Football season has begun in the Ivy League, but don’t worry—some things never change. Harvard and Penn are still looking like the top dogs and Cornell is still atrocious. Meanwhile, Princeton’s season took a turn for the worse before the first game was even finished. But for those of you who could care less about men hitting each other on a field, never fear. Hockey season’s just around the corner, so you can look forward to some more hard-hitting action—just this time, on the ice.

Penn opened its football season with a spot on College Gameday and a live broadcast on ESPN3.com. But the attention wasn’t necessarily the kind the Quakers might have hoped for. Instead, all eyes were on the squad as it took the field for the first time after Penn co-captain Owen Thomas took his own life in April. The Quakers opened the game with a 40-second moment of silence for Thomas, who wore #40 for Penn, and then proceeded to beat Lafayette, 19-14. And that vaunted defense that graduated six starters? Didn’t give up a single touchdown, as the Leopards scored off a blocked punt and an interception.

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Harvard University’s own Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 will get the nod this weekend at quarterback for the Buffalo Bills as they take on the New England Patriots. The alum played in 10 games last year for the Bills while fighting with embattled quarterback Trent Edwards for time. He completed 127 of 227 pass attempts for a completion rate of 55.9 percent while throwing for 1,422 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Fitzpatrick has wrestled the job away from long-time starter Edwards with coach Chan Galley intimating that Fitzpatrick could keep the spot if he performs well. While at Harvard, Fitzpatrick enjoyed considerably success, and ranks second on Harvard’s all-time list for touchdowns, yards passing, pass completions, and pass completion percentage. The two-time Ivy League champion earned the Ivy League MVP award during his senior season and is the only Harvard quarterback ever to rush for over 1,000 yards in a career.

Fitzpatrick takes the helm for the ailing Bills, who have failed to win either of their first two games of the 2010 campaign after another frustrating 7-9 season. One of the quarterback’s main goals will be to improve the worst-ranked passing offense in the league so far, a constraint that has certainly hurt the Bills to date.

While 21,704 fans filled Harvard Stadium to cheer the Crimson football team to a 34-6 win over Holy Cross on Saturday night, one famous alumnus got a bird’s-eye view.

Actor Tommy Lee Jones ’69—who played on the offensive line in Harvard’s famous 29-29 “win” over Yale in 1968—appeared in the press box in the second half and stayed there until close to the end of the blowout.

Jones, who was a first-team All-Ivy selection as a senior, kept it low-key in the press box, mainly chatting about the Crimson squad and the strength of the Ivy League with athletic director Bob Scalise. He also good-naturedly shook hands with a few of the coaches who came over to introduce themselves.

Although the Oscar winner is most famous for his roles in films like Men In Black, No Country for Old Men, and The Fugitive, Jones also was featured in the 2008 documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the famous tie.

In the modern era of sports, being a college coach carries with it the burden of constant media attention. Facing dozens of reporters at press conferences, head coaches have gotten more savvy—they say what they need to and leave the rest up for speculation. Here at The Back Page, we’re happy to decode some of these media sessions, showing the average fan what we think coaches’ answers “really” mean.

The Harvard football night game got plenty of press for the quality of play from the boys in Crimson. Senior Andrew Hatch and freshman David Mothander earned player and rookie of the week nods, respectively, and the 34-6 drubbing of Holy Cross appeared to stem from the home team’s all-around solid play. But there was one man who wasn’t ready to give Harvard all the credit. Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore largely attributed the lopsided score to the Crusaders’ deficiencies in this edition of Sound Off.

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The start of the football season is just hours ahead of us, but before we delve into a whirlwind 10-game season, The Back Page took some time to check in with Harvard coach Tim Murphy to talk about the Crimson’s upcoming opponent—Holy Cross—the benefit of night games, and the looming concern about ongoing concussions. On Monday, look for Murphy’s sound off about Harvard’s opening effort on the gridiron.

What Murphy said: “Obviously having the benefit of playing their third game, [Holy Cross has] worked some kinks out. I think they know where they are [personnel-wise], they’re probably a little bit more disciplined than you are the first game in terms of penalties and things like that.”

What Murphy means: On paper, the Crimson should be a better team than Holy Cross. The Crusaders lost their NFL-caliber quarterback Dominic Randolph to graduation, and, following a 31-7 drubbing at the hands of Massachusetts, the team does not appear strong coming into tonight’s contest. Nonetheless, “discipline” goes a long way early in the season, and Murphy will have to make sure that his players are ready for a well-prepared opponent. It would be shocking if this game were a shootout with both squads breaking in new quarterbacks, so, as Murphy emphasized in the preseason, mistake-free football will prove key for a victory under the lights.

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