The change won't occur overnight, but the football team is clearly heading in the right direction.
Consistent with the sweeping overhaul in mentality that coincided with the promotion of interim head coach Jay Civetti, the Jumbos have already taken leaps and bounds toward becoming a better second−half squad.
Saturday's season−opener, albeit a 24−16 loss at Hamilton, provided a glimpse of the fourth−quarter fight that had perhaps been missing last season — when the Jumbos were outscored 62−23 in the final period. Tufts was outscored 130−47 in the second half overall, despite leading at halftime in five of its seven losses. For comparison, the top two NESCAC schools — Williams and Trinity — allowed fewer points all season than Tufts did in the second half.
"We should put ourselves in a position to win in the fourth quarter," Civetti said. "Teams I've been a part of that have been great have been able to put away games in the fourth quarter. If you're a program that can focus on that and go into the fourth with a chance to win, then you're going to be all right in the long run."
If Saturday was any indication, the Jumbos will be all right.
Down 24−10 entering the fourth, senior quarterback Johnny Lindquist nearly engineered the comeback in his first collegiate start. He directed drives of 85, 58 and 51 yards, the first of which included two long completions to junior receiver Dylan Haas and was capped off by a 7−yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Ryan Pollock.
The defense, meanwhile, more than held up its end of the bargain, forcing a pair of three−and−outs in the quarter. Hamilton's two full drives in the fourth quarter resulted in six plays for minus−1 net yards.
"I think we just rose to the occasion," senior linebacker Zach Skarzynski said. "We've been preaching winning in the fourth quarter because it was something we had trouble with last year. That's the mindset, to never let being behind bother us. We were able to bounce back and just bang with them again."
Lindquist marched the Jumbos deep into the Continentals' territory on their final two drives of the game, but the first ended on a turnover on downs at the Hamilton 36 on a questionable spot. On the game−ending series, Lindquist completed three passes to sophomore wideout Pat Nee for 41 yards and dumped off to Pollock for another 10−yard gain. Once Tufts reached the Hamilton red zone, though, incomplete passes and dropped balls spelled defeat.
The shorted comeback left Civetti optimistic, but he knows that the Jumbos must get over the hump in order to turn intensity into results.
"I don't think there was a guy on the sideline who didn't believe we had a chance to win the game," Civetti said. "But believing it and doing it are two different things. It's got to start somewhere. The belief is there, but now we have to execute. We have to take all those reps from practice and apply them. The enthusiasm is contagious, but that doesn't guarantee that you can do it every play."
The loss, Tufts' first to Hamilton since 1991, was still cause for hope. In their seven losses in 2010, only once did the Jumbos possess the ball more than their opponent in the fourth quarter. In fact, they were out−possessed by an average of 4:35 in the fourth last season.
On Saturday, meanwhile, Tufts held the ball for nearly two minutes longer than the Continentals in the fourth. The defense found a way to stop Hamilton junior quarterback and NESCAC Player of the Week Jordan Eck, paving the way for a rare late opportunity.
"I don't really know what it was about last year. I'm not sure," Skarzynski said. "It wasn't something that was missing, we knew what was at stake, but we just didn't get it done and didn't capitalize. It's a different team this year. We really turned it up in the second half. I had the utmost confidence in the fourth quarter that we'd dominate there."
