Those three have contributed for the most offensive production outside of senior halfback Anthony Firkser. Clearly, Harvard felt their absence this weekend.
“We put too much pressure on ourselves by not really being a balanced offense today,” Murphy said. “We didn’t really establish the line of scrimmage.”
On top of the lack of a rushing attack, the Crimson’s overall yardage decreased, going from their average of over 470 yards per game to just 245. Harvard had only 219 yards in the air, and first-time starter sophomore Tom Stewart was sacked six times, fumbled three times, and threw an interception.
“I thought Tom did a good job, I thought he hung in there,” Murphy said. “We just didn’t get him enough help. And any time you come out minus three on the turnover margin against a good team it’s going to be a long day.”
SECONDARY SLIPS
After starting the season playing as good as any other Ivy League team, the Harvard secondary finally had a down game this weekend. Before the Holy Cross game, the secondary had only allowed 228.8 yards per game through the air and tallied eight interceptions, the most in the Ivy League. Harvard also had only given up seven touchdowns.
Harvard really didn’t do too poorly from a purely statistical standpoint this weekend. Saturday, the Crimson allowed 244 passing yards and two touchdowns while tallying no interceptions.
The turning point of the game came in the third quarter, a play during which the defensive backs seemed out of sync. Crusader quarterback Geoff Wade stepped back in the pocket and had what seemed like years to throw the ball.
Initially, the Harvard defense seemed in good position against senior wideout Jake Wieczorek. But co-captain Sean Ahern dipped off, presumably for another responsibility.
Wieczorek ran free, wide open down the seam. Wade put up a 53-yard bomb to the wideout. Though the pass was a little short, Wieczorek caught the ball and set up a field goal that would prove significant in the game.
“We’ve got some great receivers,” Wade said. “They can really fly down the field and make things happen. Realistically, when we get them the ball, they can make things happen. We had a lot of confidence. We had a great game plan going in, and it was just our job to execute it. For the most part we did.”
—Staff writer Gant Player can be reached at wplayer@college.harvard.edu.