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Crimson Settles Passer Question

We all have to make tough choices sometimes. This college or that one. Finance or consulting. Homework or television. Soup or salad.

But at the end of the day, we have to make a decision. What’s it going to be once and for all—chicken Caesar or tomato bisque?

That’s where Harvard finds itself. Having choices is better than not having them, though it certainly complicates things.

The Crimson doesn’t just have two talented quarterbacks—it probably has the best and the second-best passers in the Ivy League. And to be honest, I’m not sure which is which.

Junior Colton Chapple started four times for Harvard, but his two most recent games are the ones worth mentioning. In those contests against Cornell and Bucknell, he threw a total of nine touchdowns, the best two-game performance in team history.

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Like most rational Harvard fans, I assumed that the man responsible for 63 points in just about six quarters would start the game against Princeton. And of course, I was wrong.

Instead, senior Collier Winters got the start, and he one-upped his teammate with six touchdowns, five in the air and one on a scramble. In the post-game press conference, Crimson coach Tim Murphy said that Winters was the starter for the rest of the year, and he said it without any reservation.

Should we believe Murphy? I’m not sure. After a season of unsuccessfully trying to predict his next move, I’m thinking about going with tarot cards, though I’m open to basically any kind of divination at this point.

We’ll assume for the sake of argument that Winters is starting tomorrow’s night game against Dartmouth. But I wouldn’t bet the rent on that one.

Whichever quarterback plays will face a tough but inconsistent Dartmouth defense on Saturday night. The 6 p.m. start marks the first time in program history that the Crimson has hosted two night games in the same season.

This probably won’t be the best game of the week, even if the Big Green is much better than its lackluster record indicates. That distinction belongs to the Penn-Brown matchup.

After a fourth-quarter scoring barrage against Yale gave Penn yet another comeback win last Saturday, the Quakers face a tough opponent for the second week in a row.

Brown has an outside shot at the league title, and the team is certainly talented and capable of taking down the preseason favorites. It will be Penn’s biggest test before it comes to Cambridge in two weeks.

YALE (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) at COLUMBIA (0-6, 0-3)

For seven of its last eight quarters of football against Ivy League opponents, Yale has looked really impressive.

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