For all rookie coaches, there is a baptism by fire. Andrew Aurich, Harvard’s first-year coach, experienced his baptism last Saturday at Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium against lightly regarded Brown. There, in the Ivy opener for both teams, the favored Crimson coughed up two leads of 18 points and botched a snap on a field goal that allowed the Bears to come away with a miraculous 31-28 victory. For the Crimson it was an excruciating defeat that drops Harvard to 1-1 overall. Brown is 2-0.
It is the first Brown triumph in the series since 2010, and perhaps the signature victory in Bears coach James Perry’s five-year tenure. The sting was double because Perry and Aurich were colleagues as assistant coaches at Princeton.
Manfully Aurich owned (in today’s parlance) the defeat. “As I told the guys in the locker room, I failed them,” he said. “There shouldn’t have been any time left on that clock for [Brown] to go down and score. That’s on me.” Maybe; probably, even. But Aurich cannot insert himself into the lineup to snap for field-goal attempts.
Early and even late on this sparkling afternoon, it seemed as if none of this would matter. The Crimson quieted one of Brown’s largest crowds in recent times with a virtuoso display of offense. In the first quarter, on Harvard’s second series, which started at the Brown 47, junior quarterback Jaden Craig connected with junior wideout Cooper Barkate for 27 yards. The play reached the Bears’ 15. From there Craig handed the ball four times in a row to running back Shane McLaughlin. On the final rush, from the two, the senior captain barreled untouched into the end zone. Freshman Kieran Corr added the extra point. Harvard 7, Brown 0.
At the end of the quarter the lead was doubled. Craig took the Crimson 67 yards in eight plays. Three of the most significant were rushes by senior Charles DePrima, the backup quarterback (and former starter) who was inserted to take advantage of his speed around end. This was a wrinkle that began the previous week against Stetson, and it’s a good one. From the Brown 20, on third and five, Craig lobbed a pass to Barkate, who was running in the right corner of the end zone and grabbed the ball. Corr again kicked the PAT. Harvard 14, Brown 0. In the first quarter the Crimson outgained the Bears 124 to 27.
In the second quarter Brown got on the board, driving from its own 25 to the Harvard five. The big gainer was a 56-yard pass play from fifth-year quarterback Jake Willcox to Solomon Miller. This bomb gashed the middle of the Crimson secondary, something that this day happened with distressing regularity. Ultimately the Bears had to settle for a 15-yard field goal by Christopher Maron. Harvard 14, Brown 3.
Back came the Crimson. From the Harvard 25 and aided by Bears penalties, they steadily advanced until they reached the Brown 19. On fourth and two Aurich elected to go for it and Craig barreled for a first down at the 16. On the next two plays he misfired on passes to the end zone, But the third time was the charm: Craig threw low to Barkate, who went down and snared it for a score. Corr kicked again. Harvard 21, Brown 3.
When on the next series the Bears were forced to punt, the Crimson seemed on the verge of putting the game away. But then came one of the contest’s inflection points. On second and three from the Harvard 38 Craig threw a pass that bounced off a Crimson receiver’s hands and into those of Brown’s Elias Archie, who took it all the way back to the Harvard one. Two plays later Nate Lussier scored. Maron kicked. Harvard 21, Brown 10; as the half ended the Crimson had given the Bears life.
In the third quarter order seemed to be restored when Harvard scored on an 80-yard drive, 52 of which came on a bomb from Craig to newfound receiving threat DePrima. On the ninth play of the series, from the Bears’ two, Craig shucked a tackle and took the ball into the end zone himself. Corr added the extra point. Harvard 28, Brown 10.
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But from then on, the Crimson got nothing. Credit the Bears. Perry obviously decided that he wasn’t going to let McLaughlin beat him. In the second half last year’s Ivy rushing leader gained but 15 yards on nine carries. This kept Harvard from piling up first downs on the ground and burning up the clock. (On the day, the Crimson’s quicksilver sophomore Xaviah Bascon led all players with 63 yards in 13 attempts.)
