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

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.