College football notebook: Protesters delay Harvard-Yale game

A climate change protest got in the way of Harvard and Yale’s historic Ivy League football rivalry game on Saturday, as activists delayed the start of the second half by running onto the field in New Haven, Conn.

Climate change protesters sit on the field, delaying the second half of the annual Harvard and Yale football game in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. November 23, 2019, in this social media image. Courtesy of @amandakaletsky/Social Media via REUTERS

With the Crimson taking a 15-3 lead into the locker room at halftime, protesters from both schools went to midfield at around 1:40 p.m. ET following the performance by the Yale band. The group eventually grew from a few dozen into the hundreds, and after the field was cleared, the game was resumed at 2:48 p.m. ET.

Written on one of the several banners carried onto the field was, “Nobody wins. Yale & Harvard are complicit in climate injustice.”

ESPN reported that a number of protesters tied themselves together and asked to be arrested. Some of the spectators were taken off the field by police. A few remaining protesters who stayed on or around the field after order was restored were told by Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins they would be arrested.

—Ohio State defensive end Jonathon Cooper, who has been limited to just three games this season, will take a redshirt year and return to the Buckeyes for a fifth season in 2020, the school announced.

A senior team captain, Cooper has played against only Nebraska, Northwestern and Rutgers because of an ankle injury. He has just three tackles this season.

His return next year will bolster the Buckeyes’ defense, especially with defensive end Chase Young expected to leave for the NFL Draft, where he is projected to be a high first-round draft pick.

—A four-star prep quarterback committed to Northwestern’s Class of 2020 was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting more than one young woman on a party bus.

Aidan Atkinson, the reigning Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year, faces three charges of sexual assault, five charges of unlawful sexual contact and one charge of attempted sexual assault, the Boulder Daily Camera reported. The incidents allegedly occurred in September 2018 when he was a juvenile.

He now is 18. He was jailed Friday and will remain there until at least his first court appearance on Monday.

—Five-star linebacker prospect Noah Sewell committed to Oregon on Friday night, minutes after he helped lead Orem High School to a second straight Utah state championship.

Sewell is ranked as the No. 2 inside linebacker and the No. 20 overall prospect in the nation on the 247Sports composite.

His brother, Penei, is the starting left tackle for Oregon. Two other brothers, Gabriel (Nevada) and Nephi (Utah), play college football. The younger Sewell made an official visit to Eugene last month and chose the Ducks over more than 30 other schools.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com