PRINCETON, N.J.—It took a chronic back condition and a sophomore overachiever to loosen senior Neil Rose’s hold on Harvard’s starting quarterback role.

Against Princeton, it took one typically efficient drive for Rose to reclaim it. Or, at the very least, to reopen the issue.

After coming off the bench for sophomore starter Ryan Fitzpatrick in the second quarter Saturday, the Crimson’s captain-turned-clipboard-holder overcame an unremarkable opening series to direct a crisp 43-yard scoring drive that snapped a 7-7 tie in the first half. Harvard was never behind again and, as far as the depth chart was concerned, neither was Rose.

With its elder statesman back in charge, the Crimson (4-2, 3-0 Ivy) held on for the 24-17 win at Princeton Stadium to stay undefeated in Ivy play.

The victory dismissed the Crimson’s most imposing challenger yet in its bid for an Ivy title repeat. Penn now looms as the most formidable remaining obstacle for the Crimson, who won Saturday despite racking up its fewest total yards of offense in over a year.

What offense Harvard did muster was a credit to Rose, who set the school mark for career completions Saturday despite not knowing whether he’d see more than a single series going into the day.

“I didn’t really think about that,” Rose said after the game. “I just wanted to go out there and try to execute. I knew that we were going up against a really good defense and I found myself back in the pocket with maybe one guy open at most. I’m really just fighting to get back to where I was.”

Fitzpatrick—who earned the starting nod last week after Rose struggled in his first game back from sciatica against Northeastern—was held in check by Princeton (4-2, 2-1) Saturday. Despite presiding over the Crimson’s first touchdown—a 6-yard scamper by senior Nick Palazzo—the sophomore rushed for just seven yards and completed only four passes.

The Tigers’ defense eventually solved Rose, too—the Crimson failed to advance the ball more than 23 yards on any of its last five possessions. Still, Harvard had amassed 24 points by then and gaining victory was just a matter of hanging on.

With under two minutes left and Princeton holding out for one last possession, Murphy inserted Fitzpatrick back into the game, only to see him get hit for a loss on the next two plays. Harvard was forced to punt and Princeton took over at its own 25 with 1:05 left to play.

But Princeton quarterback Matt Verbit, who had replaced injured starter David Splithoff, fired a second-down pass straight into the arms of junior defensive end Brian Garcia. The pick was the exclamation point on an emphatic statement by the Harvard defense, which choked the Tigers’ option offense and clamped down on Princeton’s aerial efforts Saturday.

Harvard’s athletic secondary was critical on both of those fronts, joining in blitzes off the edge to contain the running game and neutralizing Princeton’s big-play potential. Junior cornerback Chris Raftery and senior safety Juano Queen led the team in tackles with 12 and 11, respectively. Both also had interceptions.

“We’ve had growing pains,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said of his defense. “[But] the last ten quarters we’ve played have been very good defensive football. … The defense deserves the lion’s share of the credit for getting us out of here with a [win].”

“We’ve given up a few big plays earlier this season,” added junior linebacker Dante Balestracci. “It’s been a focus of our defense to try to not give up the big plays and make them earn it.”

In all, the Harvard defense generated five turnovers against the Tigers, setting the offense up with solid field position all day. The Crimson converted three of those for points, even though it did not score a passing touchdown for the first time since Sept. 18, 2000 against Holy Cross.