Some of this improvement relates to the increased comfort of Harvard’s defensive line, a unit that restructured from last season after graduating seniors Obum Obukwelu and Zack Hodges.
“The energy of the defense has been fantastic,” Moody said. “We’re playing at a really high level.”
However, the strength of this year’s defense remains in the secondary and linebacker corps, where the Crimson starts only seniors.
On offense Harvard also boasts enviable experience. Four seniors man the offensive line, and these veterans have merged into a unit that has yet to give up a sack.
“We should be good up front,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “In terms of experience, ability, and leadership, that’s as good a group as we’re going to have.”
Hagy’s counterpart, running back Paul Stanton, is also a senior, and he has seen significant snaps since his freshman year. Over four years, Stanton has tallied 31 career touchdowns on the ground, placing him second in school history.
When the two teams met last season, Harvard used a 150-yard rushing attack to pull away for a 24-7 victory. But the final result belied a tense affair in which neither team scored before halftime.
“They bring a lot of pressure,” said senior tight end Anthony Firkser. “They did last year. They stopped us in the run in the first half.”
Still, that 2014 game was one of nine defeats on the season for Cornell, which finished second-to-last in the Ivy League. This season sportswriters didn’t even grant the Big Red that position, as the preseason Ancient Eight poll banished Cornell to the cellar.
A last-place ranking, a three-game stretch of misery, and a long losing streak—all these facts pile into chips on the shoulders of Big Red players, who almost certainly view the Crimson as the toughest test to date.
Meanwhile Harvard bears a different weight, namely a streak of 17 consecutive wins and nine straight against Cornell.
“They’re a good football team,” Murphy said. “They could easily be 3-0…. It’ll be the best football team we’ve faced this year.”—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sdanello@college.harvard.edu.