"Perry looked real good on that drive," senior linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski said. "He makes quick decisions."

But then Harvard defense stepped up and forced the Perry to rush a few throws. On fourth-and-4, the Brown attack faltered as sophomore tight end David Brookman dropped a pass that would have gone for a first down.

On their next drive, the Bears went back to the three-receiver set. Perry completed 7-of-9 passes, finding freshman flanker Chas Gessner and Campbell three times each as Brown passed its way to the Harvard 11.

"It's frustrating to play Perry," Sands said. "He's got a real quick release, which makes it hard for the defensive lineman to get there."

Inside the red zone, Perry handed the ball off to Malan on consecutive plays. The Harvard defense, which had been stopping Malan all day, suddenly had difficulty tackling him, as he broke tackles en route to a nine-yard gain, then rushed in from the 2 for the game-tying touchdown.

"Brown's a different team this year, now that they've got the big back," said Sands of Malan.

Malan's ability to run the ball in the second half doesn't indicate how well Harvard's defense played. In the first half, Perry, who averages 331.3 passing yards per game, was held to just 62 yards. Campbell, who led the nation in receptions going into the game, was held to only two receptions, and Malan, coming off a 200-yard game, was held to seven yards.

If the Crimson offense had been able to exploit a defense that was giving up nearly 28 points a game, it would probably have been a different story. However, Wilford, who was 18-of-36 for 175 yards, was unable to make the throws as he did in last week's 63-21 win over Dartmouth.