Football Earns Chance at Ivy Title with Win Over Columbia

Two weeks ago, Harvard football lay in ruins.

Princeton had just demolished the Crimson, 52-17. That result exposed holes in the defense and hung Harvard with two league losses. The Crimson left injured and demoralized.

Then began an unlikely transformation. In the past two weeks, Harvard has revived a moribund season. In week six, the Crimson stormed back to top Dartmouth, 25-22. And last Saturday, in week seven, Harvard ripped off 21 straight points to unseat Columbia (6-2, 3-2 Ivy).

After that 21-14 victory, Harvard (5-3, 3-2) controls its destiny once more. If the Crimson closes with wins over Penn and Yale, then the program will share the Ivy League championship.

GET RICHIE QUICK

In his first two seasons, junior defensive tackle Richie Ryan played in 19 games and recorded 1.5 sacks. Last Saturday, in 60 dominant minutes against Columbia, he tallied 2.5.

On a day when freshman quarterback Jake Smith threw four interceptions in the first 20 minutes, the Harvard defense salvaged the game, holding the Lions scoreless in the second and third quarters. And in the final minutes, Crimson tacklers clinched the win by halting Columbia’s final drive.

The defensive line deserved special credit. Lions quarterback Anders Hill faced pressure all afternoon and took eight sacks. Before Saturday, Hill ranked as the Ancient Eight’s second-most prolific passer with 1,838 yards. He never got in his rhythm against the Crimson and finished with 184 yards and two interceptions.

Ryan led the pass rush. The 275-pound veteran forced a strip-sack late in the third quarter. He pummeled Hill on second-and-10, and teammate Kelvin Apari recovered at the Columbia 39.

Besides his sacks, Ryan added another tackle for a loss and stuffed the lone designed run on the Lions’ final drive. For his efforts, the junior was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week.

Ryan’s production proved especially crucial given depth issues on the defense. Junior defensive lineman DJ Bailey sat out the game, and Apari sustained a lower-body injury in the second half.

“I think we have some of the best athletes in the league,” said senior defensive lineman Stone Hart. “This is a year where anyone can beat anyone, so it’s just about doing your job, staying focused, and not giving up.”

VIVIANO REVIVED

It took Jake Smith weeks to win the starting quarterback job. On Saturday, it took him less than 20 minutes to jeopardize it.

All season, the freshman has played like a veteran, zipping passes to open receivers, managing the pass rush, and throwing the ball away when necessary. Against Columbia, though, he reverted to rookie mistakes, tossing three interceptions in the first quarter and a fourth early in the second.

At that point, Harvard coach Tim Murphy yanked Smith in favor of fifth-year senior Joe Viviano. The veteran proceeded to notch two touchdowns before halftime—although one came on a short field after Hill threw a pick.

Viviano finished out the rest of the game, going 6-of-12 for 120 yards and two scores. Smith, by contrast, went 6-of-11 for 70 yards.

Smith’s nightmarish performance introduces some quarterback controversy this week. The fact that Murphy stuck with the freshman after three interceptions indicates great faith. Besides Saturday, Smith has rewarded the confidence. Meanwhile, if Murphy starts Viviano, he can take solace in the fact that the veteran already has started 11 games.

“They have the nice luxury of being able to go back to a more experienced kid,” Columbia coach Al Bagnoli said. “[Smith] will learn from that…. It’s just a blip on the radar for him.”

FLAGGING CRIMSON

On Saturday, Harvard totaled 110 penalty yards, more than in any other contest this season. Seven whistles came in a torturous fourth quarter in which Columbia nearly erased a 14-point gap.

Down 21-7, the visitors opened the period with an 88-yard drive that finished in the end zone. A facemask tackle gave the Lions 15 yards, and unsportsmanlike conduct by the Crimson sidelines added 15 more. The most injurious penalty, however, was defensive holding that converted a third-and-11 at the Columbia 40.

“I’d be a liar if I said there wasn’t a feeling that the momentum had shifted,” Murphy said. “All you can do when that happens is just dig down and fight.”

Harvard has struggled all season with penalty yardage. The team leads the league with 63 flags, meaning nearly eight a game. In the last minute, when the Lions advanced into the red zone, it was fitting that defensive pass interference gave the hosts a first-and-goal from the eight.

While the Crimson escaped with the win, penalties loom as a point of weakness. In Saturday’s fourth quarter, 45 percent of Columbia’s offensive yardage came thanks to flags.

“We have so many things we still have to improve upon,” Murphy said. “It’s just one day at a time.”

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