QUARTERBACK

It all depends on whether junior Ryan Fitzpatrick is healthy. If he’s 100 percent, Harvard holds the edge on any Ivy League team. After four games this season, Fitzpatrick was not only the best QB in the Ivies but also in the nation. He led all of Division I-AA in passing efficiency and total offense. Then came the broken hand. Fitzpatrick wasn’t himself against Dartmouth, throwing two interceptions and fumbling once in the Crimson’s first loss of the season. Garrett Schires, who played so well against Lafayette and Princeton, struggled in limited time against the Big Green and came unglued at Columbia.

Among quarterbacks who have played eight games this season, Yale’s Alvin Cowan leads the Ivy League in yards thrown (2556), touchdowns thrown (20) and passing efficiency (145.7). He’s also only thrown six interceptions and has rushed for 423 yards and seven TDs. But other than that…

“We’ve had a good year thus far,” Cowan said. “But, as you know, you can throw records out when it comes to The Game…and this year will be no different.”

It comes down to this—if Fitzpatrick is completely healthy, he will be able to run all over Yale’s defense, just as he was able to run over Holy Cross, Brown, Northeastern and Cornell. He played admirably against Penn, but it was clear that the rust was still there. If he’s not 100 percent—even if he’s playing—the edge goes to Yale. Cowan is too good.

Edge: Push

RUNNING BACKS

Another close battle here. Yale’s junior Robert Carr was certainly the consensus preseason pick as the league’s top running back. He had fantastic freshman and sophomore years and was a unanimous First Team All-Ivy selection last season. He hasn’t disappointed in 2003, averaging 4.8 yards-per-carry with 10 rushing touchdowns. He’s also racked up 772 yards on the ground and added 424 return yards, good for fourth in the Ivy League in all-purpose yards.

Unfortunately for the Yalies, Harvard has freshman tailback Clifton Dawson, whom Columbia coach Bob Shoop called the best back in the Ivies, hands down. He’s probably right. In one less game than Carr, Dawson has 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s rushed for over 100 yards in five straight games, including topping the 200 mark against Lafayette and carrying the ball 40 times for 187 yards in Harvard’s 43-40 overtime win against Princeton.

Dawson is a human pinball, bouncing off tacklers and using his lightning-quick speed to run away from defenders. He already has two 71-yard touchdown runs on the season and is the first Ivy League freshman tailback ever to run for over 1,000 yards in a season. By the time his four-year career is set and done, he’ll likely have set every rushing record in the Harvard record book.

Add sophomore Ryan Tyler to the mix, and Harvard’s got itself a dynamic one-two punch.

Edge: Harvard

WIDE RECEIVERS

At the beginning of the year, the edge here would have gone to Harvard. Junior Brian Edwards appeared to be the next coming of Carl Morris ’03—an unstoppable threat who could run away from the defense. Though he still possesses the skills to rack up 150-plus yards in a game, Schires was never able to utilize Edwards like Fitzpatrick did at the beginning of the year. There is hope, however, as Edwards again gained over 100 yards last week against Penn on eight catches. He has a team-leading 777 receiving yards on the year.

“He’s got this effortless kind of grace and speed that is not something you see everyday,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said of Edwards. “He makes things look easy which are really quite difficult.”

A season-ending ACL injury to junior James Harvey and a debilitating high ankle sprain to junior Rodney Byrnes have seriously depleted Harvard’s receiving core. Freshman Corey Mazza has both size and speed but only caught one pass last week against Penn and is not a game-changing threat yet. Senior Matt Fratto is a big target with good hands at tight end, but he is often under utilized.

Yale senior Ron Benigno and junior Ralph Plumb have combined to make a formidable duo for the Bulldogs. The pair has combined for 80 catches, 1,163 yards and a whopping 15 touchdowns.

But Yale’s biggest weapon—literally—is its tight end, senior Nate Lawrie. Listed at 6’7 and weighing in at 256 pounds, Murphy calls him “an NFL prospect.” It will be a tall task, indeed, for Harvard’s undersized secondary to stay with Lawrie, who leads the team in catches (64) and receiving yards (678) on the year. Harvard could not handle Dartmouth senior tight end Casey Cramer when the Big Green knocked off the Crimson on November 1. If Yale uses Lawrie in a similar vein, lining him up as a wide receiver, it could mean big trouble for the Cantabs.

Benigno is 6’2 and Plumb is 6’4. They may just be too much for Harvard’s defensive backs to handle.

Edge: Yale

OFFENSIVE LINE

Harvard began the season with seven tackles. By the time Penn rolled around, the Crimson was down to two. Sophomores Bennett Kowalk and Will Rogers, juniors Mike Frey and Mike McKibben and senior James Baaken are all banged up. This has forced Murphy to make positional switches along the O-line all season long. Sophomore Will Johnson has been fantastic filling in for junior Andy Smith at center, who was injured for the first half of the year. Now Smith is back, starting at guard while Johnson stays at center. Senior Joe Traverso is All-Ivy worthy at guard and senior Joe Mujalli has been a rock at tackle.

