HARVARD AT COLUMBIA

Here we are again—back to Columbia football.

On Oct. 24, The New York Times published an article called “Columbia Football Keeps Winning. Some Fans Aren’t Happy About It.” That piece revealed several gems about the Lions football program. In 2011, for instance, the university temporarily outlawed the band because the musicians had edited the fight song. They’d changed the lyrics to “We always lose lose lose / By a lot and sometimes by a little.”

These days, the Lions are winning, albeit by a little. Columbia has a physical defensive line and shutdown defensive backs. Quarterback Anders Hill is flirting with 2,000 passing yards. The Lions have topped Princeton and Yale, the most dangerous offenses in the Ancient Eight. Columbia should win the Ivy League this year.

Still, I expect a Harvard win on Saturday.

The program is banged-up, exhausted, and flawed. But the 2017 Crimson has a special ingredient—that mysterious trait that allows championship teams to convert fourth downs and force late fumbles.

Before the Dartmouth game, Harvard coach Tim Murphy called the Big Green “a team of destiny.” Before the Columbia game, he called the Lions “true believers.”

It’s taken me seven games to reach this point, but I’ve made up my mind. In 2017, Harvard is a team of destiny. Crimson players are true believers. No one overcomes this much adversity to end in disappointment.

On Saturday, Harvard will beat Columbia in dramatic fashion, probably on a scoring drive in the final four minutes. If the Crimson downs Penn—which, in my mind, is the more uncertain task—then Harvard will win the league title. You can quote me on that.

PICK: Harvard 17, Columbia 16.

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