Crimson Faces An Old, But Youthful Foe

ESPN’s College GameDay was there. The game was featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today. But for all the hype and media attention accorded to the showdown between Harvard and Penn last weekend at Franklin Field, there’s no mistaking that game for The Game.

“Everything I’ve been putting in the last four years is all leading up to this game,” senior wide receiver Carl Morris said. “It’s one of the biggest rivalries in the country and we just want to have fun out there, and the best way to have fun is to win.”

Despite a discouraging 44-9 loss to Penn that dashed Harvard’s hopes of another perfect Ivy record, the Crimson realizes that the season can be sweetened with a win over its bitter rival Yale in the 119th playing of The Game tomorrow in the Stadium.

While Harvard and Yale have identical records of 6-3, the similarities in their seasons pretty much end there. The Crimson is 5-1 in the Ivy League and still has a shot to share the Ancient Eight crown with a win over Yale and if Cornell can pull off an upset over Penn this weekend in Ithaca.

The Bulldogs arrive in Cambridge with a 4-2 league record, riding a three-game winning streak following an impressive come-from-behind victory over Princeton last Saturday.

“We need to approach this game with the premise that it is a championship game because who knows what will happen in the Cornell-Penn game,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “There’s going to be an intensity out there and the coaching staff won’t need to do any motivating.”

The Harvard Arsenal

Leading the way for the Crimson offense again this season have been captain Neil Rose and All-American wide receiver Morris.

Rose has completed 120-of-177 passes (67.8 percent) for 1,375 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. Rose has put up these numbers despite being plagued by a debilitating sciatic nerve condition for most of the season.

Sophomore backup Ryan Fitzpatrick filled in effectively in Rose’s absence, completing 87-of-138 passes for 1,020 yards and eight touchdowns, all without an interception. Fitzpatrick also leads Harvard in rushing this season, running for 416 yards and three touchdowns.

NFL prospect Morris has caught a school-record 86 balls for 1,182 yards and eight touchdowns, an average of 13.7 yards per reception.

Sophomore multiple-threat Rodney Byrnes has caught 47 passes for 419 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing for a touchdown, rushing for three more, and returning a kickoff for a score.

Senior tailback Nick Palazzo has battled through an injury-plagued season to lead the Crimson in scoring with eight rushing touchdowns and one receiving TD.

An offensive line that lost four starters from the 2001 championship unit has responded admirably this season, led by senior right tackle and NFL prospect Jamil Soriano.

“Harvard has a lot of weapons on offense and we will not stop them totally,” Yale coach Jack Siedlecki said. “The key to slowing them down will be to contain Morris, pressure the quarterback and not allow any big runs to [hinder] their big play ability.”

Defensively, junior linebacker Dante Balestracci has had another stellar campaign for the Crimson, leading the team in both tackles (84) and sacks (4).

However, Harvard also has a strong core of seniors on the defensive side of the ball, led by linebackers John Perry and Niall Murphy, free safety Xavier Goss, and defensive end Mike Armstrong.

Perry has 69 tackles on the season, good for second on the team, while Murphy has racked up 36 tackles to go with three interceptions. Armstrong has solidified the defensive line with two sacks and two fumble recoveries while registering 31 tackles.

Yale’s Young Guns

While Harvard has seniors leading the way at quarterback, tailback, wide receiver, and on much of the defense, Yale’s skill position players are almost exclusively underclassmen.

Sophomore quarterback Jeff Mroz has taken the snaps for the Elis since junior Alvin Cowan’s injury at the start of the season.

While he was an untested sophomore coming into the year—having never before completed a pass—Mroz has responded admirably. On the year, Mroz has completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 1,597 yards and 13 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

Mroz stands tall in the pocket at 6’5 and with good protection can linger behind the line and make the necessary throws. Unlike the injured Cowan, though, Mroz does not have an overwhelming ability to run.

