Two Menick rushes later, Harvard had third-and-4 from the Brown 13, but lineman Michael Archer got through the line on a Wilford option keep left and threw him down for a seven-yard loss.

Mike Giampaolo missed the 37-yard field goal.

"Until today, we were one of the best teams in the country at scoring in the red zone," Murphy said. "I think we had scored on 31 of 35 attempts."

Harvard got its next chance after Brown went three-and-out. A short punt and a Brown penalty gave the Crimson the ball at midfield. The Crimson then managed to convert twice in a row on third down, as freshman flanker Kyle Cremarosa made a clutch catch in the middle for 18 yards and Patterson got open on a slant for 11 yards.

But in the red zone, the Crimson was stopped again. On second down, Patterson had a pass slip out of his hands at the 5. For Patterson, who fumbled a punt return in the first quarter, this was a day to be forgotten.

Wilford tried to go to Cremarosa on the next two plays, but he was unable to connect both times.

"On that last play, we called a play with three receivers, which gave [Wilford] a chance to choose between two posts, but he just threw it behind him," Murphy said.

With five minutes left, and all of its timeouts remaining, Harvard still had plenty of time left, and after senior defensive end Mike Sands sacked Brown quarterback James Perry at the Bear 15 on third down, it appeared the Crimson would get the ball right back.