Biggers, the Ivies’ fourth-leading rusher, finished with 31 yards on a per-carry average of 2.5.

Harvard held Columbia to 203 yards of total offense. At 7:44 in the fourth quarter—just before the Lions launched the first of two consecutive long, fruitless drives against the Crimson second-team defense—Columbia had only gained 101 yards.

“We did not execute on offense,” Lions coach Bob Shoop said. “It wasn’t our best day, and to beat that team we have to play our best.”

Perhaps most impressive about the Harvard defense was its dominance on crucial plays.

Five times, the Lions drove into Crimson territory. Five times—including an interception and three turnovers on downs—the defense got the best of them.

The first time, trailing 21-0, Columbia ran on fourth-and-short at the Harvard 25.

“We tried to get some momentum back,” Shoop said.

With no room to run, Lions tailback Ayo Oluwole was pile-driven into the turf by Ricky Williamson and Matt Thomas for a short loss.

That would be the theme of the afternoon. Overall, Columbia tried four fourth-down plays and converted only once.

Even more damaging, the Lions converted exactly zero third-down plays—in 13 dismal attempts.

“We kept getting three-and-outs, and any one of those is a chance,” Shoop said. “I thought their defense is what stepped up and played really well.”

Murphy said Harvard’s “one big emphasis” in the offseason was improving its defense on third-down plays.

“Because quite frankly, that was our Achilles’ heel a year ago,” he said.

The result? Despite featuring only the third-best season defense in the league by total yardage, the Crimson boasts the Ivies’ best third-down efficiency—by far.

In 115 attempts, opponents have only converted 25 first downs. That 21.7 percentage leads Penn by more than four points, putting the Quakers closer to Cornell than to Harvard.