Princeton's offense worked its way down thefield in clockwork fashion in the first quarter totake a 10-0 lead. Junior Mike Giampaolo's firstpunt went for 33 yards and was returned for 10yards by Ray Canole. Princeton ran the ball fivetimes and got to the Harvard 25-yard line, thenSierk drilled a 42-yard field goal 6:06 into thegame.
The Tigers mixed in play-action passing ontheir next drive, which went 61 yards in 10 plays.On third-and-seven at the Crimson 14-yard line,Canole came in motion, paused, then broke to theinside. He found a hole in Harvard's coverage andwalked into the endzone for a 10-0 lead.
Harvard then put together its most impressivedrive of the season to that point, and Linden wasthe key. He hummed a 22-yard completion to Wilskedown the sideline on third-and-five. Two playslater, Linden found senior tight end ChrisEitzmann three yards behind the defense for a38-yard touchdown pass.
The drive, which went 79 yards in only fiveplays and 1:46, was Harvard's longest touchdowndrive of the year until the game-winning one inthe fourth quarter. Eitzmann split the corner andsafety down the right seam, and both Princetondefenders turned and yelled at each other afterthe play. Harvard missed the extra point andtrailed 10-6.
Linden made a great play on the nextpossession, when he broke four tackles on a17-yard scramble. He also led Harvard on anotherquick-strike scoring drive set up by juniorTerence Patterson's 46-yard punt return to thePrinceton 44-yard line.
"Unfortunately, we missed an extra point, wemissed a field goal, and we gave up two big puntreturns," Tosches said. "They're three equalparts. You've got to play hard offensively anddefensively, but as you can see, a couple plays onspecial teams can make the difference."
The Crimson took just eight plays and 1:44 tocovert the opportunity, and the score came onanother touchdown pass to Eitzmann. Linden rolledto his right then fired back across the field tothe far left. The pass counted for six yards buttraveled much farther in the air, and it wasperfectly placed and timed because the defenderhad his back turned.
Eitzmann caught four touchdown passes last yearbut had not had one this year. His re-emergence inthe goal-line offense coincided with Linden's--andthe passing game's--re-emergence.
"I honestly don't know [what the differenceis]," Linden said. "Quarterback is a toughposition to play, but if you stay positive andkeep throwing the ball and keep believing inyourself, eventually good things are going tohappen."
Princeton scored a touchdown on the nextpossession to take a 16-13 halftime lead, butSierk's point-after attempt hit the left upright.On third-and-two from their own 15-yard line, theTigers ran an option left, and Burnham pitched outto running back Damien Taylor, who ran for 54yards. Running back Derek Theisen had a 12-yardrun then a 19-yarder for a touchdown as Harvard'srun defense broke down.
The teams traded field goals in the thirdquarter. On Princeton's first possession of thehalf, junior defensive end Mike Sands forced afumble by Burnham, and junior tackle ChrisNowinski recovered at the Tigers' 43-yard line.Harvard settled for a 30-yard Giampaolo field goalthat appeared to be tipped in a play reminiscentof the crucial 21-yarder he hit last year inHarvard's 14-12 win.
The Tigers went back ahead with a 16-play,72-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard Sierkfield goal. He set Princeton's career field goalrecord at 34 with the kick.
Harvard played a very clean game, committingonly two penalties for 25 yards. Beyond that, itmanaged to avoid mental mistakes.
"We talked about having a lot of poise today,not only win the war but also ace the exam,"Murphy said. "We didn't have very many missedassignments, penalties or turnovers. That's theonly way we could have beat Princeton today."
Three of Harvard's last four games are againstthe teams it is tied with for first place, so itsdestiny is in its own hands. Although the talentlevel isn't the same as last year, Murphy has saidrepeatedly that teams in the Ivies are not thatfar apart in terms of personnel.
If that's the case, Harvard's demonstratedability to scrap for a win means its chances for arepeat title are as good as any other in theleague.
First QuarterPri--Sierk, 42 kick, 8:54.Pri--Canole, 14 pass (Sierk kick), 2:47.Har--Eitzmann, 38 pass from Linden (pass failed),1:03. Second QuarterHar--Eitzmann, 6 pass from Linden (Giampaolokick), 4:40.Pri--Thiesen, 19 run (kick failed), 2:06. Third QuarterHar--Giampaolo, 30 kick, 11:19.Pri--Sierk, 20 kick, 1:51. Fourth QuarterHar--Wiske, 41 pass from Menick (Giampaolo kick),14:22.Pri--Sierk, 30 kick, 11:00.