Crimson Makes Opening Statement

After a gray, misty morning, the sun suddenly appeared moments before the kickoff of Harvard’s game against Brown on Saturday.

It seemed to be an omen of good things to come for the Crimson (2-0, 1-0 Ivy), which eventually upended the Bears 52-14.

But Brown (1-1, 0-1) had an entirely different script in mind early on, as Anjel Gutierrez picked off junior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on the very first play of the game. It was Fitzpatrick’s second interception in as many games but just the third of his collegiate career.

After Gutierrez returned the ball to Harvard’s 22, the Crimson defense took the field sooner than it had expected—but made it clear to the Bears who was directing the show.

On second-and-four, senior defensive end Brad Payne stuffed a run by Brent Grinna for no gain. Senior Brian Garcia sacked Kyle Slager for a nine-yard loss on third down. Paul Christian missed a field goal from 42 yards out and Harvard got the ball back on its own 25.

And Brown’s best chance to upset the Crimson fell by the wayside.

“Any time when you’re put in what we call ‘sudden change situations’ and get out there, especially with a short field, to come out and give up a field goal is ideal. To come out with no points is perfect,” captain linebacker Dante Balestracci said. “Football’s a game of momentum, and they definitely had the momentum on their side after the pick. I think we took the wind out of their sails a little bit by shutting them down.”

Fitzpatrick shook off the interception and his first ever lost fumble to post six touchdowns—four passing and two rushing—in the eventual blowout. He finished the day with 410 total yards, going 20 of 35 for 361 yards in the air—the fourth best single game passing yardage in school history—and rushing for 49 more.

His total yardage on the day ranked fifth overall in the Harvard annals and came one week after he set the school’s record with 471. In the first two games of the season, Fitzpatrick has already racked up 881 yards.

But despite his gaudy numbers, Fitzpatrick was rattled by the interception and two other passes that came dangerously close to being picked off. He didn’t appear comfortable rushing when forced to scramble out of the pocket and overthrew several receivers in the first half.

“I was real proud of Fitzy,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “He probably faced as much adversity early as he’s faced... He came out and he struggled, but he fought through it and ended up obviously making some very big plays, and that was part of the difference in the game.”

Before Fitzpatrick settled down into his usual dominating self, the defense kept Harvard in the game, following up its stop on the first series with an interception of its own on the Bears’ second drive.

But unlike Brown, the Crimson converted on the turnover, as senior free safety Chris Raftery returned the pick for a touchdown with 6:01 left in the first for an early 7-0 lead.

“We came out and really, quite frankly, stuck the joint up offensively,” Murphy said. “But the defense kept us in the game, gave us some confidence, short field. Things just took off from there.”

What took off was Fitzpatrick, who wore down the Bears defense with 47 plays in the first half. Harvard’s no-huddle offense kept the tempo fast, and the offensive line was able to pick up Brown’s blitzes to give Fitzpatrick time to scramble.

“We had a lot of big plays because we kind of got broken up in the pocket and started scrambling outside,” Fitzpatrick said. “We ran the scramble drill very well today. They were kind of afraid of the run by the quarterback, and that allowed us to throw over the top at some of the defenders that were trying to come up and guard the run.”

The Bears seemed determined not to let Fitzpatrick beat them on the ground after he posted 131 yards rushing against them last year and put up 112 against the Crusaders last weekend. But Fitzpatrick still scored twice, punching the ball into the end zone on a one-yard run at 6:33 in the second quarter and waltzing in on a nine-yard run at 11:16 in the third.

“I mean how many times did we have him, we thought we had him contained or wrapped up, and he got out and made plays,” Brown coach Phil Estes said. “He’s a one-man wrecking crew.”

Fitzpatrick also made a mess of the Bears’ defense by spreading the ball around to seven receivers and hitting four different targets for touchdowns.

After Brown tied the score at seven, Harvard responded by pounding downfield for 80 yards in eight plays. Coming out of the shotgun with four wide on third-and-thirteen, Fitzpatrick hit junior wide receiver Brian Edwards streaking past his defender down the middle for a 42-yard touchdown reception and a 14-7 lead.

The Crimson would never look back.

Fitzpatrick scored his first rushing touchdown to make it 21-7, Harvard, in the middle of the second. On the next drive, he found freshman wide receiver Corey Mazza wide open in the back of the end zone on a third-and-eight, running the score to 28-7 three seconds before the half.

The touchdown was the first of Mazza’s collegiate career and a second chance after he dropped a ball on the same route four plays earlier.

“I was feeling pretty angry about it, and I really wanted a chance to make up for it,” said Mazza, who finished the day with four catches for 81 yards. “Then the same play got called again on the last play of the half with three seconds left, and I got behind the safety. It was the perfect ball—there was no one around.”

Fitzpatrick kept picking apart the defense on third-and-long in the second half. Midway through the third quarter, Fitzpatrick connected with junior wide receiver James Harvey for a 50-yard gain on third-and 15. One play later, Fitzpatrick found sophomore running back Ryan Tyler wide open on the right side for an easy 20-yard touchdown reception to make it 42-14, Harvard.

After senior kicker Adam Kingston nailed a 31-yard field goal, Harvey would add his own touchdown reception less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, capping the Crimson’s scoring at 52.

“The bottom line is that you look at the diversity among the receptions of the receivers,” Murphy said. “It’s tough to defend us, particularly tough when you run the football at least very solidly. It’s tricky and tough to defend when you can also run option and your quarterback’s mobile.”

—Staff writer Brenda E. Lee can be reached at belee@fas.harvard.edu.