With better protection, Wilford and Menick led Harvard's offense to touchdowns in consecutive possessions to erase a 21-7 deficit. It was all too little, too late, however. Harvard's defense was wearied after an afternoon spent fighting off Colgate's offense, which scored two easy touchdowns after Harvard threw interceptions on three consecutive third-quarter possessions, two by Wilford and one by Menick.

Colgate consistently had good field position thanks to the Crimson's offensive woes, whether a three-and-out deep in the Harvard end of the field or the interceptions. Red Raider quarterback Ryan Vena, two-time Patriot League Player of the Year, led his team down the field for the game-winning field goal as time expired, and the Crimson's fourth-quarter surge ended up just short.

The problems began early, on Harvard's second possession. Wilford had to step up in the pocket on second-and-9 to throw the ball away. Standing in his end zone on third down, he threw a ball with little chance of completion because of a free Red Raider defender stunting up the middle. The Crimson ended the first quarter by surrendering a first-down sack and punted after Wilford had to roll right and throw the ball away on third down.

On the Crimson's next possession, Houston blew into the backfield to stop a Wilford option keeper for a loss of two, then Wilford had to pull the ball down on the next two plays and scramble for his life. Harvard's next third-down conversion attempt also failed because of pressure on Wilford, and the one after that ended with a four-yard sack.

Even Harvard's second scoring drive had an inauspicious start. Wilford was pressured into a completion on the first play then scrambled after a blitz to get eight yards on third-and-6. On the next play, Wilford rolled right and was pressured into throwing a terrible pass he was lucky not to have intercepted. With a man in his face, he then had to dump the ball to a safety valve on another rollout right.

Although he threw two costly interceptions, Wilford managed to keep things together in a tough situation. The fact that the line was charged with only two sacks is a testament to his ability to get rid of the ball quickly when in trouble.

It's become apparent that Murphy made the right choice in naming him the starting quarterback. Now Murphy's got to figure out a way to make sure Wilford can survive the promotion.