Harvard would tack on another 10 points—seven on a three-yard Gordon run in the third, and three on a 29-yard Long field goal in the fourth—before allowing the Lions across midfield for the third time.

The strong defensive performance was once again sparked by senior linebacker Jon Takamura, who finished the day with six solo tackles, two sacks, and the interception that led to the Crimson’s second field goal.

But Harvard was quick to appreciate that it wasn’t facing the Lions’ best lineup. Columbia was without its top two quarterbacks, seniors M. A. Olawale and Shane Kelly, as well as its top running back, senior Ray Rangel.

“Columbia’s offense was really banged up,” Takamura said. “We saw on film what they were capable of, we just prepared for it and came out. [It’s] probably not our best game that we’ve played. We made a lot of mistakes, so we’ve got to correct those before going into next week.”

The Lions finally got on the scoreboard with 6:49 left to play in the game. Junior Marco Iannuzzi fumbled a punt return, giving Columbia the ball on the Crimson 12. Sophomore Jerry Bell, who took over for rookie Sean Brackett midway through the game, completed a nine-yard pass to senior Austin Knowlin—who became the all-time Lions leader in career receiving yards earlier in the game—before junior tailback Zack Kourouma found the endzone on a pair of quick rushes.

Harvard, giving many of its second-stringers playing time, had a quick three-and-out before Bell got back in the driver’s seat. The quarterback orchestrated a 79-yard drive and capped it with a 10-yard pass to junior Andrew Kennedy, the first touchdown pass of Bell’s career.

Though the Lions successfully executed an onsides kick, the Crimson defense stopped them short, with junior Anthony Spadafino picking Bell off to effectively end the game.

“[Columbia’s] extremely well-coached, and you have to earn everything,” Murphy said. “We just have a few more guns right now.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.