There’s something wonderfully full-circle about it: O’Hagan, Pizzotti, Witt, Pizzotti, O’Hagan.

That’s the list of starting quarterbacks for No. 23 Harvard’s last seven games, and the announced starter for this coming Saturday’s clash at Dartmouth.

With so much turnover under center, it’s a wonder that there haven’t been more turnovers, and that the Crimson has barely faltered in running up a 6-1 record in those seven games.

The most memorable of those was last season’s finale, a stirring rendition of The Game in which then-sophomore Liam O’Hagan played the best game of his collegiate career in piloting Harvard to a triple-overtime victory over Yale in New Haven.

It was a win for the ages, with a maturing-by-the-minute O’Hagan leading the second-half comeback and finishing 22-of-35 for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

But then came the summer of controversy, during which, in the wake of the arrest and suspension of former captain Matt Thomas, Crimson head coach Tim Murphy mysteriously docked O’Hagan the first five games of the upcoming season for violating team rules. The suspension left the starting quarterback job to Chris Pizzotti, a Massachusetts native who missed the entire 2005 season with a back ailment.

“I have confidence in Chris, but there’s no substitute for experience,” Murphy said during the preseason. “As an example, how Liam was a lot better quarterback over the last half of the season than he was over the first half of the season, especially in decision-making.”

Pizzotti vindicated Murphy in the early going of the season opener versus Holy Cross, tallying 126 yards on 10-of-13 passing, before succumbing to injury yet again, sidelined with a knee ligament strain he incurred on a scramble play.

That pushed control of the pigskin farther down the depth chart, as sophomore Jeff Witt iced the win over the Crusaders and directed a crucial road win at Brown the following week.

Pizzotti gamely returned sooner than expected—initial estimates had him out for roughly four weeks—to reclaim control of the offense for a road tilt at Lehigh, and kept Harvard undefeated, bringing the squad to Princeton last weekend with an unblemished 5-0 record.

That’s when things got interesting.

Pizzotti got the start over O’Hagan, activated for Week 6, but when the Crimson quickly fell behind, 17-7, in a first quarter marred by Pizzotti’s 4-of-9 with an interception, Murphy made the switch to begin the second. And, in fact, the move looked brilliant for a while, as the quicker, more elusive O’Hagan rallied Harvard to seize a 28-24 lead. But the rust showed late, as O’Hagan threw two picks trying to catch up after Princeton’s go-ahead drive, and the Tigers prevailed, 31-28.

“Specifically, we were looking for a spark,” Murphy explained. “And we were looking to broaden our offensive capabilities…[O’Hagan] didn’t play great, but he did enough good things to give us a chance to win.”

The decision to insert O’Hagan, and to re-establish him in the starting lineup for the game against the Big Green, from one perspective, seems like a no-brainer. He led the Ivy League in total offense as a sophomore, his nine career starts instantly make him one of the more veteran passers in the Ancient Eight, and he is a multi-dimensional threat in the pocket.

O’Hagan’s best attribute may be his ability to make plays with his feet—he led the team with 89 rushing yards at Princeton—as Murphy is quick to highlight.

“All things being equal,” Murphy said, “You ask any defensive coordinator, you get two guys of basically somewhat equal ability, and one guy can make plays with his feet…it’s tougher to defend. It’s a dimension that’s more intangible. And [putting in O’Hagan] gave us that.”

O’Hagan, for his part, was thrilled to be back in the fray.

“I was itching to get into the game the whole time, since starting kickoff,” O’Hagan said. “I don’t know why I got put in there. I guess it was sort of a feel thing for Coach Murphy. He never promised me anything.”

But Pizzotti’s results in 2006 hardly merit a benching in their own right: 126.47 passing efficiency, 904 yards through the air, a mere four interceptions in five starts, and, most notably, zero losses.

“It’s definitely a tough spot to be in,” Pizzotti said. “Coach Murphy ha[s] been great the whole time and was really very supportive of both of us… If for whatever reason, they need me to come off the bench, I’ll be ready.”

“He’s a great quarterback,” O’Hagan said of Pizzotti, “And I don’t think he’s taken his last snap here at Harvard.”

Now, despite all of the upheaval at the quarterback position, the Crimson is trying to complete another cycle of sorts: Ivy League title, second-place finish, Ivy League title.

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Malcom A. Glenn contributed to the reporting of this story.