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The Dartmouth
July 25, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Ivy League Football Preview: Harvard

On paper, the Crimson might have the best passing attack in the League. The receiving corps is the deepest in the Ivies, with the return of virtually everyone who caught a pass for Harvard last season, including first team All-Ivy pick Corey Mazza and sophomore Matt Luft.

Senior Liam O'Hagan seems to finally be trouble-free and entrenched as the starting quarterback, having participated in a full spring practice (he missed the spring of 2006 with a broken hand and the first five games of last season due to a suspension), then staving off any challenges from classmate Chris Pizzotti. He was the lone bright spot of Harvard's 31-28 season-opening loss to Holy Cross, throwing for 264 yards and a pair of touchdowns while running in another score.

The running game is keyed by undersized sophomore Cheng Ho. While head coach Tim Murphy has made it a point to say that the position will be filled by committee only, Ho and freshman Gino Gordon both saw carries in the season opener -- 24 for Ho and four for Gordon. While he is on the smaller side, Ho has shown himself to be a tenacious and slippery runner.

The defense will be strong, returning seven starters from the 2006 unit. Three of the four are starters in the secondary return, including preseason All-American Andrew Berry and All-Ivy pick Steven Williams, while the three new starters in the front seven all have extensive experience as backups.

It will be difficult to expect the outlandish 4.3 sacks per game that the Crimson averaged a season ago, but there should be plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks from senior defensive end and team captain Brad Bagdis and juniors Peter Ajayi, Matt Curtis and Sonny McCracken.