Cor 0 0 3 14 - 17
Har 7 0 3 21 - 31
(Running comments) Cornell doing a decent job holding Harvard offense in check. Only down 7-0 five minutes into the third. Harvard defense and Cornell miscues & penalties make for another frustrating day.
Harvard touchdown at beginning of the game.
Long drive with a couple long runs and Harvard stalls, settles for Q3 field goal.
Cornell forces a fumble late in the third, recovers at the Harvard 5. Can we go the 5 yards? 1st down incomplete (deflected?), 2nd half-yard gain, 3rd sacked at the 10, 4th Brad Greenway 27-yard FG (Cornell's first of year?). 10-3 Harvard.
Down 10-3 after three. Given that the Cantabs were picked to win the league, we're on the way to a moral victory. Harvard ahead on total offense, 296-121.
Fourth quarter, Harvard possession after the Cornell FG, a couple longs plays capped by a 21-yard pass, and Harvard is up 17-3. 85-, 87-yard drive. Cornell defense sounds tired.
Announcers suggest this may be a individual-record-setting day for Cornell ... as Allston punts for the tenth time.
Harvard 41-yard TD run and PAT. (3 plays, 52 yards.) Now it's 24-3 with 8:29 to play. This has gone from moral victory to character-building game.
Jeff Matthews throws 13 yards for his 2nd TD after a long run by NIck Booker-Tandy to get well into Harvard territory. PAT blocked. 24-9 Harvard. Announcers now say, "Perhaps this isn't over." Give them credit for optimism.
Harvard answers quickly with a TD. Harvard 31-9 about 6:30 to play.
Cornell gets the ball back with a minute to play, goes into a two-minute offense as the announcers describe it, using this as live practice for a later game when Cornell might be down by just a TD late. Fair enough. Touchdown pass plus a two-point conversion makes it 31-17, Harvard. A two-TD margin seems better.
Final: Harvard 31, Cornell 17. Fifth straight to the Cantabs. Cornell did a good job to hang in there for three quarters. Then the overworked defense couldn't hold on. Inability to get a TD when Cornell recovered at the Harvard 5 was a turning point. Nobody said this was going to be a one- or two-year march to the pinnacle of the Ivy League.
Initial stats say Harvard outgained Cornell, 505-208 yards. Allston had 378 yards punting (34.4 on 11 kicks). Jeff Matthews was 16x33 passing for 125 yards, 2 TDs, 1 pick. Harvard was tagged for 85 yards on 11 penalties; this may be their Achilles heel if they hope to go unbeaten the rest of the way. Cornell was just 4x18 on third-down conversions.
Defense holding on pretty well given complete lack of offense. Offensive line apparently can neither open holes nor protect the quarterback. Makes it difficult to move the ball.
With first and five on the Harvard 5, Cornell winds up on the 10. What an offense. 10-3 after a -5-yard drive.
Defense breaks under continued pressure, 17-3.
Harvard had 45 rushing attempts for 314 yards, 7.0 yards per carry.
Cornell had 35 rushing attempts for 83 yards, 2.4 yards per carry.
The defense did a great job for 3 quarters holding Harvard in check. After that it looked like they ran out of gas or Harvard found the keys.
The offensive line was painful to watch. I dont know how many times our QB got sacked but it was alot more than alot, it was regular.
On a happier note, the Big Red Marching Band gave the Harvard band a remedial lesson in music. Kicked their butt.
Hoping for happier things in the future.
Quote from: TrotskyWell, Harvard is #33 and we are playing in Alston. I guess we are probably looking at about a 14 point betting line.
It's a push and the Trotsky family makes a killing on the vig from both sides.
Quote from: TowerroadThe offensive line was painful to watch. I dont know how many times our QB got sacked but it was alot more than alot, it was regular.
Eight sacks...and a zillion hurries. Apparently three freshmen and a sophomore start in the interior offensive line. 208 yards of total offense and eleven punts puts crushing pressure on the defense, and won't win many games.
The http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2010/10/9/FB_1009102437.aspx headline spun the game about as optimistically as one could hope: Rally Falls Short as Harvard Tops Football 31-17.
We were light on uninjured personnel but I didn't realize one reason Harvard got eight sacks was because it lined up "against a Big Red team starting freshmen at both offensive tackles, a sophomore at center and a freshman taking the snaps behind [freshman QB Jeff Matthews]." Ouch!
Quote from: billhowardThe http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2010/10/9/FB_1009102437.aspx headline spun the game about as optimistically as one could hope: Rally Falls Short as Harvard Tops Football 31-17.
We were light on uninjured personnel but I didn't realize one reason Harvard got eight sacks was because it lined up "against a Big Red team starting freshmen at both offensive tackles, a sophomore at center and a freshman taking the snaps behind [freshman QB Jeff Matthews]." Ouch!
Harvard had their share of injuries as well. Let's take something positive out of this. This was going to be a "rebuilding" year anyway. We have Frosh and Soph's on the offensive line. The will get better! We have a Frosh QB, he will get better! The Defense played quite well until they ran out of gas.
So, I think we should take the long view, we are going to take our lumps this year and hope for better things to come.
Quote from: TowerroadQuote from: billhowardThe http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2010/10/9/FB_1009102437.aspx headline spun the game about as optimistically as one could hope: Rally Falls Short as Harvard Tops Football 31-17.
We were light on uninjured personnel but I didn't realize one reason Harvard got eight sacks was because it lined up "against a Big Red team starting freshmen at both offensive tackles, a sophomore at center and a freshman taking the snaps behind [freshman QB Jeff Matthews]." Ouch!
Harvard had their share of injuries as well. Let's take something positive out of this. This was going to be a "rebuilding" year anyway. We have Frosh and Soph's on the offensive line. The will get better! We have a Frosh QB, he will get better! The Defense played quite well until they ran out of gas.
So, I think we should take the long view, we are going to take our lumps this year and hope for better things to come.
I agree...as long as Mathews can stay healthy. Could be some big lumps this Saturday: Colgate 44, Princeton 10.