1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game

Centre vs. Harvard, 1921
Centre vs. Harvard, 1921
	Cover of the official game program
Centre Praying Colonels	Harvard Crimson
(4–0)	(5–0–1)
6	0
Head coach: ; Charley Moran	Head coach: ; Bob Fisher
Date	October 29, 1921
Season	1921
Stadium	Harvard Stadium
Location	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Referee	R. W. Maxwell

The 1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game was a regular-season collegiate American football game played on October 29, 1921, at Harvard Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts. The contest featured the undefeated Centre Praying Colonels, representing Centre College, and the undefeated Harvard Crimson, representing Harvard University. Centre won the game 6–0, despite entering as heavy underdogs, leading to the game being widely viewed as one of the largest upsets in college football history. The game is often referred to by the shorthand C6H0; this originated shortly after the game when a Centre professor remarked that Harvard had been poisoned by this "impossible" chemical formula.

The teams had played for the first time the year prior. Centre, led by Charley Moran, shocked many by taking a tie into halftime but ultimately Bob Fisher's Harvard squad took control in the second half and won the game. Centre played well enough to warrant a rematch the following year, and the Colonels, led by quarterback Bo McMillin and halfback Norris Armstrong, again found themselves tied with the Crimson at halftime. Less than two minutes into the game's third quarter, McMillin rushed for a touchdown and in doing so gave the visitors a 6–0 lead. The conversion failed but the Centre defense held for the remainder of the game. Harvard threatened and even reached the Centre 3-yard line at one point but were unable to score. Regaining possession with several minutes remaining in the game, the Praying Colonels were able to keep the ball and run out the clock to secure a six-point victory and maintain their perfect record.

In the aftermath of the game, Centre students began writing the "impossible formula" all around campus as soon as word arrived of their team's victory. When the Centre team returned to Danville, Kentucky, two days following the game, they were received as heroes and were paraded down Main Street by a party which included Governor Edwin P. Morrow. Harvard lost another game the following week to Princeton and finished the season with a 7–2–1 record, while Centre finished the regular season with four wins before defeating Arizona in the San Diego East-West Christmas Classic. Centre's lone defeat came on January 2, 1922, to Texas A&M in the Dixie Classic, leaving them with a 10–1 record to finish the season.