The final notes were the same, but the songs were completely different.

Just like last year’s rendition, the 106th edition of the Harvard-Princeton game ended with Roman Wilson catching a touchdown pass from Quinn Epperly.

But the teams playing in this year’s 51-48 shootout in Harvard Stadium shared few similarities with the squads that battled in Princeton Stadium in 2012. This year’s final-play loss was more impressive—and concerning—than last year’s collapse.

Last year’s Crimson team was led by the league’s Offensive Player of the Year at quarterback, an All-Ivy running back, and a tight end that is currently playing for the Baltimore Ravens—all seniors. Compare that to the group Harvard relied on down the stretch on Saturday.

Junior quarterback Conner Hempel returned from injury to lead Harvard with just three games under his belt. Senior tight end Cam Brate was often blanketed by double coverage, leaving Hempel to work with a limited set of weapons headlined by a backup running back.

Then senior center David Leopard went down with a leg injury, leaving senior Nick Easton to play the crucial position. Easton had never played center in a game before, and bad timing between him and Hempel led to multiple pivotal false start penalties. Hempel also lost slot receiver Andrew Fischer to a hamstring injury.

When the Harvard offense stalled on its final drive, it put the game’s fate on the leg of walk-on junior kicker Andrew Flesher, forced into action in senior David Mothander’s absence.

Flesher’s 51-yard attempt in the final seconds had the distance, but strayed wide.

That kick summed up the Crimson offense’s play better than I ever could. The effort was there, the talent was not.

The team’s first five games set expectations too high—this year’s squad is not last year’s. There was a reason Harvard was not picked to win the Ivy League in the preseason like it was before last year. The Crimson offense was far from a juggernaut coming into this season, and injuries along the line and elsewhere have only depleted Harvard further.

As the fourth hour of Saturday’s game slogged on, that became clear. It felt like Tim Murphy was trying to complete a puzzle without many of the pieces. Instead, he used the lint and spare button he found in the bottom of his pocket, and even tried to cram a CharlieCard into the puzzle.

For a long time, the replacements somehow hung with Princeton. The credit goes to guys like Hempel and running back Paul Stanton for keeping it close as long as they did. In the end though, Harvard didn’t have the requisite firepower.

That’s because the Tigers were also a completely different team this year.

Princeton’s offense last year was a Microsoft Zune—gimmicky and crude. Now it’s an iPod Touch.

Yes, the gimmicks were still there. The Tigers lined up with offensive linemen near the sideline and called more shovel passes than Stanley Yelnats in Holes. But, for the most part, the Princeton offense felt mature. Every play felt like it had a purpose; every player had a mission.