SIDEBAR: Defense Controls Contest

Harvard’s defense sagged early on Saturday, but it quickly became an impregnable fortress against the Lafayette Leopards.

Crimson junior starting quarterback Chris Pizzotti set the Leopards up with fantastic field position on the Harvard 22-yard line after throwing an interception on the game’s second drive. Four plays later, Lafayette quarterback Brad Maurer hit Jonathan Hurt for a 10-yard touchdown pass, giving the Leopards a 7-0 lead.

But that was the last time the Crimson defense would allow Lafayette within striking distance.

A team that has been marred by concerns about its pass defense responded in a big way Saturday, holding Maurer to just 157 yards passing and grabbing three interceptions, including a pick by senior cornerback Steve Williams on a throw to the end zone.

“We got a lot of short fields on takeaways, and made it a manageable game for the offense,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said.

Sophomore linebacker Glenn Dorris and senior captain and linebacker Ryan Tully also had interceptions in the game. The improved pass defense was especially important given the way the secondary had been torched the last two weeks against Cornell and Lehigh.

The defensive struggles led to some changes in the Crimson’s strategy and routine.

“This week in practice we really put an emphasis on working on our technique,” Dorris said. “Obviously it paid off today.”

“We really emphasized the heck out of it,” Murphy said. According to him, Harvard had success “by virtue of changing up some looks, by realizing that we can play the run game without getting an extra defender into the box.”

But even without the extra man in the box against the run, Harvard still surrendered just 83 yards on the ground, including holding starting running back Hurt to just 43 yards.

The defense also amassed six sacks, continuing its torrid pace from earlier in the season.

The Crimson leads the country in sacks per game, averaging 5.8, a full 1.3 per game more than second-place James Madison. Sophomore linebacker Sonny McCracken had sacks on three consecutive plays to end one fourth quarter Lafayette drive.

“We didn’t even know if he was going to play on Tuesday because he rolled his ankle in practice,” Murphy said. “I thought the hockey guys were going to start throwing their hats.”

But the strong play of the defense was especially important on a day when the offense could not seem to find a rhythm, producing its lowest point total of the season.

Pizzotti was just 17 of 40 passing for 210 yards, although he threw two touchdowns against his lone early interception.

“It was definitely execution as an offense,” said Pizzotti of the struggles. “We had a lot of open receivers today, [and] personally I didn’t have my best game, but I give a lot of credit to Lafayette’s defense, too.”

Senior running back Clifton Dawson had yet another solid game, amassing 144 yards on 26 carries and scoring a touchdown, but collected his yards quietly against a solid Lafayette defense.

“Offensively, we really played relatively poorly, but you’re going to have games like that over the course of the year, where one unit may not play well and the other unit rises up, and that was the case today,” Murphy said.

The resurgence of the Harvard secondary will be particularly significant as the Crimson looks ahead to next week’s showdown with fellow unbeaten Princeton.

While the Tigers have had trouble scoring at times, they rely heavily on the play of senior quarterback Jeff Terrell, who is averaging 217 yards per game through the air this season. For the first time since 1922, both teams are undefeated at least five games into the season.

“It still hurts that we didn’t beat them a year ago,” Murphy said. “I know our kids are going to embrace this challenge. They really get excited to play this game.”

—Staff writer Brad Hinshelwood can be reached at bhinshel@fas.harvard.edu.