After 11 straight victories, Tim Murphy’s vaunted Harvard football team finally came down from cloud nine last Saturday as it lost a tough 36-35 game to Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. Harvard (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) will be looking to bounce back tomorrow at 1 p.m. when a rejuvenated Cornell (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) team comes to town.

After Cornell coach Tim Pendergast’s inaugural season ended with a disappointing 2-7 record last year, the Big Red dropped its opening games this season to Bucknell and Yale. However, Cornell came out against a tough Towson team last Saturday and shocked the Tigers 34-31 in overtime. Towson already defeated Brown and pummeled Holy Cross 41-10 early in the season.

Cornell placekicker Trevor MacMeekin nailed a 19-yard field goal in overtime to propel the Big Red to victory. For his heroics, MacMeekin was named Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week. However, he wouldn’t have had a chance to win the game if Cornell sophomore Joel Sussman hadn’t blocked a Towson field goal earlier in the extra period.

Last year, Harvard went to Ithaca and pounded the Big Red 26-6, allowing Cornell its only touchdown with 2:08 left in the game.

In that contest, senior quarterback Neil Rose threw for 292 yards and a score while senior running back Nick Palazzo had two rushing touchdowns to go with 66 yards. However, Harvard has noticed the improvement in the Big Red this year, and no one is expecting an easy game from Pendergast’s squad.

“They’re a much better team no question. Everybody’s got to execute their assignment and we’ve got to play real hard,” Murphy said.

However, if the Crimson needs any reminder of Cornell’s traditional competitiveness, it need look no further than the heartbreaking loss it suffered last time Cornell visited the Stadium in 2000. After jumping out to a 28-0 halftime lead, the Big Red stormed back in the second half to stun Harvard 29-28.

This year, Cornell’s run has been the key to its offense. Against Towson, senior tailback Brian Ulbricht, filling in for injured starter Marcus Blanks, ran for 164 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. In two previous games, Blanks racked up 172 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries. Blanks’ status for this weekend is uncertain, so the Crimson needs to be prepared for both talented tailbacks.

“They clearly run the ball much better than they did a year ago,” Murphy said. “We know that’s their strength, and anytime you prepare for somebody, you’ve got to try to take away their strength and make them go to something they’re not as comfortable with.”

At the quarterback position, the Big Red has less depth and experience. Senior Mick Razzano is in his first year as a starter after watching Cornell multi-recordholder Ricky Rahne ’02 from the bench. In three games, Razzano has completed only 46.2 percent of his passes (37 of 80) for 353 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Forcing the first-year starter to go to the air rather than rely on the ground game is crucial for Harvard.

“The key is pressure—we’ve got to get some pressure on [Razzano] and preferably without having to blitz,” Murphy said.

The big question again this week is whether captain and quarterback Neil Rose will be starting after two games off with a back injury or whether sophomore Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the nod again.

No matter who starts, the Crimson is clearly in good shape. Fitzpatrick has performed admirably in Rose’s absence, throwing for 414 yards and two touchdowns with a 63 percent completion rate (34 of 54). He has also ran 45 times for 230 yards and two touchdowns. On the other hand, if Rose gets the start, everyone knows what the returning All-Ivy quarterback can do.

“Coach Murphy and his staff have done an outstanding job of teaching the quarterback at Harvard, because you can see that they didn’t miss a beat in terms of making the correct decisions at that position—both Fitzpatrick and Rose are outstanding quarterbacks,” Pendergast said.