The Harvard football team’s offense has more to overcome tomorrow than
just injuries and a string of poor play. The unit that struggled to
move the ball against Cornell for three quarters last week will also
have to battle terrible field conditions.
The Easton, Penn., area received nine inches of rain before
last weekend’s game between Lafayette and Columbia, and the deluge
hasn’t stopped.
The onslaught caused what some Lions coaches called the worst field conditions they have ever seen.
“I think what’s going to happen here, too, is that the field
conditions will play a big part,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. “The
field was relatively speaking destroyed last week...It’s going to be a
muck-fest.”
The combination of steady rain and malfunctions with the
Fisher Field drainage systems could leave the playing surface
swamp-like for tomorrow’s contest.
This is not good news for a Crimson squad that is trying to
cut down on turnovers and piece together sustained drives. Harvard
committed five turnovers last week against the Big Red—three
interceptions thrown by sophomore quarterback Liam O’Hagan and two
special-teams fumbles by sophomore Steven Williams.
Murphy notified his team of the field issues earlier this
week. Fortunately for the Crimson, the wet conditions in Cambridge have
provided ample opportunity to simulate tomorrow’s environment.
“I e-mailed our guys Monday night,” Murphy said, “and said
‘Hey, here’s the deal, the field’s been destroyed, it’s been raining
for 10 days, so we’re going to go out in the mud and we’re going to
muck it up.’”
PAYTON AWARD STILL WATCHING
Despite back-to-back weeks in which he failed to reach 100
yards rushing, junior tail back Clifton Dawson remains on the second
installment of the Payton Award watch list that was released this week.
Dawson amassed 98 yards rushing combined for his past two
games after gaining 342 yards on the ground through his first two
contests. The junior has battled hip and leg problems all year long,
and with the Crimson passing game struggling, he has routinely faced
defenses unafraid to crowd the line.
“Clifton’s certainly not a guy who ever makes excuses,” Murphy
said. “I think it’s a combination of less balance and the fact that
he’s facing eight- and nine-man fronts, which hasn’t been the case the
past few years.”
With the poor field conditions and the offense’s inability to
hang on to the ball, Dawson may get even more touches tomorrow than
normal.
The All-American has traditionally fared well in poor weather
situations. The last time he played on a muddy track was Harvard’s
opener last year against Holy Cross, a 35-0 Crimson victory in which
Dawson ran for 184 yards.
O’HAGAN STILL STARTS
O’Hagan’s first two games of the season went better than anyone
could have expected, but his last two have yielded far different
results.
O’Hagan assumed the starting job after just a few series in
the Crimson’s opener against Holy Cross, after sophomore Richard Irvin
threw an interception that was returned for the touchdown.
The job has been O’Hagan’s ever since and will stay that way for at least one more week.
While O’Hagan led Harvard to comeback victories against Holy
Cross and Brown, he appeared flustered the last two weeks, playing
minus his top three receivers against Lehigh and Cornell.
Murphy is sticking with O’Hagan despite his troubles, but the
coach didn’t rule out the possibility that Irvin may see some time.
“A lot depends on how he practices,” said Murphy of Irvin’s
chances of seeing action. “To be honest with you, there hasn’t been a
giant learning curve for either of the quarterbacks over the past few
weeks.”
FOURTH AND FOUR
Whip safety Danny Tanner is questionable for tomorrow’s game
with a meniscus injury in his knee. Tanner missed last week’s game
against Cornell and was replaced by senior Robert Balkema in the
starting lineup...The news isn’t getting any better for Harvard’s
depleted receiving corps. Senior Ryan Tyler may be done for the year
with a shoulder injury, senior Rodney Byrnes has only practiced once
since he injured his hamstring on the Crimson’s opening offensive
series of the season, and junior Corey Mazza would like to play, but
Murphy does not believe he will be ready this week...Lafayette has the
fourth-best pass defense in all of Division I-AA...Harvard fell out of
the top-25 rankings this week. It is the first time the Crimson has not
been ranked since Oct. 12 of last year.
—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.
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