Harvard Chasing First Ivy League Victory

Tomorrow at noon, the Harvard football team will look build on its success against non-conference opponents and notch its first Ivy League win of the season when it takes on Cornell (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) at Harvard Stadium.

Last Saturday, the Crimson (2-1, 0-1) had a bounce-back victory against Lafayette, 35-10, after dropping its Ivy League opener to Brown the previous weekend. The team hopes to capitalize on that momentum as it resumes conference play against the Big Red.

“This [game] has some extra importance obviously because we have to get back into the Ivy League race, which is a situation we haven’t been in for a long time,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “We’re usually not winless in the Ivy League, so it’s a big game.”

The preseason favorites to capture a fourth Ancient Eight crown in the last five years, Harvard fell behind early in the conference standings with the Week 2 loss to the Bears. The Crimson will try to even out its Ivy League record at 1-1 with a win against Cornell.

“[Preparing for the Big Red] isn’t any different, that’s for sure,” Murphy said. “Obviously, each game plan is a little bit different depending on the opponent, the scheme, the personnel, and the tendencies. Obviously, there are some subtleties there that we’re focusing on.”

When Harvard took on the Leopards last weekend, it played without senior quarterback Andrew Hatch, inactive after suffering a concussion. In his place, sophomore Colton Chapple completed six of 11 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown on his way to becoming the eighth Crimson quarterback of the last nine to win his collegiate debut.

But the inexperienced arm of Chapple at the helm meant that Harvard had to rely on its running backs more than it had earlier in the season. The proven tandem of senior Gino Gordon and sophomore Treavor Scales as well as the play of sophomore Rich Zajeski stepped up to the tune of 311 yards on the ground and a combined total of four touchdowns.

“We’re definitely going to try to refind [the balance between the pass and the run],” Murphy said. “For us to reach our goals, for us to keep winning football games, we’re not going to be able to throw the ball 11 times a game. It’s that simple.”

“We’ve got to take what [the opponent] gives us,” added senior wide receiver Marco Iannuzzi. “Running gives us ball security, and as long as we continue to have success with that and until we find that offensive balance, we’ll stick with what works.”

The Crimson defense, meanwhile, has held its opponents to 10 or fewer points in two of its three games. Against the Leopards, senior defensive tackle Josue Ortiz recorded his third sack in as many games this season.

“Our defense has played amazing this season,” Iannuzzi said. “As a member of the offense, I speak for everyone when I say we have to get them off the field and take advantage of all the opportunities they give us.”

“We’ve got a bend-but-don’t-break defense,” Murphy said. “We’ve allowed some teams to move the ball, but we’ve done a good job keeping them from scoring...Even against Brown, I thought we did a good job. We just put ourselves in too many bad situations.”

Cornell, meanwhile, is fresh off of its first victory under new head coach Kent Austin. The Big Red defeated Bucknell, 21-12, despite posting fewer yards than the Bison—303 to Bucknell’s 372—and turning the ball over four times.

An intriguing subplot to watch out for is the matchup between the Harvard ground game and Cornell’s run defense. The Big Red defense was able to limit the Bison to just 105 yards on the ground on 28 attempts. Cornell will have to deal with a Crimson rushing attack that gained 6.6 yards per carry in its last time out.

On top of this matchup, the Big Red is facing a number of questions regarding its personnel due to a string of injuries to its offensive linemen, the loss of two of its top tailbacks, and the inexperience of its rookie quarterback, Jeff Mathews.

“Cornell is a team that we certainly respect,” Murphy said, “but they’ve struggled moving the football and scoring points with their freshman quarterback.”

The Big Red is on a six-game winless streak against conference opponents and has not won against Harvard since 2005. But this game is a must-win for both teams if they wish to continue to pursue the Ivy League title. If history proves true, a loss for either team could prove insurmountable. It has been 28 years since a team with two conference losses has claimed even share of the Ivy League title.