Crimson in thick of it

Harvard avoids Ivy death blow

Harvard coach Tim Murphy didn't have to say a word to his team. The challenge of facing Cornell in the Crimson's Ivy League home opener was enough motivation.

Forget the fact that no Ivy team since 1982 had won or tied for the conference title after an 0-2 start in league play. And forget that Harvard already had stumbled once in league competition, to Brown two weeks ago.

No, all the Crimson had to do was focus on taking care of business against Cornell with big plays on offense and on defense, and an attitude that comes with being the defending Ivy champion.

Mission accomplished, as the Crimson raced to a 28-7 halftime lead over the Big Red and coasted to a 38-17 victory yesterday before an appreciative Harvard Stadium crowd of 11,263, many of whom weren't quite sure what to expect from the Crimson.

Nonconference wins over Holy Cross and Lafayette had been nice bookends for the first three weeks of the season, but a 24-22 loss at Brown had slowed the Crimson express. And when Cornell arrived with a win over Yale - along with Harvard, the other preseason favorite to win the league - there was some concern.

The Crimson (3-1, 1-1) eased such worries early as senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first half, and freshman wide receiver Adam Chrissis caught a TD pass and ran for another score before intermission.

When the Crimson defense came up with a pair of interceptions to diminish any Cornell hopes of keeping up with the offensive pace, Harvard was back on course to be a big factor in the Ivy League race.

"We did what we said we had to do," said Murphy. "A great team victory. All in all, a very solid day."

Solid, to say the least. The Harvard touchdowns, particularly in the first half, were spectacular, especially the 67-yard middle screen pass to Chrissis, which was the first reception of his college career.

"It was awesome," said the 6-foot, 195-pound receiver from Pittsburgh. "I didn't do anything special. I just followed my blocks, it was a team touchdown."

Chrissis reached the end zone again to end the first-half scoring, extending Harvard's lead to 28-7 on a 22-yard end-around that was not quite as spectacular, but just as effective.

Murphy grinned when asked where he had been hiding Chrissis for the first three games of the season. "I had to go to Pittsburgh three times to get him," said the coach.

With the outcome all but decided, Harvard simply had to maintain control in the second half against a Cornell team that won its first three games, but only by a total of 5 points.

Against Harvard, the Big Red needed their A game, and it was nowhere to be seen. "We played a great game when we played Yale," said Cornell coach Jim Knowles. "Today, we didn't. Today, we got beat by a better team in all areas, in all phases of the game. They beat us to the punch early and we gave up too many big plays."

Neither team did much in the third quarter, with an exchange of field goals, and then Harvard sealed the deal four minutes into the fourth when Pizzotti threw his third touchdown pass of the day, a 7-yarder to Jason Miller, capping a six-play, 77-yard drive.

The Crimson play out of conference next Saturday, hosting Lehigh, before diving back into serious defense of their Ivy title.

Murphy said the pregame chatter was all upbeat, focusing on what good could happen, eliminating negative thoughts. "Kept it positive," he said. "Just get back in the race, and the kids responded."

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.