On the next play, Edwards fumbled on an end-around at the Harvard 22-yard line. The ecstatic Tigers recovered the ball and tailback Brandan Benson punched it in two plays later for a 14-3 lead.

But it was the last glimpse of the endzone the Princeton offense would get as the Crimson rallied from its gaffes and penalties to score on three straight second-quarter possessions.

“We’ve never been a dominant team,” Murphy said. “We’ve just been an extremely resilient, mentally tough football team, and I think that was the case today.”

Dawson scored first on a two-yard run to close the margin to 14-9 after freshman kicker Matt Schindel’s point after failed. Schindel recovered to send his kickoff deep into Tiger territory where the Harvard defense thrice snuffed Princeton in the backfield. The Tigers botched their ensuing punt, leading to a 14-yard illegal-kick penalty that set the Crimson up at the one-yard line. From there, it was an easy trip past the goal line for Dawson’s second touchdown and a 15-14 Harvard lead after the two-point try failed.

Freshman safety Doug Hewlett’s interception and return on Princeton’s next drive gave the Crimson excellent field position to close out the half. Fitzpatrick found sophomore wide receiver Corey Mazza sprinting across the endzone in man coverage for a 10-yard completion to put Harvard up 22-14.

“We made some adjustments at halftime, but by that time we couldn’t get the momentum back in the game,” Princeton coach Roger Hughes said.

The defense shut out the Tigers for the rest of the game, allowing just 23 net rushing yards, blocking a punt and cutting off a potential Princeton scoring drive when junior Mike Finch intercepted the ball at the goal line. Following that play, Dawson broke for his 80-yard run to cap the Crimson scoring and officially bump Princeton from the ranks of Ivy unbeatens. Harvard and Penn, which beat Yale 17-7, both remain undefeated at 3-0 in the league.

“We had our opportunities early in the first half, and we jumped up on them and took advantage of some mistakes they made,” Hughes said. “And then we turned around and gave them the ball with great field position, and you just can’t do that with a great team.”

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.