Crimson Sluggish, Mistake-Prone in Loss to Holy Cross

by Scott Reed
WHRB Sports
My Opinion

Well, this wasn't the start to the season many Crimson had hoped for and expected, as Harvard opened 2011 with a 30-22 loss at Holy Cross. The Crimson looked like it still had some kinks to work out, recording -3 on the turnover differential and looking lost at times on pass defense. All had started well for Harvard, and it look like it would be smooth sailing after the Crimson grabbed a 14-3 lead, scoring on its two opening drives of the season - but that would prove to be the high point, as Holy Cross scored 27 straight points.

Following their first drive of the second quarter, which gave them that eleven point advantage, Harvard looked like a different team, surrendering over 300 yards through the air and struggling to move the ball on offense with the same consistency.

Still, there were some positives to take away for Crimson fans. The run defense was solid, allowing only 3.1 yards per carry, and junior quarterback Collier Winters, despite making a couple of costly mistakes (the 97 yard interception returned for a touchdown was a back-breaker), passed for 265 yards and completed more than 50% of his passes. And most importantly, there's this to be proud of for Harvard: the Crimson weren't truly out of the game until Winters threw the final interception with 15 seconds left on the clock. This team could have easily folded after Holy Cross went ahead 30-14, capping that run of 27 unanswered points, yet they battled back after scoring a touchdown of their own and getting the ball at the end with a chance to tie.

And things might certainly improve: we should not put too much stock in a season opener (remember last year's 34-6 shellacking of the Crusaders and the subsequent loss at Brown?), especially one where the opponent is playing its third game of the season. Junior sensation Treavor Scales will almost certainly improve at running back - eventual Ivy co-player of the year Gino Gordon only had 62 yards rushing against Holy Cross last year, albeit on 11 carries. And the pass defense will have to get better.

Yet all of that does not mean Harvard should feel rosy inside. "It's not a league game," head coach Tim Murphy deadpanned when asked for a positive from yesterday's game. Indeed, the loss will not count in Ivy standings. But, the truth is that Harvard cannot compete for an Ivy League title if it plays like this - more talented teams will be coming down the road in the form of the Brown Bears, the Penn Quakers, and the Yale Bulldogs. And perhaps as little as can be taken from this opening game, a lot will be revealed this coming weekend when Harvard hosts Brown. The Bears should be better than Holy Cross and almost certainly have a better player under center in the form of Kyle Newhall-Caballero. Brown, and the rest of the Ivy League, will provide ample test to these Crimson. Let us hope that by the end of the year the game yesterday will be seen as nothing more than a bumpy start on the way to a successful season.


Scott Reed is the play-by-play commentator for Harvard football and mens' basketball.

Ivy League Football Weekend Preview

It has been 42 long weeks, but the anticipation and excitement at WHRB couldn’t be higher as the 56th season of Ivy League Football begins this weekend. All teams will begin their schedules with nonconference matchups, hoping to get off to a quick start and build momentum before league play. There is an amazing slate of games to jumpstart the season, including four night games. Here is a quick look:

Georgetown at Yale, Noon

Undefeated Georgetown (2-0) comes knocking at the Yale Bowl in time for the 139th season of Yale Football. Bulldog QB Patrick Witt returns for his final season, commanding a much-improve offense with potent WRs Gio Christodoulou and Chris Smith. On the defense, Coach Tom Williams will be looking to unleash DB monster Geoff Dunham to pressure the Hoyas. However, Georgetown QB Isiah Kempf is no pushover, and comes off an emotional come-from-behind victory over Lafayette

Predictions: 32-21 Georgetown

Columbia at Fordham, 1 pm

The Lions visit Jack Coffey Field for the Liberty Cup, and Junior QB Sean Brackett is poised lead his team to victory. Brackett was a one-man offensive powerhouse for Columbia last year as he lead the team in rushing and passing, and this year will prove to be no different. However, tandem TBs Jr Nick Gerst and Sophomore Marcorus Garrett will bring a much-improved backfield to a team bereft of a backfield.

Predictions: 28-14 Columbia

Harvard at Holy Cross, 1 pm

Harvard begins its quest for the Ivy League title against the cross-town rivals Holy Cross Crusaders. QB Collier Winters is back from an injury-plagued season and with him are familiar faces: Trevor Scales, Chris Lorditch, Matt Brown, and Kyle Juszczyck. This is complemented by an all-star defense that includes Josue Ortiz and Matt Hanson. Look for a balanced offense to lead Harvard to an easy victory.

Predictions: 21-3 Harvard

Colgate at Dartmouth, 1:30 pm

WHRB’s perennial sleeper pick is once again ready to prove that the Ivy League is not a two-man show. Co-MVP RB Nick Schwieger comes off a 1,133 yard rushing season while Conner Kempe marches toward the Big Green record books in passing, already 6th in team history with 3,333 passing yards. This is the last chance for head coach Buddy Teevans to take his mature, experienced team to an Ivy League title

Prediction: 23-21 Dartmouth

Brown at Stony Brook, 6 pm

The Bears shocked the Ivy League with a gritty win over a sloppy Crimson team and managed to finish 2nd in the league last year. Monster of a man Kyle Newhall-Caballero returns after being sidelined after two games and will hope to re-establish his presence as a premier QB in the Ivy League. WR Alex Tounkara-Kone and Jimmy Saros will be potent weapons enough for Brown to squeeze out a victory.

