Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, has proven his mettle by leading game-clinching drives in each of Harvard’s season-opening wins. With 131 rushing yards against Brown, he also became the Crimson’s first quarterback to run for 100 yards since 1992.

Fitzpatrick, who is taking all of the first-string snaps in practice this week, admits that the uncertainty isn’t easy.

“Not knowing for sure if you are going to start or not is more difficult mentally, sure,” says Fitzpatrick.

However, the success of both quarterbacks helps their teammates seamlessly handle transitions between the two.

“It doesn’t really matter [who is playing quarterback],” says sophomore wide receiver Rodney Byrnes. “When Fitzy’s in, he’s going to run the ball a little more, but they can both put the ball where it needs to be.”

Byrnes and his fellow receivers have seen both quarterback first-hand quite a lot recently. The Crimson is extremely used to having Rose injured, another reason why there is little trepidation heading into such an important road contest.

“You’ve got to understand that in the last six or seven games, Neil has been pretty banged up,” Murphy explains. “I think he’s only finished two of them, so it’s a situation we’re pretty used to.

The situation became more familiar with Rose’s most recent injury.

Root of the Nerve

In August—when Rose traded in palm trees for the ivy-covered walls of Harvard Stadium—he did so with visions of reclaiming the glory of the 2001 season.

But just a week after arriving in Cambridge, paradise was lost.

Rose, who had gained 100 pounds on his squat max during the offseason, was feeling a little ambitious in the weightroom. So he stacked 525 lbs onto the rack.

Bad move.

The extra stress, 25 lbs more than Rose usually squatted, strained his back, and an MRI showed bulging discs at vertabrae L4-L5 and L5-S1. The discs were rubbing against the sciatic nerve.

Rose was forced to sit out the first three weeks of fall practice immediately after missing the entirety of spring ball while in Hawaii.