Smartest of the Bunch? Harvard Loses TD After 1 of the Dumbest Penalties of the Year
The Harvard-Yale football rivalry dates back to 1875 and their annual matchup is simply known as “The Game.”
There have been 134 meetings between the teams which makes it the NCAA’s third most-played rivalry game, but the 134th matchup on Saturday may have provided something never seen before in previous contests.
Early in the fourth quarter, Harvard had a one-point lead and the ball. Running back Devin Darrington then proceeded to break off a 27-yard run that resulted in a touchdown.
Or so he thought.
On his way to the end zone, Darrington raised his index finger in a “No. 1” gesture toward a defender, which constitutes a taunting penalty. Since the taunting occurred during the play and not afterward, Harvard was penalized 15 yards from the spot of the foul and the touchdown was negated.
kevinmcguire: Harvard scores a touchdown, or so it seems… ESPN 2 College Football: Harvard vs. Yale https://t.co/P8fbqvWIKD pic.twitter.com/0DdVCq4zkV
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) November 17, 2018
kevinmcguire: Harvard gentlemen signals distastefully in the direction of a Yale student-athlete en route to the end zone. The touchdown is erased from the record. ESPN 2 College Football: Harvard vs. Yale https://t.co/7zrzV6DulQ pic.twitter.com/n3NTahmsJ1
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) November 17, 2018
Officials ruled that Darrington flipped off a defender at the 3-yard line, so the 15-yard penalty pushed Harvard back to the 18-yard line.
Harvard would gain a first down on that drive but couldn’t convert a 3rd-and-16 and ended up settling for a field goal.
Had Darrington simply waited until he got into the end zone and then flipped off the opponent, Harvard would have kept the touchdown and the penalty would have been assessed on the kickoff.
Fortunately for Darrington and Harvard, the loss of four points didn’t affect the outcome of the game as Harvard prevailed 45-27.
Afterward, Harvard coach Tim Murphy was grateful the play didn’t determine the outcome and become something that haunts Darrington going forward.
“The bottom line is: He was wrong,” Murphy said. “He was wrong. It’s that simple. It was the right call; he was wrong. I’m just so grateful to our team that he didn’t have to learn that the absolute hard way of trying to live with that for a year or however many years.”
The Darrington penalty wasn’t the worst thing that happened to Harvard in the game; the Crimson lost their starting quarterback in the fourth quarter.
Tom Stewart, a senior who was playing in his last game, suffered a hip injury in the fourth quarter and was forced to exit the field on a stretcher.
Harvard quarterback Tom Stewart taken off on stretcher https://t.co/1jPShJbF9l pic.twitter.com/l5r3fNzKZF
— Boston Informer (@boston_informer) November 17, 2018
Players on both teams kneeled as doctors attended to Stewart, but the school later announced that he is expected to make a full recovery.
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