Brown indeed tried for two-point conversions after its subsequent two touchdowns, but again failed both times.

Harvard missed a pair of two-point conversions of its own, providing for unconventional football scores of 18-13, 19-18, and 26-18 as the game progressed.

Combined with a 23-yard FG miss by Crimson senior kicker Anders Blewett, more balls ended up sailing wide of the uprights (three) than going through them (two).

Illegal Procedure?

As reluctant as coaches generally are to blame shoddy officiating for a team’s loss, Estes couldn’t help himself after Saturday’s game.

Railing against a fourth quarter offensive pass interference call that negated a huge gain by Gessner, Estes made it clear that he was unhappy with the ruling on the field.

“[The call] wasn’t even close as far as I’m concerned,” Estes said. “I’m probably not supposed to say anthing about the officials ... but that was the difference in the game.”

Estes was particularly perturbed given that his team was only down by two points and that the flag moved Brown from a first-and-goal situation at the Crimson three-yard line to a fourth-and-19 from the Crimson 38.

The referees were also the center of attention on another critical play later in the fourth quarter.

With Brown backed up to its two-yard line with two minutes left, Bears QB Kyle Slager was about to be sacked in the end zone when he dropped the ball and Harvard pounced on it. It appeared like a fumble, though the referees ruled it an incomplete forward pass.

A livid Murphy exploded on the sidelines, since the call gave Brown another shot at continuing its last-ditch drive. In fact, the Crimson had to burn a timeout because the offense had come on the field to kneel out the clock as the Brown offense was about to run a play.

Murphy refused to comment on the play after the game, although Estes later conceded that “it probably should have been a safety.”

—Staff Writer Daniel E. Fernandez can be reached at dfernand@fas.harvard.edu