Instead of winning state championships and being recognized for winning league titles, Rose won one game in two years as a starter.

"We were awful," Rose said of his high school team. "I didn't win a game my senior year, which didn't do much for my recruiting, but Hawaii is a big football state, and Harvard found me."

Though Rose would like to keep this under wraps, he actually wanted to go to Stanford initially, but found that he couldn't say "no" to the Crimson.

"Throughout high school, I wanted to go to Stanford, but when Harvard came calling, I listened," said Rose.

Rose showed glimpses of brilliance during his freshman year and watched from the sidelines as Rich Linden '00 orchestrated the offense. As a sophomore, Rose spent most of the season nursing injuries and again remained outside the limelight, as Linden and Brad Wilford '00 battled to be the starting quarterback.

With the graduation of Linden and Wilford, Rose was eventually recognized due to his team's high-powered offensive passing scheme. This season, Rose would often throw the ball 70 times a game, and though the wins did not always follow in turn, his skill as a big-time quarterback developed.

Throughout the season, Rose and much of the Harvard squad have thought about Yale and The Game in the back of their minds.

Yale was picked as a preseason favorite to the win the Ivy League this season, but consecutive losses to Princeton and Brown the past two weeks eliminated the Elis from contention. Nonetheless, Rose knows quite a bit about the Bulldogs and is impressed by what he has seen on tape.