CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard, which is receiving votes in both major top-25 polls, begins the home portion of its 2025 schedule on Saturday when it plays host to Brown (6 p.m. ET; ESPN+). The battle between 1-0 sides is set for a 6:02 p.m. ET kickoff on a night when the Crimson will officially dedicate Harvard Stadium's playing surface to its long-time former head coach Tim Murphy.
Quick Hits
- Harvard is looking to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2023, and fourth time since 2021. The Crimson finds itself in this position after cruising to a 59-7 win at Stetson last Saturday, which marked its fifth consecutive season-opening victory.
- The Crimson raced out to a 28-0 lead after one quarter against the Hatters and led, 45-0, at halftime. The performance led Harvard to its most points since a 62-point showing vs. Howard on Oct. 5, 2019, and its most in a season opener since it put up 60 on Massachusetts on Oct. 1, 1955.
- Jaden Craig, a Walter Payton Award preseason watch list selection, led the offense with 208 yards passing (10-13 att.) and two touchdowns, with running back Isaiah Bullock finding paydirt twice on seven carries. In total, four Crimson RBs found the endzone (Bullock - 2, Xaviah Bascon - 1, DJ Gordon - 1, Maddux Reid - 1) and seven different receivers hauled in at least one pass, with Ryan Tattersall and Dean Boyd recording TDs of 69 and 29 yards, respectively.
- Defensively at Stetson, the Crimson was led by Jaeden Kinlock's career-high 11 tackles. As a unit, it totaled 2.0 sacks, 7.0 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception, four pass breakups and two blocks. The seven points allowed, meanwhile, were the Crimson's fewest in season opener on the road since a 9-6 win at Columbia on Sept. 15, 1990.
- Harvard will step foot on Tim Murphy Field at Harvard Stadium as one of the top-performing home teams since 1996. Entering the 2025 NCAA Division I college football season, the Crimson owned a .738 winning percentage, which was tied with Eastern Washington and Notre Dame for 36th among all D-I schools (FBS and FCS; min. 20 games played).
- Murphy coached the Crimson for 30 years, with his first season coming 1994 and last ending in an Ivy League title in 2023, before announcing his retirement in Jan. 2024. The all-time winningest coach in Harvard and Ivy League history, Murphy finished with a record of 200-89 and 10 conference championships. Overall, he served as head coach for 37 seasons, with stops at Maine and Cincinnati before landing at Harvard.
- Harvard is 17-4 (.810) over the last three seasons (8-2 in 2023, 8-2 in 2024, 1-0 in 2025). The Crimson ranks second in the FCS only to South Dakota State for fewest losses (3). In Division I altogether (FBS and FCS), Harvard is tied for third in fewest losses (Oregon, South Dakota State - 3; Harvard, Georgia, Ohio State - 4).
- 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 .737 clip (84-30), while the Crimson has emerged victorious 93 times in 131 tries (.710; 93-38). Amongst all Division I teams, Harvard is behind only Ohio State (.795; 105-27), Georgia (.766; 95-29) and North Dakota State in road games since '96.
- The Crimson is 10-1 in its last 11 games during the month of September (six straight wins vs. non-league foes). The one loss? Harvard at Brown a year ago, 31-28, in Providence, Rhode Island.
