Harvard-Yale Clash Could Decide FCS Playoff Berth/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ This year’s Harvard-Yale matchup carries historic weight, with an FCS playoff spot on the line. For the first time ever, the Ivy League champion will advance to the postseason, intensifying one of football’s oldest rivalries. Saturday’s showdown could crown a perfect season—or a major upset.
The storied rivalry between Harvard and Yale, famously known as “The Game,” takes on unprecedented stakes this year as the two Ivy League powerhouses meet for the 141st time. When they kick off Saturday at the Yale Bowl, it won’t just be for pride or tradition—it will be for a place in the FCS playoffs, marking a new era in Ivy League football.
For the first time in over a century, the Ivy League champion will compete for a national title. This dramatic shift comes after the Ivy League lifted its long-standing ban on postseason football, giving its athletes the chance to pursue championships beyond their conference.
Since the 1920s, Ivy League teams have opted out of postseason play to allow student-athletes to focus on academics. This tradition has lasted decades, even after the formation of the Ivy League as an athletic conference following World War II. But that’s changed in 2025, and the implications are enormous.
Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich, in just his second year, knows this game is about more than just bragging rights.
Harvard enters the matchup undefeated at 9-0 (6-0 Ivy) and has already clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title. However, should Yale (7-2, 5-1 Ivy) pull off the upset, they’d earn a share of the title and, more importantly, the playoff berth thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
A Yale win would also make its current senior class the first to go undefeated against Harvard in four straight games since the 1940s.
Aurich has done his part to stoke the fire, even showing his players a photo he personally took of Yale fans storming Harvard Stadium last year after the Bulldogs’ 34-29 win.
First played in 1875, The Game is one of college football’s longest-running and most iconic rivalries. Harvard and Yale dominated the early days of the sport, with Yale claiming 18 national titles and Harvard 8—most of them before modern conferences and the current NCAA structure existed.
Over the years, as college football expanded and professionalized, the Ivy League chose to hold firm on academics and amateurism. That decision slowly pushed Harvard and Yale out of the national spotlight, though The Game has always remained a marquee event for alumni and fans.
This year, the matchup recalls some of the most storied editions of the rivalry—especially the legendary 1968 contest, which ended in a 29-29 tie and was immortalized with the Harvard Crimson headline, “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.”
This year’s game may not need creative journalism to capture its meaning. The outcome will be etched in Ivy League history as the first to determine a playoff representative.
With a victory, Harvard would finish its first undefeated season since 2014 and possibly march toward its ninth national title—its last coming in 1919 when the Crimson won the Rose Bowl. Since then, Harvard has only played one postseason football game, giving it a perfect 1-0 record all-time in the playoffs.
For Harvard, it’s about more than revenge or perfection—it’s about seizing a long-denied opportunity to compete at the highest level. For Yale, it’s a chance to preserve a perfect record against their biggest rival, punch a postseason ticket, and crush Harvard’s dream season in one shot.
And for Ivy League football, it’s a milestone. The Game isn’t just tradition anymore—it’s a gateway.
More on Sports
