Back on Track with Ivy Victory

As the Crimson took the field on Saturday afternoon for Harvard’s Ivy League home opener against Cornell, the team looked to obtain the first victory of its Ivy League season. The Crimson (3-1, 1-1 Ivy) knocked off an undefeated team for the second week in a row, cruising over the Big Red (3-1, 1-1) by a score of 38-17 in front of a crowd of 11,263.

Harvard put on another solid, turnover-free showing, as it mustered 423 yards of offense while adding two interceptions and two sacks on defense. The offensive line picked up the Cornell blitz well and gave senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti—who had 281 yards through the air—plenty of time in the pocket.

“Very solid team victory,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “We did what we had to do.”

Harvard started out quickly, scoring on a 67-yard pass on the third play from scrimmage to freshman wide receiver Adam Chrissis, who made his first career reception for his first career touchdown.

“No, [my first catch] wasn’t bad at all,” Chrissis said. “It was really a lot easier than I thought it would be...my blockers and my line and the receivers downfield made it really easy. And with Matt Luft, chasing a guy for 50 yards while I just kind of cruised into the end zone. It was awesome. It was definitely a team touchdown.”

After a three-and-out for Cornell, Harvard struck again, this time on a 4-yard run from junior Cheng Ho to cap off a six-play, 42-yard drive to make it 14-0. The Crimson rolled throughout the first half, as sophomore Levi Richards scored on a 21-yard pass from Pizzotti in the second quarter, and Chrissis added a rushing touchdown to his resume, going for 22 yards on a reverse near the end of the half to make the halftime score 28-7 in favor of the Crimson. Luft also had a solid day, catching four passes for 139 yards, including a 66-yard reception to set up another touchdown.

“We knew we were going to have a challenge against them, but we knew that if we actually wanted to have some success on offense against the blitz, we were going to have to make some plays when we had man coverage,” Pizzotti said. “Luckily the coaches put a great gameplan together...I’d throw it kind of short, and the receivers did the rest of the way.”

Things slowed in the third quarter, as Cornell used a 15-play, 64-yard, 7:17 drive to set up its only score of the frame, a 25-yard field goal, but Harvard retook its three-touchdown lead with a 35-yarder of its own.

Dorris led the team in tackles with 11 (five unassisted) and added a second-quarter interception tipped by sophomore defensive back Collin Zych, who had nine tackles of his own. Senior cornerback Andrew Berry matched Zych’s defensive output, while freshman defensive back Matthew Hanson had an interception for the second week in a row. Captain Matt Curtis had a sack for a seven-yard loss and just two plays later, defensive end Peter Ajayi posted another for a seven-yard loss.

“I think first of all, we did get a lot of pressure, even at times we didn’t sack him, but they do a great job,” Murphy said. “They’ve thrown the ball an average of 55 times a game and only have two sacks on the year.”

Harvard did not play a spot-free 60 minutes, as the fourth quarter saw several penalties that allowed Cornell to regain some momentum—four flags were thrown in the fourth quarter alone, totaling 51 yards, and giving the Big Red its second touchdown of the day with 7:00 left.

“We weren’t happy at all,” Murphy said of the penalties. “I thought we regressed just a little bit, with the lead, and we played a very different game to that point. Our defense played very well, we just need to know in those situations that we’re not going to let a team back in the game. It was a little sloppy, and it’ll be addressed.”

Despite the mistakes, the game was already well out of reach due to the Crimson’s fifth and final touchdown, a 9-yard strike from Pizzotti to senior tight end Jason Miller in the end zone that had given Harvard a 38-10 lead.

“We got beat by a better team today,” Cornell coach Jim Knowles said. “I think they beat us in all areas, in all phases of the game: offense, defense, special teams. We gave up way too many big plays on defense, and they were able to pretty much do what they want with their offense. They were more physical, we turned the ball over, they didn’t. I don’t think it’s hard to see why the score came out the way it did.”