Visiting Lions Offer Key Ivy Test

Harvard football has plenty to lose this weekend.

A win for the Crimson (5-2, 3-1 Ivy League) in tomorrow’s home matchup against Columbia (3-4, 1-3) would allow Harvard to stay in contention for the Ivy League championship.

A loss, on the other hand, would drop the Crimson’s record further below that of Penn (6-1, 4-0) and dramatically reduce its chances at a title.

“At this point in the season, every game is our most important game,” captain Collin Zych said. “We have to win every Ivy League game to achieve our goal of winning the Ivy League. We have to put ourselves in the position to compete for the title next week.”

With a date against the current league leaders and The Game on the horizon, it would be easy for the Crimson to overlook the Lions, currently fifth in the Ancient Eight. But junior quarterback Collier Winters feels strongly that will not be the case.

“All this week we’ve been getting everyone to make sure they’re thinking about only Columbia and helping them realize that the Penn and Yale games won’t matter nearly as much if we don’t beat Columbia,” said Winters, who was named Ivy League Football Offensive Player of the Week last week after compiling 212 passing yards and no interceptions against Dartmouth.

Meanwhile, the Lions are coming off a 31-28 loss to Yale last weekend—Columbia’s second-consecutive loss by a margin of three points. According to Harvard coach Tim Murphy, losses like these prove the Lions’ 1-3 record is not indicative of their ability as a team.

“This is a good football team,” Murphy said. “I mean, they’re really well-coached, they challenge you in their scheme, and they’ve got good personnel. They just haven’t been able to close the deal recently. But you look at what they’ve shown at times—hanging 42 points on Princeton, hanging 42 points on Lafayette—they’re a good football team.”

Zych noted that Columbia’s ability to specifically adjust to each defense it faces will pose a challenge for Harvard.

As such, a focus in the Crimson’s practices this week was recognizing some of the many faces of the Lions’ unpredictable offense.

“They’ve had a different identity on offense in every game that I’ve watched [on film] so far,” Zych said. “It’s hard to prepare exactly for what they are going to do. They have found different things that work against different schemes of defenses, and they adjust to them in ways that aren’t really traditional.”

Based on the Harvard defensive line’s dominant performance in last weekend’s 30-14 victory over Dartmouth, Murphy anticipates Columbia will center its game plan on the front four—especially senior defensive tackle Josué Ortiz, who had four tackles and two sacks against the Big Green.

Although the Lions’ offense has learned to adapt to each of its opponents, one thing has remained constant throughout the season: sophomore quarterback Sean Brackett’s cannon of an arm.

Brackett has thrown 16 touchdown passes this season and leads the league in passing efficiency by a significant margin at 152.4.

“He’s able to make plays with his speed, which makes him a good player,” Zych said. “With our defensive line being a strength this year, hopefully we can keep him from escaping the pocket and making plays. We need to make sure we know our responsibilities on option plays and making sure he won’t be able to run free.”

While Columbia’s offense may seem variable at times, Winters, who will make his second start of the year, and the rest of the attack are fairly confident in facing the Lions’ defense—headlined by middle linebacker Alex Gross, the league’s leader in tackles.

“Where we are right now compared to where we were in the middle of the season [in terms of number of injuries to starters], we have a better ability to diversify our game plan,” Winters said. “We can open up our playbook more and have more options to give guys the opportunity to make plays. We have a good chance of having a solid offensive day.”

On the offensive end, the Crimson will aim to uphold a philosophy that has grown more and more important as the battle for the Ivy League title continues.

“There’s an expression in war that does translate also to our sport, and that is that if they know where you’re going to be, eventually they’re going to blow you up,” Murphy said. “If they know your tendencies and you’re just fixated on one part of your game, they’re eventually going to get to you, even if you’re really good. So for us to be as unpredictable in every field zone, every down-and-distance situation, has always been a key to our success here at Harvard.”