Brown’s comeback began immediately after the Crimson’s kickoff. The Bears got the ball on their 25. On their second play, Willcox threw down the middle to wide-open running back Matt Childs at the Harvard 35. Childs rumbled the rest of the way into the end zone. Maron kicked. Harvard 28, Brown 17. Another inflection point. Again, the Bears had life.
As the third quarter ended and the fourth quarter proceeded with no more scoring, it looked as if the Crimson would have a Providential escape. But with 9:21 to go Willcox began engineering a merciless 13-play drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown pass to wideout Mark Mahoney. The two-point conversion failed. Harvard 28, Brown 23.
There were 5:07 remaining on the clock. Could the Crimson offense chew up the time? Employing mostly rushes by McLaughlin, it tried. But an incomplete pass from Craig to senior wideout Kaedyn Odermann not only failed but, worse yet, stopped the clock. (The time management failure to which Aurich alluded.) Still…an excellent punt by senior Sebastien Tasko pinned the Bears at their 10, with but 2:25 left.
The Crimson defense did its job, holding Brown to two yards. The Harvard offense took over on the Bears’ 12 with 1:42 left. For Brown, which had two timeouts, it was time to cue the old song “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle.”
The Bears got one. In the ensuing series, the Crimson only reached the nine. Harvard lined up for a field goal that would all but clinch at least a tie in regulation. Even a missed kick would leave the Bears stuck in their own territory with little time remaining. The ball was hiked—and the snap sailed high. Tasko, the holder, couldn’t corral it and the ball got behind Corr, the kicker. He turned and chased it but was beaten by Brown’s Nick Hudson, who ran it to the Harvard 40, fumbled it, then grabbed it and picked up an additional 13 yards. Twenty-eight seconds remained.
Still…Brown had to score a touchdown. On first down, Willcox fired to the end zone. Mahoney was there to grab it, having beaten two Harvard defenders. The Bears had their first lead of the game—with 21 seconds remaining. A two-point conversion pass succeeded. Brown 31, Harvard 28. Desperation Crimson attempts to move the ball into at least field-goal position were unavailing.
A salute here to the battling Bears, particularly the doughty Willcox, and to coach Perry, who made crucial defensive adjustments and kept his troops in the game when things seemed to be slipping away. For Harvard, it was another weird, excruciating loss, to go along with those against Princeton in 2012, Dartmouth in 2019, and Yale also in 2019.
For coach Aurich…it was a learning experience.
By the way…don’t make overmuch of Yale’s loss to Cornell. The Elis, preseason media poll favorites in ’24 (Harvard was second), also lost to the Big Red last year and rallied to become co-champions with Harvard and Dartmouth. Such is Ivy League football. There’s a long way to go.
TIDBITS: The series now stands in favor of Harvard 90-31-2….The state-by-state breakdown of the 2024 Crimson roster reveals New Jersey leading with 12 players, followed by Texas (10), then California, Georgia, and Massachusetts (nine each).
Weekly Roundup
Cornell 47, Yale 23
Dartmouth 16, Merrimack 14
Georgetown 20, Columbia 17
Penn 27, Colgate 17
Princeton 30, Howard 13
Coming up: Friday Night Crimson! Harvard returns to the Stadium to face non-Ivy rival New Hampshire. Kickoff: 7 P.M. The game will be telecast on NESN and streamed on ESPN+ (subscriptions needed), and broadcast on 92.9 WBOS FM, 1330 AM, and 1450 AM. The Wildcats are 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play. Harvard and New Hampshire have met seven times, all from 1929 to ’39, with the Crimson winning every one, all by shutout except in ’34 (47-3).
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Harvard | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | 28 | ||
Brown | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | — | 31 |
Attendance: 10,753
THE SEASON SO FAR: follow Dick Friedman’s dispatches.
Football: Harvard 35-Stetson 0
Pre-season:
