WORCESTER--Football coaches and players don't always make the best interviews. They hammer away at the same themes and use the same vocabulary: character, intensity, determination, toughness, blah, blah, blah.

But after the Harvard football team's 25-17 win at Holy Cross on Saturday, I'm willing to play along for a week. The Crimson has a mental toughness and resiliency that allowed it to recover from the Crusaders' scoring 14 points in 18 seconds.

Harvard (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) showed flashes of its doggedness last week, when it trailed Columbia 7-0 after the Lions marched down the field in impressive fashion on their first series. On its next possession, the Crimson came away without points after first-and-goal at the Columbia one, throwing an interception in the end zone. Instead of letting the game get out of hand as it did in '98, when Harvard lost 24-0, the Crimson got an interception the next play, scored, and ran away, 24-7.

This week might have been even more traumatic. Up 3-0, Harvard took over at its own 13-yard line then gave the ball away when senior quarterback Brad Wilford fumbled the snap from junior center John Kadzielski.

On the next play, junior safety Mike Brooks nailed Holy Cross running back Joe Chambers behind the line of scrimmage, forcing a fumble that senior end Mike Sands recovered. The back-to-back fumbles resembled the back-to-back interceptions against Columbia and showed the defense's ability to make up for the offense's mistakes.

The defense couldn't hold forever, however, and after Holy Cross (1-2, 1-0 Patriot) got the ball at the Harvard 40, it struck quickly, with quarterback Ryan Collar rushing 21 yards on an option keep to the left for the score.

On the ensuing kickoff, senior running back Chris Menick took the kickoff at the 7 and ran for 10 yards before Holy Cross linebacker John Aloisi made a terrific hit, forcing a fumble recovered at the 21-yard line. It was a lucky number for the Crusaders again, as they immediately threw into the end zone. Wideout Kendy Hall made the grab against the endline, and Harvard was stunned and down, 14-3.

The story of the afternoon is what happened next. Two possessions later, Harvard started a drive at the Holy Cross 42 thanks to senior Terence Patterson's 19-yard punt return. Wilford found tight end captain Chris Eitzmann for 14 yards and a first down, and a play later, he found Eitzmann again on the right sideline. Eitzmann was able to turn upfield and get to the four-yard line, then Wilford found junior fullback Grady Smalling for a four-yard touchdown.

After being ineffective throwing the ball, Harvard suddenly became brilliantly efficient, going 3-for-3 on the drive. Wilford threw to Eitzmann for the two-point conversion, and the Crimson trailed, 14-11.