Harvard Season in Review

No one knew what to expect of a Harvard football team that graduated its all-time leading rusher (Chris Menick '00), receiver (Terence Patterson '00) and tackler (Isaiah Kacyvenski '00, now a Seattle Seahawk) in June.

Add to that the departure of the Crimson's two senior quarterbacks, and Harvard's roster was one big question mark.

The surprising answer came in the form of the most potent passing attack in the school's history, one that kept the Crimson in contention for the Ivy League championship until last week. For all the points the Crimson put on the board, however, the inability of the placekicking unit to convert when it counted killed the team's title hopes. Saturday's contest is now just another Game.

Holy Cross 27, Harvard 25

Do you remember...Barry Wahlberg?

Although junior Rose won the starting quarterback job in the preseason, an injury gave the sophomore quarterback a chance to shine against a Crusader team Harvard had beaten for four straight years. Wahlberg's debut was anything but stellar, however, as he completed only 4-of-16 pass attempts and threw three interceptions. The Crimson offense sputtered under Walhberg's direction, not even gaining a first down until well into the second half. Almost miraculously, when Wahlberg was finally pulled in favor of Rose (7-of-9, 78 yards), the Crimson was only down by two.

But Rose fumbled a snap on first-and-goal on the Holy Cross 20-yard line late in the game, and the resulting Holy Cross drive put the game out of reach. Senior starting tailback Chuck Nwokocha left the game with a torn MCL, and Harvard's offense left the field in disarray.

Harvard 42, Brown 37

The first full game of the Rose era instantly landed him in the record books. The Crimson broke four team records, including new individual passing and receiving yardage marks by Rose and sophomore wideout Carl Morris. Every yard was necessary, as the Crimson went into the fourth quarter trailing, 31-21,with just under 15 minutes to play.

During a fourth-quarter rally that featured three Harvard touchdown strikes in just under six minutes, Morris gained large chunks of his 220 receiving yards on the day with 63- and 80-yard grabs. The performance earned him Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors. Harvard's 586 yards of total offense were also a school record.

Harvard 42, Lafayette 19

Morris faced double and triple coverage the next week against Lafayette, but the rest of Harvard's receivers picked up the slack as Harvard's air show rolled on. Rose threw to seven different receivers for 265 yards, and sophomore running back Nick Palazzo emerged from an injury-riddled backfield to run for 101 yards on 23 carries. More importantly, the defense held the Leopards to just 26 yards rushing, a dramatic improvement over previous weeks.

Cornell 29, Harvard 28

In one of the greatest collapses in Harvard football history, the Crimson relinquished a 28-point halftime lead and lost a heartbreaker to Cornell. The first half was nothing but total Crimson domination. Harvard had 400 yards of total offense to Cornell's 87. Nick Palazzo ran for 107 yards and Rose amassed 184 yards in the air. A potent Big Red offense was silenced.

Then, halftime ended and the nightmare began. Cornell quarterback Ricky Rahne found Joe Splendorio in the end zone to cut the lead to 15. In the fourth, Rahne connected on a 48-yard touchdown prayer to Keith Ferguson, and a Big Red field goal on the next possession brought Cornell within five. Rahne then drove the Big Red 87 yards on Cornell's final drive, ending it with a 52-yard fourth-down touchdown strike.

Harvard had one last chance to win it, but Splendorio, who had blocked a Harvard field goal to win last year's battle between the Ivy foes, repeated the feat by tipping Robbie Wright's last-second attempt right to win the game.

Lehigh 45, Harvard 13

A date with the No. 15 team in the nation was not exactly rebound-game material, although Harvard's ball-security problems did not help its cause. Harvard actually gained more yards than its vaunted opponent, including Rose's record-setting third 300-yard passing performance of the season, but five turnovers killed several Crimson chances to convert those yards into touchdowns.

Harvard 35, Princeton 21

A pivotal Ivy League bout remained up in the air until Rose keyed another thrilling fourth-quarter offensive performance. A false start penalty led to a dangerous fourth-and-6 situation for the Crimson, but the ever-poised Rose was able to see past the ensuing Tiger blitz. Just before being leveled by Princeton linebackers, Rose knifed a pass to senior tight end Chris Stakich at the 25-yard line. Stakich turned and, shielded by solid Crimson blocking, turned the short gain into a score. Harvard would later tack on another touchdown, sophomore tailback Matt Leiszler's third of the day.

Princeton freshman quarterback David Splithoff ran for all three Tiger touchdowns, but Harvard's defense prevented him from doing much damage beyond that. One of the few blemishes for Harvard was the placekicking unit's continuing troubles. The Crimson missed two field goals, continuing a torturous 1-for-9 spell.

Harvard 49, Dartmouth 7

With all the hoopla surrounding the Crimson's suddenly prolific passing game and its field goal futility, freshman Dante Balestracci's tremendous season had gone unnoticed by many. He was very difficult to ignore against Dartmouth, as he ran two interceptions back for touchdowns--the first Crimson linebacker to accomplish the feat.

Harvard's air attack was limited by blustery conditions in Hanover, so the Crimson shifted gears and ran for a season-high 309 yards, including 79 yards apiece for Palazzo and Leiszler. The Crimson secondary also turned in a big game, limiting Dartmouth to its lowest passing and scoring output of the season.

Harvard 34, Columbia 0

Despite a sloppy third quarter, Harvard cruised to its third straight Ivy League victory against a Columbia team that was outmatched in almost every aspect of the game. It was Harvard's first home victory of the year and its first shutout victory since the 1997 Ivy League championship season. Rose threw for 274 yards and two scores and ran for 30 yards and another touchdown. Nick Palazzo poured in his third 100-yard performance of the season. Even the field goal unit came to life, as Wright converted both his attempts.

But the real story was Harvard's defense. The once-awful secondary continued to improve, holding the Lions to less than 100 yards in the air. Just as impressively, the defensive line held Columbia's Johnathan Reese--who had been averaging over 150 yards per game on the ground--under triple digits, only the second Ivy League team to do so in 2000. Harvard was now in a position to clinch at least a share of the league championship with wins in its final two games.

Penn 36, Harvard 35

The Crimson entered its critical tilt against Penn not having won a game at Franklin Field in 20 years. Harvard was able to produce big plays and match the explosive Penn offense point for point. Rose hooked up with Morris for a 77-yard touchdown pass on the team's first play from scrimmage. Minutes later, freshman defensive back Benny Butler returned an interception 54 yards for another TD. In the second quarter, Nick Palazzo broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career.

With 3:31 remaining and Harvard nursing a 35-30 lead, an interception of an errant Rose pass gave Penn a final opportunity to win the game. Quaker QB Gavin Hoffman took advantage, leading Penn to the Harvard 16-yard line. From there, he found receiver Rob Milanese in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. A missed two-point conversion kept the Penn lead at 36-35. Harvard then executed a near-perfect two-minute drill and advanced all the way to the 16-yard line. But Robbie Wright's 32-yard field goal attempt was wide left, costing Harvard its chance at the Ivy League title.