But when they came out for the second half, they struck quickly off a Chris Menick fumble, and all of a sudden it was Harvard that appeared to be playing with cobwebs.
Just like that, the Fordham bench was fired up. The guys were standing together with their helmets on, and jumping and cheering wildly for even the mildest Crimson setback.
Harvard, meanwhile, strung together a frustrating succession of three-and-outs.
"We let Fordham get momentum and that's what killed us," Miree said. "It snowballed."
But both Miree and Alford don't expect much punishment from the Harvard coaches in practice this week. They spent yesterday reviewing Saturday's film and will now turn their focus on the Princeton Tigers.
"It was definitely a weekend fluke," Alford said. "I'm pretty sure it'll never happen again."
"After today that's all behind us," said Miree yesterday. "It's all about Princeton now."