During the first quarter on a balmy Saturday evening at Harvard Stadium, Crimson fans watching the home opener against Brown could be forgiven if they were muttering, “Oh, not…not again.” The Bears had just scored to cut Harvard’s lead to 14-7. It was the exact scenario that had occurred a year earlier in Providence, when Brown rallied and eventually pulled off a 31-28 upset.
But this year, there was no déjà vu. The next 27 points belonged to the Crimson, and the final score was Harvard 41, Brown 7. The outcome in the Ivy League opener for both teams lifted the Crimson to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play; the Bears dropped to 1-1, 0-1.
“I was really happy with how the guys performed,” said Stephenson Family coach for Harvard football Andrew Aurich. “That first half”—in which Harvard outscored Brown 34-7—“was legit high-level execution…I always talk about [securing the] ball, execution, and attacking. It was very clear we did all those things at a very high level.”
After Brown’s touchdown, the Crimson offense poured it on while its defense suffocated the Bears. In total offense, Harvard outgained Brown 479 yards to 157. Three of the Crimson’s touchdowns were the result of interceptions. Meanwhile, Harvard senior quarterback Jaden Craig put on a clinic, completing 24 of 31 pass attempts for 317 yards and four touchdowns, and spreading the ball to eight receivers.
For sheer arm talent (as the football expression goes), Craig might be the best Harvard has ever had. His passes have zing and touch. He can whip a ball into a tight window, he can float it deep to hit a receiver in stride, he can fire it to a tight end who has gotten open at the first-down marker. He also can run if needed. Craig is a handful for any opposing defensive coordinator. He’s among the best quarterbacks in the Football Championship Subdivision and a marvel to watch. You have four more home games to see the show. Don’t miss it.
HARVARD FOOTBALL
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The first Harvard touchdown, however, came courtesy of its defense on Brown’s first play from scrimmage. Operating from the shotgun, Bears quarterback James Murphy took the snap and threw over the middle. Crimson sophomore linebacker Dorsey Benefield stepped in front of the pass, picked it off, and took it 30 yards to the house. Sophomore Kieran Corr kicked the extra point. With eight seconds gone, it was Harvard 7, Brown 0.
Later in the first period came another Bears turnover. From his 18, Murphy threw to the left, the ball was tipped, and Crimson junior defensive back Austin-Jake Guillory snagged it at the 20. Back in business, Craig needed only three plays to score. On third and 11 from the 21, he found senior wide receiver Dean Boyd with a precise back-shoulder throw on the left side of the end zone. Corr booted the point. Harvard 14, Brown 0.
Brown rallied, mounting a brisk eight-play, 75-yard drive (aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty against Harvard) that culminated in a four-yard toss from Murphy to Ty Pezza. Drew Crabtree converted the point. Harvard 14, Brown 7.
The Crimson riposted. Craig led Harvard on a nine-play, 80-yard drive that consumed the final 5:01 of the quarter. The tone-setter was his 22-yard pass to junior tight end Seamus Gilmartin for 22 yards. The final 17 yards were ground out by determined sophomore back D.J. Gordon, who scored from the one. Corr kicked. Harvard 21, Brown 7.
On the next drive, the Crimson went four plays and 10 yards better, a 13-play, 90-yard series. From the Brown 22 on fourth and one, Craig flashed another of his skills, rolling right for six yards and a first down. On the next play he fired a bullet to a tightly covered Gilmartin in the end zone. Corr converted. Harvard 28, Brown 7.
After the Bears went three and out, it took the Crimson a mere five plays to score. The finale came on a bomb from the Brown 44 on which Craig found senior wideout Cam Henry, a converted track sprinter. Corr’s extra point attempt hit the upright; no good. Harvard 34, Brown 7.
On many days a missed extra point will come back to bite you, but this was not one of those days. Brown’s first series of the second half yielded an interception at the Bears 42 by Crimson senior defensive back and captain Ty Bartrum. (Ty also tied for team high in tackles with five.) Craig promptly hit Henry with a 35-yard bomb that advanced the ball to the Brown 7. On fourth down from the one, Craig used a play-action fake and fired to senior tight end Ryan Osborne in the end zone. This time, Corr’s extra-point kick was good. Harvard 41, Brown 7. (This was a big week for Osborne; see more below.)
Thus concluded the scoring. Both teams moved the ball but neither could shove it over the goal. Given the margin, this was fine with the Crimson. A bit controversially, Aurich left Craig in the game until deep in the fourth quarter, risking injury to his crown jewel.
“I wanted to get [another] good drive going,” said the coach. “I was lucky that nothing happened to him.” Yeah, coach, you got away with that one.
Tidbits
BROWN OUT: Harvard now leads the series against the Bears 91-31-2 and has won 13 straight against Brown at Harvard Stadium.
FOR OPENERS, PART DEUX: Harvard has now won 24 straight home openers, the second-longest such streak in the Football Championship Subdivision to North Dakota State’s 27.
NIGHT MOVE: The victory improved the Crimson’s record in night games to 21-3.
SPIRIT OF ’32: The 100 Crimson points scored in the first two weeks of the season is the most by a Harvard team since 1932, when the Crimson scored 66 against Buffalo and 40 against New Hampshire.
COMING UP: Next Saturday, the Crimson travel to Worcester, Mass. to play ancient and honorable non-Ivy rival Holy Cross. Kickoff: 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on the radio on WBOS 92.9 FM and Bloomberg 1330 AM and 1450 AM. This season, the Crusaders are 0-5 overall and 0-1 in Patriot League play. In a series that began in 1904, Harvard leads 47-26-2 and has won five of the last six, including the 35-34 victory last year in Cambridge.
KUDOS: Harvard senior tight end Ryan Osborne has been named a semifinalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Award, presented by the National Football Foundation. Candidates must have at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, be a first-team member or a significant squad contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The finalists, who will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, will be announced on October 22. Osborne, who hails from McArthur, California, is a resident of Lowell House and an integrative biology concentrator.
IN MEMORIAM: Larry Glueck, a longtime Harvard assistant coach, died on September 2 in Falmouth, Massachusetts at age 83. A standout all-purpose offensive back at Villanova, Glueck played three years as a defensive back with the Chicago Bears, winning a championship in 1963, before turning to coaching. Glueck spent 13 seasons (1973-1985) at Harvard as an assistant under head coach Joe Restic.
THE SCORE BY QUARTERS
Brown | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | ||
Harvard | 21 | 13 | 7 | 0 | — | 41 |
Attendance: 16,283
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Columbia 19, Georgetown 10
Dartmouth 35, Central Connecticut 28
Lehigh 44, Penn 30
Princeton 38, Lafayette 28
Yale 41, Cornell 24
THE SEASON SO FAR: follow Dick Friedman’s dispatches.
Football: Harvard 59, Stetson 7
Preview: Harvard Football Team Starts Off an Ivy League Favorite
