But whether or not it’s fair, coaches are ultimately judged by one statistic. As the great Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.”

So, entering the season, Muphy must have realized that his teams had missed something all along. He always had talent, but an intangible was missing. His teams didn’t have a winning spirit. For some reason, Harvard football had become synonomous with wasted potential. Instead of finding any way to win, it appeared to football followers that the team was finding many ways to lose.

This season, however, the Crimson looks nothing like its predecessors. In three games, Harvard has done enough to win while not letting its mistakes contribute to a loss. How was Murphy able to craft such a stark turn-around?

The answer is simple. He just returned to the basics.

As Murphy commented in the post-game press conference this week, his team isn’t focused on long-term goals or multiple objectives during games. nstead, the Crimson focuses only on the game at hand and only concentrates on two things—ball security and what has become known to us sportswriters as “killer instinct.”

This plan, at first glance, seems silly. I’ll admit to doubting its genius because, as far as I could tell come pre-season, the new Murphy regime had only succeeded in brainwashing the players to recite the words “ball security” and “killer instinct” in every interview they granted.

But now that I’ve seen three games—and more importantly, three wins—I can appreciate the beauty and simplicity of the new plan for the program.

Instead of trying to do too much with the football, like last year when Rose would force some passes to Morris in tight coverage, this year’s squad is content to hold on to the ball—even if it means not using all of the weapons in the arsenal.

For instance, Murphy has gone away from his penchant for running trick plays. Aside from last week’s fake punt in the first quarter, Murphy’s game plan has been as conservative as Harvey “C-minus” Mansfield.

The offense has taken what defenses have allowed, but it has made it’s No. 1 priority to hold on to the ball. This discipline has made Harvard the second-best team in the nation in turnover margin. And as any football savvy person would tell you, turnovers often times decide games.

In addition to ball control and security, the Crimson defense has also stepped up to the challenge. There have been no fourth-quarter collapses like last year, and even given injuries to key players Balestracci and Phil Scherer, the defense has remained solid. Last Saturday was just a sample of that consistency, with the defensive unit picking up the slack left by the offense and scoring two touchdowns of its own.

The next challenge for Harvard will be how it performs on the road. The first three games were at the Stadium, but next week the Crimson travels to Ithaca to take on Cornell. If Harvard can maintain its focus on the simple aspects of the game and not beat itself, then the chances are good that the record will be pushed to 4-0.

And if Harvard can keep its focus on making other teams beat them, then it may turn out that few can rise to that task.

But then again, I’m not necessarily predicting an Ivy championship this year. After all, I made that mistake last year, basing my prediction on how Harvard played even in losing efforts. I guess I just didn’t realize what I know now.

Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.