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Attendance was officially listed at 7,138 for Harvard’s non-conference bout with Georgetown this past Friday, but a quick glance around the stadium would make that figure hard to believe.

Not too many fans ventured into the cold and rain to witness the Crimson’s 31-17 victory over the Hoyas. Appropriately, it may prove to be one of the more forgettable games of the season.

Three starters who were listed as questionable—senior offensive lineman Max Rich, his junior O-line counterpart DJ Mott, and sophomore wideout Justice Shelton-Mosley—got the week off.

With a win despite the absences of several key players in this game, it is clear that Harvard has a substantial amount of depth at most positions. It seems as though the Crimson is well-equipped to handle the potential loss of starters on both sides of the ball moving forward.

“We’ve had probably an inordinate amount of injuries so far this year, but we’ve done a good job finding guys that can step up and play,” Murphy said.

TRIPLE-BARREL SHOTGUN

When Harvard jumped out to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter, senior quarterback Joe Viviano’s day came to an early end. Murphy elected to give his starter some rest ahead of the Crimson’s remaining Ivy League slate, and in the process he got an extended look at two of his backups in game action.

After Viviano’s third touchdown, one that saw senior halfback/tight end Anthony Firkser find a gap in the Georgetown secondary and sprint 75 yards to the end zone, Murphy decided to go with sophomore quarterback Tom Stewart on the ensuing drive.

Stewart steered the offense for much of the second quarter and half of the third. He threw for 111 yards, but only hit his receivers on seven of 13 pass attempts.

The Dallas, Texas, native was intercepted twice, and both were picked off in the end zone as Harvard threatened to score.

Following Stewart, Murphy decided to go with another sophomore, Cam Tripp. Tripp was also intercepted once and lost a fumble, but he led a fourth quarter drive that resulted in a touchdown to extend the Crimson’s lead to 31-7.

Facing a third and goal at the 10, Tripp evaded the rush and scrambled right, throwing a strike to freshman wide receiver Cody Chrest in the back of the end zone.

After Viviano exited the game, Harvard’s offense seemed to stall, only managing to score 10 more points the rest of the way. The unfamiliarity of the two sophomore field generals was the most probable culprit.

“We need to get everybody reps, and we probably were a little bit ambitious in terms of throwing guys in too soon,” Murphy said. “Plenty to clean up, but at the end of the day we did some things really well.”