Harvard 49, Dartmouth 7

With all the hoopla surrounding the Crimson's suddenly prolific passing game and its field goal futility, freshman Dante Balestracci's tremendous season had gone unnoticed by many. He was very difficult to ignore against Dartmouth, as he ran two interceptions back for touchdowns--the first Crimson linebacker to accomplish the feat.

Harvard's air attack was limited by blustery conditions in Hanover, so the Crimson shifted gears and ran for a season-high 309 yards, including 79 yards apiece for Palazzo and Leiszler. The Crimson secondary also turned in a big game, limiting Dartmouth to its lowest passing and scoring output of the season.

Harvard 34, Columbia 0

Despite a sloppy third quarter, Harvard cruised to its third straight Ivy League victory against a Columbia team that was outmatched in almost every aspect of the game. It was Harvard's first home victory of the year and its first shutout victory since the 1997 Ivy League championship season. Rose threw for 274 yards and two scores and ran for 30 yards and another touchdown. Nick Palazzo poured in his third 100-yard performance of the season. Even the field goal unit came to life, as Wright converted both his attempts.

But the real story was Harvard's defense. The once-awful secondary continued to improve, holding the Lions to less than 100 yards in the air. Just as impressively, the defensive line held Columbia's Johnathan Reese--who had been averaging over 150 yards per game on the ground--under triple digits, only the second Ivy League team to do so in 2000. Harvard was now in a position to clinch at least a share of the league championship with wins in its final two games.

Penn 36, Harvard 35

The Crimson entered its critical tilt against Penn not having won a game at Franklin Field in 20 years. Harvard was able to produce big plays and match the explosive Penn offense point for point. Rose hooked up with Morris for a 77-yard touchdown pass on the team's first play from scrimmage. Minutes later, freshman defensive back Benny Butler returned an interception 54 yards for another TD. In the second quarter, Nick Palazzo broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career.

With 3:31 remaining and Harvard nursing a 35-30 lead, an interception of an errant Rose pass gave Penn a final opportunity to win the game. Quaker QB Gavin Hoffman took advantage, leading Penn to the Harvard 16-yard line. From there, he found receiver Rob Milanese in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. A missed two-point conversion kept the Penn lead at 36-35. Harvard then executed a near-perfect two-minute drill and advanced all the way to the 16-yard line. But Robbie Wright's 32-yard field goal attempt was wide left, costing Harvard its chance at the Ivy League title.