For the Harvard football team, the kickoff to its 150th season and to the Andrew Aurich era couldn’t have gone better. But the 35-0 plastering of overmatched Stetson before a sparse assemblage at a dank and drippy Harvard Stadium on Saturday does not answer the question of how the Crimson stacks up against its upcoming Ivy competition.
The 39-year-old Aurich is the twenty-ninth coach in Harvard football history and only the fifth in the 69-year-old Ivy League era. He succeeds Tim Murphy, who retired in January after 30 seasons and 10 shared or outright Ivy titles. If you’re keeping score—and we are!—by winning his first game Aurich already has equaled Murphy, who triumphed in his opener, 39-32 at Columbia, on September 17, 1994.
Barely seven minutes into Saturday’s game Harvard was ahead 21-0 and a rout of historic and embarrassing proportions seemed a distinct possibility. But the Hatters from Deland, Florida, and the Pioneer League took a deep breath, showed some fight, and made the final score somewhat respectable. (Their record is now 2-2.) It basically turned out to be a glorified scrimmage, much like last year’s opener, a 45-13 win over St. Thomas, also of the Pioneer League.
Like last season’s Ivy tri-champions, Harvard has speed, power, and defense in depth. The starting quarterback on Saturday was junior Jaden Craig, who took over last year in midseason and proved a deft and heady passer. He displayed those traits on Saturday’s opening drive, which began at the Crimson 15. Short tosses to junior wideout Cooper Barkate and junior tight end Ryan Osborne, mixed with runs, brought the ball to the Hatters’ 43. From the shotgun Craig took the snap and fired down the middle to senior wideout Scott Woods II. The five-foot eight Woods gathered in the ball and scampered past his pursuers into the end zone. A rookie placekicker, freshman Kieran Corr, trotted on and booted the extra point. With 3:34 gone, it was Harvard 7, Stetson 0.
In a trice Woods set up the next score. After a three-and-out by Stetson, he gathered a punt and the Hatters’ 47 and wended his way down to the 20. On the first play from scrimmage, he bolted 15 yards to the five. From there Craig handed to senior captain Shane McLaughlin, last year’s Ivy League-leading ground gainer. On the first play McLaughlin was stymied, but on the next, from the four, he busted over the goal line in the manner of his hero, the San Francisco 49ers’ All-Pro runner Christian McCaffrey. Corr again booted the point. Harvard 14, Stetson 0, with 6:21 gone.
On this series (and others), Aurich showed some experimentation, playing Craig and backup quarterback (and erstwhile starter) senior Charles DePrima at the same time. Craig is primarily a passer and DePrima a runner, but both also can do the other. Did it amount to much? Not really—but it will give future opponents something to think about. Later in the game a third quarterback, sophomore Dante Torres, also saw some action.
For the Hatters, the deluge persisted, and not just from the sky. After the ensuing kickoff, Stetson faced a third-and-12 from its 23. Quarterback Trip Maxwell threw over the middle. The ball was deflected by Crimson senior defensive back Myles Wiley and landed in the hands of Harvard’s Mitchell Gonser. The senior linebacker headed left and wove his way to the end zone. Corr kicked. With 8:01 remaining in the first quarter, it was Harvard 21, Stetson 0.
Thereafter a kind of equilibrium took hold. If Stetson had any hope of getting back in the game, it was quashed at the end of the half. Harvard went 93 yards in nine plays. The first big one was a 21-yard toss from Craig to senior wideout Kaedyn Odermann. Then, from the Stetson 24, Craig threw to the end zone. Osborne is listed as a tight end. He stands a mere (for that position) six feet tall, but he was captain of the basketball team back at Fall River High School in MacArthur, California. Using his hoop hops, he went way up high and snared the ball for a touchdown. Corr booted the point. Harvard 28, Stetson 0, with seven seconds remaining in the half.
Early in the third period the Crimson put its final score on the board. The big plays were a pair of 25-yard passes from Craig to Barkate, which last year became a favored connection. The second one yielded a touchdown. On both plays Barkate faked his Hatter defender out of his cleats. Corr punctuated. Harvard 35, Stetson 0.
HARVARD FOOTBALL
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For the game the Crimson outgained the Hatters 365 yards to 101. Craig completed 12 of 20 pass attempts for 217 yards. McLaughlin led in rushing with 64 yards on 16 carries. Barkate and Osborne were the leading receivers, with four catches apiece. Gonser was the top Crimson tackler, with seven. Senior defensive tackle Jacob Psyk had three tackles for a loss.
So…a good start for Coach Aurich, but its meaning is shrouded, like the day was—at least until next Saturday at Brown.
TIDBITS: Harvard’s all-time record in season openers is now 123-25-2….The shutout was the first for Harvard since October 17, 2015, when the Crimson blanked Lafayette 42-0. On the other side of the ball, the first-quarter 43-yard touchdown pass from Jaden Craig to Scott Woods II extended Harvard’s streak of not being shut out to an Ivy record 248 games.
Weekly Roundup
Brown 26, Georgetown 14
Colgate 41, Cornell 24
Columbia 31, Lafayette 20
Dartmouth 45, Fordham 13
Delaware 29, Penn 22
Lehigh 35, Princeton 20
Yale 38, Holy Cross 31
Coming up: The Crimson travels to Providence, R.I., to face Brown in the first Ivy League game of the season for each team. Kickoff: Noon ET. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription needed), and broadcast on 92.9 WBOS FM, 1330 AM, and 1450 AM. The Bears, who in ’23 finished tied for fifth in the league with a 3-4 Ivy record (5-5 overall), won their opener over Georgetown 26-14. In a series that began in 1893, the Crimson leads 90-30-2 and has won the last 12, including 34-31 last year in Cambridge.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Stetson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | ||
Harvard | 21 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | 35 |
Attendance: 4,488
THE SEASON SO FAR: follow Dick Friedman’s dispatches.
Pre-season:
