ITHACA, N.Y.—Heading into Saturday’s game, it was clear that the 2011 edition of the Big Red was far different from the team Harvard trounced a year ago.

Cornell already had two wins under its belt—matching its season total from last year—and QB Jeff Mathews was living up to the expectations placed upon him since he earned the starting job as a rookie.

Harvard, on the other hand, was still facing uncertainty under center. After senior starter Collier Winters learned earlier in the week that he would not play, junior Colton Chapple—earning his third start in as many games—had his work cut out for him.

Chapple faced the huge task of beating another conference foe, ensuring the squad maintained pace with defending champion Penn, and keeping up with the prolific Mathews.

In Saturday’s 41-31 win, Chapple proved that he could do all that and much more.

The game became a QB showdown right from the start. On the first drive, Mathews needed only three plays and a little over a minute to score the opening touchdown.

The pressure increased on Chapple, who had to play catch-up right away. The junior showed his nerves, opting to run the ball several times and failing to move his team far down the field.

“We came out a little sluggish,” Chapple said. “Playing on the road is never easy, [but] you have to get it done.”

It took a big play from the Crimson secondary to get Chapple going. Captain Alex Gedeon was at the right place at the right time when he came up with the ball after it bounced off Mathews’ intended receiver.

The interception set up the visiting squad on its own 19-yard line, and it was from there that Chapple started to find his rhythm with 6:01 left in the first quarter.

After a nine-yard completion to senior wide receiver Alex Sarkisian on first down and rookie Zach Boden’s run for eight, Chapple threw a 41-yard toss to senior wide receiver Chris Lorditch to put Harvard at the Cornell 23.

The Crimson quarterback did not stop there, finding sophomore Andrew Berg for eight yards before hitting senior Adam Chrissis for the touchdown. Chapple did not have any incomplete passes on the drive.

Chapple’s confidence increased tremendously as the game progressed.

The junior finished 23-of-38 and had 414 yards on the day, good for sixth on the single-game total offense category in school history.

“The kid has done a great job,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “We always say he’s not that pretty, he’s not that this ... But he’s 5-1 as a starter as a second-string quarterback.”