Turnovers give edge to Cornell

ITHACA, N.Y.—Despite its first league loss, Harvard doesn’t have to give up the hunt for an Ivy title if it wins out in the final six league games.

To stay in that race, though, the Crimson has to stop giving up the ball.

With three interceptions and two lost fumbles Saturday, Harvard now has 15 turnovers on the season—two more than last year’s overall total. The Crimson has three lost fumbles and has thrown a whopping 12 interceptions through the first four games of the 2005 season.

“We never really gave our defense a chance,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said, “with three offensive turnovers and two special teams turnovers. Field position was obviously just a sham today.”

Saturday’s gruesome 27-13 loss to Cornell left no doubt about the repercussions of Harvard’s inability to hold on to the ball, as three of the Crimson’s turnovers translated directly into points for the Big Red.

The point swing wasn’t all, though. The Harvard giveaways came at the most inopportune times, repeatedly undercutting any momentum the Crimson may have gained.

Twice, Harvard took possession in Big Red territory off a Cornell mistake. And twice, struggling sophomore quarterback Liam O’Hagan threw an interception on the following play.

“Too many mistakes,” O’Hagan said afterwards, shaking his head in disgust. “I put that on me, not thinking the right things out there sometimes, and it cost us the football game.”

On Harvard’s first possession, the Crimson’s turnover trouble reared its ugly head immediately. Junior kick returner Neil Sherlock promptly fumbled and recovered the opening kickoff. Then, on the first play from scrimmage, the usually sure-handed Clifton Dawson was unable to hang on to a sloppy handoff from sophomore quarterback Liam O’Hagan, fumbling for only the fifth time in his career but the third already this season. O’Hagan fell on the ball at the Harvard nine-yard-line to preserve the Crimson’s possession.

It was short-lived. Two plays later, a relentless Cornell defensive line gave free safety Kevin Rex all the time in the world to cut off sophomore receiver Joe Murt and snatch away O’Hagan’s first pass attempt of the day.

“I think our linebackers, our D-line did a real good job of stretching the play out,” Rex said. “And with him having to hesitate a little bit because of their pressure, that allowed me to jump in front.”

Big Red quarterback Ryan Kuhn promptly found wide receiver Brian Romney for a 21-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Cornell lead.

To a certain extent, the wet and frigid conditions of Schoellkopf Field contributed to the ball control problems for both teams. The Big Red had two fumbles and two interceptions as well.

But Saturday’s woes were not an aberration for a team that now averages almost four turnovers per game. The Crimson led the Ivies with a +9 turnover margin last season. This season, Harvard is dead last in the league with a -1.5 margin per game—and 108th of 116 I-AA teams.

For Murphy, this year’s downturn was the most disappointing facet of an utterly disappointing defeat.

“It’s the heart and soul of what we preach, and it’s been such an incredible strength for our football program,” Murphy said.

The players who made that success possible, however, have moved on. Harvard has no one to compare to Brian Edwards ’05, whose talent on special teams was unmatched. Sophomore Steven Williams, his apparent successor, fumbled both a kickoff and a punt on Saturday, giving the Big Red excellent field position and, ultimately, two field goals.

At quarterback, the Crimson’s inexperience both under center and at wideout have contributed to the spike in passes picked. With the top three wide receivers sidelined by injury, O’Hagan and his backup Richard Irvin are throwing to a young and untested corps—and they have the quarterback ratings to show for it.

Last week, Murphy acknowledged that Saturday’s game would be a tough test for his battered squad.

“We can beat this team but we can’t do it with any mistakes,” he said. “There just isn’t enough margin for error.”

Five turnovers—four in the first half—were more than enough to surpass that margin Saturday. And in the wake of a second straight defeat, the first loss to Cornell since 2000, the first Ivy loss since November of 2003, and one of the ugliest offensive efforts in recent memory, it’s not hard to guess what the Crimson will be working on in practice this week.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.