Slumping Lions Not To Be Underestimated

One team came into the season with a veteran offense and the make-up of a dark horse Ivy League contender. The other came in with a title to defend and an untested quarterback. It was anyone’s guess who would still be undefeated at this point.

Despite how the season has played out, Harvard (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) cannot take Columbia (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) for granted this weekend. While the Lions’ record may not show it, the team is not short on talent on either side of the ball.

“They have a level of skill, athleticism, toughness…that you just can’t believe that it’s turned out the way it has so far for this team,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “They were off to such a good start, so they’re a good football team.”

Coming into the season, Columbia looked like it would a title contender. At the start of the season, senior quarterback M.A. Olawale is a 6’1” and 224 lbs. looked poised to do damage throughout the Ancient Eight.

“He’s kind of a force of nature,” Murphy said. “He’s one of those guys you have to account for on every play.”

Harvard, on the other hand, looked to the less physically-imposing field general Collier Winters in his first year starting behind center.

Entering the eighth week of play, there seems to have been a role reversal.

Winters has emerged as a dependable play caller, and Olawale can no longer depend on a starting spot this Saturday.

That is, after freshman Sean Brackett passed for 180 yards and three touchdowns against Yale last weekend, Olawale’s significance to the team is questionable.

“[Brackett] played lights-out,” Murphy said.

What the Crimson has to take away from this is not that the Lions have been inconsistent, but that they have two different quarterbacks capable of explosive performances.

Either quarterback will have at its disposal a dangerous receiver in senior Austin Knowlin, who was selected last year as Second Team All-Ivy.

“It’s a tough offense,” captain Carl Ehrlich said. “If you make mistakes, they’ll capitalize.”

The same could be said of the Lions’ defense, particularly of brothers Evan and Lou Miller. Lou, the elder sibling, is arguably one of the best defensive players in the league according to Murphy.

“He leads the team in both tackles for loss and in sacks,” Murphy said. “We call him the Tasmanian Devil because he has what we call in coaching such an unbelievable motor, he goes at an incredibly high speed and level of tenacity you can’t believe play after play after play.”

The Miller brothers should provide the running back duo of junior Gino Gordon and freshman Treavor Scales with more of a challenge than Dartmouth.

Against the Big Green, the only uncertainty was which Crimson running back would amass more rushing yards; Scales, who had 120 on the day, edged out Gordon by one.

With such success on the ground, the Crimson’s passing game has seen less of the statistical spotlight.

“Making blocks is just as fun as getting the ball,” junior receiver Marco Iannuzzi said. “If you can run, there’s no reason to pass. It only becomes an issue when the running game’s not working.”

Murphy, meanwhile, would like to see Winters air the ball out a little more against the Lions.

“We said we’ve got to run the football more and better,” Murphy said. “Mission accomplished. I think we have to get back to the other balance. I don’t like throwing the ball only 17 times a game.”

Winters and the passing attack have been working dedicatedly all week to change that.

“The whole offense and defense stays after practice,” Iannuzzi said. “We get the dining hall to deliver food to the locker room and we stay and watch film.”

The preparation will assist the Crimson this weekend in forgetting all records and concentrating on the task at hand—shutting down a Lions team that presents a threat that cannot be overlooked.

“It’s going to be a hard game,” Ehrlich said. “Columbia always plays hard. We need to come out as hard. If we match that intensity, we should be able to come out with a win.”