NEW YORK, N.Y.—Harvard coach Tim Murphy has often said that his team, in its present form, is not the same as it was when the original depth charts were drawn up prior to the season’s first snap.

On Saturday, the squad on the field for the final offensive snap barely resembled the one that handled the first.

Junior wide receiver Rodney Byrnes came up lame after running one of his routes, in the process reaggravating the high ankle sprain that plagued him during the season’s early stages, significantly curtailing his playing time. If his recovery speed mirrors that displayed the first time he sustained the injury, his return for this Saturday’s game against Penn is unlikely.

Fellow junior wideout James Harvey’s progress will not be measured in days or weeks, but months after he sustained a season-ending injury to his ACL. On the treacherous Astroturf of Wien Stadium, Harvey damaged the ligament while covering a punt on special teams.

The seriousness of the injury could jeopardize his availability as far down the road as spring practice and, should complications arise, beyond.

“We really struggled without Ryan Fitzpatrick, Rodney Byrnes and James Harvey,” Murphy said. “The two receivers got knocked out in the first quarter....We really struggled to throw the football without those people in there. And it’s obviously just a very, very difficult way to lose.”

With senior receiver Kyle Cremarosa’s season ended during the preseason courtesy of a broken ankle, the Crimson employed its No. 6 and No. 7 receivers in sophomore Corey Waller and senior Adam Gordon, better known as the team’s placekick holder.

Live Long And Prosper

Columbia cornerback Prosper Nwokocha, who reeled in both interceptions for the Lions in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, came into Saturday’s game with a mission—to exact revenge on the coach and program he felt had scorned him in the recruiting process.

“Before coming here, Harvard was my number one choice,” Nwokocha said. “I just wanted to take this game and just shove it [in their faces].”

Nwokocha’s older brother, Okechukwu Nwokocha ‘01, was a four-year letterman and tailback for the Crimson beginning in 1997. As his brother was thriving at Harvard, Murphy told the current Columbia back that he would recruit him when he was as young as a seventh-grader.

Despite the apparent rapport between the pair, when it came time for the younger Nwokocha to pay a visit to Harvard, Murphy was less receptive, breaking off communication a week prior to his scheduled visit, according to Nwokocha.

Baffled by the stunning turn of events, Nwokocha signed with his second choice and had itched for the opportunity to exact a measure of revenge on his brother’s alma mater.

After Saturday’s clutch performance, he can consider that itch scratched.

Struggling to be Special