Football Battles for Ivy Supremacy

The Ivy League picture will become drastically clearer tomorrow when Harvard (3-2, 2-0 Ivy) takes on Princeton (4-1, 2-0 Ivy) at Princeton Stadium.

The stakes are high—the winner will be in the driver’s seat in the Ivy League title chase, while the loser will need help merely to get a share of it.

“This game’s impact is immeasurable,” senior running back Nick Palazzo said in an e-mail. “It is for the Ivy League lead and is necessary for us to reach our goal. It is as big and as important as any game will be this season.”

But the similarities between Harvard and Princeton extend beyond perfect Ivy records.

Both teams have played Lehigh and Brown and earned narrow victories over Brown while falling to a late-surging Lehigh team.

Tigers’ quarterback David Splithoff is the second most efficient passer in the country. Harvard sophomore quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is the thirteenth most efficient.

The Crimson’s senior wideout Carl Morris is second in the nation with just over nine catches a game. Princeton’s star wide receiver Chisom Opara is fifth with just under eight grabs a game.

The list of eerily similar statistics goes on and on, even extending to turnover ratio—both teams sitting at a respectable +1.

However, if there is one aspect of the matchup where the statistics do not match up, it is pass defense.

The Tigers’ pass defense, ranked 23rd in the nation, appears air-tight compared to Harvard’s, which is ranked 103rd.

Last weekend, Princeton held Brown superstar wideout Chas Gessner to just two catches for 21 yards in the first half and went on to keep the nation’s leading receiver under 100 yards for the game.

“In preparing for a team that has a strength in one area of defense, we focus more on execution, but never change the offensive philosophy,” Palazzo said.

On the opposite side of the ball, Harvard’s defense will have a difficult time combating Princeton’s balanced offense. The Tigers have at least one player in the top fifteen of every major statistical category except total offense.

The robust Princeton passing attack led by Splithoff and Opara is bolstered by running back Cameron Atkinson, who rushed for 174 yards last week against Brown.

The Crimson defense will have to contain Atkinson more than it did Northeastern running back Anthony Riley, as Riley racked up 128 yards last weekend.

The week leading up to the Princeton game has been marked by several intriguing personnel decisions.

Fitzpatrick was named the starter earlier in the week. Captain and quarterback Neil Rose could see time in the game as well, as Coach Murphy has not been shy about using both of them.

“Fitz will start, and nothing else is written in stone at this point,” Murphy said in an e-mail.

Rose has been plagued by a nagging back injury that has limited his effectiveness.

“The back won’t be 100 percent until sometime after I get surgery at the end of the year,” Rose said in an e-mail. “It’s hindered me greatly, but I’m healthy enough to play.”

Though the starting quarterback spot has been unpredictable from week to week, the volatility has not affected the quarterbacks’ preparation.

“I’ve been preparing for this game like I do any other, and I prepare the same whether or not I am the starter,” Rose said. “I know I’ll get in there—how long depends on how I play.”

The problem at kicker was addressed this week as well. Freshman Jim Morocco will start in place of senior Anders Blewett. Blewett has made only one field goal this year in three attempts. However, he is a perfect 20-for-20 on PATs.

Injuries have also been an issue this week, especially regarding Palazzo and sophomore wideout Rodney Byrnes.

Palazzo sat out last week’s game against Northeastern—a game in which the Crimson running backs ran for a mere seven yards.

“I am healthy and will be playing on Saturday,” Palazzo said.

Byrnes played through a nagging hip injury last week against the Huskies and accumulated 98 yards of total offense.

“[My hip is] the same as last week and the week before—playable,” Byrnes said in an e-mail. “I don’t know if ‘good’ is the word to describe it.”

If Harvard is victorious this weekend, it will play Penn in November with its Ivy League destiny in its own hands. However, if the Crimson does not survive this early season test, its chances of repeating as sole Ivy League champion will almost vanish.

—Contributing writer Michael James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.