“Having those types of weapons where you can throw the ball and [Smith] comes down with a 30-yard touchdown…it’s a huge momentum shift,” Chapple said. “It was great to see him get out there and make plays.”

Smith finished the day leading the team with eight catches and 92 yards, both career highs.

SECOND-RATE SECONDARY

While the Harvard offense was tearing apart the Bears’ defense, the Crimson secondary struggled to keep the home team off the board.

Brown quarterback Patrick Donnelly finished the contest with 336 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-40 passing as Harvard gave up more than 325 yards in the air for the second straight week.

Cornerbacks fell down and were beaten by receivers, and Connelly found holes in both the Crimson’s zone and man-to-man defenses.

The Harvard secondary has faltered in the absence of veteran cornerback Brian Owusu, who has been sidelined in the first two games due to lingering hamstring issues.

With a game against Cornell and reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and quarterback Jeff Mathews looming in two weeks, the unit must tighten up or risk being exposed by the top signal caller in the conference.

“When people spread you out today, it’s tough to defend them,” Murphy said. “There are plenty of things that we need to work on, and that’s one of them.”

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacobfeldman@college.harvard.edu.

—Follow him on Twitter @jacobfeldman4.