Harvard Preview

The Yale Bulldogs host the Harvard Crimson in The Game on Saturday at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for noon and the game will air on ESPNU.

Harvard enters the contest with an unblemished 9-0 record and has already secured at least a share of the Ivy crown. The Crimson cruised their way through the first 8 games of the season as they made short work of inferior opponents and intentionally did not run up scores in wins that looked effortless. Week 9 was a different story for the Crimson as Penn exploited holes in Harvard’s defense and nearly knocked off Harvard in a 45-43 contest won by the Crimson on a 53-yard field goal.

Harvard’s offense is led by the talented senior QB Jaden Craig (6’3”, 230 lbs.) who has been drawing NFL attention this season. Craig has continued to upgrade his craft each season to become the top QB in the Ivy League. Craig has 21 touchdowns passes with 2,456 passing yards and has only thrown 5 interceptions. In the passing game, Craig has great vision and really excels on medium distance throws. Craig has good quickness to avoid potential sacks and is a decent runner who can easily pick up firsts when the pocket collapses. Harvard’s rushing attack is led by senior RB Xaviah Bascon (5’9”, 200 lbs.) who is very powerful and hard to bring down. Bascon averages an impressive 5.1 yards per carry and has scored 7 rushing touchdowns. The Crimson have a deep stable of backs including the speedy sophomore RB DJ Gordon (6’0”, 205 lbs.) and junior RB Jordan Harris (5’9”, 190 lbs.) who each have rushed for over 300 yards on the season. Sophomore WR Brady Blackburn (6’0”, 180 lbs.) has emerged as a top receiver in the Ivy League with 648 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Senior WR Cam Henry (5’9”, 180 lbs.) is a very fast threat with 345 receiving yards and 13.3 yards per catch. Senior WR Dean Boyd (6’4”, 210 lbs.) is a large target with the hands and speed to cause problems.  Following in a long line of great Harvard tight ends is junior Seamus Gilmartin (6’4”, 235 lbs.) who has solidified himself as the top receiving tight end in the conference. Gilmartin leads the Crimson with 5 receiving touchdowns as a major threat in the redzone. Senior TE Ryan Osborne (6’0”, 220 lbs.) is another tremendous receiving weapon that can surprise teams that focus elsewhere. Harvard’s offensive line averages 302.0 lbs. across the board and has provided Craig with ample throwing time all season. The Crimson have been dominant in both run and pass blocking with 4.8 yards per carry and only 7 sacks allowed. Yale has to find a way to generate pressure on Craig without sacrificing too much in coverage. Wrapping up ball carriers is crucial as Craig routinely sidesteps defenders to avoid sacks and Bascon can simply run through arm tackles. Our secondary will need to be nearly perfect against a loaded set of receiving weapons. Yale must clean up the pass interference, holding and roughing penalties that could be backbreakers.

Harvard’s defense has allowed just 15.1 points per game and 282.7 yards of total offensive yardage per game. Opponents have not fared well on 3^rd and 4^th downs against the Crimson with conversion rates of just 39.3% and 39.1% respectively. Junior LB Sean Line (6’0”, 220 lbs.) has impressed in his first season as a starter with 67 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries. Senior LB Jaeden Kinlock (5’11”, 225 lbs.) is a physical linebacker with 39 stops through 9 games. Senior S Ty Bartrum (6’1”, 200 lbs.) is Harvard’s captain and a returning 1st Team All-Ivy defender who is second on the squad in tackles with 58 on the season. Junior S Jack Donahoe (6’3”, 210 lbs.) has great size for a safety and is solid all-around in pass and run support. Junior DB Damien Anderson (6’0”, 180 lbs.) was a 2nd Team All-Ivy member in 2024 and has racked up 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups. Junior DB Austin-Jake Guillory (6’1”, 180 lbs.) is another returning starter in the secondary who leads the team in pass breakups with 7. Senior DL Alex DeGriek (6’4”, 250 lbs.) leads the Crimson with 6 sacks on the season. Junior DT Jake Darling (6’4”, 290 lbs.) is disruptive at the line of scrimmage and leads the defensive linemen in tackles with 20. Junior DE Josh Fedd (6’4”, 250 lbs.) and sophomore DL Christian Nwosu (6’1”, 260 lbs.) are talented pass rushers who have each notched 3 sacks on the season. Penn was able to find success last week on the ground and through the air. While Penn’s running back was kept in check with just 55 rushing yards, Harvard could not contain Penn’s quarterback who rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown. Penn also exploited Harvard’s secondary with their talented receiving corps as O’Brien completed 80.0% of his passes for 271 yards and 3 passing touchdowns. Dante Reno will need to have nearly perfect timing on his throws to exploit tight windows of opportunity as several of Penn’s big passing plays were nearly intercepted. The offensive line must bounce back from a subpar performance last week to pave holes for Pitsenberger and Daal in the rushing attack as burning the clock in this contest is of utmost importance. Given Penn’s success on quarterback runs, implementing more wildcat packages with Pitsenberger could be beneficial. Yale’s offensive coaching staff faces their toughest test of the season and must dig deep into the playbook to keep Harvard’s defense guessing.

Sophomore K Kieran Corr (6’3”, 185 lbs.) has only missed two field goal attempts all season and made a 53-yard field goal last week in a high-pressure moment. Sophomore P Dylan Fingersh (5’10”, 180 lbs.) averages 39.5 yards per punt and has placed 4 punts inside the redzone. Harris averages 20.6 yards per kickoff return and has the ability to make several defenders miss.

Go Bulldogs! Beat the Crimson!