Harvard shuffles deck with Stewart at QB
Harvard coach Tim Murphy decided to shake up his lineup a bit tonight when Holy Cross comes to town for a nonleague encounter. Senior quarterback Tom Stewart will start in place of sophomore Jake Smith, who handled the first four games this season.
In last week’s 28-24 loss at Cornell, Murphy lifted the athletic Smith, who was 3-of-11 for 37 yards passing, and inserted the 6-foot-3 Stewart in an effort to jump-start the offense. Stewart, who battled for the starting role in spring ball and in preseason camp, finished the day by going 7-of-23 for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
“I was just trying to find something and Stewart sparked us to 17 points and gave us a jolt,” said Murphy, explaining the reason behind his in-game decision one week ago.
On the season, Smith, who is elusive in the pocket, has completed 60-of99 attempts for 650 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Tonight’s game with the Crusaders is a bit of deja vu for Stewart, a Dallas native, who made his only previous start against Holy Cross during a 27-17 loss in 2016.
“We have two good quarterbacks but I think we’ll go with Stewart,” said Murphy. “He has a really strong arm and he can make all the throws. He can throw the deep ball. He’s a really mobile guy. I think we’ll just see how we do when he’s in there. Jake has had a lot of plays and now he just needs to find out what he has to work on to do better.”
Harvard (2-2) holds a wide lead in the series at 42-25-2 but HC (1-5) won the most recent meeting by 10 points at Fitton Field in Worcester in 2016. That squelched a three-game winning streak by Harvard in the series.
The contest promises to be a hard-hitting affair. Led by linemen Stone Hart and Richie Ryan, Harvard ranks third in the nation in first-down defense (58) and fourth in fewest penalty yards (149). By contrast, the Crusaders are sparked by senior linebacker Ryan Brady, who has posted 70 tackles, including 11 for a loss, with two sacks. Sophomore defensive back Joe Lang has made 45 tackles.
On offense, Holy Cross will look to senior quarterback Geoff Wade of Needham, who has hit on 79-of134 passes for 860 yards, five touchdowns this season.
This will also mark the first meeting between Murphy, who is 15-6 lifetime against Holy Cross, and Bob Chesney, the Crusaders’ first-year coach who previously enjoyed successful stints at Salve Regina (23-9) and Assumption (44-16).
While coaching the Greyhounds last season, Chesney had All-America kicker Cole Tracy on his roster. Tracy is now enjoying a starring role at LSU.
This will be the third Ivy League entrant that HC has faced this season. The Crusaders pulled a 31-28 overtime upset over Yale on Sept. 15 before falling 34-14 to Dartmouth a week later.
“Holy Cross beat Yale and they have some really tough kids. They’re wellcoached and they have one of the best defensive lines that we’ll have faced,” Murphy said.