Rose Rises to the Occasion

He is Harvard's single-season record holder in passing yards, total offense and completions. He is one throw away from tying the school record for touchdown passes in a single season. He set the single-game record for passing yards with 412 in his first varsity start.

And he was not the starting quarterback on opening day.

Junior Neil Rose has rewritten the Harvard football record books this season in just eight games. Other than one clunker against unbeaten No. 8 Lehigh, Harvard has yet to score under 28 points in a game with Rose under center. With Yale to come, Rose has already thrown for a record 2,345 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Yet, in Harvard's opening game this season against Holy Cross, sophomore Barry Wahlberg was the starter while Rose looked on from the sidelines. Though Rose entered the game in the second half after Wahlberg managed to complete only 4-of-16 passes (Rose was 7-of-9 for 78 yards), it seemed unlikely that Rose would play a major role on the team back on Sept. 16.

Since that time, Rose has been the surprise of the Ivy League as one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the history of Harvard football. In fact, the only person Rose has not yet surprised is himself.

"I was expecting a little bit more out of my performance, to be honest," Rose said. "My goal this season was to win a championship. I thought I could be the starting quarterback of this club and put us in better position than we are in right now. I guess when you set high goals, you don't reach them all the time."

Some might say that Harvard should have been in the position to win the Ivy championship tomorrow. The Crimson has lost only two Ivy League games this season, both by one point.

Harvard was ahead late in the fourth quarter against both Cornell and Penn but could not grasp victory, though

Harvard had opportunities to win both contests on last-second field goal attempts that were subsequently off the mark.

While there are numerous reasons for the inability to hold off opponents in the fourth quarter, Rose cannot be faulted. The headstrong quarterback has put his team in position to win every Ivy game this year. Though he is disappointed the team will not be wearing championship rings this season, Rose believes the team is much improved from past years and has the talent to win the league title next season.

"I've never been a part of a team that plays together as well as we do," Rose said. "We've had some unfortunate losses, but I'm really proud of the guys. We're a young team, and we should be better next year. Already, our defense has come together and our running game is currently the best in the league."

Nevertheless, it is the passing game that has earned the attention of Harvard's opponents this season. Confident and savvy on the field, Rose has thrown for an average of 323.9 yards per game in those he has started.

Additionally, when the passing game runs on all cylinders, running backs Nick Palazzo and Matt Leiszler can run through opposing defenses. For the year, the two backs have combined for 1,125 yards on the ground, tops in the Ivy League.

"I think Neil has done an amazing job this year," Palazzo said. "He has been a great leader and is a big reason why we have enjoyed a lot of success on offense this season. I can't say enough about how hard he plays and how hard he works. He has done everything a quarterback needs to do to help his team win."

Rose grew up in Mililani, Hawaii. He picked up football in the ninth grade, playing backup quarterback and defensive back. Although Rose won the starting job as junior, his high school experience was extremely uncommon for a Division I college starter.

Instead of winning state championships and being recognized for winning league titles, Rose won one game in two years as a starter.

"We were awful," Rose said of his high school team. "I didn't win a game my senior year, which didn't do much for my recruiting, but Hawaii is a big football state, and Harvard found me."

Though Rose would like to keep this under wraps, he actually wanted to go to Stanford initially, but found that he couldn't say "no" to the Crimson.

"Throughout high school, I wanted to go to Stanford, but when Harvard came calling, I listened," said Rose.

Rose showed glimpses of brilliance during his freshman year and watched from the sidelines as Rich Linden '00 orchestrated the offense. As a sophomore, Rose spent most of the season nursing injuries and again remained outside the limelight, as Linden and Brad Wilford '00 battled to be the starting quarterback.

With the graduation of Linden and Wilford, Rose was eventually recognized due to his team's high-powered offensive passing scheme. This season, Rose would often throw the ball 70 times a game, and though the wins did not always follow in turn, his skill as a big-time quarterback developed.

Throughout the season, Rose and much of the Harvard squad have thought about Yale and The Game in the back of their minds.

Yale was picked as a preseason favorite to the win the Ivy League this season, but consecutive losses to Princeton and Brown the past two weeks eliminated the Elis from contention. Nonetheless, Rose knows quite a bit about the Bulldogs and is impressed by what he has seen on tape.

"I don't know if Yale's recent losses have been a fluke or not, but this a good team," Rose said. "They have a stingy defense and their offense doesn't turn over the ball much. They pack some punch, and I think this is going to be one of those Harvard-Yale games that goes right down to the wire."

As if playing Yale in front of the season's biggest crowd was not enough to get his blood pumping, Rose will have added incentive tomorrow.

"This is the first time my mom will see me play in college," Rose said.

The trip from Hawaii to Massachusetts is neither an easy nor inexpensive voyage. Understandably, Rose's family will hope its golden boy can come through with a typical Rose performance.

"Yale is it," Rose said. "This is what we're going to be thinking about until next fall. We didn't win last year, and I don't want to go through another year with a bitter taste in my mouth."

If Rose has it his way, The Game will be nip-and-tuck until the final drive.

"That's when I'd take the team the length of the field and stick it in the end zone for the victory," Rose said.

Roses are red, violets are blue; if all goes to plan, Neil Rose's dream will come true.