CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 19/21 Harvard Football remained perfect on the season after defeating Cornell, 41-23, Friday night in front of 10,050 fans at Harvard Stadium. With the victory, the Crimson improved to 4-0 (2-0 Ivy League), while the Big Red fell to 2-2 (1-1 Ivy).
 
Harvard is one of three undefeated teams in the FCS (South Dakota State, Southern Illinois) and its four victories are tied for the most in the FCS.

How It Happened

• On the Crimson's first possession, quarterback Charles DePrima completed a 28-yard pass on third-and-16 to Tim Dowd, keeping Harvard's drive alive. The completion proved fruitful as the Crimson ultimately took a 7-0 lead thanks to DePrima's one-yard TD run, capping a 10-play, 60-yard drive.
• DePrima added to the Crimson's lead with his feet, rushing 42 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Cornell, however, blocked the extra point as the hosts settled for the 13-0 lead.
• The Big Red answered Harvard's second touchdown with a one-yard quarterback sneak by Jameson Wang with 7:12 left in the first half. Cornell's drive covered 75 yards in 15 plays.
• Playing in his first game of the season, wide receiver Scott Woods II's first catch of the season went for a 36-yard touchdown (2^nd, 4:11). The DePrima-to-Woods connection put Harvard up, 19-7, until DePrima flicked a shovel pass to Tyler Neville to convert the two-point conversion.
• In a frantic finish to the first half, Cornell successfully booted a 43-yard field goal as time expired to cut Harvard's lead to 21-10 at halftime.
• Harvard used a trio of big plays on its first possession of the second half to find the endzone for a fourth time. DePrima first located Dowd for a 45-yard gain and later rushed for 15 yards himself. On the very next play, the QB threw a dart to Tyler Neville for a 17-yard TD, putting the Crimson up, 28-10, with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter.
• Cornell got within two scores with 4:09 left in the third when Wang rushed for a four-yard touchdown on a drive that was extended thanks to a Wang three-yard carry on fourth-and-three. With the touchdown, the Big Red trimmed its deficit to 28-17.
• DePrima added to his career rushing night with a 58-yard TD run up the middle to push the Crimson in front, 34-17, with 1:24 left in the third. The scamper gave the QB a new career high in rushing yards, surpassing his previous best of 113 vs. St. Thomas. He finished with 152.
• Wideout Ledger Hatch appeared in his first game of the campaign and was on the receiving end of a 19-yard pass from DePrima with 12:40 left in the fourth frame. The score increased Harvard's lead to 41-17.
• The Big Red added one final TD on the night, a 12-yard pass from Luke Duby to Samuel Musungu, providing the final 41-23 margin.

Harvard Individual Highlights

• Tim Murphy, The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, tied Carm Cozza (Yale) for the Ivy League record for most conference victories with 135.
• QB Charles DePrima set a single-game career high with 152 rushing touchdowns and three TDs. He also threw for a personal-record 209 yards and matched his career high with three TD passes.
• Safety Ty Bartrum had a game-high-tying nine tackles. He has recorded nine tackles three times this season and posted at least six in a game in each outing in 2023.
• Linebacker Matt Hudson made nine stops and has logged at least eight tackles in the last three games.
• WR Scott Woods II recorded his third career touchdown reception. Two of his three TDs have come against Cornell. His first career touchdown grab came in Ithaca, New York, last season.
• FCS National Defensive Player of the Week AJ Lopez had a game- and career-high three pass breakups. He entered the game with three PBUs this season.
• Tight end Tim Dowd finished with a career-high 73 yards receiving. He entered the night with seven receiving yards in 2023 and 47 yards for his career, spanning two seasons (10 games).

Harvard Team Highlights

• The Crimson moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2021 and for the second time since 2017.
• Harvard is one of three undefeated teams in the FCS, along with South Dakota State and Southern Illinois, both of which are also 4-0.
• Harvard improved to 3-0 at home one season after going 1-4 in Cambridge in 2022.
• The Crimson is 2-0 in Ivy League play for the fourth straight season.
• The Crimson has defeated Cornell for third straight time and the 11^th consecutive outing at Harvard Stadium.
• Harvard improved to 2-0 this season and 8-2 since 2018 in Friday games.
• The Harvard defense limited Cornell QB Jameson Wang to his fewest passing (165) and rushing (25) yards of the season. The Crimson defense also held the Big Red to its fewest yards of total offense (354).

They Said It

"It was a really well-balanced game on defense, offense and special teams. The big key for tonight was our explosive plays. They did a good job with their offense, staying on the field, and we did a good job keeping them out of the end zone. 
 
"Kids played really hard against a very good football team, but they certainly deserved to get the W today." – Tim Murphy on the game vs. Cornell
 
"I think it's great for the Ivy League, no question about it. It's also a bonus when you have a guy like Jack Ford on it because he is such a professional, he knows the league and respects the league even though he's a Yale guy. He's a great guy. It's great for the league, it's great for our kids. It's not why we play the game, but it's certainly exciting for our guys to have an opportunity to do that and play real football." – Tim Murphy on playing on ESPN2
 
"The reality is there are no bad teams in our league. Everything is going to be tough. It's going to be a grind and we are going to face some adversity. The thing that will help us down the line – and something we've done a very good job of so far – is taking care of the football. We've had very few turnovers. If you handle the ball well and the defense can knock the ball loose, you have a pretty good chance to win." – Tim Murphy on the Ivy League
 
"Any success we have starts with the guys up front. They were giving us a lot of time to pass and a lot of room to run and we were able to take advantage of the opportunities they were giving us. Just a really solid effort from those guys." – Charles DePrima on the Crimson offensive line
 
"It's definitely difficult. We play a different team every week and we try to do the best we can. One thing Coach Murphy always tells us is that we need to know our opponents better than they know us. Our scout team does a great job of simulating our opponents' offense and what they run. They are really the unsung heroes of our team and we're fortunate to have those guys." – Nate Leskovec on the difficulty of playing against Cornell's offense
 
"We have to take everything that comes with it. Take the adversity that comes with it and just keep performing every week. We start off tomorrow 0-0 and we're going to try and make it 1-0 next Saturday." – Scott Woods II on Harvard improving to 4-0

Up Next

Harvard returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 14, when it plays host to Howard at 1 p.m. The contest will air live on ESPN+. Tickets for the contest, meanwhile, are available at GoCrimson.com.