Predictions: 14-7 Brown

Bucknell at Cornell, 6 pm

Coach Kent Austin will start his second year with an anticipated homecoming game against BUcknell at Schoellkopf Field. Although picked to finish 7th, the Big Red returns 22 starters to gain bragging rights at the annual Battle of the ‘Nells. At the focal point of this team is Jeff Matthews, who was a true freshman QB who started all games for Cornell en route to an Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.

Predictions: 32-12 Bucknell

Lafayette at Penn, 6 pm

There is no doubting that Penn sits alone at the top of the Ivy League rankings after two straight titles. Its defense is unmatched in the nation, and the team owns the longest active winning streak in the nation (FCS). One concern is the offensive line, which only returns 1 starter, although all five earned All-Ivy last year. No doubt, the Quakers will again be the team to beat in the Ivy League.

Prediction: 32-7 Penn

Lehigh at Princeton, 6 pm

Senior LB Steven Cody and DL Caraun Reid will be returning from injuries that limited them for 9 games last year to bring much-needed leadership for the Tigers. QB Tommy Wornham, a very capable signal caller, also returns since week 5 of last season to hopefully bring stability and production. Alas, Lehigh has scored more than 40 points in each of its game this year…

Prediction: 42-14 Lehigh

Let's play some football!

Harvard Football Opens Season Saturday at Holy Cross

Harvard Crimson (0-0) at Holy Cross Crusaders (1-1, 1-0 Patriot League)

When: Saturday, September 17th at 1:00 PM (Pregame begins at 12:30 PM)

Where: Fittin Field, Worcester, Massachusetts

Coverage: Live on 95.3 FM WHRB in the Greater Boston area, and streaming worldwide at www.whrb.org

In a series that dates back to 1904 , Harvard travels to Worcester, Massachusetts to take on a traditional cross-state foe Holy Cross. Harvard has historically had the edge over the Crusaders, leading the all-time series 39-23-2. However, recent years have been virtual standoff: neither team has managed to notch a road victory since 2005.

If the Crimson hope to break the trend, they can look back to their performance in 2010 for a set of guidelines. Last year, Harvard managed to stifle quarterback Ryan Taggert, holding the Holy Cross starter to 54 yards and an interception before he was pulled from the game. Offensively, meanwhile, the Crimson struck repeatedly through the air, as second-string quarterback Andrew Hatch (a transfer from LSU) went 20-25 for 276 yards and 3 TD's. Efforts to compensate for the loss of Gino Gordon, last year's Ivy League co-player of the year, will also be a key for the Crimson going forward: in 2010 alone, Gordon accounted for 1059 yards of rushing offense and 10 touchdowns.

WHRB's pregame coverage begins at 12:30 PM, with the Harvard Radio Pregame Show. Kickoff is at 1:00 PM, with Scott Reed and Charlie Hobbs live from Worcester, Massachusetts.

All is Calm as Murphy Begins 18th Season at Harvard

by Scott Reed
WHRB Sports
My Opinion

It's the third week of September, and for the 18th time, Tim Murphy prepares the Harvard Crimson for a season. It is a coach, and a team, outside the national spotlight, yet is a story of sustained success and integrity that merits much more hoopla than it receives. Murphy's Crimson have finished with seven or more wins in each of the last 10 years, playing an Ivy League-mandated ten game schedule, two games shorter than most college programs - and this has been sustained at one of the most academically demanding institutions in the country.

And as Harvard enters the 2011 season, the football program is at ease - this is especially impressive in this era of win-at-all-cost expectations and a need for instant and yearly success. Consider this Harvard's "Era of Good Feelings", a program experiencing peace, harmony and prosperity - shall we christen this time "Pax Harvardiana?" Success has been consistent, and rivals have been kept at bay, with Murphy winning 9 of the last 10 over the Yale Bulldogs. Although the pesky Penn Quakers are the defending Ivy champions, Harvard has given them fights and looks again to do so this year.

This has been largely because of Murphy, who, with his next eight wins will pass Joe Restic as Harvard's all-time wins leader. Yet Murphy does not simply rest on his laurels or expect that success will find him an his team: in an interview with WHRB, he spoke of the 2011 team: "I think we have a chance to be a good team...how good we are going to be is a work in progress." He spoke glowingly of his players, praising especially his quarterback, senior Collier Winters: "We're a good team when he [Winters] is on the field." Yet even less than astute observers have seen that Harvard has been good when Murphy is on the sideline.

To be sure, the Crimson program is blessed with natural recruiting advantages not bestowed upon Ivy rivals: unrivaled need-based financial aid capabilities in a league where athletic scholarships are non-existant, a location across the river from Boston, and, perhaps most importantly, is part of a larger institution that possesses the most alluring name in higher education.

Yet, many Harvard athletic programs have not flourished the way the football program has, and even the football program has seen this type of sustained success only rarely. What is more, Yale and Princeton, two programs with similar advantages to Harvard, have had difficult times of the last 5 years. Murphy, though, year after year, has produced success. And if the last ten years are any indication, Harvard will continue to experience relative peace and prosperity through 2011.


Scott Reed is the play-by-play commentator for Harvard football and mens' basketball.