Crimson Faces Big Red Test

As the air grows crisp and the leaves crunch underfoot, the true sign of the new season is upon us—the return of Ivy League football to Harvard Stadium. Following a pair of road games, the Crimson (2-1, 0-1 Ivy) hopes to make the most of its return home, as it faces undefeated Cornell (3-0, 1-0 Ivy) at noon tomorrow. Harvard looks to continue its strong play after defeating Lafayette, 27-13, this past weekend. The Crimson attack was working on all cylinders, generating 491 total yards against a Leopards defense that had led the nation in scoring defense coming into the game. Senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, and junior tailback Cheng Ho steadied the ground game with 108 yards and a touchdown, including a 51 yard fourth quarter run that helped seal the win.The victory put to rest the painful memories of the week before, when Harvard fell at Brown 24-22 in its first Ivy League game of the year. Wary that a 0-2 start in league play could be disastrous, the Crimson will now attempt to even its Ancient Eight record and rediscover what helped it to last year’s Ivy championship, while the Big Red is certainly motivated by its sixth-place ranking in the preseason Ivy League media poll. Cornell has proved itself no small foe, however, in beating preseason favorite Yale at home 17-14 two weeks ago, and Lehigh 25-24 last week, a game in which senior quarterback Nathan Ford passed for 438 yards and two touchdowns. Ford completed 39 of 63 attempts and led the Big Red on a fourth quarter game-winning drive, finding senior wideout Jesse Baker in the end zone as time expired. A crucial task for the Crimson will be stopping the versatile Cornell offense, capable of relying both on the pass or the run. “I think they’ll try to balance it,” Harvard head coach Tim Murphy said, “and if they can’t balance it, then they’ll do what they did last week and they’ll throw it every down...what we have to do is understand that they’re going to complete their share of balls, but we’ve got to do a great job in the red zone and we’ve got to force some takeaways.” The takeaways will most likely come the Crimson’s way in the form of interceptions, as the Big Red comes to Cambridge averaging two turnovers a game through the air, a statistic Harvard’s standout corners, senior Andrew Berry and freshman Matthew Hanson—last week’s Ivy League Rookie of the Week—are sure to appreciate. The brunt of the Cornell ground game is made up of junior Randy Barbour and senior Luke Siwula, who combine to form Cornell’s own version of “thunder and lightning.” The Crimson will focus its attention on that dimension of the Big Red attack. “If they’re balanced, and if they’re having success with their balance, it creates a lot of problems for you,” Murphy said. “If you can make them play one way it’s a little easier. That’ll be our goal—to stop the run.” Harvard’s game plan then hinges on forcing quarterback Ford, who currently sits third on the Cornell career charts for passing yards, to step up, but his ambitions will by no means go unopposed by the Crimson defense. “We’ve got to get some pressure on [the quarterback], and we’ve got to get some people in some throwing lanes and we’ve got to force a few takeaways,” Murphy said, “because if they throw it 62 times and you don’t get any takeaways, it’s going to be a long day.” The sacks may be harder to come by against a Cornell attack that has yet to allow one despite attempting nearly 40 passes per game. Of course, averaging better than 440 yards per game, Harvard’s offense is no slouch itself. A front line that has given up merely two sacks on the season will aim to provide ample time for Pizzotti, ranked third nationally with a 307 passing yards per game average, to take advantage of his skilled, yet injury-depleted receiving corps. While his top target, junior Matt Luft, remains healthy, sophomore Chris Lorditch is out for two to five weeks with a sprained ankle, and junior Mike Cook and sophomore Marco Iannuzzi are out for the season. This leaves Harvard with a pair of inexperienced wideouts—sophomore Levi Richards and freshman Adam Chrissis—and senior Alex Breaux to solidify the Crimson air attack. As for the ground game, team rushing leader sophomore Gino Gordon, along with Ho, will find worthy opposition in a Cornell defense ranked second in the nation in rush defense, surrendering just 37 yards per game. It may still be early October, but the potential Ivy ramifications of this contest make it one not to miss.