Once, at a party a few years back, I polished off a drink and began searching for a beverage to replenish my Solo. I didn’t have to look very far as, across the room, I spotted a glowing bottle of vodka. It was radiating a Pikachu-yellow, and (like the Double Rainbow Guy) I wondered, “What does this mean?” Pulled into its vodka tractor beam, I walked over to the magical liquid and examined it more closely. It appeared to be a high-quality brand of alcohol which, when exposed to a black light, shone like a jar of fireflies.

“Must have some tasty vitamins,” I figured, pouring myself a splash. I went bottoms-up with my Solo.

Immediately, before I even knew what evil had deflowered my taste buds, I spit the whole mouthful out in a fluorescent cloud. Forensics revealed it was a mix of highlighter fluid and rubbing alcohol which, when combined with a black light at a party, makes a very tasteful, though poor-tasting, decoration.

This story has everything to do with Harvard football. In Week 1, the Crimson looked like the 1920 Rose Bowl champions. Harvard dominated Holy Cross in every phase of the game—offense, defense, special teams, and even crowd attendance. The Crimson sparkled like the luminous potion in that crowded dorm room.

But in Week 2, once we got a taste of Ivy League football, Harvard proved to be demonstrably worse than its first impression. Brown, which was picked to finish below Harvard in the preseason, thoroughly dismantled the Crimson, running up a 23-0 lead to start the game and winning easily, 29-14. This stunning turnaround left many people scratching their heads, and more than a few times I’ve been asked, “So does that mean Harvard’s championship dreams are over?”

The answer is, “No.”

To go back to my little allegory: after I spit out the highlighter cocktail, I raced to the bathroom sink and tongued the innocence out of the faucet. A few minutes later, I was back on the dance floor as if the whole thing had never happened.

The Crimson has a similar chance to right the ship. This weekend, it travels to Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette in a non-conference matchup. The Leopards are winless so far this year with losses (albeit narrow ones) to both Penn and Princeton. This game gives Harvard exactly what it needs: an opportunity to work out the kinks before rejoining the chase for the Ivy League title. One loss has not put the crown out of the Crimson’s reach, but two certainly might.

ALBANY (1-2, 0-1 NEC) at YALE (2-0, 1-0 Ivy)

After lighting up Georgetown to the tune of 45 points in its first game, the Bulldog offense continued to roll last weekend in a 21-7 win over Cornell. Junior running back Alex Thomas’ 107.0 yards per game average is best in the league by almost 30 yards, and junior quarterback Patrick Witt is tops among Ivy signal-callers in passing yards per game with 319.5.

Since its 3-0 pillow-fight against Maine, Albany has dropped two straight and been outscored, 87-31. Yale should roll over the Great Danes before facing Dartmouth next week.

Pick: Yale 30, Albany 13.

BROWN (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) at RHODE ISLAND (1-2, 1-0 CAA)

The Bears defense was beyond impressive last weekend as it held Harvard’s offense to -16 rushing yards and 112 total yards. Yet, its offense struggled at times. Brown settled for six field goals of which freshman kicker Alexander Norocea hit five. The Bears can’t rely on a young kicker for scoring for very long before it catches up to them.

Though URI dropped its first two games, it rallied hard last week in its conference-opener against then-No. 8 UNH. With the Rams trailing, 25-21, late in the fourth quarter, senior defensive end Victor Adesanya sacked Wildcat quarterback R.J. Toman, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by freshman defensive lineman James Timmins and returned 39 yards for the winning score.