Harvard runs “Philly Special” variant to beat Penn, win Ivy League title in 3OT

The Philly Special has officially been used for evil. Harvard ran the play against Penn with the Ivy League Championship on the line and converted in dramatic fashion, winning the game and the title on the final play.

Harvard busted out the Philly Special with a twist in triple overtime for the walk-off title win:

Unreal: Harvard just beat Penn on the Philly Special. pic.twitter.com/JMltBwuadA

— Shibe Vintage Sports (@ShibeSports) November 11, 2023

People are saying they copied the play, but that’s not entirely fair. Technically, the play design entails a direct snap to the back as the QB shifts toward the TE spot, but that doesn’t take anything away from the play.

Plus, these Ivy League kids know their plagiarism standards, so all they had to do was change it up a bit. Any professor would consider this paraphrasing, so they’re good to go in that regard as well.

I’m more disappointed in Penn than I am impressed with Harvard. That’s a Philadelphia specialty that was used to beat a team from Massachusetts; now the script has been flipped in an embarrassing fashion.

Hell, you have to answer multiple questions about Ben Franklin when applying, so you’d think these guys would be a little more up-to-date on the history of this city. The play is up there with the First Continental Congress in terms of historical significance.

Don’t get me wrong, I love when the Philly Special pops up. It reminds me of a time of great triumph for this city. That’s why it brings me such pain when one of our teams falls victim to some Cambridge bullshit.

This isn’t even the best copycat version of the play. My personal favorite still has to be when Japanese X-League team Panasonic Impulse ran it in the 75th Rice Bowl. Sadly, they couldn’t pull out the win, but I’m a sucker for an underdog story.

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