The missed field goal was one of many blunders for the Crimson, whose two touchdowns were starkly overshadowed by nine punts and two fumbles.

“One turnover for us is a lot,” Murphy said. “We can’t afford it.”

Following the break, the Crimson came out noticeably stronger, as it stopped Northeastern’s first drive and scored a touchdown to go ahead 14-10.

On the scoring play, Fitzpatrick threw a high spiral to Morris, who easily caught the ball and swiftly ran it into the end zone.

Morris played a solid game, tallying 108 yards on nine catches with one touchdown. But the All-American was kept under control for much of the game by the Husky defense, specifically by cornerback Art Smith.

They were very aggressive,” Murphy said. “Their secondary played well against our receivers.”

Despite some strong defensive sequences by the Huskies, Northeastern coach Don Brown was unhappy with his team’s overall play, as they racked up nine penalties for 75 yards.

“I don’t think it was a great effort by us in terms of defense,” Brown said. “But it was one of out grittiest performances.”

Husky quarterback Shawn Brady threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns and executed perhaps the most spectacular play of the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

After taking the snap on third-and-6 from Harvard’s 20-yard line, Brady scrambled around for several seconds, desperately looking for an open option. He finally evaded several Crimson defenders, ran right and threw a high pass to receiver Cory Parks in the right corner of the end zone.

“They came off the edge with a blitz,” Brady said. “I just threw it up. I didn’t even see it. I heard everyone cheer and then I knew it was a touchdown.”

The score put Northeastern up 17-14 and Harvard never recovered. Of the next three Crimson possessions, two ended in punts and the third in the fumble at the end of the game.

Throughout the game, every time it looked like Harvard was gaining momentum, it either hurt itself with penalties or gave up big plays.

At the end of the third quarter, the Crimson forced a Northeastern fumble thanks to the aggressive play of senior defensive lineman Mike Armstrong and junior cornerback Benny Butler. On the ensuing play, a high snap resulted in a fumble by the Crimson. This enabled Northeastern to start its next drive at the Harvard 24-yard line.

The Huskies took advantage of the favorable field position and quickly set up its eventual game-winning touchdown.