Football Faces Tough Redemption

In the aftermath of last Saturday's improbable second-half meltdown against Cornell, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy pointed out that one of the reasons his football team may have fallen apart at the end was because it had never had a lead before.

"Obviously, we didn't handle prosperity very well," Murphy said after the Big Red's 29-28 comeback win.

Tomorrow, when Harvard (2-2, 1-1 Ivy) hosts the nationally-ranked Lehigh Mountain Hawks, it probably won't have to worry about having the lead.

No. 15 Lehigh (5-0, 1-0 Patriot) is the best team Harvard has faced since, well, since Harvard last played Lehigh in 1998.

The current Lehigh team is built on a punishing defense. It stops the run, as evidenced by a rushing defense ranked 10th in Division I-AA. It also creates turnovers: so far Lehigh has recorded 13 turnovers, returning two of them for touchdowns. Linebacker James "Bubba" Young is the team's star defender. At 5'10, 220 pounds, he's the epitome of a speedy, stifling defensive unit that flies to the ball.

"Lehigh is the fastest team we play, and they like to blitz," Murphy said. "We have to make our blitz pickups in the backfield."

None of this bodes well for the Crimson offense, which after 2.5 games of explosive, high-flying point-scoring became a dud in the final 30 minutes against the Big Red. One of the reasons for this was Cornell's switch to an aggressive eight-man front, designed to put pressure on junior quarterback Neil Rose and stuff the run.

With an already decimated backfield (tomorrow's starters will once again be third- and-fourth stringers Matt Leiszler and Nick Palazzo), Harvard's inability to run ruined the balanced attack and forced Rose and the passing game into uncomfortable situations. Lehigh, with its ability to shut down the run, will force the Crimson to make big plays.

"From my standpoint, it's a good matchup, because we play excellent run defense as well," said Murphy.

Sufficed to say, it will be tough for the offense to put points on the board. However, Harvard may be able to make a dent in the score on the defensive end.

The Mountain Hawks' offense is its Achilles Heel. It's one of the reasons the otherwise strong team only defeated Princeton by two points and Penn by a touchdown.

Lehigh focuses its offense on running back Jamaal Burcher, though it's unclear whether by design or by chance. Burcher has recorded two straight 100-yard performances and leads the team in touchdowns. Overall, Lehigh averages 206.6 yards rushing per game.

On the passing side, however, Lehigh is still tentative. It only passes for 177.8 yards per game, nothing an Ivy League defense can't handle. And while the Crimson didn't look particularly impressive in giving up 29 second-half points to Cornell's Ricky Rahne, the defense was not lost. The line has trouble getting pressure but the defensive backs seem to be settling into their roles and making some big plays, and some stupid plays.

"On defense obviously we need a pass rush, and to perfect our assignments," Murphy said. "If we don't, they have an athletic quarterback."

This matchup seems to come at an inopportune time for the Crimson. Just as the Ivy season is heating up, the team will have to play a non-league opponent who may not just beat them on the scoreboard but beat them physically as well.

"I don't know about the guys, but personally I am looking forward to the challenge," Murphy said. "If we were playing a lesser opponent, I'd be worried about our emotional state. But this is one of those games where you need every tool in your arsenal to beat them."

Even that may not be enough, as Lehigh has recent history on its side. Against Ivy League teams in the last decade, Lehigh is 25-7-1 and carries a ten-game win streak. Going back to 1998, Lehigh is 26-1 overall in regular season play.

Without a doubt, the Crimson will have its hands full. Its offense is going to need big plays from Rose and wide receivers like Carl Morris and Dan Farley. Its defense will have to play at a higher level than it has all season. Finally, as Murphy points out, it is paramount that Harvard eliminates the small stuff.

"Obviously, we need to do three things," Murphy said. "Make field goals, which we didn't do last week. We also need to eliminate penalties, which we have been pretty good about, and eliminate turnovers."

It sounds simple enough. But this is against a nationally ranked opponent. For Harvard, this is, as Dick Cheney says, "Big time."