OK, it’s not about Ohio State-Michigan but about that other lesser version played in New Haven and Cambridge but still, bear with me for a moment.

The 1968 Yale-Harvard game had what was most likely the most improbable ending to any rivalry game ever played in college football history.  And one of the amazing things is, Ohio State’s backfield that year was probably better than that of the national champion Buckeyes.  

Yale’s QB was the highly-recruited Ohio high school sensation, Brian Dowling, who never lost a game from jr high through college that he started and was able to finish.  His record was 65-0-1.  Woody absolutely wanted him along with other top schools such as USC and Michigan—and, if Dowling had gone to Ohio State, it is my firm belief that he (and not Rex Kern) would have been the starting quarterback for the ‘68 Buckeyes.

Dowling’s halfback in that Yale backfield: Calvin Hill.

There is another Ohio State connection of sorts here: Yale’s coach, Carm Cozza, played for Woody at Miami and remained close to him.

In any case, this is more than a football book.  It captures the events and atmosphere of that turbulent year and era.  The starred review in Kirkus Reviews below sums it up much better than I ever could:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/george-howe-colt/the-game-colt/

There is truly a remarkable cast of eclectic characters who played for both teams.  

Although I went to Yale a few years after this game, trust me, you don’t have to be a Yale or Harvard alum to enjoy this book.  If you love reading about football and social history, you’ll find this book very engrossing.