Harvard Preview

The Yale Bulldogs travel to Cambridge this weekend for The Game with the Ivy League Championship on the line. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPNU.

Harvard enters the contest with a 6-3 record following losses to Holy Cross, Princeton, and Columbia. The Crimson bounced back from their defeat against the Lions with a dominating 37-14 win over the Quakers last week. Senior QB Charlie Dean (6’1”, 210 lbs.) leads Harvard’s offense and is a mobile quarterback with good accuracy. Dean has completed 61.1% of his passes this season for 1872 yards, 16 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. Harvard utilized passing plays to the outside and crossing routes over the middle to pick apart Penn’s secondary for 316 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns. Senior WR Kym Wimberly (6’0”, 201 lbs.) is Dean’s favorite target with 51 receptions for 703 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. Wimberly was hurt on Harvard’s first offensive play last week and did not return, but we fully expect to see him starting tomorrow. Sophomore WR Ledger Hatch (6’4”, 190 lbs.) is a very tall target with blazing speed averaging 21.7 yards per reception. The Crimson have tremendous depth at wide receiver with seniors Jack Bill (6’0”, 209 lbs.) and Joe Young (6’3”, 208 lbs.), junior Kaedyn Odermann (6’3”, 211 lbs.), and sophomore Scott Woods (5’8”, 176 lbs.) all possessing enough talent to start anywhere in the Ivy League outside of Yale or Princeton. Senior RB Aidan Borguet (5’10”, 211 lbs.) ripped Yale for 269 rushing yards as a freshman in 2019 and is well on his way to becoming 1^st Team All-Ivy with 1120 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns over 9 games. Senior RB Sone Ntoh (5’11”, 229 lbs.) is a load to tackle when relieving Borguet. Harvard’s offensive line is very talented displaying superior run blocking skills to Princeton’s offensive line but is a slight notch below Princeton’s line in terms of pass protection. The Crimson average 293.8 lbs. across the board and manhandled the Quakers’ front a week ago. Junior TE Tyler Neville (6’4”, 235 lbs.) could be the most dangerous pass catching tight end in the Ivy League while junior H Back Haven Montefalco (6’4”, 231 lbs.) gives Harvard an easy mismatch against smaller linebackers and safeties.

Harvard’s defensive line is the strength of the team. Senior DE Truman Jones (6’4”, 242 lbs.) has dominated opposing offensive linemen racking up 30 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 6 sacks. Junior DT Thor Griffith (6’2”, 305 lbs.) is very stout at the point of attack and displays great pursuit skills with 38 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. Junior LB Matt Hudson (6’3”, 230 lbs.) has had a highly productive season as a first-time starter with 45 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Senior LB Jack McGowan (6’1”, 216 lbs.) was a 1^st Team All-Ivy defender last season and continues to impress with 38 tackles on the season. Penn had opportunities to exploit Harvard’s secondary but drops by receivers and inaccurate passes plagued the Quakers. Senior S James Herring (6’0”, 187 lbs.) is tied for the team lead in tackles with 45. Senior CB Alex Washington (6’2”, 192 lbs.) is the most talented member of the secondary and leads the team with 2 interceptions. Harvard has a very fast defense overall and defenders flow well to the ball which makes gaining yardage on short screens difficult.

Senior K Jonah Lipel (6’0”, 189 lbs.) has made 62.5% of his field goal attempts with a long of 42 yards. 2 of Lipel’s field goals have been blocked this season. Woods and Bill are top notch returners that have made undisciplined opponents pay with long returns. The Bulldogs will need to be crisp on the punting team as Harvard aggressively seeks to block every punt.

Go Bulldogs! Beat Harvard!