Backup Pizzotti Back to the Top

The latest firestorm in college football was sparked two weeks ago, when Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy unexpectedly utilized his post-game press conference following an impressive win by the Cowboys over Texas Tech to go ballistic on local sports columnist Jenni Carlson. Carlson had penned a column in The Oklahoman suggesting that recently demoted OSU quarterback Bobby Reid had failed to demonstrate enough toughness—citing an observed incident of Reid being fed chicken by his mother as an off-the-field parallel—as a signal-caller before his benching.

In the Gundy’s eyes, Reid was just a kid in need of maternal consolation, and the coach took exception to his player being criticized for no reason other than being a less-than-outstanding ballplayer.

“He goes to class, he’s respectful to the media, he’s respectful to the public,” Gundy said during the rant. “He’s a good kid, and he’s not a professional athlete...You don’t downgrade him because he does everything right and may not play as well on Saturday.” The tirade and its aftermath raised a delicate issue of journalistic ethics: How much sensitivity is owed to a 22-year-old amateur athlete, especially in comparison to a struggling pro passer like Rex Grossman? Is it wrong to write, “Obscure collegiate athlete X should play instead of obscure collegiate athlete Y, because X is better or Y isn’t good enough”? Around the Ivies doesn’t have the answer.

Instead, with the above delicacy in mind, it asks another question: Is Harvard better off with Chris Pizzotti at quarterback than Liam O’Hagan, who is out indefinitely with a separated shoulder?

First, the history. After the graduation of Ryan Fitzpatrick ‘05, O’Hagan took over the No. 1 spot in the first half of the season opener (remember Richard Irvin?), with Pizzotti stuck on the sidelines in jeans with a back injury. O’Hagan improved steadily throughout that sophomore campaign, leading the Crimson to a 7-3 record and a four-game season-ending win streak, including the unforgettable triple-OT win at Yale. He led the Ivy League in total offense with 2,448 yards and turned in a stellar 133.2 efficiency rating, but was forced to relinquish the starting job to Pizzotti to begin 2006 as he sat out a five-game suspension.

Pizzotti made four of the next five starts (he missed a game due to injury) as Harvard ran out to a 5-0 record, but yielded to O’Hagan in the second quarter of O’Hagan’s first game eligible, an eventual 31-28 loss at Princeton. A rusty O’Hagan played unevenly in making the final four starts, getting subbed out for Pizzotti late in both the Penn and Yale games.

O’Hagan secured the starting job before the pair’s senior season and started out brilliantly, but incurred second-half injuries in Weeks 2 and 3. Now he’s on the shelf, and Pizzotti, who filled in admirably against Brown and Lehigh, has the reins of the offense once again.

In terms of style, the duo has little in common. O’Hagan is the superior athlete, a double threat behind center, unafraid to tuck it in and run for a first down. Pizzotti, at 6’5 far less mobile, is a more conventional drop-back passer.

Here are the career numbers:

O’Hagan: 263-for-448 (58.7 percent), 3,232 yards (12.29 per completion), 23 TD, 18 INT, 741 rushing yards, record: 10-8

Pizzotti: 98-for-186 ( 52.7 percent), 1,404 yards (14.33 per completion), 7 TD, 6 INT, record: 4-0

The stats don’t lie: O’Hagan has been more accurate and more fleet of foot. But Pizzotti has the unblemished win-loss mark. The Crimson, which enters tomorrow with a 1-2 record, is either in need of some mere fine-tuning or the kind of major shakeup that the installation of Pizzotti entails.

HARVARD (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) AT CORNELL (2-1, 0-1)

A simple look at the numbers won’t suffice in evaluating this Cornell team. The Big Red has not played in a close game yet, with stat-padding routs of overmatched Bucknell and Georgetown sandwiched around a blowout loss at Yale.

The Harvard defense has improved from game to game against pass-happy offenses and draws yet another one in Cornell. Jim Knowles is committed to airing out the ball in 2007—the Big Red leads the league with over 45 passing attempts per game. Quarterback Nathan Ford has completed more than two thirds of his passes, but has only one touchdown throw because veteran running back Luke Siwula (six TDs) gets the ball in the red zone. He’ll have a hard time maintaining that clip if the Crimson shows up with the fierce pass rush it threw at Lehigh last time out.

Cornell is historically a vastly better squad at Schoellkopf Field; two years ago, Harvard was stunned in Ithaca, 27-13. This time, the Crimson rallies behind 60 minutes of Pizzotti and bags a sorely needed W.

Prediction: Harvard 27, Cornell 23

NO. 18 YALE (3-0, 1-0) VS. DARTMOUTH (1-2, 1-0)

Break up the Big Green! Last week, as forecasted in this space, Dartmouth registered its first win since 2003 over an Ivy team other than Columbia or Brown with a 21-13 triumph over Penn.

The Premature Mike McLeod Watch: 2,617 yards through 23 games, 40-game projection: 4,551 yards (Clifton Dawson’s Ivy rushing record is 4,840). This season alone, McLeod has 564 yards on 102 carries (what!?) and 12 (yeah, 12) touchdowns. It’s understandable why the Bulldogs run three times as much as they pass—it works. The Yale ground game is simply too much for the upstart D-men to handle.

Prediction: Yale 34, Dartmouth 14

PRINCETON (2-1, 1-0) VS. NO. 21 HAMPTON (3-1)

Factoid courtesy of football beat writer Brad Hinshelwood: This is only the second matchup between an Ivy team and a squad from a historically black college, and the first in 23 years. Hampton (most famous alum: Booker T. Washington) boasts a lot of offensive firepower in quarterback T.J. Mitchell and receivers Jeremy Gilchrist and Kevin Teel, while the Tigers are more subdued offensively (second in the league in rushing attempts). It’ll be an interesting contrast in styles and probably the most competitive game on the board this week. The Pirates in a nailbiter.

Prediction: Hampton 35, Princeton 31

BROWN (1-2, 0-1) VS. HOLY CROSS (2-2)

Over the last six seasons, Brown has the most overtime losses (it lost in double-OT against URI last week) in the Ivy League with four. Princeton has the most wins with five. Harvard (3-0) is the only undefeated Ancient Eight squad in bonus time in that span and Columbia (0-1) the only squad without a win.

Prediction: Holy Cross 30, Brown 17

PENN (0-3) VS. GEORGETOWN (0-5)

You know who was a good woman? The Chief on Carmen Sandiego.

Prediction: Penn 26, Georgetown 13

COLUMBIA (1-2, 0-1) AT LAFAYETTE (3-1)

Also Dolly Madison.

Prediction: Lafayette 32, Columbia 20

Record to Date: 15-5

—Staff writer Jonathan Lehman can be reached at jlehman at fas.harvard.edu.