Here Come the Lions

In a conference where every game can make or break a championship, the Harvard football team (6-1, 3-1 Ivy) is looking to build off its win last week when it welcomes Columbia (2-5, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon.

After it dropped a fourth-quarter heartbreaker to Princeton two weeks ago, many people counted the Crimson out of Ivy League contention.

With four games left to play, the Tigers controlled its own fate in regards to the Ancient Eight title.

But last weekend, Cornell kicked a 23-yard field goal with seconds left to play, handing Princeton its first loss of the season and shaking up the Ivy League standings.

“Quite honestly [the Big Red’s victory] was pretty unexpected,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “It would be disingenuous if I said it didn’t energize an already hugely energized team.”

The Crimson intends to take advantage of the unlikely second chance. Harvard’s offense—ranked fourth overall in the FCS—will look to senior quarterback Colton Chapple to continue to dominate the passing game.

Chapple is ranked No. 1 in the Ivy League for passing efficiency and second in total offense.

“He plays his best when it’s game time, but we can’t take it for granted,” Murphy said. “We have to continue to run a balanced offense. We have to continue to get great support from the offensive line and the skill guys.”

The Crimson will face a speedy Lions defense, including linebacker Mike Waller, who was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week last week, after he had six tackles and forced two fumbles.

“[Defense] is what kept them in games,” said senior running back Treavor Scales, who leads the league with 10 touchdowns. “They fly around up front, and they’ve got a couple of guys who have high motors.”

On the defensive end, Harvard is ranked first in the FCS in rushing defense but was forced to adapt after losing linebacker and captain Bobby Schneider to a broken arm during the Princeton game.

Schneider was a key player in the Crimson defense with 43 tackles this season.

“We have a great leader and a great captain in Bobby,” said senior defensive end John Lyon. “[Not having him on the field] is definitely a hit, but one thing he has done a great job with is coaching up the guys in his position and having them step up to do a good job in his stead.”

Columbia enters the contest with considerable momentum. The squad is coming off its first Ivy League win of the season, which was its first victory against Yale since 2001.

The Lions put on an offensive clinic last Saturday, racking up season highs in points and yardage, with 26 and 529 respectively.

Columbia’s 27 first downs were the most in program history since 1975.

Harvard plans to focus on shutting down the running game and pressuring Lions quarterback Sean Brackett.

“Our defense is about stopping the run first, trying to make them one handed, and getting them to throw the ball,” Lyon said. “We definitely want to make sure we keep [Brackett] contained this week, since he can do a lot of things with his feet.”

With the exception of a 33-6 loss to Princeton in September, the Lions have played close games all season against Ancient Eight opponents.

“Dartmouth needed an 80-yard last-minute drive to beat [Columbia], and Penn squeaked out a win [against the Lions],” Murphy said. “If you think this is going to be an easy game, you’re in big trouble.”

Brackett’s 328 passing yards against the Bulldogs last weekend allowed him to surpass Buffalo Bills quarterback—and former Crimson star—Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 in all-time total offense, moving him into eighth place on the Ivy League career list.

Brackett completed 70 percent of his passes and threw for two touchdowns, adding a third rushing.

After being tied at the half in last year’s matchup with the Lions, Harvard went on to score 28 unanswered points to win the contest, 35-21. Despite holding a 54-14-1 record in the all-time matchup, Crimson players say that Columbia will not go down easy.

“[Last year] we were—on paper—a much more successful team than they were, and it was hard,” Murphy said. “They may not be as complete of a team as us, but they are good enough to beat you if you don’t take care of the football.”

Harvard currently sits atop the Ivy League standings with Princeton and Penn, but Harvard players say that being back in the hunt doesn’t change the way they are preparing for the game.

“Each and every week I think we have a championship-minded attack when we step out onto the field,” Scales said. “We’re not promised tomorrow, so we go out there with that same mentality every single day.”