Byrnes’ other touchdown came on a seven-yard scamper up the middle at the end of the third quarter. It came less than a minute after Cornell had scored a touchdown of its own to move within eight, and once again brought the Big Red to a screeching halt—this time for good.

On this day, Byrnes did just about everything and did all of it well. As a tailback, he finished with five carries for 33 yards, his longest run a 13-yard gain on an option. He also caught six passes for 55 yards, second most on Harvard behind only senior sensation Carl Morris.

One of the few balls he couldn’t hold on to still benefitted from his touch. After bobbling a difficult pass in the end zone, his deflecting fell into the hands of Harvard senior Kyle Cremarosa for a touchdown.

Byrnes and sophomore quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick worked well together, particularly on swing passes, which accounted for half of their hook-ups. On his longest reception of the day, a 17-yarder in the fourth quarter, Byrnes pulled down Fitzpatrick’s swing pass, quickly turned his shoulders and bowled over a defender to gain the extra yardage.

However, Byrnes’ largest contribution to the Crimson’s effort was his kickoff returns. Always ensuring Harvard prime field position, he undercut any efforts by the Big Red to trap the Crimson deep within its own territory.

Apart from his 89-yard return for a touchdown, Byrnes averaged 22 yards per return. His second longest return, a 28-yarder, might also have gone for much longer had he not lost his footing after blowing by yet another Cornell defender.

“We knew that Harvard had very good football players,” Pendergast said. “Byrnes is one of them. It’s not like you can sit here and try to game plan against one player.”

Or, in Byrnes’ case, three players in one.

—Contributing writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.