All three returned against the Tigers, but only Viviano played a complete game. Smith saw a lightened workload with seven carries, allowing freshman rusher Lavance Northington to rack up 40 yards on 13 tries.

And while Shelton-Mosley grabbed six balls for 82 yards—which, for anyone else, would signal full health—he didn’t play at full speed. For the second week in a row, the sophomore conceded return duties to fellow wideout Alex LaPolice.

TWO SCORES, NO MORE

At the end of the first half, the Crimson led 14-0—not bad for an away contest against one-loss opponent. Even so, a distinct air of frustration pervaded the Harvard sideline.

Four times in the first half, the Crimson offense started with the ball on its own 45 yard-line or better. One of these attempts ended in a touchdown; the other three ended in a punt, on downs, and with an interception.

Especially damning was a Harvard possession with 8:57 left in the second quarter. Less than a minute ago, Scott’s score had created a two-touchdown lead. A subsequent three-and-out gave the visitors the ball on the Tigers 43 and a chance to put the game out of reach.

Instead, on the second play from scrimmage, Viviano tossed an interception. He rolled right, spotted Shelton-Mosley near the right pylon, but misdirected the ball to the trailing Princeton defensive back.

“We got a little bit greedy at times,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “Joe’s an extraordinarily aggressive guy, and he’s a great football player. He’s never seen a big play that he didn’t like…. It was just a great play by their kid.”

Many of the Crimson’s early opportunities came courtesy of the Tigers’ overexcitement. Noticeably amped up during warm-ups, Princeton looked jittery in the early going, losing a fumble and an interception in the first quarter.

Eventually those nerves calmed, allowing the Tigers to come back in the matchup. But after going down 14-0, Princeton never led.

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com