ITHACA, N.Y. — In a game most notable for the curiously eccentric musical stylings of the Cornell Marching Band—including a bizarre rendition of “Jesus Christ Superstar” at halftime and such favorites as the themes from “The A-Team” and “The Gummy Bears”—Harvard’s team effort against Cornell was beyond compare as the Crimson defense and various field goal attempts went bouncing here and there and everywhere.

Looking at the numbers from Saturday’s game, it is clear that the important factors were a lack turnovers and Harvard’s swarming defense. Also of note was the futility of both sets of kicking teams as all five field goals attempts were unsuccessful.

Despite all of this, it was a solid outing for a Harvard squad (4-0, 2-0 Ivy) that remains undefeated and has the best start to a season since 1980.

First-year Coach Tim Pendergast has his hands full in Ithaca, however, as Cornell (0-4, 0-2) is off to one of its worst starts in school history.

Turning Over a New Leaf

When asked about why the Crimson was 4-0 for the first time in a generation, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy summed it up succintly:

“If there’s one statistic that is responsible for us being 4-0, it would be turnover differential,” Murphy said.

It is easy to see what Murphy means.

Last year’s team coughed up the ball 36 times in 10 games. That 3.6 turnovers per game average has been drastically reduced to 0.5.

Senior quarterback Neil Rose has been a model of efficiency, throwing for six touchdowns on the season with no interceptions. The offense has been responsile for only one of the Crimson’s two turnovers this season—a Rodney Thomas fumble off a screen pass. Otherwise, Harvard has been flawless.

On the other side of the ball, the Crimson defense has forced 12 turnovers in four games. Harvard’s 2.67 turnover differential entering the Cornell game was the second lowest in the nation. When this week’s rankings are released, the Crimson has a shot at being No. 1.

Cornell learned the hard way on Saturday just how costly turnovers can be. In its first play from scrimmage after Harvard’s first score, Big Red fullback Brian Ulbricht was hit by senior linebacker Mike Cataldo and turned over the ball to the Crimson on the Cornell 24 yard-line

Two plays later, Harvard was up by two touchdowns.

Then, on Cornell’s next drive, senior quarterback Ricky Rahne drove the Big Red down to the Harvard 29 only to have the drive killed when Ulbricht lost another fumble.