Cole Freeman's late TD pass to Bryson Canty rallies Columbia to 13-10 victory over Yale

0:24

Columbia uses Dwyane Wade statue on jumbotron to distract Yale kicker

Columbia uses an image of Dwyane Wade's recently unveiled statue to try to get Yale kicker Nick Conforti to miss his extra point attempt.

Nov 2, 2024, 02:09 am

NEW YORK -- — Cole Freeman threw a go-ahead 44-yard touchdown pass to Bryson Canty with 4:39 left to play and Columbia pulled out a 13-10 victory over Yale on Friday night.

Freeman's game-winning throw for Columbia (5-2, 3-1 Ivy League) came after a 58-yard punt by Yale's Shamus Florio pinned the Lions at their own 4-yard line. Columbia ended a four-game losing streak to Yale (4-3, 1-3) with its first victory in a night game since 2021. The Lions had never won a Friday night home game in four opportunities all time.

Freeman passed for 26 yards and ran for 32 more the first time Columbia had the ball, but he fumbled on a first-down play at the Yale 14-yard-line and Abu Kamara recovered for the Bulldogs.

Columbia had first-and-goal at the Yale 7 on its second possession but had to settle for Hugo Merry's 22-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter. Yale answered with Grant Jordan's 24-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Denney inside the final minute to take a 7-3 lead into halftime.

Nick Conforti kicked a 38-yard field goal with 26 seconds left for the only score of the third period and the Bulldogs took a seven-point lead into the final quarter.

Columbia cut its deficit to 10-6 on Merry's 43-yard field goal with 9:55 left to play.

Freeman completed 12 of 20 passes for 156 yards and carried 14 times for a team-leading 82 yards. Canty had five receptions for 107 yards.

Jordan totaled 151 yards on 18-for-27 passing with an interception for the Bulldogs.

Yale leads the series that began in 1872 by a 72-23-2 margin. Yale had won the last two matchups by an average of 26.5 points.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.