Crimson To Face First Test at Holy Cross on Saturday Night

Harvard football is looking to start its 138th regular season with a win tomorrow against Holy Cross. The two teams will meet at 1 p.m. at the Crusaders’ Fitton Field. The Crimson has a strong record against Holy Cross (1-1, 1-0 Patriot League), taking seven of the last nine games against the Crusaders. Harvard has also dominated opening games throughout its history, with a 112-23-2 record in season-openers—good for a .827 winning percentage. Harvard has won on its opening day in eight of the last 10 years. But the Crimson’s opening matchup this season may prove to be more difficult than these statistics would indicate.

“This game will be flat-out tougher than probably any other game in the past ten years against Holy Cross,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “I say that simply because they are a legitimate, well-balanced football team…They are playing better defense right now than any other Holy Cross team I have seen in the last ten years.

“They can run the football,” he continued. “The combination of all of those things is that they do not appear to have any real weaknesses.”

While Harvard has only played one scrimmage against Dartmouth thus far, Holy Cross already has two games under its belt, which could give the Crusaders an advantage.

“There are always first game jitters and improvements you make from game one to game two,” said Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore. “The biggest change from week one to week two was our ability to run the football.”

The Crusaders will be looking to continue to build positive momentum coming off of a 37-7 win over Colgate last weekend.

“In the second week against Colgate, we were able to do a good job on third and fourth downs of ending drives and getting off the field,” Gilmore said. “[That allowed us to] give the ball back to our offense.”

The rivalry between Holy Cross and Colgate added to the victory’s importance.

After struggling for two seasons after the departure of star quarterback Dominic Randolph, the Crusader win proved that the team is back on the right track.

“To pummel one of your big rivals, Colgate, which is traditionally a power in the Patriot League, is very impressive,” Murphy said. “They have made the transition from the Dominic Randolph era.”

Harvard’s mental and physical preparation will be key to having a successful outing against the Crusaders tomorrow.

“I think the biggest thing we have been doing well is managing to do a good job in preparation, because nobody really wants to play a good football team who is playing their third game,” Murphy said.

But with Holy Cross’ additional game of experience comes additional exposure.

“It is always an unusual situation for both teams, in that it is Harvard’s first official game,” Gilmore said. “We don’t have any access to them this year. We go into the game without a look at their current personnel…That one extra game of experience is probably offset with their ability to evaluate what we are doing this year…as compared to us not having any look at them at all.”

Each team’s quarterback has made important developments to his game in the past year.

“[Holy Cross quarterback Ryan Taggart] has turned out to be a great player,” Murphy said. “He does not turn over the ball, he can run, he can throw, he can make good decisions. He is playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of experience.”

Harvard’s senior quarterback, Collier Winters, has also had significant achievements over the offseason. This summer, Winters beat out 36 other college and professional quarterbacks to win the “Air It Out” skills competition at the Manning Passing Academy, a result which has created excitement on campus for his prospects this season.

The Crusaders’ home-field advantage may also prove to be a considerable factor in deciding tomorrow’s game. While Harvard has won seven of the last nine games against Holy Cross, it has lost its last two contests at Fitton Field. In addition, tomorrow’s matchup will be Holy Cross’ homecoming game, sure to draw a large crowd at the stadium.

“There is a familiarity with your home field and having more fans in your corner,” Gilmore said. “We are glad that we are playing [Harvard] at home this year.”