CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard is set to play on a Friday night for a second straight week when it faces Cornell in Ithaca, New York (ESPN2, 6 p.m. ET). The contest features a Crimson squad that is looking up at the Big Red in the Ivy League standings after Harvard dropped its conference opener to Brown and Cornell emerged with a win over Yale two weeks ago.
Quick Hits
- The Crimson is coming off an impressive 28-23 home win over then-No. 16/21 New Hampshire last Friday night at Harvard Stadium. Harvard rallied from a 7-0 first-quarter deficit and a 16-14 halftime hole before ultimately moving in front for good, 21-16, in the third quarter. The Crimson increased its lead to 28-16 in the fourth before settling for the five-point victory and is now receiving votes in both major top-25 polls.
- Harvard's second straight win over a nationally ranked team (the Crimson defeated No. 5/6 Holy Cross on the road last season) marked the eighth consecutive time it has responded to a loss with a win. The Crimson rebounded after suffering a 31-28 road setback at Brown the week prior on Sept. 28.
- The Harvard defense kept the Crimson in the game vs. UNH, allowing its offense to get into a rhythm. After allowing one touchdown in the first quarter, the Harvard D limited the Wildcats to three field goals in the second quarter and zero points in the second half until a fourth-quarter TD with 5:54 left. When the dust settled, the Crimson held UNH to nearly four points below its season average of 26.8 entering the game. Along the same lines, Harvard kept the New Hampshire offense in check after it averaged 41.5 points in its previous two outings.
- With its impressive defensive effort vs. New Hampshire, Harvard comes into the Cornell game with one of the top units in the country. The Crimson ranks second nationally in rushing defense (60.0), second in first downs defense (46), seventh in total defense (275.3), 10th in red-zone defense (0.667), and 11th in scoring defense (18.0).
- Individually, Harvard had several outstanding performances on defense vs. the Wildcats, including an 11-tackle outing from Eric Little. The senior linebacker added a fumble recovery and was credited with one of the Crimson's four quarterback hurries. Linebacking teammate Marcus Alexander, meanwhile, followed his 11-tackle effort at Brown with eight more stops vs. UNH to go with one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Other notables on that side of the ball include Austin-Jake Guillory (9 tackles), Ty Bartrum (8 tackles, 0.5 TFL) and Mitchell Gonser (7 tackles, 2.0 TFL).
- The Crimson offense vs. New Hampshire was led by running back Xaviah Bascon's 66 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns. The two 1-yard scores were the first rushing TDs of his career and marked the first time he scored multiple touchdowns in a single game. The sophomore also added one catch for four yards and two kickoff returns (48 yards, long of 28) against the Wildcats. Bascon will arrive in Ithaca as the Crimson's leading rusher with 148 yards on the second-most attempts (34).
- In addition to Bascon's contributions, quarterback Jaden Craig completed passes to five different players. Scott Woods II led the receiving corps with four catches for a season-best 93 yards, which included a career-best 65-yard TD grab. Cooper Barkate continued his solid start to the year with three receptions for 78 yards. The junior has posted at least 76 yards receiving in all three games, while also being an explosive threat with long receptions of 25 (vs. Stetson), 27 (at Brown) and 51 (vs. New Hampshire).
