"We've had trouble this season in blowing lesser teams out of the water. It seems like we often play down to the level of our opponents. Against Cornell, we turned that around," Barker said.

But after Cornell was Princeton. Obviously frustrated by the loss, the Crimson rebounded the next morning to demolish Yale 21-4.

"We were kind of upset after losing (to Princeton), and Yale was the victim of our anger," Busquets said.

The Expectations Game

Harvard came home with a third place finish. Below expectations, yes, but nothing to ruffle Coach Andy Freed's immaculate Jimmy-Johnsonesque blow-dried hair.

The New England Championships are this weekend. The winner of which earns an automatic berth to the Eastern Championships the following weekend.

The national tournament follows the Eastern Championships.

Don't make travel plans yet, but Harvard is almost certain to receive one of the five at-large berths to the Easterns.

The players and Freed have been pointing to Easterns all year.

As Busquets put it, "That's the one we really want to win."

The stretch starts now.