Harvard Escapes Another Comeback Upset

At the end of Saturday’s nail biter over Penn, Harvard coach Tim Murphy had to be wondering if Princeton coach Bob Surace was whispering into the ear of Penn coach Al Bagnoli on some sort of Killer P hotline. After all, the situation was all too familiar for Murphy.

A shutout of his opponent in the first half. A 24-point lead with 10 minutes left in the game. Then, the possibility of losing what was supposed to be a game already locked up. The 2013 Penn game suddenly became eerily similar to the 2012 Princeton contest.

Fortunately for the Crimson, this year’s ending in Cambridge felt much different than the one last year in New Jersey. But the déjà vu fourth-quarter meltdown, which was really more of a second half meltdown after the one Harvard touchdown drive, should be concerning for a team that potentially has a shot at a share of the Ivy title with a win at New Haven next week.

With a 38-0 lead early in the third quarter, Murphy slotted senior quarterback Mike Pruneau in for starter Conner Hempel, a change not altogether uncalled for after the string of Harvard injuries this year.

Pruneau and company immediately punted the ball back after a three-and-out—a pattern that would repeat four more times on each ensuing Harvard drive of the second half, but the Quakers were still eons behind. Not even visible in the rearview mirror. No cause for concern yet.

On Penn’s next drive, defensive end Zach Hodges was doing his customary third-down dance on the field, and it seemed like that, with the lackluster Quakers offense, that might be Hodges’ biggest workout of the day.

Then, Bagnoli did his own QB swap. After going between fifth-year senior playcallers Ryan Becker and Billy Ragone, Bagnoli called up freshman Adam Strouss to line up under center.

Strouss, normally called on for option plays, attempted his only pass of the day, but that play—a 26-yard completion to Ben Challgren—seemed to rouse a sleepy Penn offense to begin what was almost a comeback for the ages.

A 15-yard facemask penalty on the next play moved the Quakers inside the red zone for the first time all day, and one fourth-down conversion later, Strouss broke the plane of the end zone. Just like that, Penn was on the scoreboard for the first time. 7-0 Penn run.

Then the points began pouring on. The next drive looked almost identical to the previous one—another 15-yard penalty (this one for roughing the passer) moved the Quakers down the field, and Becker converted another fourth down at almost exactly the same spot before Strouss ran in another 1-yard touchdown. 14-0 Penn run.

Now up by just 24 with nearly the entire fourth quarter left, the Crimson continued conservative play. Penn got the ball back less than 90 seconds later and didn’t need any fourth-down conversions to find the end zone this time. Becker connected with a fellow Ryan in Ryan Ripp for the two-point conversion to make it a two-possession game with eight minutes left. 22-0 Penn run.

At this point, Murphy, remembering the 2012 collapse, asked Hempel to re-enter the game. But much like Penn’s own QB swaps in the first half, this did little for Harvard’s struggling offense.

The Crimson came close to a first down, short just inches after measurement. While hanging onto a two-point lead with under two minutes to go against Princeton last year, Murphy elected to punt in a similar fourth-and-short situation.

Up by 16 with seven minutes to go, Murphy made the same decision. Less than three minutes later, Penn cut that lead to eight. 30-0 Penn run.

The following Harvard drive returned the ball to the Quakers just 52 seconds later, but a booming David Bicknell punt meant that Becker now had to move his team 70 yards down the field.

And yet, it seemed inevitable that Penn would somehow miraculously put together another drive to tie the game.

Indeed, the second half—which, with the exception of the first drive that had resulted in the only Crimson points of the half—was all Penn. And it seemed it would stay that way when the Harvard defense would force a fourth down, but the ball would somehow find its way into a Penn receiver’s hands to keep the drive alive.

But luck ran just short for Al Bagnoli’s team. With Penn trying to convert its third fourth-down conversion of the drive at the Harvard 20-yard line with 27 seconds left, Harvard captain Josh Boyd tipped Becker’s ball just out of reach. It was the only drive of the second half that Penn did not reach the end zone. And suddenly, Hempel was kneeling down, and the comeback was over.

After the game, Bagnoli described the comeback as “flipping a switch,” and he couldn’t have been more accurate. Penn had just 56 yards of offense in the first half, but ended with over 300 to finish the game. It was as though an entirely different Penn squad came out of halftime.

But the lights came on for Penn too little, too late. In 2012, Princeton scored 29 straight to upset Harvard. In 2013, Penn scored 30 straight. This year, 30 points wasn’t enough, and the Crimson escaped its final game at home with a win.

—Staff writer Samantha Lin can be reached at samantha.lin@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @Linsamnity.