CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -A victory over Yale will never be thought of as a consolation prize at Harvard.
The Crimson face their historic rivals in the 126th edition of The Game on Saturday, one week after losing to Penn and missing a chance to clinch an Ivy League title outright.
``When you lose a game like that, it hurts deeply. If it doesn't, something's wrong,'' said Harvard coach Tim Murphy, whose team still can earn a share of its third straight conference championship with a win - if Penn loses to last-place Cornell.
``There's nothing like a league rivalry game after a week like that to get you focused,'' Murphy said. ``There's a short time of mourning and depression, and now you turn it into: you're ticked off and want to play again.''
The Crimson (6-3, 5-1) had a chance for a perfect Ivy record and at least a share of the league title last week when they played Penn at Harvard Stadium last weekend. The Quakers opened a 17-0 lead in a torrential rain and then held on to win 17-7, stopping Harvard after a first-and-goal from the 8 yard-line in the final minutes.
``There was a big letdown after that game. There wasn't a sound in the locker room. But that will come when you have 100 guys invested in something,'' said defensive lineman Carl Ehrlich, a captain. ``I don't ever worry about them getting up for this. If anything, it probably energizes us.''
Harvard still can win the Ivy title - technically, share it with Penn - but only if the Quakers (6-0, 7-2) lose on Saturday to Cornell (1-5, 2-7). The Crimson also have a chance to win seven games (they only play 10 times) for the ninth straight year; seven in a row was already an Ivy record.
``It means a lot to us to be able to keep that up,'' Ehrlich said.
A victory also would give them 65 wins over the past eight season, more than any Harvard team since the school won the 1920 Rose Bowl and the last of its seven national championships.
``We have all the motivation in the world,'' Murphy said. ``Not that you really need it when you play Yale.''
Of course, every record that Harvard seeks is just one more achievement for Yale to spoil.
``If you looked at the body of work of both teams, I think most people would say that Harvard has the edge,'' first-year Yale coach Tom Williams said. ``We talked about having that chip on your shoulder the whole year anyways. This Yale football team, people didn't (expect) much from the team, and we tried to prove as many people wrong as we could.''
The Crimson trail 65-52-8 in the series, which began in 1875, but they have won in seven of the last eight years; the Elis have not lost to Harvard eight times in nine years since 1912-22 (there were no games in 1917-18 because of World War II).
The lone Harvard loss since 2001 was when this year's seniors were freshmen.
``Any rivalry game, more than anything, is about pride. That's probably more important than anything,'' Murphy said. ``It's a huge game for the students and alumni and all of our players.''
But on that point, Yale is Harvard's equal.
``There will be certain moments, especially on game day, about putting on the jersey, putting on the shoulder pads, putting on everything, and it is the last time I am going to put this stuff on,'' said defensive back Paul Rice, a senior. ``But you have to deal with that, suppress it and go out and play, do your job. I think that's what all of us will be doing, especially the seniors.''
