight tries from inside the Big Green 10 - the Crimson's magical run appeared over.
It wasn't, though. Hosch completed 23 of 37 attempts for 271 yards, while Shelton-Mosely caught nine passes for 71 yards to lead the offense.
Williams, the Ivy League leader in total offense, was 24 of 42 for 311 yards, adding 49 more yards on the ground. Ryan McManus had nine receptions for 135 yards and Victor Williams caught seven passes for 103.
For over three and a half quarters, Dartmouth shut out a Harvard offense that entered the game with a 43.8-point average. Linebacker Will McNamara intercepted Hosch once in each half and free safety David Caldwell recovered a Paul Stanton Jr. fumble at Dartmouth's 12-yard line in the third quarter.
The Harvard-Dartmouth series turned 119 as the seventh-most played among FCS. Harvard has a commanding 69-45-5 lead.
No doubt the Crimson know how to win games.
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STATS FCS TOP 25=
SATURDAY, OCT. 31=
ALL TIMES ET=
No. 11 Fordham (7-1, 3-0 Patriot) at Colgate (3-4, 2-0), 1 p.m.
No. 21 Indiana State (4-3, 2-2 Missouri Valley) at No. 3 Illinois State (6-1, 4-0), 1 p.m.
Western Carolina (5-2, 3-1 Southern) at No. 4 Chattanooga (6-1, 4-0), 2 p.m.
No. 13 Eastern Kentucky (5-2, 4-0 OVC) at No. 1 Jacksonville State (6-1, 4-0), 2 p.m.
No. 19 Montana State (4-3, 2-2 Big Sky) at North Dakota (4-4, 2-3), 2 p.m.
South Dakota (4-3, 2-2 Missouri Valley) at No. 18 Northern Iowa (3-4, 1-3), 2 p.m.
No. 25 Youngstown State (3-4, 1-3 Missouri Valley) at No. 23 Western Illinois (4-3, 3-1), 2 p.m.
No. 7 North Dakota State (5-2, 3-1 Missouri Valley) at Southern Illinois (3-4, 2-2), 3 p.m.
No. 14 South Dakota State (5-2, 2-2 Missouri Valley) at Missouri State (1-6, 0-4), 3:04 p.m.
Weber State (4-4, 3-2 Big Sky) at No. 5 Eastern Washington (5-2, 4-0), 3:05 p.m.
No. 10 McNeese State (7-0, 6-0 Southland) at Abilene Christian (2-5, 2-4), 3:30 p.m.
Albany (2-5, 1-3 CAA) at No. 6 Richmond (6-1, 4-0), 3:30 p.m.
No. 9 James Madison (7-1, 4-1 CAA) at No. 16 William & Mary (5-2, 3-1), 4 p.m.
No. 20 North Carolina A&T (6-1, 4-0 MEAC) at Florida A&M (1-6, 1-3), 5 p.m.
No. 17 Montana (4-3, 3-1 Big Sky) at No. 12 Portland State (6-1, 3-1), 5:05 p.m.
No. 2 Coastal Carolina (7-0, 2-0 Big South) at No. 24 Charleston Southern (6-1, 3-0), 7 p.m.
Texas A&M-Commerce (7-1) at No. 8 Sam Houston State (5-2), 7 p.m.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/harvard-rallies-by-dartmouth-for-21st-straight-win