Two months ago the Harvard football team probably pegged this tomorrow’s showdown in the Stadium with Dartmouth as a break from tough competition.

After challenging games against two of last year’s better teams—Princeton and Cornell—the Crimson (5-0, 3-0 Ivy) would have been looking for a little rest and fine-tuning against perennial push-over Dartmouth (1-4, 1-2 Ivy).

All that complacency disappeared in the blink of an eye last Saturday at the Stadium. Down 14-10 to Princeton, Harvard was pinned in its own territory when senior quarterback Neil Rose was drilled attempting to complete a pass to senior wide out Dan Farley. Rose lay motionless on the ground for a moment as the crowd held its collective breath.

Rose was pulled for a series after the crushing hit and would left the game permanently in the third quarter after further hurting himself on a touchdown run.

With Rose out of commission, Harvard is now being forced to see the Big Green as more of a challenge. Rose had not taken any snaps in practice before yesterday and for that matter, didn’t even dress.

As Harvard looks down its bench at the quarterback position, not many people remain. Three back-up quarterbacks have left the team in the last 12 months. Conor Black departed before the Brown game, J.C. Harrington left the team before the season began and Barry Wahlberg left after deciding after last season to concentrate exclusively on baseball.

These departures have shifted pressure squarely onto the shoulders of freshman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, from Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz., has had big game experience as a high school quarterback. His high school team made the state playoffs every year from 1998 to 2000. Fitzpatrick set 12 school records and one state record en route to earning Arizona High School All-Star honors.

“Fitz is a great athlete,” said sophomore tight end Matt Fratto. “As one could see last week, he came in for most of the second half and did a great job.”

Fitzpatrick was 5-of-6 for 61 yards passing with a touchdown and rushed for an additional 33 yards.

“We have confidence he’ll do a fine job,” Fratto said.

Fratto, who has 73 total yards and a score to his name, is just one of many Harvard receivers who could have a huge game against a Dartmouth defense that ranks second to last in the Ivy League. The Big Green has given up over 230 yards passing in each of its last two games.

Despite a different quarterback, the Harvard receiving corps, led by junior standout Carl Morris, has the potential to put up some very big numbers against a Dartmouth secondary that was embarrassed by Columbia last week.

Along with Morris, seniors Sam Taylor and Farley have both played huge roles in the 2001 campaign. With junior Sean Meeker adding depth, Harvard potentially has the best group of hands in the league. And the ability of Harvard’s receivers to create plays will make the transition for a freshman quarterback much easier.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the running game is hurting. Senior Josh Staph is not likely to play after reaggravating his ankle injury, first suffered in the season opener against Brown.