Tryin’ Fitzpatrick

BETHLEHEM, Pa.—As the Harvard offense took the field on Saturday afternoon, the question marks surrounding the health and availability of senior quarterback Neil Rose were, for one afternoon at least, distilled into simple periods.

Rose was out. Ryan Fitzpatrick was in. End of story.

With Rose’s ailing back leaving the most prolific passer in school history “week-to-week,” in the words of Harvard coach Tim Murphy, the fate of the Crimson offense rested in the young-yet-trustworthy hands of Fitzpatrick, a sophomore making just his second collegiate start.

In the end, a battle-tested Lehigh team that hadn’t lost in 25 home games got the better of him, storming back from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to claim a 36-35 victory that snapped Harvard’s 11-game winning streak.

The loss was tough to take for Fitzpatrick, who was brilliant in guiding the biggest comeback in school history last season against Dartmouth and similarly superhuman in relief during last week’s comeback at Brown.

After all, Fitzpatrick—like the rest of his classmates—had never felt the sting of defeat at Harvard. Most games during their time here have gone something like this: Harvard is in a close game at halftime. Harvard catches a break or makes a big play. Harvard wins. Mass celebration ensues.

Things didn’t play out that way on Saturday, but Fitzpatrick sure made it look like they would in the early going.

He came out strong on Harvard’s first drive of the game, completing four of five passes for 30 yards. Fitzpatrick even finished the drive himself, making a nice cutback on a 3-yard touchdown run to cap a 15-play, 66-yard march.

Harvard’s next drive was more of the same. Fitzpatrick tossed two big-gainers to junior Kyle Cremarosa and another to senior Carl Morris to set up the first of three Nick Palazzo TD runs on the day.

Just like that, a sophomore was methodically carving up one of the nation’s best defenses, hitting holes like a fullback, scrambling like a deer and making high-percentage passes to take his team down the field.

For the most part, he maintained that pace during the rest of the game. He connected on 22 of his 36 passes on the day for 289 yards and—most importantly —no interceptions.

“Fitzy did a great job of competing and a great job with ball security,” Murphy said. “I thought his effort was tremendous. He’s a very poised, courageous kid.”

Sure, Fitzpatrick made mistakes. He missed an open Morris a couple of times, and he threw an ill-fated lateral behind Palazzo, resulting in a critical fourth-quarter fumble that turned the tide for good.

Those things happen when you’re a sophomore making your second career start. The pass to Palazzo was inches away from where it needed to be. Inches. But it was enough to make the difference.

See why playing quarterback is the toughest thing to do in all of team sports? You’re trying to split hairs while men weighing upwards of 300 pounds are bearing down on you.

But hanging in there, sticking with it like Fitzpatrick has, continues to earn him respect in this game.

Respect from opponents, such as Lehigh senior cornerback Ken Pitter, who spoke highly of Fitzpatrick’s play after the game.

Respect from coaches, such as Lehigh’s Pete Lembo, who called Fitzpatrick one of the best quarterbacks he’ll face all year—high praise from a man whose team is probably headed to the Division I-AA playoffs.

And respect, most importantly, from his teammates.

“We were behind him out there,” Morris said, when asked what the mood in the huddle was as Fitzpatrick tried to rally the Crimson in the final minute. “No one was down.”

Fitzpatrick will go about his business of leading the team for as long as Rose remains out. He’ll make intelligent passes, build confidence with each snap and bring some different skills to the table, including his knack for scramblin—something that has already driven a few defenses bonkers.

On Saturday, though, Lehigh was able to make just a couple more big plays than the Crimson. The Streak, which had come to define Harvard football for the past year, met its unfortunate demise somewhere in the rolling hills of Eastern Pennsylvania.

The Season, though, is very much alive. Harvard can thank the young gentleman under center for that.

—Staff writer Jon P. Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu.