He is Harvard's single-season record holder in passing yards, total offense and completions. He is one throw away from tying the school record for touchdown passes in a single season. He set the single-game record for passing yards with 412 in his first varsity start.

And he was not the starting quarterback on opening day.

Junior Neil Rose has rewritten the Harvard football record books this season in just eight games. Other than one clunker against unbeaten No. 8 Lehigh, Harvard has yet to score under 28 points in a game with Rose under center. With Yale to come, Rose has already thrown for a record 2,345 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Yet, in Harvard's opening game this season against Holy Cross, sophomore Barry Wahlberg was the starter while Rose looked on from the sidelines. Though Rose entered the game in the second half after Wahlberg managed to complete only 4-of-16 passes (Rose was 7-of-9 for 78 yards), it seemed unlikely that Rose would play a major role on the team back on Sept. 16.

Since that time, Rose has been the surprise of the Ivy League as one of the most dominant quarterbacks in the history of Harvard football. In fact, the only person Rose has not yet surprised is himself.

"I was expecting a little bit more out of my performance, to be honest," Rose said. "My goal this season was to win a championship. I thought I could be the starting quarterback of this club and put us in better position than we are in right now. I guess when you set high goals, you don't reach them all the time."

Some might say that Harvard should have been in the position to win the Ivy championship tomorrow. The Crimson has lost only two Ivy League games this season, both by one point.

Harvard was ahead late in the fourth quarter against both Cornell and Penn but could not grasp victory, though