In the 30-16 loss to Dartmouth, everything fell apart as the Big Green’s receivers snared pass after impossible pass. Schires gave way to a still-injured Fitzpatrick with the offense woefully underperforming in the second half, but not even he could resurrect the stagnant unit from its lifelessness. In the process, Fitzpatrick reinjured the hand that had kept him sidelined, forcing him out of the huddle for another week.

“Fitzy was dying to play,” Murphy said. “He was chomping at the bit. He was saying he was 100 percent fine. I was hoping to buy another week, but with the Ivy title on the line, you can’t leave your best horse in the barn.”

One week later, the title was definitively off the table. Columbia effectively shut down the Harvard running game in the second half and, under pressure, Schires performed disastrously against the Lions’ mediocre secondary. Still, with less than four minutes to go, the Crimson had the ball and a four-point lead.

But, unable to run out the clock, Schires threw a third-down interception, setting up the game-winning score and all but eliminating Harvard from title contention before Penn linebacker Steve Lhotak planted senior tight end Matt Fratto at the six-yard line as time expired the next weekend, preserving the Quakers’ 32-24 win—and Harvard’s third-straight loss.

And so for the first time in a while, The Game wasn’t about a long shot at the Ivy title or a perfect season, but merely staying above .500 while maybe recapturing some of the lost promise lost along the way.

Fitzpatrick did just that, completing 13 of 22 passes for four touchdowns, while Dawson racked up 176 yards on the ground on 32 carries.

Balestracci recorded eight tackles and nimbly slipped through the Yale offensive line in the Crimson’s 37-19 victory to end a disappointing season on a bittersweet note.

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