Fourth-string quarterback Richard Irvin was all set to start under center for Harvard this weekend.
After starter Liam O'Hagan was suspended for misconduct and backups Chris Pizzotti and Jeff Witt went down with injuries, the Crimson was in a tough spot.
But after all the drama, Pizzotti recovered more than a week before expected, and led the Crimson to victory.
Pizzotti, a junior, threw for 291 yards on 15-of-29 passing, and notched his first career touchdown in a 35-33 win over Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks went into this weekend as the 21st-ranked defense in the nation.
All this after just one practice the week before.
After going down hard against Holy Cross in the team's opener two weeks ago, Pizzotti didn't even see full reps during his one practice since injuring his knee.
While Pizzotti will likely head back to the bench when O'Hagan returns from his suspension in two weeks, Harvard appears to have a viable option Saturday against Cornell and a safety net should O'Hagan go down.
Role reversal
Pizzotti wasn't the only one who pulled through for Harvard.
Down 10 in the second quarter, the Crimson went deep into its playbook and kept a drive alive on two trick plays.
Faced with a 4th-and-4 from its own 46, Harvard lined up to punt, but instead snapped it directly to defensive tackle Matt Curtis, who did his best Clifton Dawson impression and ran for eight yards and a first down.
Just three plays and 14 yards later, the Crimson pulled another fast one.
Lehigh sniffed out a reverse to wide receiver Chris Sanders, but to the Mountain Hawks' surprise, Sanders came up throwing. Fellow wideout Corey Mazza had to backtrack a bit, but hauled in Sanders' lob for a 32-yard score.
But this play may not have been Harvard's creation.
On the first play of the second quarter, Lehigh gained 38 yards on a reverse pass of its own, by wide receiver Mik Fitzgerald.
It's not likely the Mountain Hawks were flattered by this imitation, as they ended up on the losing end of a two-point game.
Lackluster Leopards
Whoever is in charge of public relations for Ivy League football should send Lafayette a muffin basket.
The Leopards, who were in the top 25 just two weeks ago, have dropped three straight games to Ivy League opponents, making the Ancient Eight look like the class of I-AA.
After losing to Penn and Princeton, respectively, the past two weeks, the Leopards were desperately trying to avoid the Ivy defeat trifecta when they hosted Yale on Saturday.
No such luck.
The Elis took a 16-point lead after three quarters, and despite a late rally, Lafayette couldn't quite pull off the comeback, ultimately falling 37-34.
The Leopards will try to forget about this rough stretch during their bye next week, but they have an unkind opponent waiting for them: Ivy League favorite Harvard.
State bragging rights
Despite a 68-yard pass from quarterback Joe DiGiacomo with five minutes left in the game, Brown lost to Rhode Island and failed to take home the Governor's Cup.
Brown had won the last two contests and moved to 66-23-2 overall in the series.
Movin' on up
Harvard's win propelled it to the No. 19 spot in this week's Division I-AA rankings. Princeton landed just outside of the Top 25, right behind No. 25 San Diego. The Quakers moved up slightly from last week, garnering 26 votes. Not surprisingly, Columbia's stint in the "others receiving votes" listing has come to a end.
