Compared to the last three weeks, it was a bizarro final three minutes for the Harvard football team. And the Crimson couldn't be happier.

After Princeton (2-4, 0-3 Ivy) kicked a 52-yard field goal to tie the game 6-6, Harvard's offense drove 58 yards in 3:26 and scored the winning touchdown with :02 left in the game. Senior quarterback Brad Wilford dove in from the one-foot line to push Harvard (4-2, 2-1) into a tie for first place in the Ivies.

It was a brilliant finish for a team that surrendered a last-second field goal in a 24-21 loss to Colgate, gave up 14 points in the final three minutes of a 24-23 loss at Cornell, and was outscored 27-3 in the second half of a 37-30 win at Fordham. The preceding three weeks must have taught Harvard something as it put together a clutch, game-winning drive to keep itself in the thick of the Ivy race.

The drive as a whole was a thing of beauty, although there was a lot of ugliness along the way. It started when Princeton kicker Taylor Northrop, who had just rocked a 52-yarder with the wind at his back, slipped on the kickoff.

"The ground gave out, and I fell right on my ass," Northrop said. "I probably dug out a yard of dirt."

The ball knuckled to sophomore Willie Alford at the Harvard 35, and he returned the kick to the 42. With 3:28 left, one timeout and great field position, Harvard did what it hadn't done before--it took advantage of a golden opportunity.

The drive began with an incomplete pass. Senior running back Chris Menick barreled through a huge hole in the middle for a 17-yard run. He tested the middle again for only one, and then the Crimson threw incomplete to set up third-and-9 at the Princeton 40.

Wilford took off on a scramble to his right and appeared to be through two yards downfield, but he bounced off the defender and broke two more tackles on an incredible run for 15. It was a heroic, season-making run for Harvard as Wilford found a way to weave through a horde of tacklers.

Murphy described Wilford's running style as "ugly. He has an uncanny ability to make guys miss for a big guy."

Wilford's comment: "No speed."

Still not in field goal position because it was going against a 25 mph wind, Harvard gave it to Menick twice for six yards. He then broke up the middle on a cutback to the Princeton 9 for a first down on third-and-4. Before the drive, the Crimson was 2-of-12 on third down conversions, but Harvard found a way to execute when it mattered.

On first-and-goal, Menick ran left and broke a couple of tackles to get to the one-foot line. Harvard called its last timeout with :07 left. That's when the real fun started.

Harvard's field goal unit trotted out for what would have been an 18-yard attempt from the left hash. Game, set, match, right? Well, Princeton burnt a timeout to freeze senior Mike Giampaolo, who was 2-for-2 on field goals for the day. The Tigers ended up freezing him all right, but not the way they expected. Harvard Coach Tim Murphy, saying Giampaolo's missed 19-yarder against Yale last year was on his mind, elected to go for it despite not having a time out.

It was a curious and probably incorrect call, but Murphy pulled his field goal unit off and sent his offense in. Princeton, shocked, called time out again, setting up a memorable final confrontation.

Was Princeton Coach Steve Tosches surprised? Would he have kicked? "Personally, yes."

That's a nice way of saying, "What the hell?"

Murphy really put himself on the line with the decision, and following his gut ended up being the right call. It would have been far safer for him to go for the field goal. Anyone else would have done it, and if Giampaolo had missed it, the blame would have rested fully on the kicker's shoulders. Murphy took the bull's eye off number 10 and put it on himself.

Wilford followed junior center John Kadzielski in as fullbacks Grady Smalling and Chris Stakich came from behind and gave an extra push. There were a few nervous moments as the officials took their time taking apart the pile, but they finally signaled the touchdown, and Harvard had just what it needed to get over the late-game hump.

"I think I got in by two or three feet," Wilford said. "It was a great call, it was gutsy. It was what we needed to do to win the game."

Perhaps Murphy was sending a message to his team as well, that he had

faith in them despite their recent struggles at the end of games. The offensive line played well with the exception of a couple penalties, and maybe Murphy was rewarding them as well.

As usual, Harvard's defense stood strong, stiffening whenever Princeton got close and holding the Tigers to only 73 rushing yards on 33 attempts, a 2.2 average. It made a couple of costly drive-prolonging penalties in each of Princeton's scoring drives, but Murphy gave the defense the credit for the win.

Giampaolo had his best game of the year, hitting both of his field goal attempts. The first was a career-long 44-yarder with the wind at his back, and the other was a 33-yarder in the same direction. After Harvard's touchdown, it drew an excessive celebration penalty that resulted in an extra point that was essentially a 35-yard field goal, and Giampaolo nailed it into the wind. Giampaolo also punted well, burying Princeton inside the 20-yard line five times.

Menick gained 165 yards on 27 carries, rushing 18 times for 113 yards in the second half. Murphy noted that only two of Harvard's running plays were really effective--both designed to go up the middle--but two was enough. The Crimson didn't complete a pass in the fourth quarter, making Menick's season-high total even more critical. He also moved within 36 yards of Eion Hu's '97 school career rushing record and broke at least a dozen tackles.

"They're a real good defensive team," he said. "Sometimes they were back on their heels, though. If I were them, I'd hit me harder."

Harvard played well in almost every facet of the game on Saturday, and the result was a win that everyone can enjoy. The Crimson is in good position for the stretch run and will win at least a share of the title if it wins out. It also gets to enjoy the thrill of winning late.

"I feel good for our kids and bad for theirs," Murphy said. "We've been on the other end, and it's no fun."

Maybe Murphy can sympathize, but there's no way he'd want to switch places with Tosches. Because Harvard finally showed the ability to make big plays late, Murphy doesn't have to.