“Mroz has gotten a lot better over the course of the year,” Murphy said. “But we’ve played against a lot of good quarterbacks this year, and as always, the key to defending a good quarterback is putting a lot of pressure on him.”

Mroz has had help on offense from sophomores Robert Carr and Ralph Plumb, as well as juniors Nate Lawrie and Ron Benigno.

At tailback, Carr has established himself as one of the top runners in the Ivy League, rushing for 1,008 yards on 212 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per attempt.

Wide receivers Plumb and Benigno have 77 catches and eight touchdowns between them. While Plumb has been the go-to guy with 52 receptions, Benigno has been able to stretch the field with an 18.2 yard average per catch as well as five touchdowns.

Lawrie has also given Mroz a solid target in the middle of the field at tight end, catching 34 balls for 434 yards and four touchdowns.

“Our young skill players have matured as they have gained experience,” Siedlecki said. “Their confidence in themselves and each other has grown all year and the big plays have really started to come over the last three games.”

On defense, the Elis are led by captain Jason Lange. Lange has 39 tackles and four sacks on the season from his defensive tackle position.

Comparing the Campaigns

Harvard came in to the season as the defending Ivy League champion, but with a very tough schedule including non-conference games against Northeastern, Holy Cross and Lehigh.

The Crimson opened the season with two closely contested and gritty victories 28-23 and 26-24, over Holy Cross and Brown, respectively.

Harvard then lost a one-point heartbreaker to No. 4 Lehigh on the road—its first loss since the 2000 Yale game—before responding with a 52-23 trouncing of Cornell in Cambridge.

The Crimson stumbled again the next week against No. 14 Northeastern at the Stadium, before taking to the road and recording back-to-back Ivy wins over Princeton (24-17) and Dartmouth (31-26). Harvard then tuned-up for the Penn showdown with a 28-7 romp over Columbia to push its Ivy record to 5-0.

While Harvard has not lost two straight games at any time this year, Yale’s 2002 season has been one of streaks.

The Bulldogs began the year with Cowan at quarterback, and the junior amassed an astonishing six touchdowns—three running and three passing—in a 49-14 season-opening victory over the University of San Diego.

But Cowan fractured his fibula in the following week against Cornell and was relieved by Mroz, who led the Bulldogs to a 50-23 win over the Big Red.

Yale then won at home against Holy Cross to run its record to 3-0 before dropping tough road tilts at Dartmouth and Lehigh and a home contest versus Penn.

The Bulldogs got back into the win column one week later with a resounding 35-7 victory over Columbia and continued their run with dramatic wins over Brown and Princeton.

“This football team has probably improved more during the season than any team I have coached,” Siedlecki said. “The difference between winning and losing in this league is very small and our season is a great example.”

Bracing for Battle

If Harvard’s victorious performances in games following a loss are any indication, the Crimson will come out fired up to play Yale this weekend after its debacle at Penn.

“There are three things we have to do to stop Yale’s winning streak,” Murphy said. “First, we have to protect the football—turning the ball over never wins you football games. Number two, we have to score more points than we did a week ago against a very tough Yale defense. Finally, we have to stop the Yale running game, because that is what gets them going on offense.”

Players on both sides recognize how much this game means to everyone involved. Students, faculty, and alumni look to their football teams to provide bragging rights for a whole year in one of the nation’s oldest sports rivalries.

Yet many players prefer to downplay the magnitude of The Game to maintain their ability to execute without nerves playing a factor.

“I’ve never played in the Harvard-Yale game before, but that’s all I hear about from the older guys, and I know this game is huge,” Mroz said. “But right now I just have to look at it as a normal football game and go out there and try my best to win this game.”

For the first time in a couple of years, both teams are in the upper echelon of the Ivy League and looking to finish first or second in the league at the end of the day.

There is no denying that The Game could be even more hotly-contested this year than in years past.

“The fact that both teams are playing very well just makes The Game that much more important,” Mroz said.