CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Harvard quarterback Tom Stewart threw for 393 yards and five touchdowns of 92, 75, 74, 16 and 10 yards in leading the Crimson to a 52-18 win over Columbia Saturday at Harvard Stadium.
 
The loss drops Columbia to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the Ivy League, while Harvard improves to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Ivy League. With two games remaining at Brown (Nov. 10) and vs. Cornell (Nov. 17), Columbia can still record back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1961 and 1962.
 
"I'm disappointed on how we reacted to things today," Patricia and Shepard Alexander Head Coach of Football Al Bagnoli said. "We just did not play with anywhere near the passion and the energy that we have played with despite all the things that have happened to us. Kudos to Harvard. They had a good game plan. They did a nice job of making some big, one-play drives. We were fighting uphill the entire time right from the first play of the game. It was not a great effort from us today. Hopefully we can look at things, get it fixed and try to play a little closer to the way we've been playing, with the energy, passion and fire that we've displayed in previous games."
 
On Harvard's first offensive play of the day, Stewart hit Jack Cook for a 93-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead. After Columbia answered with a Chris Alleyne field goal, Harvard struck again on 75-yard pass play from Stewart to Tyler Adams to give the Crimson a 14-3 lead with 7:22 to play in the first quarter. Alleyne hit another field goal, but Stewart then hit running back Aaron Shampklin on a wheel route and Shampklin rambled 74 yards down the field for a touchdown and a 21-6 lead with 3:03 left in the first quarter. In the first half alone, Stewart threw for 342 yards with four touchdowns and completed 11 of 18 passes.
 
"Defense is all about making people earn things and trying to prevent big plays," Bagnoli said. "In the first half we didn't do that, nor did we create any big plays on offense. It's hard to put together a 14-play, 70-yard drive when you give up three quick home runs. We were fighting an uphill battle all game. It's not the way you want to start. We've got to do a better job."
 
It was a game of lost opportunities for Columbia. While Harvard hit on three long pass plays on its first three possessions, Columbia drove deep into Harvard territory five times in the first half and came away with just two field goals and a touchdown. It missed a field goal that bounced off the upright after Harvard lost 49 yards on a botched punt attempt. It also turned the ball over on downs when it couldn't convert on a fourth-down-and one play at Harvard's 20-yard line. Harvard also picked off two Lions passes.
 
Even with the three quick Harvard scores, Columbia was still in it. Columbia cut Harvard's lead to 21-12 when senior wide receiver Kyle Castner took a direct snap, dove over the Crimson defense and into the end zone for a touchdown with 5:51 left in the second quarter. A Mike Roussos 29-yard punt return and a 23-yard pass from first-year quarterback Ty Lenhart to sophomore Emerson Kabus set up the score.
 
Just before halftime and with Columbia driving again, Harvard's Wesley Ogsbury intercepted a Lenhart pass and returned it 42 yards to the Columbia 16-yard line. The interception set up Stewart's fourth touchdown pass of the half, a 16-yard strike to Henry Taylor for a 28-12 Harvard halftime lead.
 
Harvard made it 35-12 on a six-yard run by Shampklin in the third quarter. Harvard went up 37-12 on a fourth quarter safety.
 
For Columbia, Lenhart made his first career start at quarterback and notched career-highs for completions (20) and passing yards (203). He threw his first career touchdown pass to junior Kaleb Pitts, a 20-yarder in the fourth quarter. Offensively, Kabus registered his first 100-yard receiving game of the season with five receptions for 103 yards, sophomore running back Marquavious Moore rushed for a career-best 73 yards on seven carries (10.4 average), along with a career-long 43-yard run in the fourth quarter and first-year Mike Roussos accumulated 102 all-purpose yards, including three punt returns for a career-high 75 yards (25.0 average). On defense, senior linebacker Cal Falkenhayn forced a fumble which senior linebacker Jacob Young recovered in the fourth quarter. Young led the Lions with a career-high nine tackles.
 
With his two field goals on the day, Alleyne set a new Columbia single-season record for most field goals made. He now has 14 on the year and surpassed the previous record of 13 set by Luke Eddy (2012) and Matt Linit (1996).
 
Harvard was led by Stewart's five-touchdown and 393-yard passing game. Cook finished with three catches for 107 yards, Taylor caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and Adams hauled in four passes for 94 yards. Shampklin rushed for a game-high 92 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown and Ogsbury intercepted two passes.
 
The game also saw a contrast in weather as it featured rain in the first half and changed to a windy atmosphere featuring strong gusts of 20-30 miles per hour.
 
Columbia hits the road again for the second straight week when it travels to Providence R.I. to take on Brown. Kickoff is at Noon ET.