NOTEBOOK: Mistakes Plague Viviano, Harvard Offense Against Quakers

On Friday night, Harvard football’s hopes of an outright Ivy League title died in Philadelphia.

A win over Penn would have secured a fourth straight Ivy League title—a school record—along with the satisfaction of beating a Quakers team that had dealt the Crimson its lone defeat in 2015.

But that satisfaction never materialized. Penn jumped to a 14-3 advantage, weathered a Harvard comeback to tie the game, and mounted a methodical touchdown drive to retake the lead. Thanks to a botched hook-and-ladder play, the Quakers tacked on another score as time expired and emerged with a 27-14 win.

That result dropped the Crimson into a three-way tie for first with Penn and Princeton. Next weekend will determine the Ancient Eight crown.

PENNED IN

Before Friday night, the Quakers defensive line had recorded nine sacks, the least in the Ivy League. Led by senior and NFL prospect Max Rich, the Harvard offensive line seemed poised to take advantage of the matchup.

Not so fast. The Quakers brought pressure all night and totaled six sacks. Senior quarterback Joe Viviano never looked comfortable in the pocket and finished with a career-high three interceptions.

Penn defensive end Louis Vecchio accounted for three sacks. The most crucial came with nine minutes left in the fourth, when Harvard faced a third-and-seven from the Quakers 42. Vecchio burst through the line and hugged Viviano to the ground. Down 14-6, the Crimson had to punt.

“If you saw our first couple games, we played against running quarterbacks and used a passive, just-contain-them approach,” Vecchio said. “This week we knew that we couldn’t be afraid.”

Vecchio’s impact went beyond the sacks, however. In the second quarter, he anticipated a Harvard screen, intercepted the throw, and rumbled 40 yards for Penn’s first score. Then in the third quarter, he strip-sacked Viviano at the Harvard 38. The Crimson retained possession but kicked the ball two plays later.

Besides his three picks, Viviano ended the night with 11 rushing yards on 16 attempts, the second straight week that he has averaged less than a yard per try.

FOOLED THREE TIMES

“At the end of the day, we just made too many mistakes to beat a good football team.”

So said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. In fact, he said it four times in the course of a six-minute press conference.

“Mistakes” could refer to any number of events—the three picks that Viviano threw, the game-sealing fumble, or the coverage breakdown that led to the Quakers’ second touchdown.

But few errors loomed larger than the Crimson’s red-zone inefficiency. Harvard marched inside the Penn 20 three times and came away with a total of six points.

The first red-zone trip came on the team’s second drive, when Harvard advanced to the four. However, the drive ended with a field goal after Viviano overthrew senior halfback Anthony Firkser on third down.

At the start of the second quarter, the Crimson had a chance to expand on the 3-0 lead when it pushed forward for a first-and-goal from the seven. Then the gaffes began. A holding call. A near-interception. A sack. Ultimately Penn took over when Viviano tossed a third-down pick.

The final red-zone visit occurred at the start of the fourth. In this case, the Crimson earned a first-and-10 at the Quakers 11 but got no further. Freshman kicker Jake McIntyre converted his second short field goal.

“We’re not really hurt when a team moves a ball,” Vecchio said. “We know that in the end, they still have to get into the end zone. We’re not going to let them do it.”

NO RUNNING ALLOWED

On a night of overall misery, Harvard dominated one aspect of play: the ground game. While Crimson rushers rumbled for 136 yards, Penn totaled 21. On 20 rushes.

Quakers running back Tre Solomon entered the night leading all Ancient Eight rushers in yards per game, but against Harvard he finished with 26 yards on 2.2 yards per carry. Senior Alek Torgersen fared even worse. Previously averaging over 40 rushing yards per contest, he ran six times for negative 18 yards.

Early in the night, Penn seemed eager to establish the ground game, rushing on four of its first six plays. However, the Quakers soon abandoned this strategy. In the second quarter, the hosts called nine straight pass plays.

Harvard’s run defense proved instrumental in the second half, when the Crimson faced a 14-3 deficit. Penn tried to milk time by calling run plays, but Harvard refused to give up first downs. Between 6:41 in the third quarter and 11:24 in the fourth, the Crimson defense forced three consecutive three-and-outs, giving the offense a chance to cut into the lead.

“Our defense… played heroically,” Murphy said. “We’re capable of hanging in there defensively with anyone.”

-Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.