Once you see holes like that, youre excited, Staph said. I want to go play again right now. You just see linebackers and defensive backs come up to hit you instead of D-linemen, and its the most fun Ive had in a while.
Despite the efficiency of the running game, the Crimson fell behind by as many as ten in the third quarter as Brown star wide receiver Chas Gessner victimized the Harvard secondary. The 65 junior set a new Bears single-game record with 226 receiving yards on the day, 169 of those coming in the first half.
Facing a third and long at midfield in the first quarter, Rowley aired out the ball to a wide-open Gessner, who had completely eluded junior safety Niall Murphy. Gessner stumbled out of bounds at the Harvard 4 to set up the first score, and Browns Joe Rackley ran it in two plays later.
But after Brown went up 17-7 in the third quarter, the Crimson allowed only a field goal the rest of the way. Niall Murphy atoned for his earlier missed assignment by picking off a Rowley pass that had been tipped by defensive back Dan Miree at the Brown 42. The ensuing possession ended with another Staph touchdown run. Fried attributed the turnaround to an adjustment to Browns hurry-up offense.
We werent expecting it, Fried said. It led to Chas getting open on a lot of blown assignments. In the fourth quarter, the defense really came together and we were used to the tempo and the speed.
Rose also began to find his receivers in the second half, at one point completing 9-of-10 passes in the period.
In the third quarter our no-huddle offense just started to click, Rose said. Everyone was on the right page. It just seemed like practice.
Morris rebounded from his quiet start to finish with 101 yards, and Farley caught passes of 13 and 25 yards to bring the Crimson to the three-yard line.
Im really proud of how the whole team didnt panic, said Staph, who finished the drive with a three-yard endzone plunge. You say things when youre down 10 points like, Keep your heads up, were gonna win this, but its amazing that we actually did it.
As much as Harvard deserved credit for the turnaround on all sides of the ball, the Brown offense gave them every opportunity to get back in it. The Bears were whistled for eight penalties in the game, often for lining up improperly at scrimmage. Two of these penalties negated potential touchdowns.
But the play that best summarized Browns second-half futility happened early in the fourth quarter. With Brown down three, Rowley found a wide-open Brandon Buchanan in the endzone, only to watch helplessly as Buchanan dropped the ball.
I will not take anything away from Harvard because they obviously are very talented, Brown Coach Phil Estes said. But I will say that we stubbed our toes a few too many times out there.
The Crimson also caught a break in that Brown senior tailback Michael Malan, the Ivy Leagues leading rusher last year, was hurt early in the first quarter. Malan was nonetheless effective when he played, finishing with 78 yards on 19 carries. Brown, however, only ran the ball 37 times, compared to 53 for Harvard.
A number of players sustained injuries late in the game, including Staph and sophomore linebacker Dante Balestracci, who led the Crimson with ten tackles. Staph sprained an ankle, but said he expected to be fine for next weeks home game against Lafayette.