In the Line of Fire

Hamilton, N.Y.--Time and time again football pundits stress the importance of turnovers.

"You can't give the ball away and expect to win," and "the turnover ratio is the key to the game," the John Maddens say.

Looking at the box score of the Harvard-Colgate football game on Saturday, one would find the Crimson winning the turnover battle seven to three, and by the experts' logic, one would expect a Harvard victory.

Well, by that logic, one would be very, very wrong.

If someone had told me before the game that the Crimson would take the ball from the Red Raiders seven times on Saturday while giving it away only three, I would have penciled in a victory--a lopsided one at that.

And the scoreboard did in fact show a one-sided victory. Unfortunately, however, the victory was not the Crimson's, as Colgate defeated Harvard 34-14.

That's right, despite winning the battle of turnovers by a staggering total of four, the Crimson still managed to lose the contest by 20 points.

How, one might ask. Well, for anyone who watched the game, the answer is quite obvious: for the second consecutive week Harvard was dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

It is the play of the line that is biggest difference between the 1998 Crimson and the team that went 9-1 with an Ivy League Championship just one year ago. Where offensive and defensive line play was the strength of that squad, it is the glaring weakness of this year's.

Harvard's defense had no answer to the Colgate offense, as it gave up 220 yards on the ground, and allowed 245 yards in the air. And it was up front where it had most of its problems.

Two-time defending Patriot League Player of the year, junior quarterback Ryan Vena, kept the defensive front of the Crimson off-balance all afternoon, running the option to near perfection. Vena's ability to stay poised in the pocket and deliver accurate passes, as well as to run up field when necessary also kept Harvard on its heels.

The results was very little pressure on the quarterback, as the Crimson recorded only one sack.

To its credit, however, although Colgate was able to move the ball well against it, the Crimson defense kept Harvard in the game by forcing turnovers, many in crucial situations.

In fact the Crimson were down only 20-14 for much of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. But in the fourth the defensive line tired noticeably, as the Ted Raiders began to pour it on.

On the offensive side of the ball--where the biggest problems lie--it is understandable, and even expected, that there would be a drop-off from last year. With the anchor and leader of last year's line Matt Birk graduating and moving on to the NFL, it is only natural to expect a lower level of play up front.

This does not, however, change the fact that junior quarterback Rich Linden seemed to spend half the ballgame running for his life.

Linden was sacked four times in the game, and was under constant pressure throughout. He did manage to complete over half of his passes, but threw two interceptions that were both mainly due to pressure.

The combination of the early deficit and the inability of Harvard to establish a substantial running game with standout junior tailback Chris Menick out with an injury made matters worse for the offensive line, as Colgate began to key in on Linden, sending blitzes early and often.

"We felt that if we could stop the running game, get ahead and make them throw the ball, we'd have to get pressure on him so we wouldn't leave our secondary out to dry," Colgate Coach Dick Biddle said.

As a result the Raider defensive front found a home in the Crimson backfield, especially late in the game. The Crimson line had trouble handling pressure from all angles, but in particular on the left side--vacated by Birch--especially from sophomore right and Ahmad Russell.

"They put some really great pressure on the quarterback," Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said. "We didn't have an answer for [Russell]. They put a great athlete out there and we had a sophomore tackle out there, and he took him to school."

Linden found himself throwing outside of the pocket for much of the game, as blind-side pressure continued. Additionally, many rollouts to the right were called in an effort to give the quarterback time. But having Linden throw on the move proved to be ineffective for the most part.

The offense did have its moments, however, as it took advantage of two Colgate turnovers in Raider territory for its two scores in the second and third quarters.

The second quarter drive featured good run blocking, as sophomore running back Chuck Nwokocha ran in a one-yard touchdown to put Harvard on the board.

And the third quarter drive was easily the most impressive on the afternoon for the Crimson, as it drove 38 yards for a touchdown that cut the lead to 20-14. The line gave Linden time, as he was able to stay in the pocket and complete passes of 20, ten and five yards to junior Terrence Patterson and sophomores Josh Wilske and Grady Smalling, respectively.

But when the defense twice forced turnovers giving the Crimson a chance to take the lead, the offensive line failed to give Linden the time he needed, as both drives stalled.

As the defense began to tire late in the game and needed the offense to put together a time-consuming drive, things only got worse, as Linden spent seemingly the rest of the ball game on his back, at the hands of the relentless Colgate pass rush.

And such has been the story for the Harvard football team this season. Inconsistent play in the trenches on both sides of the ball has led the 1997 Ivy League Champions to begin the defense of its title 0-2.

Despite the early troubles, however, Harvard does have the bulk of its Ivy schedule ahead of it, and although a second consecutive title seems unlikely now, it remains possible. But if the Crimson is to entertain any thoughts of a repeat it has much work to do, and it must start with offensive and defensive lines.