"We wore them out a bit in the second half and went to a quicker count to let our kids tee off a little bit, but they're very good," he added.

The Red Raiders featured three players who weighed 240 pounds or less and one at 259. Their most effective interior lineman, Alex Houston, weighs only 240. They were going up against a Harvard line that averages 284 pounds, but the size factor hindered Harvard as much as it helped.

"I thought our defense played exceptionally," Colgate Coach Dick Biddle said. "We have depth on defense at a lot of positions and a lot of pretty good athletes. They're undersized but keep the pressure on."

Colgate only sacked Wilford twice, but it pressured him into throwing incomplete or scrambling 13 times. Five of Wilford's completions came despite heavy pressure, usually resulting in a knockdown.

"We struggled offensively against their blitz," Murphy said. "We obviously really struggled to protect our quarterback in the first half and our running backs."

For the fifth time this year, Colgate kept its opponent below 100 yards rushing. At the half, Harvard had two net rushing yards on 16 carries. Its longest run for the half was five yards, and its longest completion was for nine yards. Wilford, throwing under duress, had nine completions for 51 yards because he did not have the time to go downfield.

Things got better in the second half, although not as much as a week ago, when the Crimson line wore down Holy Cross and helped senior running back Chris Menick gain 112 yards. Against Colgate, the unit did not tighten up until the middle of the fourth quarter. Harvard averaged only 2.8 yards per carry for the game, rushing 17 times for 91 yards in the second half.