Offense Needs to Step up for Harvard

The Harvard football team’s offense has more to overcome tomorrow than just injuries and a string of poor play. The unit that struggled to move the ball against Cornell for three quarters last week will also have to battle terrible field conditions.

The Easton, Penn., area received nine inches of rain before last weekend’s game between Lafayette and Columbia, and the deluge hasn’t stopped.

The onslaught caused what some Lions coaches called the worst field conditions they have ever seen.

“I think what’s going to happen here, too, is that the field conditions will play a big part,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. “The field was relatively speaking destroyed last week...It’s going to be a muck-fest.”

The combination of steady rain and malfunctions with the Fisher Field drainage systems could leave the playing surface swamp-like for tomorrow’s contest.

This is not good news for a Crimson squad that is trying to cut down on turnovers and piece together sustained drives. Harvard committed five turnovers last week against the Big Red—three interceptions thrown by sophomore quarterback Liam O’Hagan and two special-teams fumbles by sophomore Steven Williams.

Murphy notified his team of the field issues earlier this week. Fortunately for the Crimson, the wet conditions in Cambridge have provided ample opportunity to simulate tomorrow’s environment.

“I e-mailed our guys Monday night,” Murphy said, “and said ‘Hey, here’s the deal, the field’s been destroyed, it’s been raining for 10 days, so we’re going to go out in the mud and we’re going to muck it up.’”

PAYTON AWARD STILL WATCHING

Despite back-to-back weeks in which he failed to reach 100 yards rushing, junior tail back Clifton Dawson remains on the second installment of the Payton Award watch list that was released this week.

Dawson amassed 98 yards rushing combined for his past two games after gaining 342 yards on the ground through his first two contests. The junior has battled hip and leg problems all year long, and with the Crimson passing game struggling, he has routinely faced defenses unafraid to crowd the line.

“Clifton’s certainly not a guy who ever makes excuses,” Murphy said. “I think it’s a combination of less balance and the fact that he’s facing eight- and nine-man fronts, which hasn’t been the case the past few years.”

With the poor field conditions and the offense’s inability to hang on to the ball, Dawson may get even more touches tomorrow than normal.

The All-American has traditionally fared well in poor weather situations. The last time he played on a muddy track was Harvard’s opener last year against Holy Cross, a 35-0 Crimson victory in which Dawson ran for 184 yards.

O’HAGAN STILL STARTS

O’Hagan’s first two games of the season went better than anyone could have expected, but his last two have yielded far different results.

O’Hagan assumed the starting job after just a few series in the Crimson’s opener against Holy Cross, after sophomore Richard Irvin threw an interception that was returned for the touchdown.

The job has been O’Hagan’s ever since and will stay that way for at least one more week.

While O’Hagan led Harvard to comeback victories against Holy Cross and Brown, he appeared flustered the last two weeks, playing minus his top three receivers against Lehigh and Cornell.

Murphy is sticking with O’Hagan despite his troubles, but the coach didn’t rule out the possibility that Irvin may see some time.

“A lot depends on how he practices,” said Murphy of Irvin’s chances of seeing action. “To be honest with you, there hasn’t been a giant learning curve for either of the quarterbacks over the past few weeks.”

FOURTH AND FOUR

Whip safety Danny Tanner is questionable for tomorrow’s game with a meniscus injury in his knee. Tanner missed last week’s game against Cornell and was replaced by senior Robert Balkema in the starting lineup...The news isn’t getting any better for Harvard’s depleted receiving corps. Senior Ryan Tyler may be done for the year with a shoulder injury, senior Rodney Byrnes has only practiced once since he injured his hamstring on the Crimson’s opening offensive series of the season, and junior Corey Mazza would like to play, but Murphy does not believe he will be ready this week...Lafayette has the fourth-best pass defense in all of Division I-AA...Harvard fell out of the top-25 rankings this week. It is the first time the Crimson has not been ranked since Oct. 12 of last year.

—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.