NEW HAVEN, Conn. – In the 137^th playing of The Game, presented by UBS, the two teams put forth an impressive showing. Yale rallied from a 10-point deficit with less than 20 minutes left to go and went ahead midway through the fourth quarter, but it was Harvard that struck last with a go-ahead touchdown with seconds left in the 34-31 final.
 
Sophomore quarterback Nolan Grooms totaled 313 total yards and threw for three scores including a 27-yard strike to first-year David Pantelis which put Yale up with 7:48 to play in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs were able to keep Harvard off the board for nearly the next seven-and-a-half minutes, but the Crimson found the endzone with 22 seconds remaining to retake the lead.
 
"I am so proud of the effort that our guys put forth today," said Tony Reno, Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach of Yale football. "Obviously it's not the outcome that we wanted, and they made some plays down the stretch, but it does not take away from the legacy that our team, especially our seniors, leave behind."
 
Legacy indeed; as Team 148 joins Team 147 as just the two senior classes at Yale to win two Ivy League championships over the past 40 seasons.
 
The three-point margin of victory marks the closest playing of The Game in 22 years. The 1999 matchup saw Yale win, 24-21.
 
The Bulldogs scored first in the 2021 matchup as Grooms found senior wide receiver Darrion Carrington from 17 yards out at 6:22 in the first quarter.
 
Harvard then added a field goal and a one-yard touchdown run after a Bulldog turnover to take 10-7 lead after the first.
 
The two teams traded field goals at the start of the second quarter before a blocked punt by the Crimson was returned for a touchdown as Harvard built a 10-point advantage.
 
The Bulldogs cut it back to three with 2:22 left in the half as Grooms made an impressive scramble, evading would-be tacklers, before finding senior tight end JJ Howland for a 30-yard touchdown.
 
Harvard opened the second half with a rushing score to go back up 10 but Yale answered with a ground touchdown of its own. Junior running back Spencer Alston from 12 yards out to set up the Yale and Harvard's late drama in the fourth quarter.

Alston led the Bulldogs with 74 yards rushing while Grooms posted a game-high 262 yards passing. Howland led all receivers with four catches and totaled 68 yards. 
 
49,500 fans were on hand to see the first Game played in two years.