“Our [seniors] have been our best players in games, and they have been the glue that has held this offense together,” Murphy said.

But Yale’s offensive front is not too shabby either. In fact, even Murphy calls it “arguably the best offensive line in the Ivy League.” The unit is anchored by junior left tackle Rory Hennessey, who earned himself an All-Ivy Honorable Mention last season. His bookend, senior Jake Kohl, is 6’4, 310 lbs. Freshman standout Ed McCarthy has moved into the starting lineup in his debut season as a Yalie—and at “only” 279 pounds, he’s one of the smallest members of a bruising line that has opened up plenty of holes for Carr this year. If Harvard was completely healthy, again, the edge would go to the Crimson. But with so many injuries, Yale gets the nod.

Edge: Yale

DEFENSIVE LINE

36 sacks, best in the Ivies. 15 interceptions, best in the Ivies (tied with Penn). Is Harvard’s defense fearsome? Just ask Yale’s quarterback.

“I think Harvard has one of, if not the, best defenses in the Ivies this year. They definitely pose a formidable challenge to us,” Cowan said.

A big part of that success has been the strong, consistent play of the defensive line. Senior defensive ends Brad Payne and Brian Garcia have combined for 10.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. Murphy has rotated Payne, Garcia, senior Brendan McCafferty, juniors Matt McBurney and Coesen Ngweun and sophomores Doug Bennett and Eric Grimm throughout all four positions on the line.

“I really like the rotation because players can stay fresh throughout the game,” Payne said. “On offense, you know where the play is going, so you can conserve your energy a little better. As a defensive lineman, you’re going 1,000 miles an hour all the time, so we need to rotate to keep up a good pass rush.”

Yale, as a defense, has only 14 sacks and just seven interceptions. Junior defensive end Don Smith’s a good player and senior lineman Bryant Dieffenbacher has a cool name, but the Bulldogs just don’t match up here.

Edge: Harvard

LINEBACKERS

Senior Dante Balestracci. Junior Bobby Everett. Honestly, that’s all that needs to be said. The Crimson’s two best defensive players are both linebackers. Balestracci leads the Ivy League in both sacks (8) and tackles for loss (17). Everett leads the team in tackles throughout the past five contests, averaging better than 12 a game. Balestracci is an NFL-candidate. Everett might be the team MVP. The duo has a combined 170 tackles this season—again, tops in the Ivy League for a tandem.

Yale’s got great linebackers too, in senior Ken Estrera and junior Ben Breunig, the team’s two leading tacklers. But Estrera is hurt after leaving last weekend’s game against Princeton. Breunig can’t carry the unit by himself.

Edge: Harvard

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Senior Benny Butler is probably an All-Ivy candidate. He leads the Ivy League in interceptions with five and has recorded a career high 53 tackles this season. Senior Chris Raftery is a monster hitter and has four interceptions of his own.

But if there’s a weakness on this Harvard team, it’s the secondary. Raftery is the tallest member of a unit which, unfortunately, is mightily undersized. Butler is 5’8, junior Gary Sonkur is 5’9 and senior Mante Dzakuma is 5’9. Yale senior Steve Ehekian is a three-year varsity starter. Senior Greg Owens is only 5’9 himself and junior Fred Jelks is a stunning 5’5.

So, with small corners all around, we look to the stats. Harvard’s passing defense has given up more yards than any team in the Ivies, including 344 to Dartmouth, 253 to Columbia and 277 to Penn. Though Yale is nearly as bad, Harvard’s smaller receivers will not be able to exploit Yale’s lack of size like the bigger Eli targets.

Edge: Yale

SPECIAL TEAMS

Harvard is three-for-ten on field goals this year and has missed six extra points. Yale junior kicker John Troost might be the team’s best player. He is 13-for-16 on field goals, with a long of 44 yards. Harvard’s long is 33-yards. Adam Kingston can blast kickoffs out of the end zone but has been inconsistent.

Lawrie, Yale’s huge tight end, also handles the team’s punting duties. His average is a meager 35 yards, but Troost’s kicking ability gives Yale the kicking advantage.

Edwards handles Harvard’s punt return duties and is dangerous when the ball is in his hands. But he clearly studied from the return school of Carl Morris ’03, ignoring the “fair catch” rule without regard for the amount of defenders in his face. Carr does Yale’s kickoff duties and has returned one for a touchdown this year.

Edge: Yale

INTANGIBLES

Both teams are out of the Ivy Championship race. Penn locked up sole possession of the title last week with its 32-24 victory against the Crimson. Harvard has taken the last two against the Elis, including celebrating an undefeated season in front of Yale’s home fans the last time The Game was in New Haven. This should give Yale some added motivation.

But Fitzpatrick looked just good enough against Penn to give the Crimson faithful hope. If he can shake off the rust and find another receiving target besides Edwards, Dawson and the defense should be able to hold off Yale—but it’s gonna be close.

Edge: Harvard

FINAL SCORE:

HARVARD 28, YALE 27