Football to Take on Brown in Home Opener

This coming Saturday marks the first time since 2011 that Harvard will open the Ivy League slate with a zero in its win column. Six years ago, the Crimson returned home from a first-week loss at Holy Cross in which the Crusaders prevailed, 30-22.

It seems as though this early defeat motivated the 2011 Harvard team, as coach Tim Murphy’s band took care of business in Week 2 at Harvard Stadium, winning 24-7. The hosts picked off Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero twice, and the Crimson defense recovered three of four forced fumbles en route to staunchly halting the Bears’ attack.

Harvard heads into its 2017 matchup versus Brown in nearly an identical situation: a week ago, the Crimson kicked off the fall with another close loss to a non-league opponent on the road. The team is already clamoring to get back onto the field to make up for a disappointing start to the season.

“We feel confident in our game plan going into this game,” senior linebacker Alex White said. “We have a lot to prove, and it was an emotionally charged game, and obviously what happened [to Ben Abercrombie] is on everyone’s mind. But from a defensive standpoint, giving [Rhode Island] 17 points is not acceptable. We can’t expect to win games by giving them 17 points.”

Rhode Island exploited some gaps in Harvard’s secondary, as wide receiver Aaron Parker amassed 103 yards on only three catches, including a long gain of 51 yards for a touchdown. The Crimson’s safeties and defensive backs were notably aggressive throughout the Rhode Island game, and though this strategy can produce interceptions, it also tends to open up holes.

The Bears will introduce junior quarterback Nicholas Duncan, a dual-threat signal caller who has two years’ experience on the sideline and who can create plays with his feet just as well as he can in the air. Look for Brown coach Phil Estes to test Harvard’s secondary, as he has been wont to do in the past.

“They’re going to try to stretch us deep like they did last year a couple of times, and they might catch us with a couple of guys out in coverage and they might get loose, but it’s all about rallying to the ball,” senior safety Tanner Lee said. “Hopefully we’ll keep them contained.”

“We feel pretty good going against dual-threat quarterbacks,” White added. “We have some dual-threat quarterbacks on our team that we practice against every day. Definitely keeping an eye on the quarterback, stopping his scrambles, that’s the game plan.”

Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of the Crimson football team after the season opener is its running game. Junior Charlie Booker III and freshman Aaron Shampklin took the majority of the handoffs in Week 1, and they sliced through the Rams’ front seven all afternoon.

Once Booker breaks through contact, he has the ability to explode for huge gains, as evidenced by his 50 and 57-yard runs in Kingston, R.I. Though the junior battled the injury bug his first two seasons in Crimson, he seems fully healthy and will be an important weapon against the Bears.

Any running attack depends on good protection from the offensive line. Though Harvard’s line appeared shaky at the outset of the season, Murphy is pleased with its progress through camp and the first game, despite numerous penalties that set the Crimson offense back. This unit will be key this Saturday based on how the Brown defense operates.

“They do a lot of blitzing, a lot of twisting with their linemen and backers which is always expected of them, so protection was an emphasis this week,” Booker said.

Of course, one of the notable absences on the field this week will be cornerback Ben Abercrombie. The freshman is recovering from neck surgery after sustaining a cervical injury during the Rhode Island game. The team has rallied around Abercrombie over the past week, giving this upcoming game added significance.

“We have a lot more to play for,” Lee said. “This week the guys have really come together as a team more than we had in the past. It’s kind of hard to think about really, but we’re going out there and playing for Ben. His nickname is Badger so our motto is ‘Fight like a badger.’”

One would have to go all the way back to 2000 to find a season in which Harvard lost its home opener. While history is bound to repeat itself sometime, the Crimson is favored as it heads into its Saturday showdown with the Bears, though Murphy was quick not to dismiss Brown’s competitiveness.

“They don’t necessarily have a long-term rival, so we’ve become that de facto team for them,” Murphy said. “Our kids sort of understand we get everybody’s best shot, and we certainly get Brown’s best shot every year.”