“The kids that played, whether its new running backs, whether its new receivers, whether its new tight ends, whether its new offensive linemen—and we had all of the above today—I thought those kids did a very solid job,” Murphy said. “It was really good to get them some work.”

NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS

Harvard’s stats Saturday were impressive, but that was somewhat expected. Columbia averages less than 10 points a game this year, and had given up more than 34 points in all but two of its games coming into Saturday.

Though the Lions were more competitive this year than last year, the game’s result was never really in doubt.

“The future is bright [for Columbia] but it’s not like you are just going to show up and win eight games next year,” Murphy said. “It’s just going to take time.”

At the same time, the Crimson does not control its Ivy League destiny, meaning its play will only impact the conference leaderboard if Princeton slips up.

Saturday, the Tigers did not. Though they trailed Penn in the third quarter, the Princeton offense eventually prevailed, scoring 21 straight points to end the game up, 38-26.

Harvard has to hope that Princeton trips up against Yale or Dartmouth, while also working to avoid a second loss that would knock the Crimson out of contention all together.

“We are going to enjoy the win today, tomorrow,” Hempel said, “And then turn our focus to Penn.”

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacob.feldman@thecrimson.com.