Harvard can count on running back Clifton Dawson for 100-plus yards every game, but recently, there has been a new guy handing him the ball every game.
This week it will be Richard Irvin, the fourth starter in the Crimson's last four games.
After Irvin transferred from Tulane last fall, he was immediately plugged in as the starting quarterback in the Crimson's opener.
But after dropping to fourth on the depth chart after 19-of-33 passing in seven games, Irvin is getting another chance at a starting role because of the fiasco that is the Crimson quarterback situation.
After first-stringer Liam O'Hagan was suspended for five games for breaking team rules, next in line were junior Chris Pizzotti, who spent the entire 2005 season on the sidelines with an injury, and sophomore Jeff Witt.
Both succumbed to injury in the Crimson's first two games, leaving Irvin to start this weekend at Lehigh and freshman Mike Cook waiting in the wings.
"All we can do is give them plenty of reps," Harvard coach Tim Murphy said of the situation. Irvin's "been in college football before, so it'll help a great deal."
Irvin saw action in nine games at Tulane, completing 22 of 37 passes for 282 yards and five touchdowns in his first start. Irvin has also made seven appearances for the Crimson.
But when O'Hagan is finished with his suspension, will he reclaim his former starting position?
"When Liam returns, it is certainly not a definite," Murphy said.
The Crimson quarterbacks, ranked second in all of Division I-AA with total yards at 475 per game, are just one facet of the Harvard offense.
With 736 yards to go, All-American senior running back Dawson is closing in on the Ivy League career rushing record.
After averaging 175 yards in the first two games this season against Holy Cross and Brown, he's ahead of the pace to break Ed Marinaro's 35-year-old Ivy rushing record of 4,715 career yards.
And digging four-deep for a starting quarterback can only put the ball in Dawson's hands that much more.
"Dawson is a known commodity," Murphy said. "He's really taking the game upon his shoulders.
The senior has scored six of the Crimson's nine touchdowns this season.
The running back has only eight games left at Harvard, but there's a good chance it won't be the end of his football career - Dawson has NFL potential.
"He has a great combination of power and speed," Murphy said. "He's also a tremendous blocker, and that's not something all backs want to do."
On the defensive side, Harvard isn't looking too shabby either.
The Crimson has registered ten sacks on the season and has held its opponents to five touchdowns in two games.
The suspension of five players, including senior captain Matt Thomas, has not affected the team's play as of yet.
"The guys have responded in a mature way," Murphy said. "Something happened for a good reason. They've been very business-like."
After starting out 2-0, knocking off defending Ivy league champion Brown last weekend, the Crimson should present a real challenge to the league's other contenders for the Ivy title.
