The next trip downfield, the offense returned to its normal form with Fitzpatrick scrambling for 56 of the 73 yards. The junior signal caller broke from behind the line on the second play of the series, bursting through an open hole and scampering into the end zone ahead of Big Red defenders for a 73-yard score. The TD was negated, however, by an illegal block in the back that reduced Fitzpatrick’s advance from 73 to 38 yards.

Unfazed, Fitzpatrick quickly regained the yards lost, driving to the 10-yard line and rolling out left as he looked for an open man in the end zone. Seeing none, he dashed back all the way across the field, turning towards the goal line at the right hash mark and diving in for the score to put Harvard ahead by 13.

The Crimson made it three straight touchdown drives with a five-yard toss from Fitzpatrick to junior wide receiver Brian Edwards less than a minute into the second quarter, raising the score to 20-0. Edwards proved untouchable on the drive, taking a reverse from Tyler 18 yards while snaring two catches for 21.

But with 14 minutes remaining in the first half, Murphy put the leash back on Fitzpatrick and his offense, rushing on five of seven plays to close out the half and throwing only on third down.

“We were a little more conservative in the second and third quarter,” Fitzpatrick said. “We tried to pound. A lot of credit to them—they did a great job, stopped our running game a lot.”

After accumulating 184 yards of offense in the first quarter, the Crimson managed just 191 in the final three frames, 64 of which came on a third-quarter touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick to freshman wide receiver Corey Mazza—who was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week yesterday—that established a 27-point lead.

Fitzpatrick finished just 12-for-17 for 165 yards, two scores and one interception, his fourth in as many games.

With the offense grinding the clock down and scoring just seven second-half points, the pressure on the defense began to mount as Cornell attempted its late game push. But the Harvard defense was equal to the challenge, surrendering just seven rushing yards and 109 yards of total offense in the second half.

At the defense’s most vulnerable moment, Razzano attempted to cap a 28-yard drive with a trip to the end zone, lofting a pass to wide receiver John Kellner, who was streaking diagonally across the field towards the left sideline a step ahead of Raftery. But Razzano’s pass floated in the air for two seconds too long, and Raftery stepped across Kellner for the interception—Razzano’s first of two for the day—to solidify the victory.

“Our defense was very opportunistic,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “Every time you get turnovers you can change the course of the game.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.