While he suffered slightly when kicking into the wind, he knocked two of his kickoffs through the back of the end zone for touchbacks with the breeze at his back.

Off-field Woes

Freshman running back Clifton Dawson—who last week rushed 17 times for 76 yards while splitting time with sophomore Ryan Tyler—was conspicuously absent from the sidelines during Saturday’s victory.

The speedster was suspended for one game as punishment for breaking an unspecified team rule according to Murphy.

“I made a mistake and I violated team rules,” Dawson said. “And because of that I was suspended one game. I look forward to returning to the team against Northeastern.”

Neither Dawson nor team personnel would elaborate on the infraction which prompted the disciplinary action.

Teaming with Tyler in Dawson’s absence was junior Nick Carrington, who carried the ball 22 times—10 more than all of last year—for 82 yards to lead the Crimson rushing attack.

In addition to losing Dawson for the game, junior wide receiver Rodney Byrnes fell victim to the a sprained left ankle midway through the third quarter, coming up lame after a 27-yard kickoff return.

Byrnes limped off the field and attempted to walk off the injury, but quickly made his way through the tunnel behind the bench and out of the game.

He re-emerged only in the fourth quarter, hobbling on crutches with his uniform removed and with the ankle heavily taped.

The injury is not considered serious, however, and Murphy said that he expects his starting wideout to return to action next weekend.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.