Harvard excelled defensively, earning two takeaways, stopping three fourth-down attempts and keeping Columbia off the scoreboard until the final two minutes.

The 24th-ranked Crimson scored the first 26 points to earn a 26-6 victory over Columbia (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) on Saturday at Harvard Stadium.

“I thought the defense played really, really well,” Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich said.

The Crimson (7-1, 4-1) opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal by Kieran Corr, set up by a Scott Woods II 43-yard punt return to the Columbia 12-yard line.

Sophomore defensive back Austin-Jake Guillroy recorded his first career interception, picking off a post route in the end zone to cut short a Columbia drive.

On the ensuing possession, junior Jaden Craig unleashed a pass down the sideline to classmate Cooper Barkate for a 34-yard touchdown, capping a four-play, 80-yard drive for a 10-0 Harvard lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Guillory made his second interception, undercutting a third-and-7 route after the Lions drove through midfield.

“The game plan was just to take care of business on first and second down, and then get off the field on third down,” Guillory said.

Corr connected on a 34-yard field goal with one second left in the first half, sending Harvard into the locker room leading 13-0.

The Crimson found a quarterback-to-quarterback connection with 6:37 left in the game to take a 19-0 lead. Craig found senior backup Charles DePrima on a wheel route in the corner of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

Three minutes later, DePrima scored again, taking the snap and running through an open hole for a 52-yard touchdown.

“The open hole, obviously, is because of the O-line and the receivers getting stuck there,” DePrima said. “None of those running games get hit if those guys don’t do their jobs at a high level.”

Columbia found a consolation prize with 1:44 left on a 2-yard run by junior quarterback Cole Freeman.

Despite a comfortable 20-point win, Aurich still believed his team could have put in a better showing.

“Overall, I don’t think this was our best effort,” Aurich said. “We can definitely play better than that.”

Henry Dinh-Price can be reached at [email protected].