"We came out slow," Harvard captain and starting left tackle Mike Clare said. "We were more reacting to their defense than setting up ourselves."

After those possessions, something happened to the offensive line that settled the players down. Their play became fluid, smooth and consistent. For the remainder of the first quarter and all of the second, the line neutralized the Lafayette blitz to almost nothing. In addition, Kadzielski, who's 6'2, 260 lbs., was substituted for Hove. Rose suddenly had time to look at all his options, increasing his accuracy and ability to throw the ball down the field.

As the "O-line" continued to excel, Harvard punished Lafayette both mentally and physically. The offense rolled off scoring drives of 59, 80 and 51 yards, respectively. At that point, the game was over.

The most striking and easily observable change came in the running game. Considering Harvard was decimated by backfield injuries, a balanced attack was the last thing anybody expected to see. Palazzo, who started at No. 5 on the depth chart, was backed up only by Dan Miree, normally a defensive back who had last played running back in high school.

Palazzo had one carry in the first quarter. That's it. At 5'8, 190 lbs., he's not a power back.

Instead, it was up to the offensive line to make holes for the miniscule Palazzo to squirt through. Not only did they succeed in that respect, but the field was so wide open that the speedy Palazzo gained 55 yards in the second quarter alone. Those yards relieved Rose of having to do it all on his own.

"Early on, we were just misfiring and we had a lot of jitters," right guard Dan Kistler said. "We're a good offense once we gel."