The Harvard football team will open its 141st season of play Tonight, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. under the lights of Harvard Stadium. This will mark the first time since 2011 that the Crimson and Crusaders have squared off in the first game of the season.
Their football rivalry dates back to 1904 and after Boston College (82 games), Dartmouth (77) and Colgate (76), Harvard has been HC's most frequent rival through the years. Tonight will mark the 68th game in the series.
On Oct. 5 of last year, Paul Stanton, Jr., scampered for a 17-yard touchdown run in the third overtime, helping Harvard knock off Holy Cross, 41-35, in Worcester, Mass. The Crimson's Conner Hempel completed 14-of-25 passes for 162 yards and two TDs, while Peter Pujals went 33-of-50 for 345 yards and four TDs in a losing effort for the Crusaders. Stanton finished the day with 21 carries for 103 yards and two scores on the ground.
Pay per Head Network is the best pay per head casino online. Start your free 2 week trial now and experience the best bookmaking software online!
Not many football teams get the chance to play into triple overtime. Scarcely any must endure two in one season.
In 2013, Harvard played just two games that extended past regulation, but both turned into triple overtime games, a taxing task during an Ivy League season that features zero bye weeks.
While both of those matches were emotionally and physically exhausting, the Crimson most of all does not want a repeat of its most recent one that needed three extra periods—a drawn out battle with Princeton that ended in heartbreak. But even though Harvard’s first foray into three overtimes last year ended in victory, it’s still not likely an endeavor it wishes to revisit.
And given everything that’s changed since last season, it shouldn’t have to. The final score of last season’s Holy Cross matchup—41-35, advantage Crimson—certainly made it seem like the contest was an offensive shootout.
With an inexperienced quarterback in Conner Hempel making just his third start behind a battered offensive line, however, it was anything but. Indeed, the only score of the first quarter came off of a recovered fumble and excellent field position for the Crimson.
Following a trend that persisted through Harvard’s first few games of last season, the offense sputtered through the first half before finally picking up steam to survive through extra periods.
Pay per Head Network is the price per head online. Start your free 2 week trial now and experience the best bookmaking software online!
When Harvard (0-0) opens up its season against Holy Cross (2-1) tonight at Harvard Stadium, the now-senior will again line up under center, this time with an Ancient Eight Championship and a season of play under his belt.
Returning junior running back Paul Stanton and a bevy of talented wideouts, the Crimson’s offensive production should look markedly different from the uncoordinated group of early last season.
Though the Crusaders will be playing their fourth game of the season, Hempel actually views the Crimson’s later start as something of an advantage, as the Harvard squad has already had game-time simulations via scrimmages and should have fresher legs heading into Tonight.
On the other side of the ball, the Crimson still has questions to answer. Most of this uncertainty lies in the secondary, which returns only captain Norman Hayes.
None of the rest of the defensive backfield has ever been a starter for Harvard, and only a few have had valuable game experience.
This would present less of a problem if the Crimson were playing a rush-happy team, as the front seven hold the bulk of the experience on defense. But Holy Cross’s most dangerous weapon lies in its dual threat quarterback, Peter Pujals.
Though the battle with the Crusaders won’t have implications for the Ivy title race, tonight should provide the Crimson with answers to some of the team’s preseason questions.
Get all the latest SportNews updates on your social media outlets. Find us on Google+!
