PROVIDENCE, R.I.—This was not the largest comeback sophomore Ryan Fitzpatrick has quarterbacked.

He was under center last season in the biggest comeback in 129 years of Harvard football, when the Crimson piled up 31 second-half points to preserve a chance at perfection.

The star of that game—played when Fitzpatrick was still as green as Dartmouth’s jerseys—was Carl Morris. Morris played arguably the best game of his Harvard career, and made it clear who was the leader of that Crimson comeback.

Saturday it was just as clear. The leader, however, wasn’t Morris.

“He made his share of plays, but for the most part I don’t think Carl Morris was anywhere near the reason Harvard won that football game,” said Brown coach Phil Estes. “Not to take anything away from Morris, but Fitzpatrick was the difference.”

This was not the largest comeback Ryan Fitzpatrick has quarterbacked. But it was the first of many he will lead.

Before the season began, Fitzpatrick was the heir apparent. He was the man on the sidelines, patiently waiting for the departure of Neil Rose, the most prolific quarterback in Harvard history. His time was coming, but hopefully not too soon.

“Neil is our quarterback,” Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said before the season began. “He is the straw that stirs the proverbial drink. Fitzy’s job is if Neil gets banged up, God forbid. … Fitzy’s job is in the future.”

With 7:28 remaining in the second quarter Saturday, Fitzpatrick trotted onto the field to take over for the injured Rose, and the future was here.

The future was wearing No. 14.

With Fitzpatrick taking the snaps, the Crimson took on a new personality. Though Murphy insists that “Fitzy” isn’t a running quarterback, Fitzpatrick ran wild through the porous Bear line.

With 131 yards on the ground, he became the first Harvard quarterback in a decade to reach the century mark. He actually outrushed the entire Brown team.

The quantity of yards, though, pales in comparison to the quality. Time after time, the Crimson faced third down. Time after time, on the legs of Fitzpatrick, it converted.

“I think the big difference was when he needed a first down, he could run for it,” Estes said, “and he did an outstanding job.”

After 10 straight victories with Rose at the helm of a precision air attack, the eleventh win came on the ground. It came on quarterback draws and options. It came on improvisation.