CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University football begins Ivy League play with a road matchup at Brown University on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+/NESN+) at Brown Stadium in Providence, R.I., after rallying for a 28-21 come-from-behind win in overtime against Merrimack in its season and home opener.
 
Trailing 21-7 with under five minutes to play, senior Aidan Borguet ran for a pair of touchdowns less than two minutes apart in the fourth quarter and added the decisive touchdown on the first play of overtime to lift the Crimson over Merrimack. The Bears also took an overtime victory in their opener, topping Bryant, 44-38, in double overtime. Harvard leads Brown in the all-time series, 88-30-2. 

What to Know

• Under Tim Murphy, The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, Harvard holds a 22-5 (.815) record in its Ivy League openers since 1994.
• Senior defensive lineman Nate Leskovec earned national recognition following after posting a school-record 4.5 sacks and seven tackles in the Crimson's win over Merrimack, taking home FedEx Ground Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week and NCAA FCS Player of the Week honors. Leskovec also garnered Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week.
• Senior running back Aidan Borguet gained both Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week and NEFW Gold Helmet weekly honors following his performance against Merrimack. Borguet accounted for 166 all-purpose yards (127 rushing, 39 receiving) and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) to help propel the Crimson to the overtime victory.
• Junior defensive tackle Thor Griffith gained an honorable mention nod on the FedEx Ground Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week list after he posted nine tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks in Harvard's win over Merrimack.
• Senior defensive back Max Jones gained a spot on the prestigious Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes 22 college football student-athletes and an honorary head coach for outstanding contributions to their communities. Off the field, Jones started the Project Proximate fellowship program, which aims to help Black and Latinx college students acquire and develop the tools necessary to be change agents in closing the racial wealth gap.
• Through its first game, Harvard leads the FCS in rushing defense (-26.0 yards per game), team sacks (9.0 per game), and team tackles for loss (14.0 per game).
• Under Tim Murphy, The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, the Crimson is 19-9 in season openers. The 2022 campaign marks Murphy's 29th at the helm of the program.
• The Crimson has won 11 consecutive season-openers at home. Harvard has not dropped the first game of a campaign at home since a 27-25 defeat to Holy Cross to begin the 2000 season.
• Harvard won its second consecutive season-opening game and third in the last four seasons in which it competed behind its' 28-21 (OT) win over Merrimack.
• The Crimson captured its fourth straight non-conference home victory with its triumph over Merrimack. One would have to go back to Sept. 28, 2018, to find its last such defeat (23-16 vs. Rhode Island).
• Harvard has won four straight games vs. schools from the state of Massachusetts, a streak that first started in 2017.
• Harvard finished atop the Ivy League preseason poll, collecting 108 points and eight first-place votes. Dartmouth also recorded 108 points but earned four first-place tallies along with Princeton, which found itself with 105 points when the votes were tabulated.
• The Crimson led the Ivy League with 12 players on the Phil Steele Preseason All-Ivy League team (First Team - Alec Bank, Aidan Borguet, Thor Griffith, James Herring, Nate Leskovec, Jonah Lipel, Jack McGowan, Alex Washington; Second Team - Max Jones, Truman Jones, Haven Montefalco, Gavin Sharkey). Borguet was also tabbed the Ivy Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, with Washington earning Preseason All-America Second-Team honors.
• The Crimson completed 2021 with an 8-2 record, posting its most victories in a season since 2015 (9). Harvard also went 5-2 in Ivy League play with the five wins also representing the program's highest total since '16 (5). Harvard allowed 64.6 rushing yards per game, coming in first among all FCS schools. 

Next Up

Harvard returns home to Harvard Stadium to host Holy Cross on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+) for the program's Title IX Celebration and Youth Day game.