Football Notebook: Miscues and Mistakes

Lehigh's 45-13 drubbing of the Harvard football team was so lopsided that it's difficult to gage what the Crimson can learn from this loss.

The Mountain Hawk defense, in addition to being quick, is also one of the best in the nation. Harvard probably can't figure out whether to chalk up its offensive futility to its own mistakes or Lehigh's dominance.

And while the Crimson defense hung tough, Lehigh started with the ball past midfield five times. There's not much a defense can do against a nationally ranked team on a shortened field.

So when Harvard coach Tim Murphy rallies the troops this week before they head off to Princeton and some real Ivy League competition, he won't have much to say: Harvard got beat by a much faster, stronger, and more experienced team.

There are still, however, a few things that can go up on the bulletin board:

Every Penalty Counts: While the Crimson committed only six penalties for 39 yards, several of them hurt big. On the first play of the game, sophomore running back Nick Palazzo broke outside to the left and picked up 21 yards. Of course, one of the reasons he had so much room was because a teammate was holding. In what can only be considered a bad omen, Harvard lost nine yards before it completed a legal play.

Even more important was a seemingly innocuous call in the second quarter. In a first half marked by both teams playing the field-position game, Harvard gained the upper hand when, down 10-6, it pinned Lehigh inside its own 10-yard line. The Mountain Hawks tried to form a drive, but the Crimson defense held tough. On a third-down-and-two from its own 37, Lehigh elected to rush up the middle. Harvard stuffed the play, and was ecstatic. One problem: a lineman had taken a quick step offside, negating the stop and giving Lehigh a first down. The Mountain Hawks ended up scoring after a long drive, killing Harvard's momentum and spirit.

A Football in the Hand is Worth Three on the Ground: Harvard's first-half turnovers, all fumbles, were hardly fumbles at all. The Crimson never really had possession of the ball in the first place. The first "fumble" was actually a mental mistake by wide receiver/ punt returner Carl Morris.

In the first quarter, after a three-and-out by Lehigh on its first possession, Morris was back deep to return the punt. Lehigh's Jay Heibel kicked a low ball, which Morris let bounce in front of him. Unfortunately, footballs do not bounce like baseballs, and instead of letting it roll, Morris made a feeble attempt to grab it in front of three Lehigh players. He managed to deflect it right into the hands of the opposition.

Later in the same quarter, Harvard had a first down from its own 19. Quarterback Neil Rose tried to run the option. With pressure coming, he turned around and pitched the ball back to his tailback. But nobody was ready. Rose's pitch instead hit fullback Grady Smalling in the back. Knowing that the option most definitely did not involve him carrying the ball, Smalling turned around in surprise. Lehigh scooped up the ball and scored six plays later.

Fumbles weren't the only example of bad ball-handling. While Rose's often beautifully accurate throws were caught 26 times, 17 passes were not. Most of those were dropped, trapped, or jarred loose by shattering hits. Murphy may do well investing in some Stick-um.

Just Give Him the Damn Ball: One of the most impressive Crimson performances on Saturday came from sophomore tailback Matt Leiszler. Considering Leiszler was injured and couldn't even play two weeks ago, Murphy must be very pleased with his performance. In a pass-happy offense, Leiszler provided an effective running alternative, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

Leiszler is listed at 5'8, 170 pounds, and is not much bigger than your average investment banker. Despite his size, his most impressive runs were punishing jaunts up the middle into the heart of Lehigh's 10th-ranked rush defense. He couldn't make the sweeps and options work outside, but he ran over much larger, faster, and stronger guys when running draws, traps, and counters.

Leiszler was also the Crimson's best special-teams player, returning four kickoffs for a total of 95 yards, including a 32-yard return. And speaking of special teams...

Kickoffs, Punts, and Other Things to Avoid: Morris' mistake started off a day special-teams probably want to forget. For one thing, Morris never returned another punt. In fact, nobody did. Lehigh punted a total of six times during the game, and the only punt touched was Morris' "return" of minus-3 yards.

The interesting thing was, Harvard almost always got pressure on the kicker. The line got into Heibel's face, even knocked him down once. When Harvard had the ball, however, it made some embarrassing mistakes.

On kickoffs, Lehigh's Abdul Byron managed to slip away from the Crimson's downfield attack. He returned two kickoffs for 72 yards, including a 48-yard return to start the second half.

On a long snap during a punt in the second quarter, the snap got away from the Crimson's Adam Kingston, who made a desperate, if comical attempt, to throw the ball. It fell incomplete.

Similarly, after Harvard's first touchdown, the extra point unit flubbed the conversion. First, the snap bounced several inches in front of holder Kyle Cremarosa. The ball then skidded through his hands, and he ran back and picked it up. By this time, the entire Lehigh kick-blocking unit was upon him, and Cremarosa fluttered a pass that landed harmlessly on the ground nearby.