CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - No. 19/15 (coaches/media) Harvard makes its first appearance in the FCS Playoffs on Saturday when it faces 12th-seeded and No. 6/9 Villanova. The first-round game is set for a noon ET start and will air live on ESPN+.

Quick Hits

- In its first season of FCS postseason eligibility, the Crimson made the 24-team championship field as an at-large selection after going 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Ivy League. Harvard captured its third straight conference title (20th overall) and was the first Ivy team to clinch the crown after a 53-yard field goal as time expired by Kieran Corr lifted the Crimson to a 45-43 victory over Penn on Nov. 15. 

- Although new to the current NCAA postseason setup, Harvard will not be making its first postseason appearance. The last time the Crimson competed in the postseason was during the 1919 campaign when it defeated Oregon, 7-6, at the 1920 Rose Bowl.

- Harvard comes into the contest with top-20 rankings in both major FCS top-25 polls. The Crimson checks in at No. 15 in the Stats Perform rankings and No. 19 in the AFCA poll. Prior to last week's loss at No. 25/rv Yale, Harvard enjoyed a top-10 ranking in both polls for the first time in school history (No. 10/8). The Crimson has been nationally ranked nine straight weeks in the media poll and eight consecutive weeks in the coaches rankings.

- The Crimson is coming off a 45-28 road loss to now-No. 21/24 Yale, which earned a share of the Ivy crown and secured the Ivy's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, all while snapping Harvard's 9-0 start to the year. Quarterback Jaden Craig threw for a game-high 306 yards and three touchdowns, and added one rushing TD. Craig's passing performance vaulted him to the top of Harvard's all-time passing yards list (5,967) and past Neil Rose '03 (5,949). In the game vs. Dartmouth, Craig surpassed Rose (41) for the all-time passing TD record. Craig enters Saturday with 51 career passing TDs.

- Two of Craig's passing touchdowns at Yale went to first-year Ryan Tattersall, who set career highs in receiving TDs, receptions (5) and yards (92). For his performance, the Wilmington, Delaware, native was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. The rookie weekly honor was the Crimson's first since now-junior running back Xaviah Bascon was recognized in 2023.

- Sean Line and Ty Bartrum has impressive tackling numbers at Yale. A linebacker, Line led all players with a career-high 15 tackles. The junior who had one tackle last season, has 25 tackles in his last two outings and reached the double-figure mark in five of the last seven games. Bartrum, the team captain, meanwhile, made 14 tackles for the second consecutive game and has three double-digit tackle performances this season. Coincidentally, Line and Bartrum rank 1-2 on the team in total tackles with 82 and 72, respectively.

- Harvard finished the regular season at 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Ivy League, records not seen in Cambridge since 2015, when that outfit posted identical marks. The Crimson is looking for its first 10-win campaign since the 2014 team went 10-0 in the regular season.

- The Crimson is facing a Villanova team for the first time. The Wildcats come into the game winners of eight straight and ranked No. 6/9, which would be the highest ranked team Harvard has faced since No. 5/6 Holy Cross at Polar Park (home of Worcester Woo Sox - Boston Red Sox Triple-A affiliate) in 2023. The Crimson defeated the Crusaders that night, 38-28, en route to the first of three consecutive Ivy League titles. As an aside, the current Crimson group is the first Ivy team to win at least three straight titles since Harvard accomplished the feat in 2013-15.

- Prior to the loss at Yale, Harvard boasted the nation's longest active road winning streak at seven. The Crimson will look to start another road winning streak against a Villanova team that owns the longest active home winning streak at 22. Harvard, however, has won four straight non-conference road games and has not suffered a non-league road defeat since at San Diego to begin the 2019 season.

- Harvard's offense is a top-10 unit nationally, ranking seventh in total offense (461.2) and ninth in scoring offense (39.4). It also ranks in the top 15 in tackles for loss allowed (1st; 2.90), passing offense (5th; 291.5), sacks allowed (7th; 0.90), passing yards per completion (9th; 14.08), third-down conversion percentage (9th; 0.489), and fourth-down conversion percentage (13th; 0.654).

- The Crimson defense comes into the Villanova game ranked second in the FCS in first downs defense (177), sixth in red zone defense (0.700), seventh in rushing defense (105.5), 10th in total defense (298.9), 12th in defensive TDs (3), and 13th in scoring defense (18.1).

- Harvard ranks first in the country in blocked kicks allowed (0) and blocked punts allowed (0), while ranking second in fewest penalties (41) and third in fewest penalties per game (4.10).

- Harvard is 25-5 (.833) over the last three seasons (8-2 in 2023, 8-2 in 2024, 9-1 in 2025). The Crimson is first in the FCS for fewest losses during this time period, with North Dakota State following behind with six Ls. In Division I altogether (FBS and FCS), Harvard ranks second in fewest losses behind Oregon and Ohio State, who each have four.

- The Crimson has been one of the best road teams in the FCS the last two-decades-plus. Since 1996, Harvard sits behind only North Dakota State in road winning percentage. NDSU has won at a .746 clip (88-30), while the Crimson has emerged victorious 96 times in 135 tries (.711; 96-39). Among all Division I teams, Harvard is behind only Ohio State (.801; 109-27), Georgia (.772; 98-29) and North Dakota State in road winning percentage since '96.